Hi,
I am new to these boards. I am newly diagnosed Type 2. This past Friday (3-28-03) I got my fasting blood sugar results back and it was 278. A1C is 9.6....I had been told I was "pre-diabetic" last year but I guess I didn't take it seriously, my A1C was normal but my fasting blood sugar was 147. I recently got tested again because I was feeling bad, getting up all night to use the bathroom, very thirsty and having frequent yeast infections. I have ALOT of weight to lose, over 200lbs. Diabetes runs in my family, my Dad has it and also my Great Aunt on his side, both Grandfather and Grandmother and a cousin on my Mom's side. I am getting my meter and test strips today. This is all overwhelming and scary to me and it's hard giving up all of my favorite junk but I have to for my health.

Do this..go to your refridgerator and take out 1-2 ozs of cheese and eat it. then fry up 2-3 strips of bacon, and fry 2-3 eggs in the bacon grease. Chow down. For desert have 2-3 strawberries with some whip cream...

If you are still hungry grab about 20 almonds and crunch away.

After eating all that sit down immediately and write out all the junk food you feel like eating right then..

Bet it will be a short list.

Now get Dr Bernsteins Diabetic Solution and read it. Pay particular attention to how he describes what happens to your pancreas when sugar first hits your saliva...get a good visual..that's what keeps me honest....

And a word of comfort advice...get the freestyle meter or some other brand that allows testing on your forearm...not your fingers...you will thank me....

And keep checking this forum...many more will be supporting you...just keep reading...we all started where you are right now!!

Hi Ozzyfan!

I know that all of this is new and very scary for you, but you're making some good decisions by first deciding that you have to change your eating habits and then getting support to help you do so.
Once you get your meeter and test strips, do you know how to use them? If not, ask your doctor or nurse to show you how and then practice. Your meeter will be your best guide as to how you are doing. Test frequently, especially at first, until you get a good handle on how different foods affect your blood sugars. I know it's a pain (literally), but it's important. There are new test meeters that allow you to take blood samples from other areas besides your fingers and this makes testing a whole lot less painful.
Self-education is going to be very important to you in battling this disease as well. Knowledge empowers you to take control and keep control of your blood sugars! Scott gave you some very good advice with suggesting that you pick up a copy of Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution Diet. It can be a bit technical and a little overwhelming, so feel free to ask any questions either here or to your doctor if you don't understand something, but there is a LOT of good information there to help you understand what is happening inside your body and why it is so important to get those blood sugars under control.
The good news is that low carbing should help you get control of your blood sugars quickly and then help you keep them as stable as possible.
If you have been put on medications, it would be wise to let your doctor know that you are choosing to follow a low carb plan and then work closely with him to keep your medications at the correct level. They will most likely need to be adjusted or even discontinued before too long. If your meeter shows that your blood sugars are getting too low frequently, call your doctor right away and let him know. Don't attempt to adjust your medications on your own.
I'm sure that you understand that this is a serious thing, but I want you to know that it's not hopeless. With the right diet and exercise, chances are good that you can lead a very normal, healthy and long life.
Hang in there...you're among friends here!

Thank you Scott & Lisa for the good info. I ended up getting a meter that had a $25.00 rebate and I already cut the box up getting the proof of purchase and sent that out so I'm stuck with that meter. It's the Accu-Chek Advantage with the pen like sticker thing for the fingers. It stings just alittle. I read all the info that came with it and have tested myself a few times so I'm getting the hang of it. I had to teach myself because I have no health insurance at this time and I go to a clinic and lets just say the only Dr. I can go to, I don't like him at all and he's not helpful so I'm trying to self educate myself. Thank goodness at the clinic pharmacy I only have to pay $7.00 for 100 strips but they didn't cover the meter and they don't cover the lancets either. Right now I'm only doing so so on the low carb, I messed up and had spagetti for dinner and 2 hours later my sugar was 298. Now I'm ready to get serious and am looking forward to watching the numbers go down. Forgot to add, I am going to get Dr. Bernstein's book, looking forward to reading it.

OzzyFan73:

I too began with an Acucheck Advantage meter. It's still on my bookshelf in the basement collecting dust. You're doing a lot better with it than I did. I just threw up my hands in despair trying to get a good sample out of that thing. I got it because my insurance company paid for it.

HOWEVER, I went out and bought a TheraSense Freestyle meter at my own expense (about $75) and have been using it ever since. My doctor and I calibrate it every time I get an a1C. (I take a reading, she takes blood and then we compare notes when the numbers come back from the lab.) It never varies more than 1mg/dl from the lab report. It's very easy to use and completely painless. It made the difference for me between doing it at all and not doing it. You MUST have a meter that's easy and comfortable for you to use. If your insurance won't pay for it, it's well worth the small expense to spring for it yourself.

On the diet: load up on protein and fat, ditch the carbs and you won't be hungry after about two days. One of the functions of insulin is to make you hungry for more carbs. With you it might take longer because of insulin resistance, but don't be afraid. The hunger WILL go away. My weight loss was effortless.

