been MIA from healing well, new to the diabetes forum

Hi everyone. I haven't been to healingwell in months. I have to say I am doing better than when I was here last, but now I'm here in the diabetic room after going from pre-diabetic to full blown diabetic. My blood sugars would go as high as 230 even on meds, I was on metformin 1000mgs, lisinopril, and glucotrol 5mgs. Because of this and other health problems plus of course my ballooning weight I was scheduled for gastric bypass. My surgery date was June 1st of this year and then it was postponed 2 days before surgery. Well I looked at my progress over the months before hand, you need a certain amount of a diet supervised by a doc, and have officially decided to cancel the surgery. I am down 30lbs and now off the glucotrol and lisinopril. I think needing the surgery kind of scared me in to eating healthy with no cheating. I mean the only person I was cheating was myself, right? My blood sugars still aren't excellent. Way better than the 170-230 range they were before...now they are between 80-130. I'm working on it though. My highest time is in the AM after fasting which I still don't fully understand, but during the day it's usually between 80-110. This morning my fasting was 111. I really think I can control this with my metformin and diet alone and like I said my sugars are getting better every day. Preparing for that surgery really taught me a lot about portions, tips on how to eat less by tricking my mind, and how to beat head hunger. I'm learning what spikes my blood sugar and what doesn't. Learning to enjoy veggies in place of pasta and bread I used to OD on.

So anyway I guess this post is kind of a reintroduction and any tips on how to improve what I'm doing and to keep me off of more meds would be appreciated! Also if anyone could explain the whole fasting AM higher levels I'd appreciate it! lol.

oh my A1c level, which I can't remember at the moment, went down .2 15lbs ago so hopefully with my progress the next check will be even better. have to wait til Oct for that.

Hi closure, welcome to this forum.  From what you write it seems like you have some control over how your blood sugar behaves.  You've already found that carrying around too much weight can make you insulin resistant and that carbohydrates will keep the blood sugar too high.  So, please look through the past threads here where we've talked about diet and food and other points about controling blood sugar.  You can read up about the South Beach Diet, especially Phase One.  There are many places online that have lists of the glycemic index.  I don't know of one particular list which is the best.  Besides what you eat, you can also benefit from a regular routine of exercise.  You could start with walking.  The key is to do this everyday.  Many of the members here who went low-carb and started some kind of regular exercise found that they lost weight and that their blood sugar was under better control.

Closure, it's really good that you realize you have some degree of control over this aspect of your health.  (Some people might just give up and not try to change their lifestyle or others might fight against any suggestions to change.)  I can speak from experience about being able to control things (to a point, of course) because when I lost weight and started exercising, my blood sugar readings really did come down as well as my cholesterol and blood pressure.  When my doctor 'threatened' me, I mean suggested, that I go on meds for blood sugar and cholesterol, I asked her to give me 6 months to see if I could change things and during those 6 months, I scrambled to find out what I could about blood sugar.  Long story short:  cut out the white food which means anything made with flour and sugar, potatoes, rice and pasta.  Eat meat/chicken/fish, all vegetables except the potatoes and corn.  Eat salads, cheese, nuts.  Go very easy on fruit.  Testing your blood sugar is important so you know how you react to certain food.  I think you can find a lot of info about the South Beach Diet Phase One online and/or go to a bookstore to flip through those pages to see what it says.  It's essentially what I just described above.  I bumped up a thread this morning about what makes our blood sugar rise; so read that, too.  I just read in the Parade Magazine this morning about tweaking cardo exercise so it's more effective and will try to post something about that, too.  You'll be much better off than you were some months ago.  You have a lot of support here, so don't be afraid to ask questions, ok? 

I remember how surprised I was when I was learning about food's effects on the blood sugar.  The first I'd read about it was in South Beach when he referred to orange juice.  Then, there's all the other fruit!  And the cereal I ate for breakfast!  I bought a cereal made especially for diabetics.  Eat Well, Be Well - I think was the name - and 2 hours later my blood sugar was very high, like in the 150's.  I ate it with 2% milk.  I thought I was being "good".  So, I know what you mean about not knowing these things.  It gets easier, honest.  I've been doing low-carb for almost 3 years and aside form blips like some holiday meals, I'm fairly loyal and true to this way of eating.  The other important thing is getting into a regular exercise routine.  As you'll find, the blood glucose meter will be your best friend as it will help keep you on track. 

Hi closure,

Listen to Lanie and read up on the 'Nothing white 'cept cauliflower & cottage cheese' regimen (well, eggs are white so you can have them too ;-). I tried this a year ago -- the weight loss & health improvement are amazing. Its quite an adjustment but worth it. I was a carb-addict like you (potatoes, pasta, rice, cereal) but I adjusted all that and lost about 40 pounds in less than a year. I feel better & my BG (blood glucose) readings are now normal according to my doc. This is a personal account but worth trying? As Lanie said, get a meter & use it to track your own results.

Chris

P.S. Lower carb meals also got rid of my gastric distresses -- an added bonus

that's why I asked about the ranges...everything I've checked has said something different.

TVEditor...I like your sig.