The Diabetes Thread

[melinda]

OK, I'm new to this thread. I've never had to worry about diabetes before, but now my step son is prediabetic. His latest numbers put him right on the cusp of diabetes, so naturally we are taking this very seriously....

I pretty much understand the sugars .... what's not to understand??

I do not quite understand the carbs and starches.
Our step son is seeing a nutritionist with this. I will be researching this.
but I was also just going to throw this out there as ask people who have diabetes.

what foods should we absolutely avoid?
what foods are ok, but only on occasion?
what foods are safe?

any help would be appreciated.
and yes, we have cut out sodas upped the water, and we make sure he is getting exercise.......

[Sidestreamer]

OK, I'm new to this thread. I've never had to worry about diabetes before, but now my step son is prediabetic. His latest numbers put him right on the cusp of diabetes, so naturally we are taking this very seriously....

I pretty much understand the sugars .... what's not to understand??

I do not quite understand the carbs and starches.
Our step son is seeing a nutritionist with this. I will be researching this.
but I was also just going to throw this out there as ask people who have diabetes.

what foods should we absolutely avoid?
what foods are ok, but only on occasion?
what foods are safe?

any help would be appreciated.
and yes, we have cut out sodas upped the water, and we make sure he is getting exercise.......

Ultimately, save a few differences, just think of it as going on a diet. Any food you consume is safe in moderation, even though regular sodas, candy and sugary drinks fall into the "why?" category. There are some that I admittedly struggle with. Orange juice... I love that stuff, and it has both Vitamin C and potassium, a nutrient I've always had trouble consuming in adequate quantities. But OJ shoots your blood sugar up like almost nothing else, so moderate those and stick to the fruit rather than the juice.

Also, be careful with pastas and white breads. Preferably, go for wheat or whole-grain breads if he really wants them, as white bread is about as bad as pure sugar.

Beyond that, you might want to ask your step son's nutritionist. He's a pre-diabetic, I'm a full-blown Type I, so some of my advice might not apply.

[melinda]

thank you....

[jkm]

OK, I'm new to this thread. I've never had to worry about diabetes before, but now my step son is prediabetic. His latest numbers put him right on the cusp of diabetes, so naturally we are taking this very seriously....

I pretty much understand the sugars .... what's not to understand??

I do not quite understand the carbs and starches.
Our step son is seeing a nutritionist with this. I will be researching this.
but I was also just going to throw this out there as ask people who have diabetes.

what foods should we absolutely avoid?
what foods are ok, but only on occasion?
what foods are safe?

any help would be appreciated.
and yes, we have cut out sodas upped the water, and we make sure he is getting exercise.......

There is a professional I wasn't familiar with before called a "diabetic nurse". This I guess is a nurse who specializes in nutrition for diabetics. My husband got one for Type II Diabetes.

I can't give medical advice and don't know your step son. If he has a need to lose weight, make sure it isn't too much too soon. Yo yo dieting, a k a Oprah Winfrey changing body types every time you turn around, is less healthy than even being consistently overweight.

Based on my husband's experience, make sure this nutritionist doesn't recommend total deprivation of any fats in his diet or he will burn rapidly whatever he eats & feel hungry soon. He may also feel tired and drained, like my husband.

He has gotten to the point where he has a particular anemia and needs to be evaluated by a hematologist. All meds have been suspended. He went down a couple sizes in a short span of time. Maybe the hematologist will help.

All I can reasonably recommend is not too much weight loss (no more than 2 lbs a week if he even needs to lose any weight), and keep seeing the nutritionist if this is someone with whom you guys feel comfortable. Good luck.

[Dr. Funkenstein]

Ultimately, save a few differences, just think of it as going on a diet. Any food you consume is safe in moderation, even though regular sodas, candy and sugary drinks fall into the "why?" category. There are some that I admittedly struggle with. Orange juice... I love that stuff, and it has both Vitamin C and potassium, a nutrient I've always had trouble consuming in adequate quantities. But OJ shoots your blood sugar up like almost nothing else, so moderate those and stick to the fruit rather than the juice.

Also, be careful with pastas and white breads. Preferably, go for wheat or whole-grain breads if he really wants them, as white bread is about as bad as pure sugar.

Beyond that, you might want to ask your step son's nutritionist. He's a pre-diabetic, I'm a full-blown Type I, so some of my advice might not apply.

