Newly diagnosed

Hi, I am new to HealingWell and just checking in on the forums relevant to me.

I was diagnosed this summer with Type 2. I am not on any meds and right now using strictly diet and exercise.
I have never had a "sweet tooth" but would often use sweets as a temporary filler when on the run in my daily life. Now I have to learn to slow it down to a dull roar, keep up with my life, but bring healthy options with me.
I had a heart attack, so I am not yet on full working status. I am looking into a bike for when I have to work. This will give me daily exercise and still allow me time to do my job. Oh, and I would go home for lunch rather than grab what is convenient.

Hi Rainbowpromise. Welcome to HealingWell. Can you give a little more information about yourself? What have your blood sugar readings been? Do you have any family members with diabetes?

Please read the two stickies at the top of our forum (the Diabetes Forum) for information about food, etc. And also this site: www.bloodsugar101.com/ It has lots of information about blood sugar, studies, and so on.

If you're not on any meds, I imagine your blood sugar readings have not been extremely high. Using a low-carb diet and exercise can certainly help you control your blood sugar.

I'm glad you found us. Feel free to ask any questions!

That is really interesting, Will! Thanks for posting this. One of the reasons for pancreas beta cell burn out is the demand put on the pancreas by eating a diet high in carbohydrates. Carbs make the pancreas work a lot harder in everyone, not just diabetics, and this is one of the reasons that eating low-carb is helpful not only for the blood sugar results but for making the pancreas' work a little easier.

Hi again, then are you saying that you don't have a blood sugar meter and you don't test your blood sugar everyday?

This is really surprising but more than this, I don't think it's a good idea. How can you know what your blood sugar is and how the food you're eating is affecting it? I've never heard of a doctor not prescribing a blood sugar meter for someone who has been diagnosed as type 2.

The only way to control blood sugar is with food and diet. I was able to do that until I couldn't keep up with the daily cardio workouts and very strict no carb diet.

I hope your heart is doing well.

Good morning. All I can tell you is what I know from being diagnosed as a type 2. Carbs raise blood sugar. The amount of carbs given to you from the list is extremely high. Please read Bloodsugar 101 - I put the link in one of my previous posts. That website gives information about blood sugar, diabetes, what your blood sugar needs to be to avoid heart problems as well as eye, kidney and circulation problems like neuropathy.

If you can see an endocrinologist, please do. This is a specialist.

The following is what I eat:

- skinless chicken, fish, lean beef, pork and lamb
- all sorts of vegetables but not potatoes or most root vegetables (and no corn, this is a grain, of course)
- most leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, chard, kale
- some cheese, unsweetened yogurt
- nuts
- some beans
- eggs

I eat a lot of broccoli and cauliflower, raw and cooked spinach, romaine lettuce, raw and cooked bell peppers, zucchini squash, cucumbers with tomatoes, celery and peanut butter.

So a typical dinner for me would be: a piece of meat/chicken/fish, a couple of cooked veggies as listed above and a small plate of what I call "salad food" which would be any combination of cut up pieces of cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, bell pepper, a radish, a wedge of cheddar.

My suggestion for you is to learn more about your blood sugar. I understand that you are following what you have been given but unless you can test your blood sugar, how can you know what the food you're eating is doing to your blood sugar? That concerns me.

If you are satisfied with how your medical results are, then I don't know what more I can say here.

Hi again. Maybe you can get a free glucose meter under your health care system. You're in Canada and I'm not familiar with what is available to you.

When you have certain other food restrictions because of other health conditions or allergies, you need to choose the food that will not harm you in any of the matters. I understand that may be tricky and this will be a challenge but I'm sure you can do it! In my house, my husband doesn't have any blood sugar problems so he eats what he wants and I eat what I 'can' eat.

These vegetables are fine and healthy for your blood sugar: asparagus, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini squash, eggplant, bell peppers, mushrooms, string beans, snow peas, cabbage, artichoke hearts, okra, and spinach. A serving is about 1/2 to 2/3 cup - but there is no way I would ever measure that, so I go with my judgement. I eat a serving spoon of two vegetables (approximately), a piece of protein and I pick from a plate of salad food as I described above.

Have fun on your road trip and I hope you stay well!

rainbowpromise said...
I talked to my GP today. He basically told me that the specialist that saw me in the hospital doesn't know what she is doing. I have it the other way around in my mind.
My third doctor is a Cancer specialist.

I glanced at the levels from the blood test and although they were moderately high when I was checked in to the hospital, they have levelled out in the high acceptable category.

The Canadian Diabetes association recommends that I test to get a feel for what is going on with my body. I tend to agree with that.

I'll talk to a pharmacist when I get back from my road trip.
I don't like potatoes, but I do eat rice, preferable brown or right now I have black rice in my cupboard. I am also eating whole grain pastas. Not in huge amounts, just serving size. I avoid raw veggies if I can, although I will munch on celery when I crave something crunchy.

Can you get to a Wal Mart in the US? The Relion Micro/Confirm meters are $14.99;100 test strips are $35.00. Test strips for the Relion Prime are even less, but tends to error out more often.

Good evening, rainbowpromise! Keep us updated when you talk to the pharmacist. I hope you can get a blood sugar meter so you know what your readings are. It's really important.

Good luck.

Thanks Will-Sandy,
I have to try a different pharmacy. They don't have that brand at the place I went to. The pharmacist was busy there as well, so I will drive into town tomorrow and ask.

I went to my local pharmacy today. They had a couple from Bayer and a couple from Freestyle. The lowest priced one was $40 and I didn't even see the test strips. They must be behind the counter. This highest priced one was $89.

If I go into town I have the choice of a couple of grocery store pharmacies or Pharmasave. Walmart is in another town and we won't even mention Canadian Target. They never have anything you want in stock. Actually, I was in Walmart today, but I didn't even realize they have a pharmacy section.

We have zero coverage for prescriptions, but this would be considered over the counter and not even count as a tax deduction.

You might want to check out the meters in WalMart then because they're inexpensive. Their brand is ReliOn and they sell different models. Each model uses its own particular test strips and they won't work in their other model meters. (I'm presuming this is correct because if you buy a ReliOn Prime Meter, they sell ReliOn Prime Test Strips.)

In any case, the ReliOn products (only available at WalMart) are plentiful and they also make an A1c test kit with a postage paid envelope to send off for results. However, I'm not sure about Canada because the lab is in the US.

I would imagine that your major pharmacy chains sell their own brand meters, too, just like here, so when you're in one of the stores, check out the meters they sell and also ask the pharmacist.

I hope you have some luck!

Good afternoon rainbowpromise, in my opinion, I think you should find another doctor if this one doesn't believe you should monitor your blood sugar. I really find that dangerous advice!