Diabetes

[Mobasser]

Growing up in the 1960s, I only knew one person who was diabetic. A good friend's dad had it, and took insulin shots daily.                                       At my yearly checkup last week, I was diagnosed with pre diabetes. My doctor told me that one person in eleven has diabetes in the U.S.                                                   Mine is not bad yet. I've been prescribed Metformin, and I'm taking one pill with my evening meal. Luckily, I caught it before it got bad.          I've gained seven pounds since my last checkup. The good thing is, according to my doctor, diabetes can be managed with a good diet, keeping your weight in check, and exercise.                      Many folks have lived with it, and many don't have it anymore, keeping with a healthy lifestyle. This is my target goal, and I'm confident I can achieve this goal. I plan on watching A-Jays ongoing thread on working out to stay lean more often now.                             Diabetes can be controlled and managed, but you've got to stay on top of it.                                                       What's your experience with diabetes? Does it run in your family? 

[Jig Man]

My wife has it.  It is up and down.  Three in her family have it.  Thankfully none in mine.

 

 I was told by a surgeon that it can be reversed if one eats a 10% fat diet and gets plenty of exercise.

[greentrout]

Your Doc gave you good advice. Daily exercise like walking is very good. Watch your Carbs and Sugar intake. Try to keep your Carbs and Sugar intake relatively low. No more than 150 carbs a day -- maybe less. Yep count 'em. Daily battle.

[Scott F]

I was diagnosed with type 2/diabetes over 10 years ago. It took a month before I could get in to see a dietitian. While I was waiting for the appointment, I used the internet for diet information. That was a BIG mistake. All the information I saw there was how to control it without medication. I’m a picky eater, not too fond of vegetables and I was freaked out! There was no way I could live happily on the diets that were suggested. You are still pre-diabetic. You can prevent the disease from getting worse if you lose weight (assuming you are overweight) exercise and cut back on the carb intake. I cut out as much sugar as I could, reduced the rice and pasta dinners and cut back on desserts. That, and medication kept my A1C in the low 6 range most of the time since I was diagnosed. Other than what I already listed, my life and diet has not been affected much at all. One big thing I learned is that everybody reacts differently to diabetes. One day, you can cheat on your diet and have a ton of sweets, and in the morning, your blood sugar will be low. Another day, you might not have any carbs at all and your sugars will be very high. It like bass fishing, diabetes doesn’t follow the “rules” all the time! As time goes on, it gets more difficult to keep the A1C low. Mine shot up and I went on a strict keto ( VERY low carb) diet and started exercising. I lost almost 50 lbs and dropped my A1C a full point in 6 months. The keto diet was too extreme for me to keep up with and over time, I put half the weight I lost back on. Keep in mind that you don’t have to go to the extreme to deal with diabetes. Medicine is an easy way to keep it in check but if you continue eating too many carbs, even the meds won’t work. Other things like heart disease are more serious for diabetics so you have to keep your blood pressure in check too. In a lot of ways, I’m healthier since getting diagnosed as I’m taking better care of myself than I would have if I didn’t get diabetes. You were diagnosed early, follow your doctor’s advice and you’ll live a very long time.

[gim]

My 74 year old Father was recently diagnosed as a type 2 pre-diabetic (which means he's going to eventually have type 2 diabetes, its just a matter of time).  He is on medication for it now that makes him very tired and he doesn't have the energy he used to.  For this reason, he has not fished with me as much this season.

 

He's also lost about 25 pounds since March and he's trying to figure out why, as he has not changed his diet, sleep, or exercise habits.  So he's losing weight for some unknown reason.  He has an appt with a GI Specialist this month and can get a referral to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester after that if needed.  Under normal circumstances, losing weight is almost always a good idea, but in his case, he is clearly getting too skinny and is unable to put it to a halt.

 

I've always taken his health for granted because even for his age, he's always been quite healthy and active.  His family has a history of health issues including cancer, heart disease, and of course, diabetes.

[Scott F]

Back when I was first diagnosed, I’d gone to see the doctor because I was loosing weight, a pound a day. It was because of the diabetes. 

[DaubsNU1]

You might consider cutting out vegetable oils, process foods, sugar, and gluten.

 

Yes, very restrictive.

 

I eat lots of meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and some cheese / dairy here and there. Lost 20lbs and have not felt better in my entire life. I sleep much better.

 

I eat three eggs and almonds every morning. Today had broccoli, avocado, peach, ham/turkey, tomatoes, some carrots and two bananas. And I'm intermittent fasting as well...I think 14-16 hours at a time. 

[J Francho]

I have a type 1 diabetes and yes it runs in the family. I wear pump and CGM. 

[DanielG]

3 hours ago, gimruis said:

My 74 year old Father was recently diagnosed as a type 2 pre-diabetic (which means he's going to eventually have type 2 diabetes, its just a matter of time).  He is on medication for it now that makes him very tired and he doesn't have the energy he used to.  For this reason, he has not fished with me as much this season.

 

He's also lost about 25 pounds since March and he's trying to figure out why, as he has not changed his diet, sleep, or exercise habits.  So he's losing weight for some unknown reason.  He has an appt with a GI Specialist this month and can get a referral to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester after that if needed.  Under normal circumstances, losing weight is almost always a good idea, but in his case, he is clearly getting too skinny and is unable to put it to a halt.