To piggy-back on this, I'd add that pretty much anything "white" is bad. Items made with white flour (bread, pasta, pastries, etc), potatoes (even baked), etc.

Corn products can also do a number on the glucose levels.

[Dr. Funkenstein]

Has anyone here used a patch pump? My doctor suggested putting me on a V-Go, and I'm wondering how complicated it is to use and/or if anyone's had any problems with the devices?

[CMike11]

OK, I'm new to this thread. I've never had to worry about diabetes before, but now my step son is prediabetic. His latest numbers put him right on the cusp of diabetes, so naturally we are taking this very seriously....

I pretty much understand the sugars .... what's not to understand??

I do not quite understand the carbs and starches.
Our step son is seeing a nutritionist with this. I will be researching this.
but I was also just going to throw this out there as ask people who have diabetes.

what foods should we absolutely avoid?
what foods are ok, but only on occasion?
what foods are safe?

any help would be appreciated.
and yes, we have cut out sodas upped the water, and we make sure he is getting exercise.......

Stay away from potatoes, rice,pasta, and white bread.

[CMike11]

My diabetes is stabilized.

I take glyburide and januvia.

I have noticed that when I am under stress my sugar level shoots way up.

[melinda]

so this is how our summer went:

His weight went from 215lbs to 196.5lbs.
Hemoglobin A1C went from 6.1 to 5.6. (no longer prediabetic, but right on the cusp)
Cholesterol went from 215 to 185.
LDL went from 147 to 119.
His baseline insulin was 105. It is now 10.
After the 2 hour test, it was 73. (still a bit high; they would like to see it come down even more.)
Glucose was 78 baseline, after 2 hours it was 136. The normal range for this is 75-125, so they would also like to see this come down a bit more.


OK, I don't understand all the tests, but I know both the doctor and the nutritionist were happy and impressed that he was able to accomplish so much in such a short time. He still has a way to go, but he is doing amazingly well!!

[jkm]

so this is how our summer went:

His weight went from 215lbs to 196.5lbs.
Hemoglobin A1C went from 6.1 to 5.6. (no longer prediabetic, but right on the cusp)
Cholesterol went from 215 to 185.
LDL went from 147 to 119.
His baseline insulin was 105. It is now 10.
After the 2 hour test, it was 73. (still a bit high; they would like to see it come down even more.)
Glucose was 78 baseline, after 2 hours it was 136. The normal range for this is 75-125, so they would also like to see this come down a bit more.


OK, I don't understand all the tests, but I know both the doctor and the nutritionist were happy and impressed that he was able to accomplish so much in such a short time. He still has a way to go, but he is doing amazingly well!!

"OK, I don't understand all the tests,"...Normal levels of each one may vary somewhat by physician, but I understand the nature of the tests mentioned.

Hemoglobin A1C is thought to be a better indicator of diabetes management than glucose by some. It is more or less an average % of a type of sugar, glycogen, in the hemoglobin, or red component of red blood cells, per day.

Total cholesterol is generally your HDL, or high density lipoprotein+ LDL, or low density lipoprotein. Under 200 is considered ideal, and some physicians will cut slack for older patients around 200, but if the patient is particularly young--let's say late teens early 20s--they may ask a drop around the late 100s or early 200s. Going, in any case, from 215 to 185 is an improvement, though.

LDL is a type of protein that carries cholesterol to the arteries, so low levels of this are desired, generally <100, but in any case, again, his measure has improved.

Glucose, or sugar, norms really depend on whether or not the patient fasted, but in any case again he did show improvement, and I'm really not at all familiar with norms for insulin levels.

I hope he continues to do well in his progress.

[jkm]

Anyone familiar with a complication called diabetic neuropathy, particularly in the feet? Those who are, do you know if this can happen even if the patient has normal glucose levels or at least levels that aren't fluctuating wildly?

My husband experiences burning pain in one foot in particular, & he has made excellent progress in controlling the disease.

[wonderingrover]

I got some good news today. My doctor put me on Byetta about a month ago, because my glucose levels were starting to creep up again (also, my last HA1C was 6.9). My levels have now dropped to a point where I am regularly seeing numbers in the 80's and low 90's. He took another ha1c today, and it showed it had dropped to 5.9.

As a side note, he said that they have recently changed some of the standards, and they now like to see it below 6.0. Previously, the goal had been 6.5.