I SHOULD HAVE BEEN A NUN!!!!

[christinehennequin]

I am very confused. I have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes eleven months ago.

Since then, I have heard a lot of conflicting advice.

Lots of carbs vs. no carbs at all.

Plenty of exercise vs. lots and lots of green tea ( to lose weight) & minimal exercise. Now, i just read a man was saying : no fruits!

i don't eat a iot of what I love the most ( chocolate, nuts, chantilly cream etc...)

simply because I know that if I start a bar or a jar of those, I will eat it all. I have no limits.

The same way, if I eat one avocado, I will be tempted to eat 2 or 3. So, i buy none.

I have very little will power/control & have always had a big appetite.

I recently saw my dietitian & she showed me in her fists the amounts I was supposed to eat & no more. Then, she made me buy measuring cups. I did it to please her but I do know that I'm not the type of person who weighs what she eats. It takes the pleasure right out of eating.

I am young, 65, (66 in january) with many years ahead of me.

My mother is 96.

Am I supposed to live another 31 years this way?

What's the difference between being a diabetic & being a nun in a monastery??

and lastly, is the Newcastle diet any good?

Lastly, I am on Metformin (2 a day but i increased to 3 a day) at the suggestion of my Pharmacist who seems to know more than my GP.

Could you provide me with some answers?

Marine

[clivealive]

Hi christinehennequin I too am type 2 since March last year and am also confused by what more learned friends on here post about their numbers and test readings.

My original diagnosis HbA1c reading was 51 and I was put on 4 x Metformin 500mg per day and after six months the reading was down to 40 and the Metformin (at my request) was reduced to two daily. Subsequent readings were Feb 2016 = 43, and August 2016 = 44

I was sent on four two hour courses with a diabetes nurse, a physio, a dietitian and podiatrist but as it was in a classroom situation with 12 to 15 others all at different stages of the disease and with my deafness and age (75) against me I was unable to "keep up" with the class and most of it went over my head.

I too used to have a sweet tooth and loved chocolate but now I use sweeteners (ugh) and eat no sugary things at all. I managed to persuade my GP to send me to a "one on one" appointment with a dietitian who requested I listed every item I ate or drank during a day which (as my diet is virtually the same every day) I did and I was told that it was fine.

I have a slight retinopathy in my left eye but as I've had Pernicious Anaemia for 45 years it may have been caused by that rather than the "modern" diabetes.

Sometimes I feel a bit low on sugar but am told I can't have a hypo because I'm on Metformin so I can't explain that.

I don't think I would be allowed to become a nun and anyway i don't suppose they are allowed chocolate....

I hope you get some answers to your questions on here and wish you well.

[christinehennequin in reply to clivealive]

Dan ! I am the one who wrote the post titled " i should have been a nun"

From Vancouver, Canada.

Today, I just wrote another post but it disappeared and I can't find it. Sorry, I'll write another one soon. Am leaving for a month of vacation in London in a coupla days. Am concerned about how to manage my diet during the holidays. Especially in England ( cupcakes galore).

Have zero willpower.

Chris

[clivealive in reply to christinehennequin]

Are you still taking Metformin for your Type 2 diabetes christinehennequin ?

Unfortunately this can affect absorption of Vitamin B12 so it may pay to have this checked during your next blood test. A deficiency of B12 can cause damage to the nerve endings.

Enjoy your stay in London - you'll be about 40 miles from where I am.

[christinehennequin in reply to clivealive]

Thank u for bringing up the vitamin B12 deficiency & its potential consequences .Yes, i am still taking Metformin (5big pills a day ). It seems to work tho, as my numbers have dramatically decreased. But it might also explain why I constantly feel pricks and needles in my feet. Not a real problem tho, just unpleasant.

Just 40 miles from London, eh? Pretty close. My son lives & works in the financial district. He loves it. And so do I. Fabulous city !!!

[clivealive in reply to christinehennequin]

Although I am still on Metformin for my Type 2 diabetes because I also have had Pernicious Anaemia (a form of Vitamin B12 deficiency) for 46 years I am not affected by Metformin's adverse affects because I have B12 injections every three weeks.

If you are having neurological symptoms i.e "pricks and needles in my feet" it would pay to get your serum B12 and Folate levels checked.

