darn

Well, gosh, welcome to the Diabetes forum!  I hope this can be sorted out and it will!  Can I ask you a few questions?

- How old are you?

- Is anyone in your family diabetic?

- Are you overweight?

- Would you write what you eat for meals and any other time during the day?

- What did you doctor say as far as diet?

We can start with the basics and help you out if we have some information.  Please read the two stickies at the top of our forum for more information about diet, etc.

Ok. I would say you are not type 1 then. As a type two, unfortunately, we seem to inherit the tendency toward diabetes especially if we're overweight and not too active physically. Do you have any sort of physical activity on a regular basis? Walk. Exercise. Go to the gym. Lift weights. (You're female?)

First off, what you eat and drink directly affects the blood sugar. The more carbs in your diet, the higher your blood sugar will go. There are carbs everywhere.

To start: You can drop that blood sugar to more normal numbers if you cut down by half: bread, potatoes, rice, anything with sugar (look at all the drinks, too) and anything made with flour. Why? Because you are insulin resistant most probably. This means your pancreas is probably still making insulin but your body is not metabolizing carbs because it can't. This is where we are different from a non-diabetic. (I'm in the same boat. )

Next: Don't skip breakfast or any meal. This messes up your blood sugar. With a busy life as you have, you need to be prepared, so if you don't have time, then have some ready food like cubes of cheddar, some nuts and a hard-boiled egg in the fridge ready to grab when you get up or leave for work. When I was still working (I'm 63.) I put cheese and nuts in snack size zip lock bags.

Don't drink more than a bottle of diet drink a day, if you can't give it up entirely, that is. It messes up our metabolism. Stay with water. I squirt lemon juice into a glass of water and I drink that all day long.

If you can make these changes, just as I described, your blood sugar will be lower. The key is to cut way back on the carbs that you're now eating.

Think you can do this?

I know it's a lot to 'digest' at first. When I was first diagnosed about seven years ago, I was immediately in denial even though both my mom and grandmother (her mom) died from diabetes. So, I'm glad you understand the need to get your blood sugar down. I don't know what food you eat or don't eat since you also have Crohn's; I can only tell you about how to eat for diabetes and you'll need to balance it out.

As you see, carbs will drive blood sugar high. Simple carbs like sugar and flour and food made from them (like pasta, breads cakes, etc.), potatoes, rice and corn just can't be metabolized efficiently anymore. Metformin will help the insulin you produce do its job but if you take it and eat a heavy carb meal, you may end up with some kind of gastric problem, acid or stomach pains. The best diet for us is lots of veggies, salad and salad type food (cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, bell peppers), green leafy food and a moderate amount of protein. Many people say, for example, a piece of chicken or any meat the size of a deck of cards.

If cutting down on some the food leaves you hungry, then eat a couple of snacks between meals: a handful of nuts and a few cubes of cheese, a low-fat yogurt with no sugar, a hard-boiled egg. Sometimes you have to think outside the box. In the summer, I sometimes ate a salad plate for breakfast: some spoons of chicken salad, some cheese, a little cuke (you know, those mini cucumbers?) or one container of yogurt.

The consequences of living with uncontrolled, critically high blood sugar for an extended period of time could be kidney and liver damage, heart problems, neuropathy that leads to amputation, and blindness. My mom died after they amputated her leg at the knee. She had a heart attack and never left the hospital, so, believe me, these things can happen.

The thing about diabetes, especially type 2, is that we do have the ability to control our blood sugar for the most part by our diet and activity. Being active, exercising, walking all help control blood sugar, too.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. And don't give up.