http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/ Discuss all health/medical issues related to Diabetes. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:58:42 GMT vBulletin 60 http://images.lowcarbfriends.com/lcf/vb3/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/ http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647935-fasting-glucose-insulin-questions.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:37:43 GMT I am being repetitive here but just case you haven't read my other posts:

I was told I had hyperglycemia several months ago with a random blood glucose of 198. I got my butt in gear immediately and cut out all sugar and high carbs, I continued to exercise 6 days a week (I'd already started that) and I lost 25 lbs.

Fast forward to when I finally felt comfortable going in last week to get my fasting glucose, fasting insulin and A1C done....My fasting glucose was 103, fasting insulin was 5 and A1C was 5.2.

The A1C is good. My fasting glucose is prediabetic though very low in that range. However I though lowish fasting insulin was good. Mine is within normal range but low. However the Dr said that that showed I was actually faster on the progression towards diabetes than if it was higher. I tried to go home and look that up and I can't figure out what he is talking about. I can only find stuff that says my fasting insulin is good in that range. That the fasting insulin is lower in people who exercise regularly etc. But I know that that's what the Dr said. I repeated what he said in the form of a question to confirm that I understood him.

So can anyone by any chance explain to me why my fasting insulin of 5 indicates that I am farther to diabetic than just prediabetic? ]]> Diabetes saponaria http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647935-fasting-glucose-insulin-questions.html http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647821-medic-alert-bracelets-necklaces.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:15:51 GMT This may be a foolish question ... but do any of you wear a Medic Alert bracelet or necklace?

If so, what does it have engraved on it?

I've been thinking of getting one ... and since Xmas is coming, I was hoping to get a gold one from "Santa" ... but I have no idea what it should say on it.

Should it just say "Type II Diabetes" ... or should it also mention Hypertension and High Cholesterol ... both of which I have?

Or ... should I bother getting one at all?

Thanks

Mary ]]> Diabetes hpjrt http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647821-medic-alert-bracelets-necklaces.html http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647800-no-metformin-48-hours.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:23:16 GMT I had a CT scan yesterday. They told me that I cannot take my Metformin for 48 hours. Well, I also have some sort of infection (high white blood cell count), and a bit of a cold, so of course, my BG is creeping back up (after being under control for weeks now). I have a slight fever (100) right now... I had a CT scan yesterday. They told me that I cannot take my Metformin for 48 hours. Well, I also have some sort of infection (high white blood cell count), and a bit of a cold, so of course, my BG is creeping back up (after being under control for weeks now). I have a slight fever (100) right now and my BG is 142. I can skip carbs altogether, but I don't know what else I can do. ]]> Diabetes texastigerlily http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647800-no-metformin-48-hours.html http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647798-how-fast-does-take-develop-type-2-intro.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:01:15 GMT Hi. A little over 3 mo ago I went into the ER having an anxiety attack. The ER Dr told me I had hyperglycemia and that I need to go in right away and get my fasting glucose taken. It was 198 at the ER.

I did not go in right away. I can't afford to get a diabetes diagnosis. We have to get new insurance in the spring and you are flat out uninsurable in my state with diabetes. So I have spent the last 3 mo low carbing. I have been mostly following the Rosedale diet but recently learned about Dr Bernstein and bought his book.

I went in for labs last week. I see my Dr tomorrow to follow up. But the nurse called and I asked over the phone about my A1C and Fasting Glucose.

My A1C was 5.2 and my fasting glucose was 103 which is prediabetic. I really would have expected a lower fasting number after low carbing for 3 mo, losing 25 lbs and exercising 6 days a week. BUT I have no idea how bad my blood sugars were before I started low carbing.

I had a baby nearly 3 years ago. At that time my blood sugars in pregnancy were normal. I have never had a high blood sugar number till recently. I just wonder how fast type 2 can come on. I hadn't really had a check up over the last 2 years though.

I am only 32 yo. I am pretty sure my mom is diabetic but she is in denial and not treating it. Her dr has called her "prediabetic" for years but she has avoided a diagnosis out of fear and that it will make her uninsurable if she has a diagnosis. That's my family history as far as diabetes goes.