 

I've always taken his health for granted because even for his age, he's always been quite healthy and active.  His family has a history of health issues including cancer, heart disease, and of course, diabetes.

The medications, probably metformin lets the glucose in the blood go into the cells like they're supposed to. The effect can be a weight loss. Diabetes is insidious because weight gain makes it worse but as diabetes increases it makes weight loss very difficult and weight gain easier.

[Dwight Hottle]

It runs in my dad's side of the family. Both of his parents were diabetic as well as one brother & sister. His brother was overweight & had both legs amputated above the knees because of complications from it. Fortunately it skipped over me.

[fishhugger]

type 1 i guess can run in families, and is non-reversible. type 2 is reversible, as in, you change your diet, get exercise, etc --- which means probably that people in your family need to do so also. otherwise you'll be eating the same foods, etc that got you to prediabetic in the first place.

i was talking to a young girl - 25? she was totally phreaked out about her diabetes diagnosis. it's type 2. she knows, i guess, that it is 'manageable' or reversible, but she just can't really get a grasp on those facts. she has seen too many people in her family just wrecked by diabetes.  very sad.

hope you reverse it..... it's doable, generally.  yeah, u will have to change your diet and stuff --- i don't think its as terrible as people say.  you shood feel a lot better, once you've got a good diet, etc...walks, more activities....  no soda or fruit juice. 

[Woody B]

Both of my parents and 3 of my Grandparents were diabetic.   I've had several glucose tolerance tests over the years.  I also get my A1C checked a couple times a year.  So far I'm good.  I'm 59.  My A1C for the past several tests has been 5.2%.   My Mom and both of my Grandmothers developed Type 2 diabetes when they were in their 40's.   My Maternal Grandfather developed his after he retired.  He was a commercial plumbing contractor.  His work was physical, and many times outside in the heat.  I suspect his work activities kept his glucose levels good, until he retired.   My Dad also developed it after retiring.   He was a building contractor.   My job is physical, and involves a bunch of walking.  According to my phone I average 15,000 steps a day at work.   I'm not lean, but when I retire I plan on coming up with some kind of exercise regimen so my activity level stays the same.   

 

I believe one of the biggest contributors to type 2 diabetes is artificial sweeteners.  My Mother and both of my Grandmothers drank "diet" soft drinks like they were water.   Artificial sweeteners are designed to make your brain "think" they're sugar.  It's my believe you brain sees what it thinks is sugar, and has your pancreas release insulin.  This causes a blood sugar crash.  After so long your body starts to "ignore, or not use" the insulin it produces.   

 

Neither myself or my Sister are diabetic.  (My sister is a year older than I am)  Neither of us drink soft drinks of any kind, or use artificial sweeteners.   Our primary drinks are water, and unsweet tea.   

 

My Dad is currently 88.  He takes Metformin but they recently lowered his dosage.   His (medicated) A1C is in the low 6's.   He eats whatever he wants and drinks sweet tea.   He's 88 so I'm not going to fuss at him for what he eats or drinks.   He has sciatica, and had bypass surgery 12 years ago.  He doesn't have any issues or complications that his Doctors blame on diabetes.  

 

My Mom passed away 16 years ago from Hemophagocytosis.   I don't understand it.  A Doctor said the medication she was taking for Crohn's disease allowed a virus to cause a mutation in her bone marrow...or something like that.   According to her doctors diabetes had nothing to do with her death.  

 

Diabetes was not listed as a primary cause of death for any of my Grandparents.   What I'm trying to say is, with modern medicine diabetes is not a death sentence.   

[clayton86]

Everyone in my family is diabetic but me makes me wonder sometimes haha. Both sides of my family are cursed with health issues I suppose. Moms side everyone has or has had cancer. My dad’s side diabetes and heart problems. The men don’t make it much into their 60s on dads side both him and my grandfather passed at 62. 
 

I like to say I watch what I eat but I don’t. I mean I don’t do fast food and all my monsters I drink are sugar free but that’s about as far as I take it. 
 

So far knock on wood not diabetic or have cancer that I know of anyways. 

[Bird]

My wife's father wears a monitor and gives himself shots.

My best friends mom had both legs amputated.

It's serious but can be mitigated, yield to your doctor's advice.

[LonnieP]

I was diagnosed with type 2 last year. Doctor wanted me to try Metformin and diet change before going on Insulin. I was eating a lot of junk and drinking a lot of soda and sweet tea previously. With the Metformin and diet change I brought my A1C from 14.2 to 6.9.

[ElGuapo928]

I was diagnosed as “pre diabetic” and put on Metformin back in April (A1C of 6.8). It confused me, since I’ve never been one to hit the sweets or carbs very hard. At the end of June I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. After removal of the offending organ my A1C dropped to 4.4%.

 

My nephrologist said that a lot of different kidney issues will cause A1C readings to go haywire, so make sure they check kidney function as well before committing to the drugs.

[gim]

A while ago I posted about how my Father was losing weight for an unknown reason and thought was that he was a pre-diabetic.

 

As it turns out, the real cause has finally been found.  He has Crohn's disease.  The flare ups was causing the random weight loss.

 

The good news is that the root of the problem has been found.  The bad news is that there is no cure.  But it is manageable with medication and the correct diet.

 

My Mother said he was up during the middle of the night googling Crohn's disease so I'm sure he's very worried about it.  Luckily, she's a retired nurse and can keep him on solid footing while he battles this.