Non diabetic blood sugar levels

[Romola]

This forum isn't helping me much.

I find much of it negative, and it confuses people.

There are too many spurious experts who think they have all the answers based on their own anecdotal experiences.

I won't be coming here again.

 

[arjster]

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html

That has the levels for Normal Blood Sugar too!

 

[catherinecherub]

This forum isn't helping me much.

I find much of it negative, and it confuses people.

There are too many spurious experts who think they have all the answers based on their own anecdotal experiences.

I won't be coming here again.

Hi Romola,

I understand where you are coming from and I do agree that some people think that they have found the answer to everybody else's management. Spurious experts indeed. Because they manage their own does not mean they can manage other people's.
Some people get passionate about what they see as the answer to every dilemma that a diabetic voices here. I often wonder if they stop and read their post through before they submit it.

We cannot manage all diabetics only ourselves and the advice that most give is just that advice. Anyone looking for answers has to sift through it all and find what will work for them. There is no blueprint to follow and it is trial and error. The same is true of blood sugar levels, everyone has to have a level that suits them and not think it is a competition to, get the lowest.
Medication is also something that some other Type 2's see as failure and this really gets my goat. Taking meds is not a sign of defeat it just means that your pancreas is growing older at a faster rate than the rest of you. It is typically the high blood sugars that do the damage and not usually the meds.
I am always interested in your posts and think you always give a balanced view of Type 2.
Opinions are just that, opinions and for people to over-react and close their mind to other perspectives when they are challenged says more about that person than the challenger. It is the best way forward as we all can learn from each other. Nobody here is an expert. Some are in control of their diabetes by various methods but that does not mean that it is the answer for everyone else or that they will not face problems in the future. That is the nature of the "beast".

Keep the posts coming Romola.

Take care,

Catherine.

 

[Ka-Mon]

I really fail to see why expert medical opinion is so castegated on these threads.

I do not understand this comment as I was not aware that there were medical experts posting here as such. :? Do we now have medical experts on here and how do we recognise them so that we know it is a medical opinion that we are getting :?:

I'm not sure Romola meant to say that there are medical experts on this forum. I think she meant medical experts opinion, like Gps/Consultants/Nurses outside of this forum who'se help we seek when things go wrong with our bodies and she is right. When we fall ill we go to the Docs but some who think they know better criticise the experts they sought help from and try to make us believe they know better than the Docs. Why go to the experts if they think they know better only to come to forums such as this one and criticise the advice they get?

Romola is also right in saying that all the negativity written by these self made experts only confuses people. I don't understand why they do this and do certanly not follow their advice for the sinple reason that they do not know me and have no idea about my medical history, my Docs do so I'll listen to them.

 

[PickledPepper]

When we fall ill we go to the Docs but some who think they know better criticise the experts they sought help from and try to make us believe they know better than the Docs. Why go to the experts if they think they know better only to come to forums such as this one and criticise the advice they get?

I really hope I'm not one of those guilty of what is mentioned above.

That being said, I have to say that the advice from experts (like a Nurse or GP) sometimes seems plainly detrimental. I'm sure they aren't doing it on purpose and of course we cannot expect them to be experts in every field of medicine, but if I followed my nurses 'plenty of carbs at every meal' advice, I'd be in a very bad state right now.

The truth is that some of us are fishing, trying to find important, valuable information in an environment where this seems scarce. I (once upon a time) came from an engineer background. I only started the thread so I could make some sort of judgment on how this condition effects me exactly. It was just to define a baseline (as it is called).

Anyway, for the record, I don't think posts have generally been negative. I'd prefer to see it as an exchange of information.

Hope no one is offended.

 

[carty]

I agree with pp in that I have found this forum useful My initial contact with my gp was not very helpful at all but that doesnt mean that I would never take his advice on my health and of course the sensible thing to do if we have medical problems is to go to a trained profesional but some times we need to consider the advice given .GPs dont know every thing about every disease and doing personal research and making informed decisions about our own health is the best way "IN MY PERSONAL OPINION"I can read how other people have dealt with their DB but that doesnt mean their way will work for me but maybe it will .I dont think most of us would follow blindly the advice posted on this forum without checking if it would work for THEM
CAROL.

 

[Ka-Mon]

When we fall ill we go to the Docs but some who think they know better criticise the experts they sought help from and try to make us believe they know better than the Docs. Why go to the experts if they think they know better only to come to forums such as this one and criticise the advice they get?

I really hope I'm not one of those guilty of what is mentioned above.