I am just so frustrated. After reading Dr Bernsteins' book and the numbers he recommends my fasting number seems awful, though clearly it could be worse. I guess I was just really hoping it would be within normal range. If I keep low carbing and exercising can I expect it to keep coming down? ]]> Diabetes saponaria http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647798-how-fast-does-take-develop-type-2-intro.html http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647599-way-less-insulin-useage.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:40:24 GMT a month ago i was averaging 100 units of apedra insulin to cover carbs and 50 units of lantus insulin a day.now am down to 15 units of lantus average glucose is 70 to 90.:cool: a month ago i was averaging 100 units of apedra insulin to cover carbs and 50 units of lantus insulin a day.now am down to 15 units of lantus average glucose is 70 to 90.:cool: ]]> Diabetes hiker1958 http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647599-way-less-insulin-useage.html http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647563-stuff-really-works.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:17:56 GMT I can't get over how not-hungry I am since I've been eating a low carb diet. Without even trying, I have cut back my calories by about half and I am not hungry at all! I have been using food as a drug for years now, to cope with all of my moods, but I haven't even felt the need to do that lately. This is miraculous to me. Best of all, my fasting BG is approaching the normal range, and my 2-hour post-prandials have been perfect for going on two weeks now. It amazes me (and pisses me off, to be honest) that this WOE isn't drilled into every diabetic's head from the moment of diagnosis. It's done wonders for me. ]]> Diabetes supermouse35 http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647563-stuff-really-works.html http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647440-older-but-good-study-re-lcing-wt-loss.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:28:31 GMT This article originally posted 04 April, 2006 and appeared in Issue 306 Low-Carb Diet Controls Diabetes Without Weight Loss Or Insulin Use A new study released in the scientific journal Nutrition & Metabolism found that type 2 diabetes can be managed and controlled simply by minor changes in the diet alone without the need for weight loss or the use of insulin medications. Dr. Mary C. Gannon and Dr. Frank Q. Nuttall, both from the Center For Diabetes Research at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, wanted to test a theory that you can bring about improvements in patients with type 2 diabetes that do not require weight loss or insulin to control the blood glucose concentration. What they wanted to know was if it was possible to do this by changing the KIND of foods eaten rather than the AMOUNT of food consumed.
For the study, they looked at the protein:carbohydrate:fat ratios of three groups of patients with untreated type 2 diabetes over a 5-week period.
One group had a 15:55:30 ratio (commonly known as the low-fat diet), another group had a 30:40:30 ratio (which closely resembles The Zone diet), and the final group had a 30:20:50 ratio (you know as livin' la vida low-carb).
The 30:40:30 ratio diet saw a moderate but significant decrease in 24-hour integrated blood glucose area and percentage of total glycohemoglobin (%GHb). But, even more exciting, was the 30:20:50 ratio diet group (low-carb) which saw an amazing 38 percent drop in the 24-hour glucose area, which was a reduction in fasting glucose that resemble close to "normal" readings and the %GHb fell more than two percentage points from 9.8% to 7.6%. The 30:30:40 ratio diet saw similar results.
Based on these results, Dr. Gannon and Dr. Nuttall concluded that changes in diet alone could indeed help control diabetes without the need for weight loss or medication.
"Altering the diet composition could be a patient-empowering method of improving the hyperglycemia of type 2 diabetes without weight loss or pharmacologic intervention," the researchers explained.
Take away notes:
“The protein in the low-carb diets that aided the production of insulin in the study participants because protein actually stimulates the production of insulin.”
"If you increase insulin, then you decrease glucose," Dr. Gannon explained at the conference.
“Fats can delay the digestion of carbohydrates which is why consuming fat is so important as part of a healthy eating plan, especially for diabetics who want to control their blood glucose levels.
Since starchy foods are 100% glucose, they are directly responsible for raising blood glucose levels to dangerous levels for type 2 diabetics.”
Nutrition & Metabolism 2006, 3:16 ]]> Diabetes chiody http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647440-older-but-good-study-re-lcing-wt-loss.html http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647318-rant-about-numbers-testing.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:07:03 GMT Hey everybody,

This is rant-y, so if you don't like rants, just skip...

I read a lot of posts here (and other boards) where people are upset with the number they got from their reading "because they waited too late to test" in the morning, mostly, I guess.

The reading doesn't affect your blood glucose; it's the same at 8am no matter whether you test at that moment or not. Testing a little later and getting a higher result only means that you, well, tested later and got a higher result. I mean, is the goal to see numbers on your meter that satisfy some obsession, or is the goal to actually have healthy blood sugar levels?

Similarly, I see people obsessing on their daily readings vs. their A1c. There is no way to "average" those daily readings to accurately predict the A1c result. They are completely different. The daily readings are daily weather reports with cold fronts, thunderstorms, heatwaves and all sorts of minute changes, hour to hour. Surely to goodness (I hope) nobody is waking up to test during the night or multiple times during the night, so that time period is an unknown in every equation. The A1c, on the other hand, is a whole season, a "big picture" version that reflects all those daily readings, and more. My dad has daily BG fluctuations from 80-400 fairly regularly, but still gets an A1c that his (incompetent) doctor finds "fine." On the other hand, I have not seen anything over the 140s on my meter in a couple of months, and my A1c is in the "normal" range, though not exactly where I would ultimately like to see it.

2-3 weeks ago, I saw a trend of my numbers being up consistently 20-30%. A day or two of that didn't worry me too much, but after 10 days, it really started to bother me, and I started (obsessively) trying to figure out what could have provoked the upward trend. Maybe caffeine, maybe laying off the ALA for a few days, maybe stress, maybe increased activity. I tweaked all the things that I thought could be the problem and within 3 days, I was inching back down.

I eat the same VLC things almost all the time. Unless I am eating something different, feel bad, or notice a reading that doesn't make sense, I only test 3-4 times a day. In general, there is almost never a fluctuation of more than 10-15 points, and rarely anything over 130. Why pay for all those expensive strips when the results are generally in the same narrow range. Of course, this is not true for folks who need insulin injections or those who eat carby diets.

End rant. :)

--bill ]]> Diabetes BillB http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/diabetes/647318-rant-about-numbers-testing.html