Dr said I have Type II – I have questions for everyone – plz. Help.

[telly2]

Hi anne, I am a 34 yr old with type 2 aswell, I was diagnosed at about 23. Ok I am over weight, but always have been, I was over 8 lbs at birth and just flew from there anyway. All the sugar in the world will not cause you to get diabeties, but if you were constantly binging, it might have been a sign of the diabeties. I diabetic with high sugar levels will crave more sugar. I know tha makes no sence, but it is true. But the big thing to remember is yesturday doesn't matter, it is what you do today and tommorow.

This disease doesn't go away but can be controlled quite well with a bit of work at first, but it does get easier because your new rutine becomes the norm after a bit. Not to say you won't want chocolate again, but you learn that a little does a lot to kill a craving.

Now for the metformin, personally I have no problem with it. Never had a side effect yet. And as for insulin, if you can keep the exercise up and diet good it will be a long time before that even becomes a thought, for the long term.

So your best thing is get as much info on this disease as you can, Diet and exercise are your first line of deffence and don't fall into depression, I know it is a tuff pill to swallow at first, but after a bit it just becomes normal.

God luck Chantal

[itotito]

Originally Posted by uma_anne

Thanks so much for your responses. To answer your questions re: age, weight, etc, I’m 31, 5’2’’ and 119 pounds. So I’m not really overweight. In fact the doctor was even surprised that the diabetes manifested itself now given my weight and age. I’ve actually been pretty athletic for my entire life. And while I’d say I ate a relatively healthy diet most of the time, every now and then I would go on a sugar binge and eat a lot of sweets. About three years ago I did gain enough weight to be considered overweight. (I went up to 140 pounds). But I did work on loosing that weight and I eventually did in about 6 months time...not sure if that weight gain triggered the diabetes and if I might have just found out about it now.

As I said I am pretty athletic though I’d focused mostly on cardiovascular activities up until now. I think I’m going to take up weight training since I’ve read that it increases glucose demand and improves insulin sensitivity.

Anyhow, I’m also trying not to sink into depression over this, although I keep obsessing over whether my sugar binges could have tipped me over to becoming diabetic. And I worry about things like decreased life expectancy, needing to take insulin in the future if my body stops producing insulin etc.

I’ll appreciate hearing any additional experiences others might like to share regarding side effects of metformin, and how long diabetes can be controlled for through strict diet and exercise before it might start affecting one’s overall health.

I really don't believe it's the sugar binges. You can eat a slice of pizza and it will have as much impact as a chocolate bar on your body. It's probably genetic. Doesn't matter anyways...you can't change the past or genetics.

You read quite a bit on the side effects of met but I think that's because the people with side effects post them, where as the people with none are quiet. My Dr said most of his patients tolerate it very well. There is also a "slow release" version that you take once a day versus 3 times a day.

The only thing I would consider is a conversation with your doctor. I told mine to let me try for 6 months to work on diet and excercise to see what I could do naturally. Because my 1ac was under 6, he said OK. I did it for 6 months and dropped from 5.9 to 5.3. We then started met. It stayed at 5.3, so I stopped. This provied the met was doing nothing. Since, I have dropped further through better diet and timing of my carbs. The reason I say this is if you go on met, you will have trouble telling what is the medication, what is your lifestyle changes. But to you that may not be important

I think the important thing is to keep your levels as under control as you can. This will seriously delay or prevent entirely ever having to go on insulin. In the mean time, other things can happen, including discovery of better meds or even cures. You are quite young, being athletic will help, good diet will make a huge difference and knowledge is critical. Medicine can change a lot in 10 years and I'm sure you will be able to keep it under control until then.

Your fasting level is pretty good. This is a good sign. You just need to figure out what time of day and what type of food is causing your levels to spike. And learn how to use your aerobic excercise to bring it down. For example, i struggle in the morning, so I do my running in the morning.

Literature says a 1ac ins the 5s very significantly avoids complications. You just need to keep it there.

