How Do You Cope With Diabetes?

[owdlad]

A friend has been diagnosed with Diabetes (type 2) and she is finding it difficult to get her head around it.

 

How did you come to grips with the constant testing and more and more tablets?

 

Do you know of any good websites for her to read?

[Ann*]

I was diagnosed eith Type 2 Diabetes about six years' ago, and was diet controlled until about 18 months' ago, when I started on tablets. I've only had one increase (about a year ago) in the amount of tablets I take, and I am stabilised at the moment.

 

As for constant testing, that's only needed for a month or so after diagnosis, until stabilised, and then it's supposed to be once a week or once a fortnight (unless you're on jabs, then it's at least once a day, sometimes more), but I tend to test myself when I think about it, say, if I'm not feeling well or something. As long as I feel okay, then I tend to forget all about it.

 

When I was first diagnosed, I completely changed my diet from lots of processed foods, including ready meals etc., to fresh stuff. Made a huge difference very quickly. I did find myself reading all the ingredients on packets for a while, but now I only do that occasionally if I'm not sure about something.

[Susana]

I was diagnosed about two years ago. The best thing I did was to stop being in denial and to realise that it does matter what I eat. I now accept that I have to be careful what I put into my body and I've felt a whole lot better since. I am not on any medication and only test about once a week (more if I'm ill or stressed). I have found that the less refined carbohydrate (white bread, pastry etc) I eat the better, but not everyone's the same so it's worth testing after trying different types of food to see what affects your blood sugar the most. I have also found that I'm better if I eat every three hours - Normal sized main meals (low GI) plus small snacks of nuts and fruit. I actually lose weight when I do this. If she finds that simple carbs push up her blood sugar I'd recommend your friend getting a Low GI cook book or following the 'Food Doctor' type of diet. It worked for me and I seldom get 'highs' of more than 8mmol nowadays. Give her my best and tell her it's not the end of the world although at first it can feel like it.

[Plain Talker]

ann, is the "once a week" recommendation from a doctor or diabetician?

 

You can still go hypo if you are of tablets. As a diabetic myself (insulin) I would have thought that it would be a "must" to test once daily (at least), more if you feel ill, or you have "Hypo" symptoms...

 

what does the diabetes uk website say about it?

[Ann*]

ann, is the "once a week" recommendation from a doctor or diabetician?

 

You can still go hypo if you are of tablets. As a diabetic myself (insulin) I would have thought that it would be a "must" to test once daily (at least), more if you feel ill, or you have "Hypo" symptoms...

 

what does the diabetes uk website say about it?

 

It was my diabetic nurse who told me that, once stabilised, I need only test once a week, unless I felt unwell. Yes, I know you can hypo on tablets.....I've had lows of around 2.9, but the reason I know that is because I felt unwell and I tested. Also, if I do feel unwell, I tend to look for the nearest sweet shop to buy some chocolate. I've grown to know that a small amount of chocolate won't hurt me too much, but it could be a life-saver when I have a low.

 

I think the thing to remember is that the standard rule is LOW sugar, LOW fat, LOW salt, and not NO, NO, NO ~ another bit of advice from my diabetic nurse.

[ReginaldD]

I've been diabetic since I was 12, I'm 19 now. The testing and injecting for me just became normal after so long, but for me it's a bit different, as with getting it when I was quite young, I sometimes struggle to remember what it's like not to be diabetic...........it's just seems the norm after so long.

 

I don't do tablets but with medication whether it be insulin or tablets after a while you'll just realise it's something that's part of your life.

[Bago]

I'm not diabetic, but my mom is, and my brother is too. I don't know if there is a chance for myself to also become type 2. Everybody in my family has been tested, and we arenow a lot more conscious in what we eat also.

 

I think there is a lot more information out there these days about diabetes and how to deal with it more successfully, than ever before. With the knowledge of GI indexes and counting, it is easier to take it into your own hand to deal with the dietry side. Also, the NHS has a good monitoring programme for diabetic patients. My mom gets letters through sometimes about monitoring her blood sugars, and eye tests.

