Help - Does Diabetes and Winter Correlate???

People of northern European ancestry whose ancestors made it through the ice ages huddled by fires eating grain gruels have been programed to semi-hibernate in the dark winter months and try to elevate our serotonin levels with carbohydrates. When the harvest comes in the fall and we eat more carbs (comfort foods) in conjunction with the lessening sunlight and this signals our bodies to put on fat for the winter (time of hunger). These actions, combined with the lessening of physical activity when the weather is yucky leads to higher numbers. These are only some of the reasons...

Also, light foods and salads are more appealing in summer so I find it easier to eat better then. Just my 2¢.

I was on Lantus insulin for over a year and it was a Godsend to me at the time. I was having a rough time keeping my numbers in line, trying to follow the ADA diet plan, and because of physical limitations, unable to exercise as much as I would like. It's a once a day injection, easy to take, almost painless and not much of a big deal. I just don't want you to stress about it if it becomes necessary. I went back in the posts recently and found the one I posted after I gave myself my first injection and I saw that although I was nervous, it wasn't as bad as all that.

Now, if you are doing the ADA food plan you are having a heck of a time with numbers. I try to eat nothing white except cauliflower and cottage cheese. This puts me in good numbers, along with my metformin, and I use my S.A.D. light to help with my depression (along with an SSRI). What part of the world are you living in?

Marvin,
Nice to meet you, too, but I'm sorry for the reason. I'm in Michigan, a bit up north of you. I am a wedding cake designer and wedding show producer as well as a wife, mother and Gramma Bunny to 4 little ones. There will be a fifth one any day now! I quit nurse's training about three months shy of graduation. Didn't really want to be a nurse but I've used all that knowledge to help my family members with health and thru hospice.

I was diagnosed with diabetes over 10 years ago. Doc told me to do diet and exercise. Sent me to classes. I stuck my head in the sand and pretended I didn't have DM. He started the pills. I tested about once a week... Numbers got worse, eyesight changed from prolonged elevated sugars, got tinglies and numbness in my feet... Decided to start paying attention to my health a bit better. Enter Doc's Wife, the Other Doc in the office. She went ballistic on my numbers and whipped me into shape. Started me on Avandia and Lantus (a 24 hr. time release insulin made from human sources) along with my metformin. Made me fax her a food diary every week to see if I had this thing figured out. Numbers got better and everything calmed down.

We lost our insurance and I was buying my meds out of pocket. Diabetes meds were running me almost $400 a month. We are not wealthy people and sometimes it was a struggle to find the money for meds. I turned to my friends here on the forum and asked for help. With their guidance I started a low carb food plan that dropped my numbers and enabled me to lower and eventually discontinue my insulin. I also stopped the Avandia. My metformin runs me about $10 every three months.

Nothing white but cauliflower (and cottage cheese) is not so difficult. I don't weigh, measure, figure or plan anything. I simply don't eat anything made from grain or starches MOST of the time. Breakfast is coffee, eggs with cheese and 1/2 an orange. Lunch is deli meat & cheese rolled up in romaine lettuce, a carrot or other raw veggies and an apple. Dinner is meat, salad, and two or three veggies with a bit of butter. Snacks include sugar free yogurt, cheese and nuts, fruit and raw veggies, olives or 1/2 an avocado. Once a week I have a half a cup of real ice cream. Most evenings I eat a sugar free popcicle. I eat a ton of vegetables. Squash, brussel sprouts, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant, mushrooms, radishes, rutabagas, if it grows, I eat it! I have home made soup at least once a week. I use thinly sliced cabbage in place of noodles in my soup. Everything gets cooked in olive or peanut oil (monounsaturated fats for good HDL's).

S.A.D. is Seasonal Affected Disorder, a type of syndrome that causes many people to gain weight, sleep more and become depressed in the darker winter months. Sunlight influences our brain's production of serotonin, a brain chemical that regulates circadian rhythms, (sleep cycles), appetite, mood and a bunch of other stuff. By using an SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) med like prozac, zoloft, wellbutrin, etc. I help my brain use the serotonin I have more effectively. By using a broad spectrum light in my work space that's designed specifically to help peeps with S.A.D. I can increase the amount of serotonin I produce without snarfing on carbs (another way our bodies produce serotonin.)

about your potatoes... You might be able to have them once a week or so. Here's the thing most of us here have learned. Follow your food plan, eliminating your milks, breads, cereals and other carb sources for a day or so. Test your blood glucose two hours after the time you sat down to eat each meal. In a normal person it would be between 90 and 110 two hours after they started to eat because their bodies handle food correctly. Record those numbers. Next evening at dinner have your meat and veggies and one small potato. Two hours after you started dinner see how the potato has affected your sugars. IF you are lucky the potato may not mess with your numbers. or.. not... Some of us can eat brown rice or yams once a week or so without driving our numbers up. Some can eat potatoes. Most of us find that pasta is like eating pure sugar and spikes our numbers to unacceptable limits.