Welcome to the road to good health!

Jim

P.S.

You can read many of the chapters in Dr. B's book for free online at his website and you can download all the online chapters in .pdf format. You don't have to wait for the book. The first chapter (his personal story) is one of the most inspirational things I've ever read about anything.

J

...to make those finger sticks sting a little less. Don't use the alcohol wipes! As long as you wash your hands with soap and water (rise well, you don't want any soap residue throwing off your readings and dry thoroughly too), the alcohol wipes are really not necessary and actually contribute to callouses on your fingers. You can also re-use the lancets several times without worry as long as you're the only one using them.
That was one of the little tips from Dr. Bernstein's book that helped me a lot.

I have four different meters, including the Accu-Chek Advantage. I think that is works fine. Because you can adjust the needle depth that the lancet penetrates, you can get it to the point where you hardly feel it. In fact, I use the Accu-Check lancet pen regardless of which meter I'm using.

HI!... being diagnosed with any disease is overwhelming at first. But take the days one at a time and remember that knowledge is the key. There are many excellent websites that offer great information about diabetes. You will find that low-carbing helps your blood sugar in amazing ways in a very short time. Also don't forget to get in some exercise. It also does fantastic things for blood sugar. I know the thought of giving up some of your favourite foods seems horrible. But in order to continue this WOE for life ( and that is what you're going to have to do now), surf for low carb recipes. There are so many excellent dishes out there. My big thing was finding sweet treats that i could have so that i didn't feel deprived. I'm not saying this is easy, because some days are still very challenging, but it does get better with time. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed and come back here for support. There are so many inspirational people here to help you along your road.

Thanks for the replies. I had to put out $70.00 for the Accu-Chek meter, I'm getting $25.00 back from a rebate though so I'm stuck with this one for the time being. Bad thing is that it came with 10 free "Comfort Curve" test strips which were GREAT. Only needed a tiny bit of blood and you put your finger to the side of it and it draws it up so easily. Well my free health care only covers the regular Advantage strips and I keep messing up with those. It's hard to get enough blood, you need more blood to test than with the Comfort Curve and by the time I manage to squeeze more out of my finger 15 seconds has already passed and they said if you add more blood after 15 seconds it's inaccurate. I heard the strip can't be out of the bottle for more than 3 minutes, I'm still trying to get into the groove of getting the blood out and onto these strips properly without taking too much time. Alittle confused because I read something about some strips being "touchable" on the Accu-Chek websight. What does that mean? Are you not supposed to touch the test area of some of the strips?

It's best not to touch the test area of the strip, just in case you have something on your finger that might affect the test. I use the Freestyle because I type all day and simply could NOT test on my finger. I do test on my finger occasionally, but I adjust the lancet to depth 1 or 2 instead of 3 or 4. And prick your finger on the side of the finger, instead of on the pad--it'll hurt less. The key to managing this thing is to test test test!! I test before I eat and about an hour afterward. I test whenever I eat anything different. When I was first diagnosed I used over 200 test strips a month! But now that I have a much better idea of how certain foods and types of exercise affects me, I don't test so often. 2-6 times a day on average now. Knowledge is power! Keep us posted, we've all been through what you are going through now. Please let us help you...

Hey Ozzy fan, I too know what it is like to tackle this disease on my own. I have been through 3 docs, 1 endo, a dietician and several so called diabetes edcuational seminars. None of them understand. They all advocate 50 to 65 percent of your daily intake of calories from carbs.

Keep reading these forums and it will help alot. Dr. B's book is a godsend. Because he is a diabetic, he really understands, unlike most of the med profession who are not.

I read up on the monitor you have and they only recommend the finger thing. That sucks. If you can swing the cost I would highly recommend switching to an alternative site testing model. Freestyle and One Touch are just two, to name a few.

I absolutely HATED and DREADED testing using my fingers. I would put it off. That is bad, bad, bad!

Hang in there and it will get better. I am 3-4 years into this diabetes thing. YUK!!! But the way I look at it, I like the grass on this side of the fence, so..... I will do all I can to make my health better.

Sometimes the professional med people just don't quite get it so you keep talking to this forum and you will learn a whole bunch. Not to mention the support you need to cope.

I have learned more about diabetes and how it really should be cared for from the internet and this forum than any traditional education.

Cheers, AJ

"Touchable" Accu-Chek Advantage strips mean that you touch the drop of blood on your finger to the strip and it sucks up the blood.

Not all meters work in the same way. There are two major methods for measuring blood glucose: electrochemistry (based on conducting electricity) and spectrophotometry (based on color). Even within these methods, there are variations relating to the chemicals contained on the strips. The Accu-Chek Advantage meter uses an electrochemistry method with platinum electrodes on each test strip. It is more tolerant to (less affected by) environment factors and contaminants--touching, open container, etc--than most other types of strips.