 

I recall in the early days of my mom being diagnosed with diabetes, I think she wasn't aware of how her sugar-level rises and drops in her everyday life. However, I think it is wise to actually carry some sweets or sugar with you whenever you feel like your sugar-level is dropping. Even though I don't have diabetes, I now know what this feels like. It's like hill-walking, and you know when your body works overtime, which makes you feel sluggish, and eating quick sugar just boosts your energy-level up. You feel more alert. I think establishing this limit would actually allow you to become more self-aware when choosing what to eat.

 

My mom also now have porridge as breakfast to stabilises her sugar-level every day too. Oats have a good GI index.

 

I don't know how often you should check it, but my mom also has her own checking kit from Boots. So she knows when her level has been high or not, and she adjusts her diets accordingly as well. I think she used it more often in the early days than nowadays.

 

[Added]For further info on diabetes. Check in Google the search parameters "diabetes+NHS". There are info and leaflets out there I'm sure.

[Plain Talker]

bago, because of your "family tendency" there may be a slight increased risk of you becoming diabetic (particularly type 2). But, having said that, this knowledge means that you can take precautions to stave it off, for example, exercise, healthy eating, keeping your weight down etc can all help. If you should develop diabetes, it's not the end of the world; the treatment is very simple, and there's no reason why you should not live your life normally. Good control is the key.

 

there are different methods for testing "BM"'s. (that's bloodsugar levels to you and me) you can test using the fingerpricking devices, and put the blood-droplet onto a testing strip that you read "manually" by comparing it to colours on the side of the packet, or by machine, where the testing strip is inserted into a machine to give yo the blood sugar level.

 

If your type 2 is diet-only controlled, thenthe easiest way of checking is the urinalysis sticks, which you just dip into a sample of urine. The drawback of these is that the glucose levels have to be high, already, in your blood for the glucose to start spilling over into your urine, and be detected.

[missmode]

I have diabetes that comes hand in hand with my genetic condition. I test my blood at least 4 times a day and weigh every bit of carbohydrate I eat to make sure I inject enough insulin. I have severe insulin resistance so have to inject large doses of insulin. When I'm unwell its really difficult to get the balance right but on the whole my bloods are good with my last hba1c being 6.

 

I must say I HATE being diabetic but its just something you get used to because you have to.

[Bago]

bago, because of your "family tendency" there may be a slight increased risk of you becoming diabetic (particularly type 2). But, having said that, this knowledge means that you can take precautions to stave it off, for example, exercise, healthy eating, keeping your weight down etc can all help. If you should develop diabetes, it's not the end of the world; the treatment is very simple, and there's no reason why you should not live your life normally. Good control is the key.

We were also kind of worried when we found out, but I also looked into it a lot more. I think there is a higher chance for most of the family to have diabetes because our diets are full of sugar-based contents. It took me a long time to figure out what exactly was high in sugar contents in our diets.

I just recently found out that glucose was added to rice as well. Which does not help. That was a bit of a shock. There's also the added sugar content in a typical dessert called "sweet soup", which adds to the sugar level in a typical meal. One of my bro who has this used to dote on this type of sweet soup, and it tipped over the balance for him. I think we're kind of mentally more prepared now if it does happen as well for everyone else. I also found out that a distant uncle also has it too.

 

I recall meeting a lady who was doing her PhD research based on diabetes, and it's through talking to her about it, made me realise how the chinese diet has a high risk of getting type 2!

 

I didn't know about the urine test. I know my mom always uses the blood drop test. I'm going to remember that now for future reference.

 

I remember one time being really worried when my mom had a blackout, cos her sugar-level was really down, and she didn't realise it. She was sat watching tv, and I thought she was snoozing, and I had to shake her to wake her up, and gave her some food to eat straight away to bring her round. I asked her what she ate before, and we thought it was okay, but our conclusion was that, it was definitely a hot summer during those months, and she didn't drink enough water to hydrate herself and make her sugar-level more steady. So now, she does carry both sweets and a small bottle of water with her everywhere she goes. I wouldn't have figured that out if I didn't catch the news article on tv about many elderlies being dehydrated that summer over in France.

 

I hope saying this doesn't scare Owdlad's friend about diabetes in general, but I do find it good to talk to other diabetics about how they deal with it too. Some tips and tricks from others' experiences do make life easier.