Just found out I have diabetes D:

Im female, 53, a disabled veteran, and just got diagnosed with diabetes.
Honestly, its really scary for me. I go in Tuesday morning for diabetes education, and have no idea if they are giving me pills or insulin.

I can barely manage my life as it is, but I am worried I wont be able to ensure absolute time for meals, and medication. Will know more hopefully on Tues.

I have already cleaned out my fridge/cupboards and was actually very happy to see what I CAN eat, as with the exception of grapefruit (bleck) I like just about everything on the "good" list lol.


I hope to learn more as I go, and will try to be as diligent as possible.

Look forward to learning more and meeting yall.

Welcome to HealingWell, Sugarbabe.  (You might want to change your name! )  First of all, you are going to be fine and as Will says, you might even be able to control this with just diet and exercise.  May I ask how you are disabled?  Are you in a wheelchair?

Please read our stickies at the top of the Diabetes Forum.  There is some important information in them, and here is a website that can probably answer all the questions you might have:  http://www.bloodsugar101.com/

As far as diet, to put it very simply, you need to know that carbohydrates raise blood sugar.  Fats and fiber in food help keep the blood sugar from spiking by helping to draw it out over a longer period of time (minutes and hours) - but this doesn't mean to eat gobs of butter!

A balanced diet is best for everyone, of course, so you should be eating lots of vegetables, all green leafy kinds, some protein (meat, poultry, fish), some beans, nuts, some dairy.  Potatoes, most root vegetables, rice, any food made with flour and sugar will raise your blood sugar and if you eat them everyday, your blood sugar will stay elevated.

Do you know what your blood sugar is?  Do you have a meter?

Please ask any questions that you have! 

I just got my A1C test results and its 12.9 percent.

I am freaking out! OMG!!! I found out that my
glucose readings for the past 2 years have been
over 300 and not ONCE did my doctor even say
or do anything.

i am really pissed off!

thanks for the welcome. I have so far been charting
my b/s for 7 days, and the lowest reading was 150,
and highest was 334. I have taken sugar and hidden
sugars as much as possible out of my diet since I first
started testing. Did a lot of research on foods, and
balanced meals adjusting to that.

Also, my vision has deteriorated considerably in the last
year, and wonder if this is a factor or not. Im talking
serious blurred vision, with or without glasses.

I am really freaking out about all of this D:

I am shocked and angry for you that your doctor knew that your blood sugar was critically high for so long and did nothing! They should take his/her license away. If you can possibly change doctors, do it. Untreated high blood sugar for a long time can indeed affect vision as well as kidneys, liver, heart and circulation!

Were you prescribed medication?

Please make sure you read the website Bloodsugar 101. Whether you are on diabetes meds or not, you need to make sure you're eliminating heavy carbs or your blood sugar will remain too high. Eat more salads, veggies and a nice piece of protein. Snack on no-sugar yogurt, low-fat mozzarella sticks, unsalted nuts a hard-boiled egg a few times a week. Drink water. I put some lemon juice in my water for flavor.

If your blood sugar comes down by any means, don't be surprised if you feel shaky or dizzy even if you have 'normal' blood sugar readings at that time. This would be because your body was so used to high blood sugar that it is having a hard time adjusting to normal.

Also, have your vision checked and your eyes checked for glaucoma. This is important! Glaucoma can cause blindness, too, and is sometimes the result of untreated diabetes. There are no symptoms that you feel with glaucoma, no pain, and many patients who do not wear glasses don't have their eyes checked, which is dangerous because they might never know that they have it.

Pain and pain meds can cause high blood sugar, too, just as being sick can. Some other medication, like for high blood pressure may cause high blood sugar, so if you're on any other meds, make sure you know their side effects.

Keep us updated, ok?

I know many vets have complaints about the VA and I suppose the quality of service may vary depending on which one you go to.  As you found out (unfortunately) is that you have to be your own advocate.  Having information available to you on the Internet is very good but be careful about the sites you get information from.  Even here.  I am not a doctor.  I can only tell you what I know from my own journey in diabetes.

I always recommend the book Diabetes Solution by Dr. Richard Bernstein.  He is a type 1 diabetic himself and I found the information in the book to be really helpful.

Right now, please don't stress out.  I know it's easy for me to say.  You are doing absolutely the best for yourself by changing your eating plan.  Personally I do not recommend following the food plan from the American Diabetes Association because it is very high in carbs and will not help control your blood sugar.

Can you take daily walks for about 15 minutes?  If you can, it would be a tremendous help in conjunction with your new food plan.

As far as carbs go you will find out everyone has their own ideas as to how many is too many.

Currently (last I knew) the ADA (American Diabetes Association) recomends getting 45-60 grams of carbs per meal. Some people will say that is too many and that is not a carb controlled diet, but that actually is a rather low carb diet considering most Americans consume 200g+ per meal. IMHO the ADA suggestion is a good starting place and then you can adjust your intake as needed to get the best results for you, because at the end of the day all the advice is worthless if it does not work for you.

The one thing about carbs though that most agree on is that all carbs are not created equal. You have your simple carbs and your complex carbs. Simple carbs will cause quick spikes in your blood sugar and it is not uncommon for them to raise blood sugar higher per gram of intake than complex ones. Simple carbs are ones found in processed foods such as sugar, breads, pastas, etc. Generally speaking, as mentioned already, "white foods" have more simple carbs than colored or brown foods.

The complex carbs are the ones you really want as they will provide you the energy you need but since they take longer to digest they usually won't cause the dramatic spikes that the simple ones do. When it comes to breads, pastas, and rices whole grain is a lot better for you. That doesn't mean you can pig out but it does mean you shouldn't have to give up eating these types of foods so long as you do so in moderation.

The other thing most people agree upon in the carb arena is to read labels and be on the lookout for hidden carbs and not to get suckered into thinking something is OK to eat because it has "sugar free" on the package. The nutritional label is your friend here not what is slapped on the front of the package. When you check the labels on foods you will be surprised how many carbs some of those sugar free products have in them. I have even run across a few that were higher than their sugared cousins.

If you want to know how any given food may effect your blood sugar look it up on the glycemic index. The lower the number the less chaos it is likely to cause on your blood glucose and you will see that you can often take 2 foods that have the same or very close to the same number of carbs but be vastly different when it comes to its glycemic value.

That's incredible. I don't know what your recourse is with the VA. Only you know what your options are. That nurse should not be allowed to keep her job after lying and trying to cover up as you described. The bottom line is your medical care (or lack of). Yes, for you, you absolutely have to do your personal best and that is your diet and what exercise you can handle.

Your blood sugar meter is your best friend. Regardless of what works for others or what advice you read here or anywhere, you need to follow what works to keep your blood sugar lower or as near normal as you can get it. You already understand that carbs will raise your blood sugar and the levels you've had can be damaging your organs.

Keep us updated and best of luck dealing with this stupidity.

After a particular age specially more than 50 can have diabetes and it can be controleed if we keep a control on our diet. Specially on sugar and if the patient is having a high diabetes then they should take care that they wont have any wounds because it becomes difficult if their is any wound diabetic patients takes long time to cure on such wounds