What was your fasting blood glucose? (with some chat)

PenguinMum

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@SaskiaKC the one thing re cholesterel that I see here regularly is it isnt the HDL,LDL and Trigs individually that count but “the ratio”. I have been pulled up a couple of times at D reviews but I say with confidence (though far from it and cant understand it all) “but my ratios are good” and then they agree and it is dropped. You might like to research the ratio meaning before you go back. Hugs to you and KC from me and the girls.
 

HarryBeau

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@SaskiaKC the one thing re cholesterel that I see here regularly is it isnt the HDL,LDL and Trigs individually that count but “the ratio”. I have been pulled up a couple of times at D reviews but I say with confidence (though far from it and cant understand it all) “but my ratios are good” and then they agree and it is dropped. You might like to research the ratio meaning before you go back. Hugs to you and KC from me and the girls.
Exactly the conversation I had with my GP PM...got a few tips from a friend then did my research...you're absolutely spot on.
 

geefull

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good evening all :)

was 4.6 this morning

been out volunteering all day, must remember to take more food for lunch (although I did take what I thought was a reasonable amount), had a period where I felt really shaky and had to scrounge a couple of oatcakes :sorry:

It doesn't happen very often thankfully but my body has days when it really really objects to being hungry, one reason why I don't do lengthy fasting now, do any of you get the same thing?

Could also be related to my anxiety or the virus I've had recently I suppose.

Anyway I hope your day is treating you gently :)
 

SaskiaKC

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Type 2
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@SaskiaKC the one thing re cholesterel that I see here regularly is it isnt the HDL,LDL and Trigs individually that count but “the ratio”. I have been pulled up a couple of times at D reviews but I say with confidence (though far from it and cant understand it all) “but my ratios are good” and then they agree and it is dropped. You might like to research the ratio meaning before you go back. Hugs to you and KC from me and the girls.

Hugs back to you from me and the KittenCat! ^. .^

I finally talked with someone at my doctor's office who was able to look at my chart. She said my LDL was 216. There is no info about the other cholesterol numbers. The assistant who called me in January said my LDL was 200.

Just now, someone else from the doc's office called me and said that my LDL was the same yesterday as it had been in January, 216. I said no, the other assistant had reported 200 in January. This person said she would ask the doctor to call me. I said good, as that was what I had requested in the first place.

I hate that the doc and I can talk at length about things when I am in the office; then the next day I feel like I have been dumped out the back door with no explanations; the whole ballgame has changed and no one has bothered to get in touch with me to talk.

I felt SO GOOD yesterday -- and now I feel like a medicated invalid again. I hate this.
 

SaskiaKC

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good evening all :)

was 4.6 this morning

been out volunteering all day, must remember to take more food for lunch (although I did take what I thought was a reasonable amount), had a period where I felt really shaky and had to scrounge a couple of oatcakes :sorry:

It doesn't happen very often thankfully but my body has days when it really really objects to being hungry, one reason why I don't do lengthy fasting now, do any of you get the same thing?

Could also be related to my anxiety or the virus I've had recently I suppose.

Anyway I hope your day is treating you gently :)

My body doesn't do well with hunger either. It goes into panic mode, thinking it is having hypos.
 

SaskiaKC

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Type 2
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@SaskiaKC I thnk you have to look in to the ratio of cholesterol measures. Plrase dont fret about it.xxxx

Thanks. I will go back and look at those.

My doctor finally called me. She said that for some people high cholesterol is hereditary. Maybe I didn't inherit the whatever that efficiently processes cholesterol. She didn't say "whatever"; I can't remember the term she did use. It made sense to me; I've often thought that heredity is the cause of many health conditions.

Thank you all so much!
grouphug.gif
 

SaskiaKC

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I saw this about cholesterol ratios:

"To calculate your cholesterol ratio, divide your total cholesterolnumber by your HDL cholesterol number. So if your total cholesterolis 200 mg/dL (5.2 mmol/L) and your HDL is 50 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/L), your ratio would be 4-to-1."

I realize that 200 divided by 50 is 4, but I have no idea where the "to-1" part comes in.
 

Chronicle_Cat

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My elderly dad made me smile today. He's never been very tactful but at almost 93, he's not going to develop it now.

The conversation went like this:

Dad "How much weight have you lost altogether?"

Me "102 lbs Dad"

Dad "I don't think you need to lose anymore. You're getting lines on your face."

Me: "Okay Dad".
 

