New to NG

Hi Debbe...

Welcome.

It takes awhile to figure out how your body and this disease are coexisting. With some
experimentation, you'll soon find a good balance between food/meds/exercise.

Here's the advice I give all newbies:

There is so much to absorb... you don't have to rush into anything. Begin by using your best weapon
in this war, your meter. You won't keel over today, you have time to experiment, test, learn, test
and figure out just how your body and this disease are getting along. The most important thing you
can do to learn about yourself and diabetes is test test test.

The single biggest question a diabetic has to answer is:

What do I eat?

Unfortunately, the answer is pretty confusing.

What confounds us all is the fact that different diabetics can get great results on wildly different
food plans. Some of us here achieve great blood glucose control eating a high complex carbohydrate
diet. Others find that anything over 75 - 100g of carbs a day is too much. Still others are
somewhere in between.

At the beginning all of us felt frustrated. We wanted to be handed THE way to eat, to ensure our
continued health. But we all learned that there is no one way. Each of us had to find our own path,
using the experience of those that went before, but still having to discover for ourselves how OUR
bodies and this disease were coexisting.

Ask questions, but remember each of us discovered on our own what works best for us. You can use
our experiences as jumping off points, but eventually you'll work up a successful plan that is
yours alone.

What you are looking to discover is how different foods affect you. As I'm sure you've read,
carbohydrates (sugars, wheat, rice... the things our Grandmas called "starches"😉 raise blood sugars
the most rapidly. Protein and fat do raise them, but not as high and much more slowly... so if
you're a T2, generally the insulin your body still makes may take care of the rise.

You might want to try some experiments.

First: Eat whatever you've been currently eating... but write it all down. Test yourself at the
following times:

Upon waking (fasting) 1 hour after each meal 2 hours after each meal At bedtime

That means 8 x each day. What you will discover by this is how long after a meal your highest
reading comes... and how fast you return to "normal". Also, you may see that a meal that included
bread, fruit or other carbs gives you a higher reading.

Then for the next few days, try to curb your carbs. Eliminate breads, cereals, rices, beans, any
wheat products, potato, corn, fruit... get all your carbs from veggies. Test at the same
schedule above.

If you try this for a few days, you may find some pretty damn good readings. It's worth a few days
to discover.

Eventually you can slowly add back carbs until you see them affecting your meter.

The thing about this disease... though we share much in common and we need to follow certain
guidelines... in the end, each of our bodies dictate our treatment and our success.

The closer we get to non-diabetic numbers, the greater chance we have of avoiding horrible
complications. The key here is AIM... I know that everyone is at a different point in their
disease... and it is progressive. But, if we aim for the best numbers and do our best, we give
ourselves the best shot at heath we've got. That's all we can do.

Here's my opinion on what numbers to aim for, they are non-diabetic numbers.

FBG under 110 One hour after meals under 140 Two hours after meals under 120

or for those in the mmol parts of the world:

Fasting Under 6 One hour after meals Under 8 Two hours after meals Under 6.5

Recent studies have indicated that the most important numbers are your "after meal" numbers. They
may be the most indicative of future complications, especially heart problems.

Listen to your doctor, but you are the leader of your diabetic care team. While his /her advice is
learned, it is not absolute. You will end up knowing much more about your body and how it's handling
diabetes than your doctor will. Your meter is your best weapon.

Just remember, we're not in a race or a competition with anyone but ourselves... Play around with
your food plan... TEST TEST TEST. Learn what foods cause spikes, what foods cause cravings... Use
your body as a science experiment.

You'll read about a lot of different ways people use to control their diabetes... Many are
diametrically opposed. After awhile you'll learn that there is no one size fits all around here.
Take some time to experiment and you'll soon discover the plan that works for you.

Best of luck!

Jennifer

Debbe and Duncan McEwen said:

Hello My name is Debbe and am 32. I was dx in Dec 03 with diabetes. My mother is an insulin
dependent diabetic. She was dx at the age of 30. My major problem is the diet recommended to me. I
like to eat friuts and vegetables but due to my Crohns Disease, I have difficulties with them.
When I was dx, my A1c was 11.6. I have not had another test since the intial dx since the A1c is a
long range measure of the glucose levels. But I do know that instead of 350+ mg/L as a normal, I
am now expriencing just over 200 as my highs. My glucose levels are far from ideal. I am currently
taking Glipizide ER 10 mg. I cannot not tolerate Metformin due to my crohns. What suggestions for
diet and/or meds would you suggest looking into. Thank you Debbe

"Debbe and Duncan McEwen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello My name is Debbe and am 32. I was dx in Dec 03 with diabetes. My mother

is

Quoted message said:

an insulin dependent diabetic. She was dx at the age of 30. My major problem is the diet
recommended to me. I like to eat friuts and vegetables but due to my Crohns Disease, I have
difficulties with them. When I was dx, my A1c was 11.6. I have not had another test since the
intial dx since the A1c is a long range measure of the glucose levels.

But

Quoted message said:

I do know that instead of 350+ mg/L as a normal, I am now expriencing just over 200 as my highs.
My glucose levels are far from ideal. I am currently taking Glipizide ER 10 mg. I cannot not
tolerate Metformin due to my crohns. What suggestions for diet and/or meds would you suggest
looking into. Thank you

Most fruits are very bad for diabetics in terms of BG. The ones that most diabetics can tolerate
are berries. Fruits are high in carbs. So are some vegetables like potatoes, corn, peas and dried
beans. It is carbs that raise our BG and carbs we must watch. I would not want to recommend any
type of diet for you since I am not all that familiar with Chron's disease and what you can and
can't eat. For that you should see a dietician who will help devise a diet for you. Keep in mind
that this diet is merely a starting point. You may have to make some further adjustments if your BG
is still too high.