Certainly not Sir, I don't know you well enough to criticise you, just wait till I do. LOL

What I said was not aimed at anyone in particular and not this forum on it's own either, it was just a general comment about what I have seen in different forums and websites who give advice on about what diabetics should eat or not.

That being said, I have to say that the advice from experts (like a Nurse or GP) sometimes seems plainly detrimental. I'm sure they aren't doing it on purpose and of course we cannot expect them to be experts in every field of medicine, but if I followed my nurses 'plenty of carbs at every meal' advice, I'd be in a very bad state right now.

I was never told to eat plenty of anything by my Doctors, in fact my GP encourage me to test and find out what I can tolerate. He worked with me until we knew what I could eat and how much of it. As far as I am concerned you can't get better advice and help than that.

Let me put it this way, if someone was to tell me that eating "plenty of fat" is better for a diabetic than eating "plenty of carbohydrates", I'll just ignore that person. 30-40 carbs per meal is enough for me, that's about 1/3 of daily allowance for a male, that's low enough and my body seems to cope with it.

 

[cugila]

This forum isn't helping me much.

I find much of it negative, and it confuses people.

There are too many spurious experts who think they have all the answers based on their own anecdotal experiences.

I won't be coming here again.

Romola.

This place is populated by Diabetic's, not experts. Only those who have lived and breathed Diabetes for many years. They are in the main experienced and know that when some of the HCP's issue advice and in some cases orders it isn't always the right thing to do. Are we all supposed to sit back and tell people follow Dr's orders even when it plainly isn't working ?

Speaking personally, if it wasnt for the advice I had from previous and present members here I would never have taken control of my Diabetes. I did this by listening to them and ignoring my GP's advice........it was and still is wrong. No matter how expert he thinks he is it isn't right and is not good advice to give to a Diabetic. Dietician's told me to eat plenty of carbs at every meal......that advice could have killed me. It is only by listening to the advice here, evaluating it then acting on it that I got that elusive good control of my Diabetes.

Some of the advice that I was given here was also wrong for ME, I ignored that and did what I considered right. It turned out to be the right thing to do for me.

All anybody here has to do is the same thing, read, digest, evaluate and then weigh up your options. Everybody is normally told to discuss the advice with their own HCP......that surely has to be the correct way to deal with things. None of the HCP's are experts in everything regarding Diabetes, neither are our members. What they say has to be tempered with your own common sense. Nobody here instructs anybody what to do........they just offer advice as any good friend or aquaintance would do. You don't have to agree with it, you can always do what you want.

We try to empower Diabetic's with knowledge to challenge the advice from HCP's, that is all we do. We do not allow anybody on this Forum to go unchallenged if the advice is mis-information or plainly wrong. If you think that is the case then please report the post so we can look at it and if needed edit or delete it.

We would ask you to reconsider your decision to not post here any more.....you are a valued member and it would be a loss to this Forum if you do decide to leave us. You have helped many here with your own posts, we would wish that to continue for the benefit of others.

cugila
Forum monitor

 

[Etty]

Hi Romola,

I hope your not leaving because of this spurious expert. I should have said by now that I am no expert, just a learner and a reader.
Your point about someone not knowing the state of their kidneys could apply to pre-diabetics who haven't been diagnosed and had all the tests, and was a reasonable one to make.

 

[PickledPepper]

I was never told to eat plenty of anything by my Doctors, in fact my GP encourage me to test and find out what I can tolerate. He worked with me until we knew what I could eat and how much of it. As far as I am concerned you can't get better advice and help than that.

Ka-Mon

Count yourself lucky. My surgery discourages testing and limits it to 2 times a week! Refuses to prescribe me any more test strips than that. Plainly budgetary constraints are behind the decision, not any consideration of my health. The doctor/nurse refused to prescribe test strips even when I went armed with my food diary and explicitly showed them how carbs were sending me in the 10,11,13 and even 15 zones - in the face of dietary advice I received from them.

I suggested some support from them, just for a few moths until I worked out exactly what was good for me and what not, even proposing a 50/50 split, where I pay for every other pack of test strips...but they wouldn't budge.

The NHS, one size fits all advice for diabetics doesn't work for some of us. If I hadn't stumbled on this forum, God knows what condition I would have been in now. And if there ever was a forum which pushes an individualised approach to managing your condition, it has to be this one.

Professional medical advice has a very important place, but so does having communication with collective others who are dealing with the same issues as yourself. Together they form the best combination.