help newbie?

Hi everyone.  I was diagnosed as a type II on Aug 24 after a fasting of 180.  My doctor gave me a prescription for metformin, told me to go to diabetic ed, and that's it.  I have follow up blood work next week and see him again on the 20th.  In my panic I asked him inarticulately if I would have to "poke myself" and he said no.

Well of course that turned out to be BS.  At diabetic ed they said I had to get a meter.  So I have been testing ever since I got all the stuff.  My first test was Monday evening pre dinner and it was 122.

That is the lowest it has EVER been, including my morning fastings.  I am religiously eating and drinking well, and my sugar has never gone below the 130s.  It spiked so bad the day I ate a six inch Subway on wheat that sugars were in the 190s, but the readings were stressing me out, so maybe the stress made them go higher?

I have a feeling my doc is going to double the metformin, from 2 500 mg a day to 4.  I'm about ready to do it myself and see what happens. 

Diabetic ed says I can eat three carbs a meal.  If I did that I bet my sugars would be in the 200s.  I'm trying to keep them at six a day or so. 

I know none of you are doctors, but does this seeming inability to eat carbs mean that my diabetes (I cringe just typing that) is going to be difficult to treat?

thank you all for your help.

When I first read your response, "am I going to have to poke myself" sounds like it wasn't something you wanted to do. Then you actually went to diabetes education and you learned that you will need to do regular testing, I want to applaud you with loud clapping hands. Poking yourself, not so easy, but you certainly have to do this when your diabetic. Even after you have surgery, and no longer require medication to treat your condition, I would still recommend rather highly to test periodically so that you keep on top of the sugars and avoid issues long term.

If your fasting sugars are not closer to 100 then to me it sounds like the medication that you are on isn't cutting it. A post meal bg of 190 is quite high. HOwever I have to ask, how long ago was it that you ate and you tested. IF it was 30 minutes, its still high, but your body's insulin may not of kicked in. Typically you test 2 hours after you eat. Might find that your body and medication can not handle the type of carb, and carb load for that meal.

They will usually start you on a smaller amount of the metformin, so that the body can adjust (sugars and digestive system) and then increase your dosages if needed. But i would not do it yourself with out your doctor knowing. Call them, tell them what your sugars are doing, and ask what he suggests. Don't wait two more weeks of high sugars before changes are made.

Best thing you can do for yourself is to treat your diabetes. Carbs, no matter what kind they are will convert to sugar in the blood. Typically CDE list a carb as 15 grams of cho - and they are permiting you to have 45 cho per meal. That might be too much for your system. Make sure that your balancing out your carbs with proteins and veg. Remember that corn and peas are considered starches and have to be counted as such.

HOpe this helps.

Thank you, Mishelle!  I appreciate your kind support.  I will call my doctor Monday.  Having gone through this with family, I could practically teach the nutrition part of diabetic ed, and look where I ended up!  Yes, I am testing two hours or so after a meal, but not every meal, as I was driving myself nuts.

I want to have a DS so I am pushing protein and water.  I haven't had corn or peas since before the diagnosis.  I have had some beans, in chili and soup with a good amount of lean meat and other veggies. 

Have a great day!  Go Colts!

Is your Dr you PCP?  I found that mine wasn't educated about diabetes at all.  He took me off Metformin when I became pregnant and then said I needed an endocrinologist.  I have never looked back I only see my endo for my diabetes now so if your not doing that I would.  The endo put me right back on the Metformin and doubled my dose along with me needing insulin injections.(This was while pregnant).   An endo will be able to give you much better info and will in turn help you be able to manage your diabetes much better.  Good Luck!