That's the thing about diabetes. It affects everyone differently and the only way to find out your body's tolerances is by testing and keeping records. If you keep a food diary and write down your blood glucose numbers you will be able to see which foods you can have and the ones you need to save for special days.

Getting late and I need to hit the hay. Chat at cha later!

Just a note of recommendation -- I took all of Jeannie's (and others' around here) advice and it works! In my case, milk, juices, cereals, potatoes, bread and pasta (starches) were the culprits. I verified this by massive testing/journaling in the first 4 or 5 months after diagnosis but since then, I know what works and what doesn't. Now, I test 2-4 times a week just to make sure I'm still on track. Its not easy but its not all that hard either. I 'cheat' by substituting more meat and fats rather than bread and potatoes. Who woulda thought this results in weight loss? Not me ... but it does ... and also lowers your glucose readings!

Chris

It can seem overwhelming can't it Marv? My doc didn't give me much info and left it to the Diabetes Education Centre to explain. Unfortunately, they follow the Canadian (in my case, same as American) Diabetes Association's guidelines which obsess on their ideas of nutrition as opposed to diabetes control it seems. They suggested a complicated diet that would inevitably lead me to taking pills and/or insulin. This was acceptable to them but not to me so I started looking for all the diabetes information I could find.

Luckily, I found this forum and read every message from page 1 to the present. The talk was easily understood and it made sense to me so I tried a few of the suggested dietary changes.

'Eat nothing white except cauliflower & a bit 'o cottage cheese' is a lot easier to do than follow the plan given to me by the CDA.

I also started reading the labels on food containers. What an eye-opener!

The lessons I learned here were that diabetes is personal and also controllable through common sense approaches.

In my case, I was a bread-meat-and-potatoes (and marshmallows ;-) guy who loved his morning cereal and juice. I found that by substituting one vegetable (potato) for twice the helping of another (broccoli - YECCHHHH!) and Crystal Lite for real apple juice, the 'adjustment' in lifestyle isn't all that bad. As Jeannie is wont to say, "Your mileage may vary"; this plan seems to be working for me but the key is to experiment and find out what does and doesn't work for YOU.

(Editor's note: Hmmmph! Lookit me ... only been here a few months and spoutin' advice like I wuz a moderator or sumpin ;-)

Chris

Hi Chris and Lanie.

Thank you so much for the dietary advice. I have already been using it with a friend of mine here and we are monitoring our diet and noticing (learning) the things that are making our numbers go thru the roof or remain at a constant but high figure.

I like the mashed veggie idea. Especially the part about the cheez. I have actually been craving veggies in the last several months so that's a good thing. My friend and I have switched to diet soda pop, sugar free flavored sparkling water, and sugar free kool-aid instead of juice. Lots of water. Caffeine/sugarless green tea instead of coffee and when we do eat dessert we split it.

I now appreciate that everyone's diabetes is individualized so those blanket rules that the docs give out seem little to be desired.

And Chris, I already save these correspondences and I plan on taking your advice and reading everything. Then edit as I copy and paste so that I can have a comprehensive resource to share with anyone else who may have inquiries. I also plan on recommending this site to all who need this type of guidance and support.

My bud and I help each other on the meds and glucose monitoring. And we do read labels. I'm familiar with them already cuz I made it a habit to read them before all this drama.

At the moment I am taking 850mg of Metformin 3x a day (was 1000mg 2x), and 5mg of Glyburide 2x a day for my T2D. My Doc says that if my numbers remain a constant high (140 - 155ish) then we will start "talking" insulin as a course of action since we've already just about maxed out the meds.

I am also taking 20mg of Enalapril 1x a day for my HyperTension;

40mg of Lovastatin 1x a day for my High Cholesterol (LDL's are high too);

81mg of Children's Aspirin 1x a day for a blood thinner,

And I take 10mg of Escitalopram (Lexapro) 1x a day for my Depression and Anxiety. I'm thinking of talking to my Doctor about increasing that to 20mg a day. I am learning that my D/A also affects my high numbers too. Jeannie mentioned something about that so I plan on investigating that more closely too.

Anyway - It's a balmy 15ish degrees here. That's warm compared to the minus 0 temps we've been having. With the wind in this windy city we've been dealing with minus 30 - 40 degree temps. So you see, the warmer teens are a welcome. Little to no wind keeps things comfortable.

Anyway - thanx again for the advice. I will have more questions I'm sure as I read these pages. So plan on hearing from me again. Only 3 days since I found this site and I'm already learning ton's of stuff. Thanx so much.