New Guy needs advice

frequent urination

exhaustion after most meals, and during most of the day

sometimes anxiety/nervousness after meals

irritable in the morning

difficult getting moving in the morning

Insane hunger during or after exercise

dizziness/confusion during or after excercise

circulation seems poor in my extrmities lately

sometimes headaches after food and or exercise

Sugary drinks (regular soda, Gatorade) mess me up

  I found a glucose meter, and upon waking one morning I tested myself and scored a 136. 2 days later I scored a 184. I did have a chance to speak to an MD about this briefly, but he pretty much told me to change my diet. This frustrated me, and I have ordered a Glucose meter from the internet so that I can at least provide a doctor with a log of my sugar levels. I have also begun to meticulously document my meals and snacks.

I know you guys have probably faced this condition for some time, and know all about it. Does it sound possible to any of you that I do in fact have diabetes? How much damage can hyperglycemia cause unchecked in 18 months? By the time I am back to civilization this is how long I think this will have gone on. I am pretty anxious about this, I have no idea what to expect. I guessed at diabetes after seeing an episode of Prison Break, and then checked the Internet for symtoms. The doctor didn't tell me that I did or did not suffer from DM. Maddening. Can any of you share some insight with me? Thank You!

 Thanks for your reply! I was afraid is sounded too much like DM. I have modified my diet using what info I could collect from the Internet. I am determined to finish my time here without interuption. I am probably in the worst place on the planet to be right now, SW Asia. Lovely bit of real-estate.

 I know of people with diabetes intentionally setting out for places like this. They go to amazing lengths to make it succesful. I know of one case where the individual brought 3 meters, 2 pumps, a portable battery powered minifrdge, 8 months worth of drugs, with a 5 month reserve supply at the nearest hospital. He was recognized by some agency for his tenacity. With planning and education I suspect that your boys would do quite well. One of the greatest benefits of working here is the persepctive it lends. Your sons will most likely NEVER complain about life in the UK again!

In terms of food, is peanut butter a no go, or is it a "good" food? In regards to sugar, just about everything seems to have it these days. I started eating these granola bars that have 11g each, do you think these would be detrimental?

 One of my major concerns is the damage this may be causing my body, do you think 18 months is too short of a period for this to cause damage? I don't anticipate getting any real medical attention for about 4 months.

Thank You for your kind advice. Take Care, 

Mac

I am 65 and started taking my Glucolse levels 15 days ago. I am disappointed in the readings as they are all over the map, from 212 to 133. I have been dieting for the 15 days but it seems to have no affect on the blood sugar. WhY??? Why do I get this range of numbers from my machine? It is frustrating since I have reduced my sugar intake significantly and also dieting. Lots of green veggies, almost no bread and some fruits during the day. Any suggestions??

Hi Mac,

Ok, for what its worth you are on the LOW end of the scale for diabetics.  Yes, you definately did the right thing by ordering in a meter and thinking about doing testing every day (right now the most important number for you is that number right after you get up in the morning). 136, thats not so bad.  185, thats worse but not like 250 or 350 which is what most full blown type twos can run unmedicated in the morning.  Now don't get me wrong, 185 means there is definately something wrong but what Im telling you is that if you really tend to run around 130-140 in the morning, there is probably a very good chance that with religious diet and exercise you can get your numbers back into a "good" range. 

However if you are averaging around 185 most mornings, the diet and exercise will help, but you are probably gonna need some medicinal help to get back to normal. If this is the case, Metformin is a fairly common drug in most 3rd world countries and probably available in most clinics to you.  This is the "beginning" diabetic drug for most people and the one that right now will probably help you the most.  A dose of 500mg twice a day is a good beginning dose that shouldn't hurt you a bit but should help you immensely.  You can even buy this over the internet and have it shipped to where you are and its very very inexpensive.

Now, as to what can happen if you go unchecked/untreated for 18 months??  Well, if your at the "185" or higher level, things will get progressively worse.  At this level, diet and exercise aren't going to control your diabetes and it WILL get worse.  How bad can it get?  In 18 months you can start to suffer nerve damage in your feet, possibly do some damage to your kidneys and definately lay some serious foundations for heart disease as well as do some damage to your retina's. Yes, all this can happen in 18 months, so even if you have to self medicate, I've given you a good starting point for being in a 3rd world country.  If you do decide to self medicate (and this would be ONLY because you can't get to a Doc in the country where you are), make sure you go to one of the internet sites and read the warnings and side effects for Metformin. MOST people tolerate it extremely well, but best to know what your playing with. Hope this helps.  Feel free to ask questions in this forum and if you don't have access to a Dr., we will try to help you make with your decisions!

Wow, thanks guys. I appreciate all of the advice and tips. To celebrate I ate wheat toast and cream cheese followed by granola! Did I get my snack right? I even integrated cinammon!

So, it sounds as though I may be in the low range, which makes me hopefull, and I am glad I did the right thing ordering a meter. That makes me feel more confident.I am doing measurement and statistical work in my present position, so whichever doctor gets my data is in for it!

Now that I know what I am facing, there must be a psychosomatic element to this, because now I am getting close to blacking out during excercise, something I most certainly did NOT experience previously. Feels similar to when you jump up suddenly from a seated or reclined position.

I have a question for you knowledgeable MedHeads: Is tingling/burning of the extremities a function of neuropathy, or is it related to circulation? The second symptom I identified was a marked decrease in circulation to my hands and feet, noticeable during excercise and at night. They "tingle" just like when you fall alseep on your hand the wrong way at night, or such. Is circulation to the extremities compromised in diabetics? Is this why amputations occur?

Last nutty question, are there any SCUBA enthusiasts here that dive despite their condition?

Thank You all again for your excellent commentary. You have informed me, and even put me a bit at ease. I appreciate that.

