I've had diabetes for several years and thought i had everything under control - but low and behold, my numbers are off the chart. Don't know if it is because I am taking Naprozen for a foot problem or perhaps my oral medications and one insulin shot in the evening (Lantus) are no longer working.  I have a doctors appointment but wondered if any of you suffer from diabetes and can give me some imput...I would also like to know what you eat that has a low gycemic index.  Thank you for reading.

Candyi:

I would also like to know what you eat that has a low gycemic index. 

Hi, Candy and Welcome. 

I've been type 2 diabetic for 3 years. I've had to take Metformin since then, 2 1000 mg. tabs a day. During the past year I've noticed my BS numbers creeping up, and my weight,  and honestly I wasn't being super careful about what I ate, but not careless at the same time. 

A couple of months ago I decided I wanted to do better and decided to learn all I could about following a very low-carbohydrate meal plan to see how much, if any, it would change my numbers. I asked my Endocrinologist what he thought of several plans, and he liked the South Beach plan. So after reading about it on-line, and joining a low-carb forum on-line, I began my own version. In mid July I cut back to only one slice of bread a day, and eliminated all other flour products, potatoes, corn and rice from my food. That left meat, eggs, cheese, yogurt, sugar-free Jello,  lots of non-starchy veggies, nuts and small amounts of fruit to eat.

The first week was rough craving the bread and starches,  but I plowed thru it, then eliminated the bread entirely from my meals. After 2 1/2 weeks my fasting blood sugar went down from 130 to 95, and my post-prandial or blood sugar tests after meals only went up less than 10 points 2 hours after eating.

My Blood pressure dropped signficantly. My BP average was 120/95 with 40 mgs. of meds. After 3 weeks it was down to 90/65 and my Dr. changed my meds to 20 mg.  90/65 was getting into the almost too low range. 

I lost 15 pounds, which I realize is mostly water weight, but still that feels pretty good. 

The main forum for Low Carb that I like is on About.com. Very helpful people and it has a wealth of information, links and good low-carb recipes, here:  LowCarbDiets.about.com

Look at the right side of the screen under Discuss and you will see the link to the forum.  Read as much as you can about the different meal plans, why they work, and decide for yourself, with you Dr. about what is the best way to go. In the 5 weeks or so that I've done this I've seen some very good changes.  I wish you good luck and I'll be here to help if you have any questions.  Edey

Edey, thanks for the information. I've been diagnosed as 'pre-diabetic,' meaning my fasting numbers have been bertween 115 and 122 for the past few times I've had blood work done. My brother has been a diabetic for years, didn't always take care of himself, and now is on Lantus (and Novolog when he needs it), and has lost his left leg below the knee and is having severe eye problems. He's also on peritoneal dialysis,  his kidneys are failing too. I'm trying to lose weight and get my numbers down so I don't end up like my brother. Like Candyi, I need all the advice and suggestions I can get. Thanks again.

Thank you for the suggestions.  I am going to read and get serious about my condition.  I think I got too sure of myself and now I am suffering the consequences. I need to lose weight and I guess a low carb/no carb diet is going to help.  I just joined Spark People as they have a nutrition chart that helps you track calories, carbs, protein etc. and it is FREE...and if it is FREE it is definitely for me.  Have you fried Glucerna cereals?

Hi Edey,  Do you think an endocrinologist is the way to go.  My diabetes has been managed by my family doctor and he has suggested several times that I should try insulin -- I have been resistant to this, but I do not want to develop any more medical problems.  My DH is currently battling cancer and I am his caregiver and one of us down is about all we can handle right now.  I think your advice has made me aware of the importance of keeping an eye on my diet.

I have had Type 2 diabetes for about 4 years. I take Metformin, one 500mg pill morning and night. My doctor recommends I follow the Atkins diet, which is similar to the South Beach diet. The theme is similar - you will need to limit the amount of carbs you eat. Giving up the starches is the most difficult thing for me. I can do without the sweets, but I'll break your arm for a french fry.

