What to eat...

[akahoneypotqt]

I posted regarding glucophage, no response. So.. Since, I can't seem to bring myself to take this stuff, any ideas on what I can eat??~! I cannot afford to pay a nutritionist, and trying to read and read some more through websites, books and such, I have completely and totally confused. I am afraid to eat!. To have? Not to have? Talk about totally screwing up a person. I think if you wanted to wish something on your worst enemy. Diabetes would be it! GRRRR!!! Anyway, some tips would be very nice thanks all!

[modert]

I a happy to help.

I am a "recovered" T2 diabetic not taking any medication. I control with diet and excercise alone. It requires discipline, but it is possible.

Before I can help you, I need more info.... your gender, age, height, weight, activity level, glucose levels (in other words what #s led to the dx of diabetes). Do you test your glucose before and after your meals?

I have not been around here for while because I have been really busy at work. But I will share with you that my glucose levels now test within normal range 24X7, my HA1C is now 4.3, I have lost 125 lbs, my cholesterol is half of what it was 1 year ago (normal range). I am literally 10 years younger today than I was 1 year ago.

[JacquelineL]

I read your other post and it sounds like you are eating right. If you are only consuming 50 gm carbs a day, you are doing as well or better than me. I probably eat 50-60 right now. Are you keeping a good count on the carbs you consume? It sounds like you know what type of foods to avoid. Do you exercise? If you can lose some weight, that would help your situation.

I've never found any help from the American Diabetic Association. Their food guidelines are to be avoided. The best reference I have found is Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. A list of foods that have a low glycemic index would be a good idea too.

[Roxx]

Originally Posted by jdimassimo

I a happy to help.

I am a "recovered" T2 diabetic not taking any medication. I control with diet and excercise alone. It requires discipline, but it is possible.

Before I can help you, I need more info.... your gender, age, height, weight, activity level, glucose levels (in other words what #s led to the dx of diabetes). Do you test your glucose before and after your meals?

I have not been around here for while because I have been really busy at work. But I will share with you that my glucose levels now test within normal range 24X7, my HA1C is now 4.3, I have lost 125 lbs, my cholesterol is half of what it was 1 year ago (normal range). I am literally 10 years younger today than I was 1 year ago.

Omigosh, I was wondering who you were. I knew there was someone on the board who had "recovered" from this hideous disease and I couldn't remember who it was. Is there also another member, 'ubernier' or something like that, who has gotten rid of the diabetic symptoms and numbers? I feel like the original post here, this disease is something you'd probably not even wish on your worst enemy. I'd like to know your story, too. HOW in heaven's name did you lose 125 lbs? I need to lose roughly 70 and I'm finding it impossible. My endocrinologist says I will never lose weight being on Avandia and without the Avandia my numbers would be out of control, talk about a double-edged sword.

For those of us who are new to the game (and board), would you mind repeating your amazing success story, please?

I'll give you my information if that would help. I am female, close to 50 (ouch!), 5'2" and an ungodly 190 lbs. My normal weight is 120 or below but shot up by 50 lbs. from hypothyroidism, then another 20 or so when I went on Avandia. I was diagnosed as Type 2 three years ago when I became extremely ill, suddenly losing a good portion of my vision (which returned in roughly three months), and my blood sugar tested at 438. Quite a shock as there is NO diabetes in my family that anyone is aware of. I'm the first, lucky me. My A1c's have been running from 13 in the very beginning, 5.9 a year ago to the last one in March of this year which was elevated at 6.7, my doc is okay with that but I'm not. I'm terrified of this disease and would like to be medication and symptom free. Currently I take 2mg. of Avandia a day and one 500mg Glucophage a day. I am ashamed to admit it but I do very little in the way of exercise, no finger-shaking, please, I know my faults, I inherited rheumatoid arthritis from my dad and have extreme fatigue and pain with it that makes exercise difficult.

I'm almost afraid to read your reply, I know I'm a "bad diabetic" and scold myself enough without others doing it, too, but if there's even one small thing I could manage to change to make myself feel better, it would be nice.

