Recently Diagnosed & New Members

[BibleBarb56]

Sandi, I understand where you are coming from I currently have health insurance, but will be losing it the end of the month because of my wacky blood sugars and other medical issues had to take a leave of absence from work and don't have the money to pay the weekly premiums. I'm most certainly going to find out about programs that help with test strips because you are right they are very pricey!!!! Also check Ebay out. I've seen cheap strips for all diff kinds of machines and some are very cheap because they will expire in less than 6 mos. So if u check sugar frequently, then the exp date should not be a concern for you. It's just a suggestion, but I will probably end up getting mine on ebay if I can't find a program to help me. Good Luck Hunny, it's going to be a rough road for both of us, but Thank God we have the internet to search for info and programs.....Barb

[BibleBarb56]

I have 2 friends that use one of those companies advertised on TV and they have had no issues with them. They get their supplies in a timely fashion with no paperwork to fill out. MD faxes the script to them and they automatically send the stuff when it's due. Good Luck To ya!......Barb

[techguy87114]

I have found Amazon to be a great source for strips as well.. you can usually find what you need at a good price if you're willing to do the legwork.

Best,

techguy87114

[chptrnvrse]

Hi, I am new to the Diabetes world.  I am on 2000 mg of Metformin and 1.2 mg of Victoza every day.  Just wantd to thank you all for being here so that newbies like me can get some help.

[lizzylou Diabetes Brain Trust]

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chptrnvrse wrote:

Hi, I am new to the Diabetes world.  I am on 2000 mg of Metformin and 1.2 mg of Victoza every day.  Just wantd to thank you all for being here so that newbies like me can get some help.

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Hi chp, welcome!

Tell us a little more about yourself because we're very nosy.

What were your numbers and A1C when diagnosed?  How often do you test, and how are the numbers now?  I have a motive in asking about testing.

The links below Testing 101 and All About Carbs contain some valuable information on controlling the numbers.  They are in my blog.  While you're there I also have a whole "Newly Diagnosed" section that you might find other interesting information in.

Come back and ask any questions you might have.

Lizzy 

[chptrnvrse]

Well, never being one to shirk from telling people from myself, I was diagnosed with an A1C of 6.9.  I had an original blood sugar diagnosis of 167.  I test every morning and tend to run between 89 and 134 depending upon the morning and what I ate the night before.  I actually go to my dr tomorrow morning to see how low I have been able to get my A1C, but at last check with my general practitioner, I had gotten it down to 6.3.  I am hoping to get it down even lower. 

I am not as good about my eating as I should be.  But I have been able to get rid of 40 unwanted pounds since my dr put me on the Victoza.  I really should pay more attention to my diet and exercize routines, but, and I know this is going to sound like a cop out, I am working over 60 hours a week at work (I train dogs for a living).

Other than that I am a fun loving writer of children's stories working on getting published and hoping upon hope of getting a better grip on the disease that I have gotten.

Thanks for listening,

Andi

[lizzylou Diabetes Brain Trust]

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chptrnvrse wrote:

Well, never being one to shirk from telling people from myself, I was diagnosed with an A1C of 6.9.  I had an original blood sugar diagnosis of 167.  I test every morning and tend to run between 89 and 134 depending upon the morning and what I ate the night before.  I actually go to my dr tomorrow morning to see how low I have been able to get my A1C, but at last check with my general practitioner, I had gotten it down to 6.3.  I am hoping to get it down even lower. 

I am not as good about my eating as I should be.  But I have been able to get rid of 40 unwanted pounds since my dr put me on the Victoza.  I really should pay more attention to my diet and exercize routines, but, and I know this is going to sound like a cop out, I am working over 60 hours a week at work (I train dogs for a living).

Other than that I am a fun loving writer of children's stories working on getting published and hoping upon hope of getting a better grip on the disease that I have gotten.

Thanks for listening,

Andi

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DOGS!!!!  As you can tell by my avatar and my blog if you went there, I'm a dog lover.

I like to write children's stories too, I'm working on one about my favorite Shiba Inu: Zen.

Now on to your issues...........

Diet and exercise are very important, in many cases more so than medications.  It's like instant rewards.  Don't take my word for it, test according to the testing 101 method and try some low-carb meals and you'll see for yourself.