Symptoms of B12 deficiency tend to develop slowly and may not be recognised immediately. As the condition worsens, common symptoms include:

Weakness and fatigue

Light-headedness and dizziness

Palpitations and rapid heartbeat

Shortness of breath

A sore tongue that has a red, beefy appearance

Nausea or poor appetite

Weight loss

Diarrhoea

Yellowish tinge to the skin and eyes

If low levels of B12 remain for a long time, the condition also can lead to irreversible damage to nerve cells, which can cause the following symptoms:

Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet

Difficulty walking

Muscle weakness

Irritability

Memory loss

Dementia

Depression

Psychosis

Have a good holiday and a safe return.

[christinehennequin in reply to clivealive]

Thanks 4 ur valuable information. Have a good holiday too....but who said I would return? Ah..Ah..Ah...

[clivealive in reply to christinehennequin]

My first wife Valerie and I very nearly emigrated to B.C in 1965 when we married but sadly in 1966 she developed a problem with her aortic valve and was hospitalised for months and needed long term intensive care so our "new life" in Canada was abandoned.

We were so nearly "set to go" as Peter, the electrician I had been apprenticed with in Birmingham, had already emigrated with his wife and young daughter, had "got a job" and was willing to "sponsor" us.

As it turned out, my own health did a slalom downhill run in the late 1960s leading to my P.A. and eventual diabetes.

Valerie died at the age of forty-six whilst undergoing open heart surgery 25 years ago.

[christinehennequin in reply to clivealive]

So sorry to hear about the untimely death of ur 1st wife. 46 is real young. Am quite had it with Vancouver & it's part of the reason why I am traveling to London so often. In Vanc., if u aren't into sports, life is a drag. No nite life 2 speak of & very hard to socialize. Thanks God 4 Seattle just south of the border. Went to see my gp yesterday and my numbers have slightly increased to 7.4 from 7.07. Am not happy as my goal is 7.

After the holidays excesses, it will be even worse.

[clivealive in reply to christinehennequin]

Valerie was 15 when I started "courting" her (I was 19 - cradle snatcher) was 19 and a half when we married and a mum just before she was 21. We were married for 27 years and five days. She went into hospital on Sunday the day after our anniversary, underwent surgery on the Monday and died on the Wednesday without regaining consciousness so at home I had a succession of nearly an hundred cards - happy anniversary, - get well and commiserations. In among them was a lovely letter that Valerie had written that Sunday evening in which she wrote “It is now 6.50pm and I can see the sun getting lower in the sky. It is shining right into my room. The rain has stopped, the birds are singing and all is well in God's world. This is how I am feeling now. I have had my ups and downs of emotions, my storms are over and I can face the coming day with serenity”.

As far as I know and what I want to believe is that once she was under the anaesthetic Valerie knew no pain or anxiety and on the Resurrection Morn she will awake, look down at her chest and say "That didn't hurt a bit!!"

My HbA1c reading in September was down to 44 from 46 which I think converts to 6.2.

Enjoy your London break with your son.

[cherv]

Welcome, I started as Type 2 then became Type 1 do have other medical condition epilepsy which has me on many med's or the seizures may have effected my Type doctors do not have an answer.

I do hold to a low carb diet. There are some some very creative ways of cooking- mashed cauliflower rather than pot's, zucchini or squash noodles, mashed cauliflower and squash casserole. I could go on with veggie idea's increase protein from meat and fish- salmon is a great source. Very high quality dark chocolate if you must and we do for treats. pack in small packages individual for yourself. Like you said by in limited number of avocado's are rich in many good nutrients. Many people stay within 20-30 carb's per day the body requires carb's,.

Keep a log of all foods you eat and carb value, weighting is helpful and you are not fond of that. Measuring cups will help you eyeball and also get and idea of what spikes your blood sugars. Each person is very different, each day can be different.

You will have all the support you need hear and often you will, feel free to ask questions. Best wishes.

[Gambit62]

diabetics have problems processing sugars properly.

Sugars aren't just the refined sugar - carbohydrates are more complex forms of sugar.

refined sugars are bad because they get into the blood almost immediately. other carbohydrates take longer to be broken down but there does tend to be a hierarchy with those that have been refined getting broken down quicker and finding their way into the blood much quicker than unrefined 'sugars'.

Basically, when you hear the word sugar you should be thinking 'carbohydrate'.

That doesn't mean cut them out all together as we do need a certain amount of carbohydrate.

Suggest that you look for foods that have a low glycemic index - this is a measure of how quickly the sugars they contain will affect the levels of sugar in your blood.