Keep in mind that diabetes is a progressive disease. So if you have been eating about the same things and your numbers are rising, it could be that your pancreas is not producing as much insulin as it has been and you will need more medication to make up for it.

Also - new information that's come out in the last 6 months or so - if your doctor is trying to force your A1C down to 6.0, research has found that that is more harmful than higher A1C levels. The new recommendation is an A1C of 6.5 being considered as being under good control. Another recent piece of information is that if you can keep your numbers under control for the first 10 years, you have less chance of developing the complications that go along with diabetes later in it's progression, or at least not having them as severely as you might have.

Jill

 There are many article links that I found that concerns blood sugar levels and the body damage that it can cause, even in people who are not, (yet), diabetic. Many studies have been done that point directly to the increase in eating refined foods, heavy sugar content foods, high carbohydrate foods, to the high levels of diabetes now.  When our ancestors all ate the freshly prepared home cooked foods, and desserts were a once in a while treat, diabetes and heart disease were rare diseases. From all that I've read in the past few weeks, there is a very good chance you can severely slow down the progress of diabetes, and therefore save your body parts, if you bring your blood sugar numbers down as much as possible without going too low. And the number one way to do this is limiting the amount of carbohydrate taken in at each meal, and exercising (which is the hardest part for me)  Edey

Candyi:

I need to lose weight and I guess a low carb/no carb diet is going to help.

There is no "no-carb", it wouldn't be healthy if it was, because you do still need some carbohydrates, but from different sources such as lots of green non-starchy vegetables. Eating the veggies are a big key to making it work. I found that after 2 or 3 weeks my tastes had changed, in that food I had eaten before, like lunch meat, just tasted awful. 

There are some who have followed a very low-carb meal plan of no more than 20 carbs a day. I'm not sure I could do that, however what I am doing, about maybe 40 - 60 carbs a day seems to be doing all that I want it to do, and still give me enough room to eat what I need to stay full and feeling good. 

I've been wrestling with the fruit question: should a diabetic eat fruit or not?   Many say no, it makes their blood sugar spike. However it has never yet done that with me as long as I eat small amounts, and stay with the lower glycemic fruits, like berries. Fruit seems to have such a great benefit of nutrients; I think those benefits outweigh the minor sugar rise. But everyone is different; some can not eat fruit at all.

Candyi:

Have you fried Glucerna cereals?

I have no experience with these. I'm not much of a cereal eater. However I have found some good recipes on the low carb site that uses flax seed, flax meal, almond meal or a combination to make some good breakfast foods.  I've found these all at Trader Joes.

Edey

Candyi:

Do you think an endocrinologist is the way to go.

An endocrinologist would have more training in treating diabetes than a general practitioner. If you have access to an endocrinologist, or can find a specialist in diabetic medicine, you would be doing yourself a favor to make an appt. with one. 

The greatest help that you can do for yourself is to read and learn as much as you possibly can, and trust yourself to use that information to make informed decisions about your health.  Don't  just rely on information from one source or one person, like the American Diabetic Assoc., or something similar. Look at the good and bad of the type of food debate, and look at what you've already been doing and whether it's been good enough for your health. If you've been following the ADA food recommendations but you aren't improving, then that means something with those recommendations aren't right for you. Your Dr. can be a guide, but if you can show him results with what you do on your own, so much the better. 

 Read what you can about others experiences and what they did for themselves, because ultimately, they are the biggest group of "lab experiments" in finding what actually improves their health. Too often government entities don't always give out the best of information, for many reasons I won't go into here. That is why you have to do it yourself.   Edey

jillibean:

So if you have been eating about the same things and your numbers are rising, it could be that your pancreas is not producing as much insulin as it has been and you will need more medication to make up for it.

This is a very good reason why cutting way down on carbohydrates will help to slow down the damage to the liver and pancreas. If you can help that situation by not overtaxing the function of these 2 organs by following a good meal plan, then you are better off for it, and may be able to cut down on the amount of medication, depending on your type of diabetes. My only experience is with Type 2 and taking Metformin.  Edey