Thanks...Roxanne

[modert]

I'll try to keep my response brief because the long version is too hard

I was dxd in January 2004 with fasting glucose over 200 and HA1C at 8.3. I have been hypothyroid since 1990 and always had a weight problem since then. Also in 2004 they discovered my cholesterol was dangerously high. My doctor put me on Amaryl for the diabetes and other meds for the cholesterol. I started metering my own glucose and started a typical "A.D.A. diet" as recommended by a Diabetes Educator. But then something went terribly wrong. After about 3 weeks on the medication I developed unexplainable symptoms that were unbearable to live with. I was dizzy, blurred vision, felt like I had menthol running through my veins, could not walk across the room, had extreme burning in my feet, and my blood pressure (which is usually low) was running about 218/100. The only thing that WAS working was that I had started to lose weight. I lived like this for 8 weeks, in and out of the ER at least 3X per week, always being told that I was having anxiety attacks because of my diagnosis, or because my body just needed to adjust to the meds I was on. I refused to believe this and refused to take anxiety meds that they tried to force on me.

I started doing research on my own (lots of it) because about all I could do was sit in front of my computer. I started to learn about how the body works and the causes and effects of T2 diabetes. I researched how the liver and kidneys play a role in one's health and recovery of the disease. I researched various diet strategies, not just for weight loss, but for health and balance. I also tried to figure out what was "killing me" (I really thought I was dying), and surprisingly, I did.

It turns out that Amaryl is distantly related to Sulpha drugs, which I have always been allergic to. Though I was only taking a small dose, it was enough to "poison" me. I made a decision then that I needed to clean my body and detoxify - stopped all medication and put forth and action plan to restore my health naturally, through diet and excercise. My doctor was opposed at first, but I asked him to please give me 6 months to do it my way, and he agreed. Believe it or not, the results were quite evident after only 4 months. It did take a month for the meds to flush out of my system, but I had already started my new lifestyle.

Meanwhile, throughout all the testing I went through to find out what was wrong they discovered that I have Nephrotic Syndrome - an early-stage kidney disease. They believe it is a result of the diabetes and obesity.

There are 7 very detailed rules to my plan - they are very specific so I will save them for another post. But I do believe that after all my research and my experience that my plan would work for about 70-80% of all T2 diabetics, if they put forth the effort. Many people are afraid to make dramatic changes to their lifestyle and they believe that they must take the pills given by their doctor. I would NEVER suggest stopping meds prescribed by a doctor, however I do believe that T2 diabetes can most often be controlled without the drugs. There will always be some number of people that will require meds/insulin for control.

The fundamentals of my plan are based around these things:

1. Restoring health by strengthening liver function. The liver has a tremendous impact on metabolism and glucose control. Medications (of any kind) actually weaken liver function.

2. Balancing meals in an effort to strengthen the metabolsim and protect and heal all major organs in the body (liver, kidneys, heart, etc).

3. Detoxification to improve liver and kidney kidney function, which makes your body function more efficiently.

4. Forget the word "diet". You can probably eat more food than you realize. This is a lifestyle change that is easy to live with if you have the desire. It includes excercise, hydration, food choices, and your desire to be healthy... its not just about carbs or calories.

6. Your desire to be healthy must be stronger than your desire to "cheat" - this is not so much about will power, as it is about "fear of death" (at least for me). I would NEVER consider eating something outside of my plan - I have ZERO temptation to eat bad things or stray from my plan.

Here are my results:

- My fasting glucose is now 85-90 every morning.
- My HA1C has been 4.3 for the past 6 months.
- My Hypothyroid condition has started to reverse itself (unexplained!)
- Cholesterol is normal.
- Kidneys are improving dramatically (though still abnormal).
- Weight loss continues (I do still need to lose more but I am not in a rush).
- You can see that I have restored my health - my hair, skin, eyes, etc have never looked better - I am told that I look 10 years younger today than I did a year ago.
- I have increased the muscle mass in my body - so much so that although I lost 125 lbs, I am wearing a clothing size that indicates I have lost much more than that. I do not look like I weigh as much as I do. This is a compelling result that I never imagined.

I am happy to share the details of my plan - I have before, but it has been a while. I will start a new thread for that...