Debandez

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Messages
4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
I attended the DESMOND course with a friend who would fit into the group who had been badly advised, she was on ever increasing amounts of insulin, has horrific complications, when her sugars kept rising her surgery brought in a 'trouble shooter' who did nothing except increase her insulin...when we arrived at the course to our dismay the 'trouble shooter' was one of the facilitators...after a morning with her & her colleague I understood why my friend was so misguided in her approach to her diabetes management...the first question we were asked was 'what type of diabetes do you have'...we all tentatively said 'um type 2' we were rewarded with a 'good give yourself a pat on the back' since it was a course specifically designed for T2's it wasn't a difficult question to answer...from then on it got worse...finally after we asked a couple of questions like ' do you recommend a low carb good fat diet' the facilitators felt we were too advanced for the course.
One word, incredible!!!

I cant get my head around this situation we are in. The science is out there. Evidence. Diabetics are shouting out, sharing their stories of remission left right and centre. Yet we still have stupid NHS guidelines and literature. We will just keep shouting until eventually they will HAVE to listen.

I'm going to try my best to bake something low carb to take to next meeting. Not just so I can take biscuits off the table but so I can talk low carb and its benefits to the speaker from the dreaded diabetes.org.uk!!! I just have to learn to bake in the meantime!!!
 

Debandez

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Messages
4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
@Debandez that is a fascinating and troubling account of yesterday’s clinic. It just shows how deep rooted the eating of staples (starches) is and how difficult it will be to change that mindset. In some ways they are like truculant teens railing against advice. Of course it is hard for people who have other serious health challenges though the irony is dropping carbs is likely to be beneficial for other conditions too (cancer, PCOS, arthritis). Since my body adapted to LC I havent had a single incidence of gout despite eating more meat and still enjoying G&T. Feel free to quote me if it helps. You are doing an amazing job spreading the word and if one or two go home and think about trying to get control it is worth it. My late mum had coeliac disease and when she was dx T2 she threw a tantrum about giving up rice and GF bread and potatoes (Irish!) and said “No I’ve given up enough already”. My OH has a golf buddy recently dxd and my OH has been dropping hi ts about how I managed remission but the only change he has made is swapping beer for wine. Another friend of a friend is a biochemist and doesnt want to entertain LC and is stilling having dessert daily. It is like scaling the Eiger isnt it?
Sometimes it feels like we are moving one step forward and two steps back. Yet when I step back to take a look at the overall picture it's clear things are moving in the right direction. It's a mammoth task. Turning the titanic with your pinky. But the evidence is out there. The science is backing us. The wisdom of the crowds will prevail. I think I expected every diabetic or at least most would want to do what we do ie control bs to put the beast into remission once they were informed it was indeed possible, and how to do it. But not so. Many i have met have been diabetic for years. Over 20. The only advice they have had is from their own DN and we all know what that consists of. Then a little voice like mine pops up to tell my story. But they seem to be past caring and happy to continue with increased meds and eating what they want. Up to now they have only probably had a little telling off from their DNs who at the same time handed them a new prescription. To them this is their solution to controlling it. And the complications just go with the territory.

I dont feel I can say too much overstep the mark. These people enjoy coming together once a month. Some dont get out other than to this meeting. I dont want to put them off by standing on my orange box every month and preaching.

I told them that next month I'm going to bring in a weekly food planner. What I eat. Where I buy things from, how much they cost. Hints and tips sheet including things like good swaps. But not go too deep. I'm keeping it simple. (GIVING THIS TO MY DNs TOO).

The good news is that the lady who runs our meeting has gone low carb and is loving it!!! I'm more than happy with that.

You gave me an idea. I'm going to add some quotes to that, like yours. Great way of highlighting the enormous benefits. Thank you.
 
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Debandez

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Messages
4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Oh, oh here goes. The DESMOND course sounds abysmal and HCPs should offer the best advice they can. For some/most posters on here LC has offered a better route than that offered by the eat well plate and conventional follow up path. We are largely a self selecting group who believe in LC and have had some success in using it for control. We, or certainly I, don't know how many have tried LC properly/strictly and found it doesn't work - there must be some. I am not claiming the status quo advice and support is right or that LC should not be advised as first line approach to all newly diagnosed T2. I am highly sceptical of its effectiveness for everyone, certainly for me personally it is not great IMHO, and we just don't know enough about the long term effectiveness and potential side effects. I can see why HCPs might be hesitant in offering full- throated approval. Now flame away.