For me, low carb was the name of the game that worked best. Yes, they say you can eat a bunch of carbs per meal or per day, but "they" also say an A1C below 7.0 is "good for a diabetic" while levels that high are still causing damage to internal organs. They offer suggestions to follow based on what they think people WILL follow, not what they actually SHOULD follow. More and more studies show that a LOW carb diet (and 45g of carbohydrates per meal is not even close to low carb) is the most effective for type 2 diabetics. Also, eating fat can actually be HELPFUL, not harmful, yet I bet you were told to make low fat food choices, right? Fact of the matter is that fat will help to slow the absorption of the carbs you eat (when the two are consumed together), thereby reducing the severity of post-prandial spikes.

I'm going to say it: a 6-inch Subway sub, just the bread, is likely too many carbs to eat all at once for a diabetic not on insulin. And they type of bread doesn't always matter - many diabetics will have the same reaction to a slice of white bread as to a slice of whole wheat bread (I know I did).

Eat to your meter. That's the absolute best advice I've ever seen. If your meter tells you your meal had too many carbs, then don't eat that many again. You were probably told to test a couple times a day - I highly suggest that, until you get a good, solid knowledge baseline of what foods do/do not affect you, you test fasting, pre-meal, and then 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes post-meal. this is the ONLY way to know how your body reacts to certain foods since we are all a bit different (for example, fruit spiked me the same as a freaking candy bar, yet some people can eat fruit without a major issue - may also depend on the type of fruit you choose or if you eat the fruit alone versus with some cheese or nuts or something).

I'm glad to read you're heading for a DS. My last A1C, OFF of all meds, at 1 year after my DS, was 4.8 with an accompanying fasting value in the 80s.

I would say if you ate a six inch subway bun and your sugar only got to 190 you are not to bad off .........YET.   If I  were to eat that and not take my insulin my sugars would be in the 400's. If you are having surgery or have had surgery (i dont know which you are) for weight loss then your sugars should most likely normalize fairly easily being that you are not to bad yet and have not had it very long.  And yes stress WILL make your sugar go higher, or sometimes even drop, I have had both happen due to stress before.  I wish you all the best.
Cybil

I meant to add her too that a six inch subway sub has close to 60 grams of carbs in it! that's a lot! lol
cybil

Hi Beth! I'm Lisa. Type 1 diabetic for 30 years. My fiance is a Type 2 like you, recently diagnosed. He was reading in the high 300's when he was diagnosed. He was prescribed 500 mg of metformin twice a day too. It barely helped lower his sugar, if at all. Then at the next appt he was prescribed glyburide 5 mg twice a day to take along with the metformin. This made his sugars drop sometimes below the 60's, especially when often skipped breakfast. Sooo...he stopped taking that, is still on the Metformin, and is taking 40 Lantus (insulin) before bed. He started at 15 units and raised it a bit each night until his fasting morning sugars were under 120. The thing is, when he exercises, he wouldn't need to take ANYTHING. We have a gazelle, which is sort of like an elliptical machine, as well as a Wii. He did the Wii Fit after dinner for maybe 30 mins and his sugars were perfect! Most type 2's are lucky that way, it's managable with diet and exercise. Being a Type 1 I'll never be off of insulin shots because my pancreas doesn't produce ANY.
I agree with Cybil. Your sugars are still pretty decent. In my opinion, that is. Do you exercise at all? I wonder if it would work for you like it did my fiance. The hard part is that being overweight already, it's so hard to stay motivated and do it daily. Good luck!

Hi Beth

There is some food that is said to help to control the sugar level.  When I was still very young about 4, my dad was diagnosed with a little high on his blood sugar.  My mother learn form some friends and cook corn water for him 3 times a week and let the whole family drink like water.  On top of than he also loose some weight by eating only wheat bread, and no more soda and sweet stuff. And yes dad condition got better and do not need to take any medication since. 

The down side is that when I grow older during a health screen I was diagnosed with low blood sugar. 

Bottom line may be a chang of life style may help?  And do try the corn water is easy just get fresh corn, remove the leaves cut of the dirty back root leave the nice clean root, chop into pieces and cook in a pot of water for about an hour.  You may not like the taste at 1st but once you get over that its actually pretty sweet and nice.

No harm trying its only corn cook in water.  Hope this help