So, I have Diabetes,....and about 10% of you do too.

[shockie]

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 10 years ago.
I briefly lost some of my sight which alerted me that something wasn't right.

Back in January of this year my A1c had ballooned to 10.7.

I was sick to my stomach everyday,vomiting all the time, basically just felt miserable


So in February I started walking and lowered my sugar intake by 90%.

Trying to find another 5%.】
At 1st I only walked a mile but now I do at least 5 miles a day. I regularly walk 6 to 9 miles.

I lost 25 lbs from January to now, 195 to 170. I had to buy new pants twice as my older ones no longer fit.
For the past 6 months my A1c has been a steady 6.3 which isn't too bad.

My PCP has reduced my Trulicity from 4.5 to 3.0 with the goal of eventually stopping completely.

I also take 1000mg of Metformin with the goal of cutting that in half.

Thanks for speaking out on this. George.

 

[fyrwrxz]

To the OP of this thread. Yes, it’s old, but still,very relevant. While I admire the hell out of you as a competitor, I appreciate your considered thoughtfulness of your fellow rocketeers most. My wife was diagnosed almost three months ago, and like, yourself, we delved deep to understand and help deal with this disease. Affliction is too light of a moniker as this has changed our daily life. We’ve gone thru trials and tribulations during our 45 years together, and I’ll be dammed if I’m gonna let this take her away from me sooner than is natural. Thank you for your research and posting links. We are working this issue with support and the newly reviled glucose meter. Exploring new food options and especially your insights have proven invaluable. Thank you again, kind sir for keeping us abreast of your journey into this dark night and showing us the sunrise and hope for a new day. Peace in your head, heart and hearth. Straight smoke and good chutes!

 

[cwbullet]

I cannot agree more. Walking off the weight can greatly affect your diabetes and quality of life. Just remember that 70-90% of the decisions toward a healthy blood sugar and waistline are made in the kitchen!

 

[BEC]

I'm early in this journey. For two years my annual blood work said "pre-diabetic" but this past December it was over the line into actual diabetes and if you plotted the graph with the three A1c points, the trend was not good. I've had no physical symptoms that I am aware of — nothing like George's "what is going on?" experience.

So.... starting right at year's end I'm on metformin 850 mg once a day (and a statin), am taking a brisk walk every day (so far only up to ~1.5 miles each time, but that's a start) and trying to be much more mindful of both portion sizes and carb content. I did have one session with a dietitian (still need to pay that bill — annual Medicare deductible time.)

I am down about 5 lbs. since starting all this and am shooting for 10 or maybe even 15 — enough to need to buy some new clothes — over the next couple of months. I'd like to have to buy a smaller pair of khakis for my "NAR uniform" for the helping at the TARC final in May (and maybe have to get a smaller NAR shirt in 2024).

I have my first followup with the doctor at the end of the month (after running the blood tests, of course) to see where to go next. I've never been that heavy but have been ~20 lbs above an ideal weight for many years, and my Mom did have diabetes later in life, which I'm sure had some negative influence on her final years. She's been gone for nearly 10 years now and lived far enough away that I didn't really have much insight into her day-to-day health for the last couple of decades of her life, so I don't know to what degree it affected her.

I will go back and look at some of the recommended resources from earlier in the thread, too. There is some good stuff there.

 

[John Kemker]

2 August 1992

I was working at the VAMC in Decatur, GA in the computer room. I could look up from my desk and see the air handler unit of the 15 tons of A/C saying that it was 68F and 70% humidity in the room. Yet, i was sweating great rivers of sweat. So, I called Kaiser Permanente, my health provider, and said I thought I was running a fever. They asked if I had my temperature taken and when I said I hadn't, suggested I go to Employee Health and get it taken. (DOH!)

Got to Employee Health and my temp was within a tenth of a degree of normal. So, the EH nurse gave me a TB test, because if you go to EH at the VAMC with a hangnail, they're gonna give you a TB test. Then she suggested that we check my blood sugar. It was between 550 and 600 mg/dL (between 30 and 33 mmol/L for those who use weird units for measuring bG).

I tried to explain it away by telling the nurse that I had just eaten a 2lb. bag of M&Ms (Yes, I am mixing measuring systems in my story. Deal with it!) and drank a 32oz. Coca-Cola with no ice. She told me that if I wasn't diabetic, I'd already be back down below 150 mg/dL (8 mmol/L). She suggested I call Kaiser back and they told me to get someone else to take me to the after-hours clinic. I tried to tell them I could drive myself, but they cautioned me that above 350 mg/dL (just multiply it times 0.0555 yourself!) was coma territory. When I got there, they weighed me and I weighed 124 lbs. Not too much earlier, I weighed 190 lbs. That was a Friday. That Sunday, they gave me my first shot of insulin. Been taking it ever since.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

I'm diabetic. I have it mostly under control. Occasionally I have to use a pen. I checked my blood sugar last night and it was a bit high. I prepped the pen , poked my leg*, and pressed the plunger. I felt something wet run down my leg. The needle was bent at 90 degrees!. I've never had that happen. Got it right on second try.

*I find it easiest to inject into the top of my leg. I can see what's going on, and it almost never hurts there.

 

[georgegassaway]

]fyrwrxz, ​

Thank you for your comments. As well as others who have appreciated and added their own info into this thread.

I'll probably be starting a a new thread soon (week or two) about another medical issue that has cropped up.

I'll intend that one to be more personal, and not inviting a lot of input on what happened to others except when it could be of assistance to me.

Back to diabetes when it got too cold to walk, and I got tired of the time and gas spent driving to a big store or mall just to walk around, I got a nice used treadmill for about $150 on Craigslist. Walk at home and watch TV!

When it got warmer again, I tried riding a bike for the first time in over 40 years, and liked it. So, found a good used hybrid bike for about $125 on Craigslist (really lucked out that the frame was the right size for me at 6-4). Really enjoyed that, and did a lot of group rides on some really nice trails. They were "C" groups that do not ride too fast and by definition do NOT leave anyone behind, unlike the faster groups that do not GAF about leaving you in their dust.

- George Gassaway



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