Recently Diagnosed & New Members

[foxboro1967]

Hi All,  This is my fist time on this board.  I have been told for that last several years that I have "Pre-diabetes".  I am really trying hard to eat properly, lose weight and get more exercise in the hope that I can avoid full blown diabetes.  My Dad got full blown diabetes in his early 60's and was miserable.  He went to a local diabetes clinic in the late 1990's and was prescribed Rezulin which later was said to cause liver cancer and that was what he died from at age 70.  Because of this I am trying to avoid taking any of the medications available for diabetes and this is why I am trying so hard to maintain a healthy diet and exercise. 
    I am avoiding as much refined sugar as I possibly can, trying to eat whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies.  We eat chicken, some meats, & fish.  I am drinking water as much as possible.  I use small amounts of splenda for my morning coffee.   I am 61 and walk several times a week, 2-3 miles a day and also ride bikes and trikkes (similar to a bike but standing).  I have heard that the morning reading should be below 100.  Mine was in the high 90's but lately has been between 100 and 110, especially since exercising more.  Last night I took a reading just before bed and it was 96 at 11pm, this morning it was 105.  How can that be when I had nothing at all between the two readings?  This whole blood sugar thing is very confusing!  Thanks, foxboro1967

[alan_s Honored Contributor]

G'day and welcome.

It's good to meet another pro-active beginner. So few newly diagnosed diabetics are prepared to try "so hard to maintain a healthy diet and exercise."

I am avoiding as much refined sugar as I possibly can, trying to eat whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies.  We eat chicken, some meats, & fish.  I am drinking water as much as possible.  I use small amounts of splenda for my morning coffee.

That's a great start. I wrote this as a guide for beginners; you may be able to refine or even expand your menu by applying some of the techniques suggested here (click on it): Getting Started. Please read that and come back to ask any questions.

Last night I took a reading just before bed and it was 96 at 11pm, this morning it was 105.  How can that be when I had nothing at all between the two readings?

We call that the "Dawn Phenomenon". This may help explain it for you: I Ate Nothing! Why Are My BGs high?

[foxboro1967]

Thank you so much Alan for your very nice reply and links to past articles you have written.  So far yours is the only reply I have seen but I only posted a few hours ago.  I  found your information very helpful, most especially the info on the "liver dump".  Your spin on it made it very easy to understand.  I love too how you say "your body, your science experiment".  It is so true, that is what I have been doing.  I have to confess that I have been dealing with this "pre-diabetes" for a couple of years but only recently started hard-core to trying to figure it out.  I have been trying for a couple of years to avoid refined sugars but we owned a bakery until the end of December and that has made it all the harder.  Not being around sugar on a regular basis has made it easier, I try not to have all those "bad things" in the house and when I shop have made certain to have healthier foods in the shopping cart.    I am going to take your suggestion to eat something just before bed.  Would you say I should eat something such as an apple, fresh cherries, an orange etc., or would a piece of 12 grain toast with  peanut butter on it be a better idea, or even celery sticks with humus?  How much of a sugar buzz at bed-time would be suggested?  Here I was thinking I was doing good but had no idea a bedtime snack was a good thing to do?!  I will take my blood sugars more often, at least for a while until I get a better handle on how unstable I might be.  Perhaps eatting several small meals as you suggest might be what I need to do.  Thanks so much.  By the way, where in Australia do you live?  My husbands niece lives in Canberra.     foxboro1967

[yellocanoe]

Hi Foxboro,

You will typically see more board activity during the before noon to early afternoon hours then it slows down in the evening.  If you indeed have been pre for a couple years you must be doing something right!   FYI, it is and isn't truly about sugar, it's about carbs which turn into sugar after you eat them.  It would be important to learn how to count carbs and then know your limits (how much you can eat without going over 40 pts/glucometer test) as that is how one manages their D.  Do you have a glucometer and do you test your blood glucose?