What an insidious evil little disease. My God, to think that this is caused by one of the most simple compounds found everywhere in nature. What has gone wrong in our evolution to allow such catastrophic damage to befall us? You would imagine that after millions of years of evolution that our bodies would have a backup pathway to deal with this sort of thing.

 I have been reading, and it appears as though the reasons for diabetes are as varied as its symptoms. Inoculations seem to be a popular suspect. Boy do we get plenty of those; 6 different Anthrax vaccinations, smallpox, MMR, Rubella, Annual Flu, Hep, all of the standard childhood Vac's, and not to mention daily doxycycline for the last 13 months to protect against Malaria. Or Mefliquine weekly.

 If we are doing this to ourselves to protect against common disease, that is just so ironic. Where are the hard federal studies on this pandemic, anyhow? Shouldn't this be National Objective #1 if so many Americans are at risk? I see that even the Chinese are now recognizing this killer as well. No doubt all developed nations have a head start given our ample food supplies and couch potato lifestyles.

And in researching the treatment options, in almost 100 years what great technological leaps have we made? Aerosolized Insulin that damages the lung. Wow. We put men on the moon, robots on Mars, eradicate Polio, Small Pox, and crush 12 cancers, but we are still injecting Insulin. How about monitoring? 10 sticks a day? Ridiculous. We can send cameras through a human digestive track and diagnose illness. We can monitor oxygen saturation with lasers, but we cannot develop an implant that can measure and transmit glucose levels in real time? No laser that can penetrate skin and measure levels? This is a conspiracy. What other diseases or conditions cause such widespread systemic damage? Sure, they are out there, but what the heck? Who are we, mud?

This is sad for so many reasons. Did our bodies betray us, or did we betray our bodies? It’s nice to see the benefits of 10 mile runs at 5 am, healthy eating habits, abstaining from tobacco and alcohol, and just generally taking care of my body. For what? For the chance to die blind without sensation in my fingers? Of a heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, pancreatic cancer, what else? I'm sure there are a dozen other ways.

 I tell you, this might be a rare opportunity for you veterans out there to see how a new guy responds to his diagnoses. I don’t know what I would do if I was not married. I can’t even tell my wife about this until I can get back to the US in 4 months, she doesn’t deserve the stress. Probably pursue some dangerous lifestyle like bull fighting, skydiving, or becoming a Republican and move to California. I think this is what is known as the "Anger" phase of acceptance, agreed? How can humans be so strong and adaptable, and yet so very fragile at the same time? The very same molecule that makes is killing us. Life is killing us. Is this not profound? Carbon Hydrogen and Oxygen.

Boy do I owe you guys for having to read this. I have no one I can vent to as this condition will effectively end my career, so you guys are it. I do appreciate it. All I can offer in return is support in those areas that I am competent to comment on. Thank You.

Oh hey Mac, you have lots of reasons to be angry, I'm sure.  Carbohydrates are what raise the blood sugar to bad levels.  So, breads, cakes, white rice, potatoes will do that.  Even different fruit has different glycemic values and that's why you need a list of the glycemic index of foods.  You can Google for lists.  If you do eat any carbs, be sure to also eat proteins like meat, chicken or fish or even peanut butter (the natural kind with no sugar).  That's supposed to "balance" the carbs.  (I wishe that worked for me but it doesn't.)  Honey is natural sugar and will raise the b.s. levels, too.  Whole grains in bread or cereal have fiber which is good even though they're carbs but it takes the body awhile to process them, so shouldn't cause high spikes - but you will know how your body reacts to different food because you're monitoring your blood sugar.  If you're eating any processed food from mixes, boxed food, etc,  check out the carbs and sugars on the package.  Processed food has so many additives, so it's better to prepare the food fresh yourself.  Rather than 3 big meals a day, try to spread the food out at maybe 4 or 5 different times.  If you eat a really huge meal of "good" food, you b.s. might still end up high only because of the quantity you eat.  A glass of wine with dinner is supposed to be ok.  I don't know about beer or hard liquor.  (And, hey, I remember those gamma shots.  You know if you stand on the opposite leg when you get the shot in the other side, it's not supposed to be as bad.) 

Take care and just be methodical with what you eat while you're there.

 Lanie

Hi Mac

If you can get a hold of it, long grain rice has got a much lower GI (glycemic index, a measure of the effect of carbs on your bs levels) than the normal stuff.  Thank heavens for that as my wife makes a great chicken curry!!  There are quite a few fruits you can eat that have a low GI too, although I know that GI is not the be-all and end all.  GL (glycemic load. GI x carb) is another useful gauge.  Where you are, you probably won't see anything with a GI number, but if you do, below 55 is low, 56-75 is intermediate and above 75 is high.  There are loads of sites that can give you more of an idea.  Any grained bread is better than white or even brown.  If you ever make down and to the right of where you are (to the Western shores of Australia), I'll buy you a (really neat) low carb beer!  Any info that might be more local to our area that you might need, let me know.  Otherwise, you've have come to exactly the right place. Great advice from those that know.  The people on this board rock! 

Jeannie143 said...
I believe that N17 means brown rice, not long grain rice... (LOL)!

Rice                                  GI

Long grain rice Mahatma       50

basmati white                     58

Doongara rice white             56             

Sun Rice arborio risotto white 69

Calrose brown, medium grain  87

Broken Thai rice white          86

Brown Pelde rice                  76

Calrose brown medium grain   87

glutinous white rice               98

Instant rice white                87

Jasmine rice white long grain  109  (the exception!)

Sunbrown quick rice             80

The lowest rating brown rice listed (I haven't listed all rices shown in the guide) has a score of 66, the rest are in the high GI bracket.  Of course, different countries have different types of rice, but this is my local view .