Lizzy

[vonnie1747]

Just found out Friday afternoon. More testing is being done to find out what I need to take, should know by monday afternoon. A bit frightened as I have kidney problems, liver problems have copd with emphazyma, and asthma.

[GulfGirl]

I'm not yet officially diagnosed. I had PCOS, metabolic syndrome, and was "borderline" with my last two children -- who were 9 lb 12 oz and 9 lb 13 oz.  Two of my uncles are diabetic.  Lately, I have been feeling pretty ill -- major fatigue, thirst, headaches, eyesight issues.  The worst thing was that I felt  like I had to eat constantly or else I couldn't think or function.  At first, I wrote it off to stress, allergies and aging, but then I decided to go buy an inexpensive meter just to see how my blood glucose was doing.  Eek!  I have been monitoring for a couple of weeks, and my fasting blood glucose has been in the 140s.  I had one random reading of 230.  I've been taking niacin, so I stopped that to see if that would help, and I have been watching what I eat. The lowest reading I have had was 105 -- after a low carb dinner of salmon and salad.  The next morning, it was back up to 145.  (My blood glucose upon waking is frequently higher than after meals.)

I am scheduled next week for blood work and a week later to see the doctor.  Part of me doesn't want the diagnosis.  I am concerned about insurability.  Also, I'm overweight, and there's a feeling of "I did it to myself" in some people and maybe even in myself.  The more courageous part of me figures let's just face it and get on with life.  I've been reading a lot, and I am overwhelmed with the amount of often conflicting information available -- especially when it comes to diet. It is time-consuming, - all the education, label-reading, tracking what I eat, etc. I assume it will get easier over time... or is that just more wishful thinking?

[powerwalker2]

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GulfGirl wrote:

I'm not yet officially diagnosed. I had PCOS, metabolic syndrome, and was "borderline" with my last two children -- who were 9 lb 12 oz and 9 lb 13 oz.  Two of my uncles are diabetic.  Lately, I have been feeling pretty ill -- major fatigue, thirst, headaches, eyesight issues.  The worst thing was that I felt  like I had to eat constantly or else I couldn't think or function.  At first, I wrote it off to stress, allergies and aging, but then I decided to go buy an inexpensive meter just to see how my blood glucose was doing.  Eek!  I have been monitoring for a couple of weeks, and my fasting blood glucose has been in the 140s.  I had one random reading of 230.  I've been taking niacin, so I stopped that to see if that would help, and I have been watching what I eat. The lowest reading I have had was 105 -- after a low carb dinner of salmon and salad.  The next morning, it was back up to 145.  (My blood glucose upon waking is frequently higher than after meals.)

I am scheduled next week for blood work and a week later to see the doctor.  Part of me doesn't want the diagnosis.  I am concerned about insurability.  Also, I'm overweight, and there's a feeling of "I did it to myself" in some people and maybe even in myself.  The more courageous part of me figures let's just face it and get on with life.  I've been reading a lot, and I am overwhelmed with the amount of often conflicting information available -- especially when it comes to diet. It is time-consuming, - all the education, label-reading, tracking what I eat, etc. I assume it will get easier over time... or is that just more wishful thinking?

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Hi, GulfGirl!  Yes, it does get easier over time, and it may not take much time at all.  First thing is don't even think of blaming yourself.  There is such a strong genetic factor, which has to be present.  Having a large baby is a good clue, only I didn't know it until I was diagnosed 25 years later with blood glucose of 350.  So, I think you are in a much better position from the get-go, and will be able to do a lot to control the situation and keep it from getting out-of-hand.  Your doctor can probably refer you to a dietician who can help you work out how to make label-reading, carb-counting and portion control make sense and be easier to do.  I found exercise to be just as important as diet, so if you can exercise, you will probably see those higher numbers come down right away -- including the fasting one first thing in the morning, which is often due to Dawn Phenomenon (liver puts out extra glucose to give us energy to start the day, only with diabetes, the glucose doesn't get out of the blood and into the body cells where it belongs, so we have to "self-metabolize" with exercise, or some kind of activity (doesn't usually take much -- brisk walking for a few minutes can often do the job).  Walking every day melted the 40 excess pounds off me in 6 months.  I was losing several pounds a week at first -- decreasing food portions and carbs, and increaing exercise -- just keeping an eye on my blood glucose meter until I found the right balance.