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UC AND BORDERLINE DIABETES - I'M SCARED

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Posted 7/23/2010 12:29 AM (GMT 0)
 

 Hi Everybody,

 I just got some blood work done and I got the results and I'm borderline diabetic and I'm so scared. It was enough to worry about one disease uc but now diabetes. Does anyone else

on here suffer from both and if so how do you manage it without overwelming yourself.

Also, is there a good website that has a list of low sugar/ no sugar food for diabetics anyone can reccormend.

Thanks so much,

Donna

Posted 7/23/2010 12:42 AM (GMT 0)
Yes Donna..the prednisone raised my blood sugar levels. My 2 hr pp was over 200. My family doctor said it was most likely prednisone related but he did put me on 1 mgm of Amaryl which is a very low dose. I am three weeks post op and down to 10 mgm of prednisone and I see that my blood glucose is returning more to within normal limits. The Amaryl lowered my blood glucose too much the other day..sent it way down to 61!! So right now I am just watching my diet and not taking anything. When I get off the prednisone...hopefully in three weeks...I am going to an Endocrinologist to have my blood glucose levels checked more thoroughly. I suggest you see an endocrinologist. They specialize in these conditions. Good luck to you!
Posted 7/23/2010 12:50 AM (GMT 0)
Sugar comes in many forms, not just the kind most people think about. Carbohydrates and starches are turned into sugar by the body.

The are many low carb-low sugar diets out there(Atkins, South Beach, Paleo, etc) but the one that would also help UC is the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. It is designed to starve the bad gut biotics out so that the good guys can get back in balance. That's the theory anyway. The diet also includes taking probiotics, either by pill or homemade yogurt.

I don't have diabetes but have had great UC symptom improvement on SCD.
Posted 7/23/2010 1:40 AM (GMT 0)
Yup, got that! I've been pre-diabetic for years, and my last bout of prednisone tipped me over to type two. Steroid induced diabetes is fairly common, and there are a lot of articles about it on the web, just Google “steroid diabetes” Most of the articles, as well as my PCP say that it usually resolves within a few months of tapering from the prednisone. Unfortunately, “usually” means other people; mine didn’t! I am now officially type two diabetic. The good news is it’s not too bad; I just have to cut back on carbohydrates and sugar, take my MetFormin twice a day, and stick my finger for the BGL meter twice a day. Balancing a UC friendly diet with a diabetes friendly diet can be a little hairy though. Luckily my UC is pretty diet tolerant so that’s not so bad either. Exercise also helps, but being a lazy twit, I rely more on meds and diet.
Posted 7/23/2010 2:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Sunshine!

I am prediabetic too, but only when I flare. Don’t ask me why, apparently most on this forum don’t have that problem unless they are on some steroid like prednisone. Ordinarily my fasting blood sugar is 85-95 but one of the first signs of a flare is it spikes up to 105-120.

The good news is that you are prediabetic, not diabetic. You and I may be in the same predicament as far as preventing full blown diabetes. First of all get an accurate blood glucose meter. They are notoriously inaccurate. Consumer Reports recommended the OneTouch Ultra Mini and Walmart’s Reli-on. I find that the Ultra Mini closely matches my glucose readings that are taken when I go to the lab for blood work. It is so frustrating to measure you glucose level with the same bloody finger 2 minutes apart and find readings that are 20 points different. Most meters seem to be that inaccurate.

Fortunately the diet that seems to control my blood sugar is the same one that helps me to prevent flares. Avoid trans fats and high fructose corn syrup. HFCS is in soda and most candy. Dark chocolate is sweetened with real sugar, not hfcs, so I find that I can eat moderate amounts without seeing a spike in my fasting blood sugar the next morning.

Soluble fiber is also important for diabetes. Psyllium is good such as Metamucil or its generic equivalent but I find that powdered psyllium seed even better for my blood glucose as well as my UC. It works synergistically with probiotics for my UC, and probiotics probably help for controlling my blood sugar as well.

If you have prediabetes then it is probably a good idea to make sure to take a good multivitamin that contains micronutrients to process the sugar. One suggestion is Rainbow Light that can be found at Whole Foods or health stores and is easy on the stomach. I also take extra chromium as picolinate or ChromeMate. Most multi vitamins never have enough magnesium and that is very important for blood sugar so I take extra magnesium citrate. Extra vitamin D works for UC as well as helping to prevent diabetes.

I noticed my fasting blood sugar slowing creeping up from the 80’s to over 100 several years ago. Then I had a UC flare and it went through the roof. Now that I am in remission I can keep it around 82-92 as long as I avoid hfcs, especially soda, and eat square meals and continue with soluble fiber. One side effect of psyllium seed or husks is that it also lowers your cholesterol.

My GI fired me because I refused to take his prescribed prednisone. Looking at what Wodin just posted above there is no doubt in my mind that I would end up diabetic as well. Sometimes I think I have a guardian angel (or guardian demon) who is determined to force me to eat right or else I will suffer from UC flares or diabetes. LOL
Posted 7/23/2010 4:42 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much everybody for your responces. I havent been on pred. in years which is a good thing. i cut out soda over a month ago so that was a big thing for me to get rid of.
2 weeks ago i started to eat better and this was before the test results of my blood work.
I dont eat white bread things like that anymore. I've improved my eating and drinking habits and started to exercise again. Its just scary cause diabetes runs in my family. Its jsut hitting me that i'm 38 and i'm not 20 anymore you know. We have take extra care of ourselfs as we get older.
I'll look into a multi vit. also babienthewoods and also a meter. now that i'm scared out of my witts.
again, thank you everyone for your kind and helpful words :-)
Posted 7/25/2010 8:49 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks BabeintheWoods for the meter recommendations. My meter is a One-Touch Ultra II that was provided by my HMO. I don't mind springing for a different meter if the Ultra Mini is more accurate, but it needs to use the same test strips as they are also provided (minus my co-pay). How does CR rate the Ultra II as opposed to the Ultra Mini?
Posted 7/25/2010 9:15 PM (GMT 0)
I am looking at Consumer Reports September 2008. You can usually find back issues of this magazine in any library for reference.

I am not officially diabetic therefore do not have insurance to cover the cost of the strips. But I test myself every morning anyway, increasing fasting blood glucose level is the first sign of a flare for me.

According to their chart the OneTouch UltraMini is the best at $1.14 per strip. I probably should use Wal-Mart's ReliOn that is almost as good for accuracy and consistency and is only 44 cents per strip. But I am so anal about measurements that I pay for the more expensive UltraMini.

The oneTouch Ultra2 also costs $1.14 per strip. Probably can be used with the UltraMini. It is very accurate but not nearly as consistent. Hopefully Consumer Reports will rate them again in the near future. In the meantime the best way is to measure your blood sugar with your meter just before your blood is taken by a laboratory. The closer you are to lab results the better your meter.
Posted 7/27/2010 7:14 PM (GMT 0)
Amazon has OneTouch test stripa for $0.49 each here .
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