Tom

[foxboro1967]

Hi,  Yes, my Dr. has been telling me for at least 2 years that I was in "Pre-diabetes".    She told me that if I lost some weight and watched my diet and exercised more I could control it.  I only recently got a meter so testing was only with lab tests until the last couple of weeks but now I am watching it more closely.  I had no idea that the liver could dump sugar into the bloodstream after a fasting or exercise.  This is an entirely new revelation.  I did know carbs became sugar but hadn't thought that whole thing through.  I will deffinitly have to study up on all this more and read through some of my books and perhaps pick up some new ones.  I will also read more of the posts on these boards and elsewhere on the internet.  There is a lot more information out there now and a lot more knowledge so I really need to start reading.  I appreciate any info and input you can give me as I want to become like a sponge and absorb as much info and knowledge that I can to become better informed.  I thank you for anything you can pass on.     thanks,  foxboro1967

[alan_s Honored Contributor]

G'day Foxboro.

First, stop thinking "sugar" and start thinking "carbohydrates". Sugar is just another carb; bread, rice, corn and potatoes can be just as dangerous to you.

I am going to take your suggestion to eat something just before bed.  Would you say I should eat something such as an apple, fresh cherries, an orange etc., or would a piece of 12 grain toast with  peanut butter on it be a better idea, or even celery sticks with humus?  

The only answer I can offer is to try each, one at a time, to see if you can find what works. There really is no right answer except for the one that works for you.

By the way, where in Australia do you live?  My husbands niece lives in Canberra.

I lived in Canberra for six years in the late '70s. I was in the RAAF at the time. I loved the place, but it gets a bit chilly in winter for my liking. Now I live here, on the Tweed Coast just south of the Gold Coast: Home in Pottsville

It's a glorious spring day today, about 25C*(77F) with a clear blue sky and a gentle breeze

[yellocanoe]

You will find a wealth of information in the topics posted on the Type 2 boards!  Consider yourself "lucky" to have gotten the Pre diagnosis, most of us don't get that chance to head D off in advance.  Read through the posts and feel free to ask any questions that may come up.  D certainly has it's quirks and those vary from one person to another, what works for one may or may not work for another (YMMV).  There are a great bunch of diabetics here who are very knowledgeable and can offer you a lot of help in managing your D.

Tom

[lizzylou Diabetes Brain Trust]

Hi Fox (we have a new Wolf too lol), welcome.

Meter's are not 100% accurate, they have a variance of +/- 20% allowable by law, although most only vary about 5%.  So with that in mind, I don't think you're having a liver dump at all.  The difference between 96 and 105 can be attributed to meter variance, so basically it's about the same.  If you went to bed at 96 and woke up with 120-30, then you might be looking at DP, which is a little different than a liver dump.  I know, it's confusing!

Here are some links to help you see the difference: click on the titles.

DP link

What's a Liver Dump

Sugar is just another carb, and carbs are what need to be controlled.  What you should eat depends on your body and what your body can handle since everyone is different.

Please read the links below:  Testing 101 and All About Carbs, which will give you a lot more information of finding out what's right for you.

Lizzy

[foxboro1967]

I appreciate all the wonderful responses I have gotten so far.  You have all had some very helpful comments.  I "HAVE" been thinking mostly in terms of sugar and not carbs, though I did know that white bread, white rice, white potatoes,corn and such were all bad for "sugar".  My Mother-ln-law was diabetic as was my Father and some other relatives.  I have been eating brown rice or sweet potato quite often with dinner, we use whole wheat spaghetti, 12 grain bread, have been eating Fiber One cereal, often with blueberries and almond milk for breakfast many mornings.  Also eating lots of broccoli, spinach, green beans, summer squash.  We have been eating this way since January for the most part with only a few slips, such as when we went on Vacation in July, even then I tried to be more careful about most of my selections. 
     I didn't realize the meters could be off by as much as 20%, that isn't good, especially for those of  you in full diabetes, Wow!  I did have a lab test in June and was only told I was "within normal limits", not exactly sure what that means, but hoping it meant my fasting sugar was under 100.  I am going to schedule another appointment for labwork soon, mostly to check on wether my hard work is paying off, but also want to check on how accurate this meter is.  Hopefully I will get more definitive results this time.  My Dr. was out the day I was suppose to go and we were about to go on vacation so they just called and told me the statement above,  which was nice, but was hoping for numbers. 
    I will start reading some of the other boards and follow the suggestions you all have given and get back with more questions as they arise.  Thank you all for your help.    Foxboro1967

[lizzylou Diabetes Brain Trust]

You have to keep in mind the fact that as far as whole-grain goes carbs are carbs.  The whole grain might be more nutritious, but it's still a carb and can raise your glucose just as much.

Not all meters are off 20%, they are just allowed to be.  Most vary only about 5%.

Lizzy