Oh, oh here goes. The DESMOND course sounds abysmal and HCPs should offer the best advice they can. For some/most posters on here LC has offered a better route than that offered by the eat well plate and conventional follow up path. We are largely a self selecting group who believe in LC and have had some success in using it for control. We, or certainly I, don't know how many have tried LC properly/strictly and found it doesn't work - there must be some. I am not claiming the status quo advice and support is right or that LC should not be advised as first line approach to all newly diagnosed T2. I am highly sceptical of its effectiveness for everyone, certainly for me personally it is not great IMHO, and we just don't know enough about the long term effectiveness and potential side effects. I can see why HCPs might be hesitant in offering full- throated approval. Now flame away.
I can only speak from my own experience. At diagnosis I had symptoms. Blurry vision, thrush, dry mouth, IBS, constant unrelenting heartburn in the weeks prior to dx. I could have accepted meds which may have helped, for a while, but my hba1c would have gone up due to the eat well advice. My meter confirms that. The higher the carbs, the higher the meter reading, the higher the estimated hba1c goes in the mysugr app. The higher the hba1c the more chance of complications. The evidence for that is well documented. I see it first hand at the diabetic meeting. Also when I did my clinic at the GP surgery (helping other diabetics) the first person I spoke to had just had a lower leg amputation. That really hit home! My symptoms would no doubt have returned and maybe others too, who knows. But using my meter and starting a lc woe my hba1c has gone down to non diabetic levels. My symptoms have ALL disappeared. I've lost 4 stone which has to be beneficial to every aspect of my health and wellbeing. As for long term effects, I see many many people eating this way for 20 years plus. On this forum, internet. And a prime example of someone even longer than that maintaining their health is Dr Bernstein.

I dont feel cutting out/down on bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and upping healthy fat intake is bad from my research. It seems that it isn't just beneficial for diabetics either. I do feel eating processed food rubbish stuff, carby ****, my health and wellbeing would have been threatened.

I'm allergic to sugar so avoiding agravating that allergy as best I can.

I have many non diabetic friends who are having great success with weight loss through LC too. They are looking and feeling fantastic.

I would be interested to know how many haven't had success with it too. Its not for everyone as you say.
 

Debandez

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Messages
4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Was so sad to read your post. You would have thought that everyone would have jumped at the chance to improve their health.
That's what I thought too. I thought everyone would embrace the chance. Not so. I think.if we were all made of glass and we could see what was going on inside we would help ourselves but I might even be wrong there!
 

Debandez

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
4.7 this morning.

@Debandez it's hard isn't it? I have a lot of sympathy for Type 2s who've been diabetic for a long time and have multiple conditions and struggle with their numbers. I know I'm very fortunate that my numbers normalized quite quickly, my body responded very well to dietary changes and it's much harder for some people and not everyone will see the results that I have. (The rest of my message is not about people who are trying, it's about those who won't even try. )

However, also there unfortunately are many, many Type 2s who refuse to make any changes in their diet at all and prefer denial. This includes some of the newly diagnosed.

When I've tried to explain the consequences of complications to them, I've gotten replies like "only Type 1s get complications, we've different" "my doctor told me not to worry", "my dietician told me that I have to have 165g carbs per day" (one said my brain "would shrivel up and I'd die!"), "everything in moderation", "I trust my doctor/dietician/assorted professional etc." I recently got reprimanded on another forum for telling someone not to correct false hypos because it would continue to keep their blood glucose high and that "some of us trust our doctors" (by a moderator who follows the Diabetes Canada dietary recommendations and tells people that's OK to occasionally eat sweets etc "because you have to live". ) I explained that although I myself have a supportive doctor, the responsibility for taking care of my body is mine, not hers because I have to live in it for the rest of my life, my doctor doesn't. That went over like a lead balloon.

I've come to the conclusion that denial is more comfortable for them, even though it will hurt them down the road...

I don't feel I have that luxury. I've seen 2 people I know die from complications from poorly controlled Type 2 (one who went blind and died of kidney failure and the other died from a wound infection where she refused amputation). I chose to have preventative surgery for colon cancer (very high risk) rather than doing nothing and letting it turn into cancer inside me (colonscopy removal was no longer an option, fortunately it was caught in time). Having lost my son (not because of diabetes, but to SUDEP) I know terrible things can and do happen to people, none of us are immune Therefore I will do everything I can to control my Type 2 as well as I can and hopefully reduce the risk of complications. Some prefer to think "it can't happen to me" rather than facing reality.
I agree with everything you have said. I think that the seriousness of diabetes isn't highlighted at dx. Just being offered pills and told you can still eat everything just cut down on sugar is so wrong. I kept my leaflets. I have used them in my presentations to point out what is wrong with current guidelines. Alongside a demo of my blood glucose monitor!!!