Well Surprise....Went in with Depression, came out with Diabetes and High Cholesterol

yellowknifer

Member
Messages
13
Good day all,

Just posting as a distraction for myself instead of collecting information like crazy - day 6.

Went into the local primary care unit about depression and fatigue about 3 weeks back, scored high and went away with a month of 20mg Citalopram daily, and a req. for Bloodwork and FIC text.

6 days ago got result of blood testwork after seeing local primary care unit and to say the least the results were not good.Came away with depression, diabetes and high cholesterol.

I now know more about Diabetes and Cholesterol than I ever thought I would. And realize how much info is out there to digest.

NUMBERS:
A1C - 6.8%
FGL 12hr - 8.5 mmol/l

TC - 7.1 mmol/l
TRI - 1.1 mmol/l
HDL - 1.19 mmol/l
LDL - 5.13 mmol/l
C/HDL - 6.0 %

6'0", 247# (257# Mar 1), Male, 58 yrs

I was given the option of pills now or after 3 month "lifestyle adjustment" and next blood test results. I chose the LA. Sort of like "redemption island" on current run of survivor, choose hard work.

At them moment I am torn between which is more important to concentrate on fixing, knowing that improvement in one with most likely result in the improvement of the other.

Some background, I leave in the NWT "Off the grid" with my wife and 50% joint custody early teens. One is deathly allergic to peanuts, the other to tree nuts and not peanuts. We get about 2 hours of sun @ winter solstice, 22 hours of sun, 24 hours dayling @ summer solstice. Its is a long dark winter. - 40deg C/F not uncommon. Technically unemployed, but most likely "forced retirement" with all the time in the world to make things better.

So my first change was immediate, DIET. I've never eaten as much fish, broccoli, carrots, bean chili, flax rye bread super dense, shallots, garlic, almonds.

Had the worst diet through winter, time savings all the way, way to much "white italian bread", butter, ramen noodles, pasta, frozen and dominos pizzas, deserts, ice cream, fast food. Out kids are active 6 days a weeks which means lots of driving, sometime not a lot of cooking time.

The second, EXERCISE. The dog (an energetic yr old puggle who can run @ 18mph) has been getting out more for walks on snowmobile trails from the house, had freakishly warm weather with 8 deg C, -10 deg C at noon today. Still a foot of snow on snow on the lake.

The peleton style bike is in the living room, still has clothes on it though but will be in use this afternoon. It warmed up early this year with some melt, so perhaps the lake melts before expect seconld half of may, then rowing the ladyslipper for the summer until end of september. The lake is about 2 km long end to end.

I have clinic visit next week with Diabetes nurse, and then with NP two days later, bloodwork again end of june I expect.

My goal is to improve all numbers with not target in mind yet. Do I need to think about monitoring now? or just do what we know can work, better diet, more exercise. Need to answer that one.

On weight loss, somewhere in the 200 range is what i have as a number to aim for at the moment but that really is more a 6mos - a year target not 3 month target. 3 month target 12-24 lbs, so 223#-229# from current 247#.


anyways, thank for the platform, makes it real.

cheers from the NWT.
 

Diakat

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
5,591
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
The smell of cigars
I’m guessing that one good part about living out there right now is no easy access to shops?
Welcome to the forum - tagging @daisy1 for some info.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hankjam

Muddikins

Well-Known Member
Messages
113
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Welcome to the forum:)
Some clever people will be along directly but i'll fill in before they do.
I think a meter is essential otherwise you won't ever know if the changes you will make are working.
My mood was awful before my diagnosis, I didn't actually realise how bad I felt until I reduced my carbohydrate down to a level where my body started working again. After which I started to feel like me again.
Daft as it sounds my diagnosis was the best thing to happen to me in a very long time. I feel back in control again and that is such a good feeling.
Keep reading around because many of us T2's avoid things like beans and rye because they are all carbs and for a T2 carbs are the problem and avoiding them our own personal solution. I keep my carbs down to no more than 20g a day but others have more and that is where your meter comes into it's own.
You can't beat a furry physiotherapist but it's the diet that really does the trick. No wonder you have an indoor bike, I thought it was a bit nippy here this morning at 3 degrees C:(
 
  • Like
Reactions: Serena51 and HSSS

yellowknifer

Member
Messages
13
I’m guessing that one good part about living out there right now is no easy access to shops?
Welcome to the forum - tagging @daisy1 for some info.
Off the grid, but on the higway - 30 minutes to town on the land section of the "ICE ROAD" of ice road truckers season 1
regular CAN grocery stores but tired produce when it gets here, local fresh fish $$$ only. Small fridge, immense freezer in winter only.
 

Diakat

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
5,591
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
The smell of cigars
Dried meat? Any livestock of your own for food?
 

Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
19,284
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
I'd tackle the blood sugars first. In my case, depression disappeared after getting my blood glucose down. (It has by now reared it's head again, but that has been pretty normal for me all my life, and it's nothing like the deep dark abyss from the months leading up to my diabetes diagnosis.)
As for cholesterol, you might find that will return to normal as well when your bg gets lower. It did for me, even though I upped the fats (butter, eggs, fatty bits of pork, so yes, all th so called 'bad' fats). It seems blood cholesterol is only linked to diet for a very small part and it may well be it's not the dietary fats that make it rise but the carbs.

Yes, I'd get a glucose meter as soon as you can (don't look at the price of the meter, look at the price of the test strips!) so you can see what different foods do to your bg. If you don't test you won't know where to improve.

The place where you live sounds perfectly wonderful! Show us a picture?
 

yellowknifer

Member
Messages
13
I'd tackle the blood sugars first. In my case, depression disappeared after getting my blood glucose down. (It has by now reared it's head again, but that has been pretty normal for me all my life, and it's nothing like the deep dark abyss from the months leading up to my diabetes diagnosis.)
As for cholesterol, you might find that will return to normal as well when your bg gets lower. It did for me, even though I upped the fats (butter, eggs, fatty bits of pork, so yes, all th so called 'bad' fats). It seems blood cholesterol is only linked to diet for a very small part and it may well be it's not the dietary fats that make it rise but the carbs.

Yes, I'd get a glucose meter as soon as you can (don't look at the price of the meter, look at the price of the test strips!) so you can see what different foods do to your bg. If you don't test you won't know where to improve.

The place where you live sounds perfectly wonderful! Show us a picture?
glucose measuring on list to discuss with diabetes nurse next week,
pic from house below

a1.JPG
 

Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
19,284
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Oh, I really do love the pic very much!
I'll keep my fingers crossed nurse will be enthusiastic about testing. Some of them are, some of them aren't. If he or she isn't you can always choose to order a meter and test strips anyway so you won't have to work in the dark :)
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@yellowknifer
Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 147,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 

ReaL

Active Member
Messages
30
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi Yellowknifer

I too have been recently diagnosed and trying to get my head round it all. Was nice to see your post as have visited Yellowknife from Scotland a couple of times most recently last July for a family wedding. You live in a very beautiful part of the world thats for sure. Hope the are starting to enjoy the better weather and lighter days. Good luck in this journey we have found ourselves on.

Rea