Are you seeing an Endocrinologist? If not, you should. He or she is the one who should recommend and
adjust your meds.

--
Type 2 users.bestweb.net~jboveOpen ↗

For that you should see a dietician who will help devise a diet for you. Keep in mind that this diet
is merely a starting point.

The dietician was of little or no help to me even though I had informed them of my Crohns and food
allergies when I scheduled my appointment. Besides, I was told the appointment should last 1 1/2
hours but it was less than 45 minutes. Overall, it was very frustrating and disappointing. I do not
like wasting my time. And that is definately how I felt when I left the appointment.

"Debbe and Duncan McEwen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

For that you should see a dietician who will help devise a diet for you. Keep in mind that this
diet is merely a starting point.

The dietician was of little or no help to me even though I had informed

them

Quoted message said:

of my Crohns and food allergies when I scheduled my appointment. Besides,

I

Quoted message said:

was told the appointment should last 1 1/2 hours but it was less than 45 minutes. Overall, it was
very frustrating and disappointing. I do not

like

Quoted message said:

wasting my time. And that is definately how I felt when I left the appointment.

I've seen three dieticians and each time, the appointment lasted maybe 1/2 hour, tops! I had filled
out some paperwork ahead of time listing sample meals that I had recently eaten, and also food likes
and dislikes. If the dietician has these things ahead of time, the appointment shouldn't take long.
I can't see how an appointment could possibly last 1 1/2 hours.

If this dietician didn't work out for you, then try another one. Call ahead of time and find one
that not only specializes in diabetes, but is familiar with Cohn's and food allergies.

--
Type 2 users.bestweb.net~jboveOpen ↗

Hi, I joined this group just recently to get some info for my mother. I think she is suffering from
peripheral neuropathy. Have scheduled her for the nerve test end of this month. It affects her hands
and legs. I know she is suffering and she is 87.

When I saw your message, I thought you might be interested to know my situation. My fasting blood
was 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 6.1 (Normal 4-6) over the years. Every year it went up .1. With my family
history, it takes only common sense to know that I am on the way to being a full blown diabetes.

I will cut short the story. I went on organic food. Even went against the scientifically proven
facts. i.e. eating a small portion of meat and lots of vege and fruits and unpolished rice and
totally cut out MSG, refined salt and refined sugar in my house. Doctors recommended lots of meat
and less carbohydrate. I did the reverse.

A year later, my fasting blood was 4.3 and one hour post light meal was at
5.5 and even if I had a cup of sweetened milk tea, my morning fasting blood was 4+.

I saw your age at 32. I hope that being young and newly diagnosed, you may have a chance to recover
like me. I just think that, our organs and system is failing us due to poisoning by all the food
additives and chemicals that we have ingested over the years.

Off course, I took supplements like wheat grass, barley grass, spirulina, O3 and "Try as much as
possible eat healthy food" meaning organic meat as well. The food that we are ingesting is really
empty of nutrients. Give your body a chance to heal.

I took time to write to you because I have seen my mother suffer and since you are young and just
diagnosed, you probably will have a better chance. As for my mother, she has been a diabetic for too
long and I was ignorant of what healthy food meant years ago. Good Luck. ksding. "Debbe and Duncan
McEwen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello My name is Debbe and am 32. I was dx in Dec 03 with diabetes. My mother

is

Quoted message said:

an insulin dependent diabetic. She was dx at the age of 30. My major problem is the diet
recommended to me. I like to eat friuts and vegetables but due to my Crohns Disease, I have
difficulties with them. When I was dx, my A1c was 11.6. I have not had another test since the
intial dx since the A1c is a long range measure of the glucose levels.

But

Quoted message said:

I do know that instead of 350+ mg/L as a normal, I am now expriencing just over 200 as my highs.
My glucose levels are far from ideal. I am currently taking Glipizide ER 10 mg. I cannot not
tolerate Metformin due to my crohns. What suggestions for diet and/or meds would you suggest
looking into. Thank you Debbe

Debbe and Duncan McEwen said:

Hello My name is Debbe and am 32. I was dx in Dec 03 with diabetes. My mother is an insulin
dependent diabetic. She was dx at the age of 30. My major problem is the diet recommended to me. I
like to eat friuts and vegetables but due to my Crohns Disease, I have difficulties with them. When
I was dx, my A1c was 11.6. I have not had another test since the intial dx since the A1c is a long
range measure of the glucose levels. But I do know that instead of 350+ mg/L as a normal, I am now
expriencing just over 200 as my highs. My glucose levels are far from ideal. I am currently taking
Glipizide ER 10 mg. I cannot not tolerate Metformin due to my crohns. What suggestions for diet
and/or meds would you suggest looking into. Thank you Debbe

Fruits have carbs in them. Does brocolli or, cauliflower, or carrots bother your digestive system?
If no, eat them since almost no carbs in them. To record those low BG's, see Sig for a Free software
package I author and distribute.

_____________________________________________
tcainternet.comindex.htmlOpen ↗

I am alleric to broccoli but love carrots. But like all vegetables I have to watch the quanity
because of the Crohns. Thanks for the response Debbe