A very important thing : being scared, which is normal, causes stress which can throw off your readings. Say to yourself, at 5.4 you aren't that bad and take the time to figure out your body. Don't do anything too drastic too quick. Read about carbs, what is good and what is bad. And test your glucose levels. You will figure this out pretty quickly. It will force you to learn about your body and how your body reacts to food, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

I am in better shape today than I have ever been and it's because of my diabetes. While I am stuck with this problem now, I would have probably died of a heart attack or cancer due to my poor nutrition and lack of excercise. My 1ac gets better from visit to visit, my %body fat is improving, I have become quite athletic, I eat a balanced diet and I cannot go back. I prefer to see this as almost a blessing in disguise.

I feel bad for you because I sense the stress I went through, but trust me, you will sort this out

[bevann26]

i am a diabetic, also hubby is....hubby and my mother have been on metformin for a long time. i was also on it, but it was bringing my sugars to low. i never had a side effect except the low sugars, and hubby and mom have never had a side effect.
almost everyone on both sides of the family have it, and all 3 of my kids as well. i am really hoping they find a cure for this disease, as it has been around forever!
the one thing i did when i first was dx with diabetes, is see a dietician. i strongly wish that you will........you will find that it is really an ok way to live, and you can eat just about anything in moderation.
hope this helped, good luck......bevann

[dbltrbl2643]

Originally Posted by itotito

It's the 202 number that put you in the 'official' diabetes category.

If you are currently overweight and not excercising, there is a very high probability you can reverse it ( maybe for a while ) or slow it down.

A few years ago I was diagnosed with T2. Much worst numbers than you. I lost weight (a lot), excercised a bit. I became 'normal' again. Then over the years it crept back up. So I got intensily into excercise and do a reasonable job controlling it.

Your numbers are not that horrible IF you act on them immediately. The big question is how old are you, your weight/height, how much excercise do you do and what are your eating patterns. If you have been followed by a dr regularly, and given the numbers aren't terrible, you probably have done little or no damage. Relax, it takes some getting used to but it's not that bad. If anything it has been a wake up call for me for the rest of my health.

There is a lot that can be done with weight loss and excercise (if it's needed). If it's the case you may only need to be on Met for a while. I was on it and it did no bad (or good) for me. But it works for many.

Eating sugar has nothing to do with being Diabetic. It can be strictly genetic and there could be nothing you can do other than low carb and exercise along with medication. I had nobody in my family that had diabeses, and had always watched my sugar and carb intake. Don't know why I did...just always felt better staying away form bad carbs. Anyhow...went to the doctor as had just moved and she ran standard testing. I had 357 and 13.5 A1c. Yipes. Didn't have any idea. I am on rapid insulin (Apidra) and Lantus (long term insulin). I tried Metformin and it tore my stomach up and gave me the runs (generic was worse). I am not overweight and they said I didn't follow the 'profile'. There are many websites that will help you with it. The hardest thing is to NOT feel guilty and to keep your chin up. There are millions of us. The other thing is that It (the desease) will constantly change. If you are ill you count will go up greatly. Biggest thing is to keep checking your sugar count and keep on top of it. Good Luck and read a lot. Then use what works for you as everyone is different and there is not set solution. Also, no cure.

[uma_anne]

Thanks everyone, it’s so wonderfully comforting to read your all of your stories and to know that I’m not alone and that I might not have done anything to bring this upon myself. I’ve spend too much time these last several days brooding over my eating habits these past several years. I’d been feeling so depressed that I’ve just been sitting and moping around all day and not feeling like I can get anything done. I know I need to stop, it’s just so hard.


Itotito – As you suggested, I would actually really prefer to avoid medication if at all possible. I still need to have a follow up with my endocrinologist but I’m a little concerned that he may be pushy with the metformin. Over the phone he told me I have to be on it. How do you “measure� the impact of just altering one’s diet? I know you mentioned using your A1C reading but since my A1C is normal I’m not sure it would go much lower. My husband is also trying to push me into just agreeing with the doctor and going on meds. My husband says blood glucose isn’t the only problem. Another problem according to him is hyperinsulinemia.

Telly2 – you mentioned that binging might have been a sign of Diabetes…can you please explain that? I’m really curious!