Scared Lost & Confused

[cratat]

Just had my recent blood test results and been told my hba1c has gone up from 45 in Feb to 58 this time, the doctor wants to increase my medication, I currently take 4x 500mg metformin. At no time has he asked if there is a reason for the sharp increase or done any other tests, I do not test on a daily basis to record my blood sugars. I don't want to increase medication what options do I have.

I know that I haven't been healthy eating as I am so frustrated with all the conflicting advise so have been on a self destruct pattern, now don't know what to do. I leave the house at 5am to go to work so don't put up a packed lunch and as money is tight I tend to pick cheap lunch options rather than healthy options.

Really worried and scared my weight has ballooned from 19st 1lb to 20st 13lbs and not sure if I can reverse the damage, all help and advise would be appreciated.

Thanks

cratat

 

[Enclave]

First thing to do is look at what your eating .... Look hard at what your eating and how you can change it ... The easiest way to bring down blood sugars to to cut the carbs and to only get full fat foods ..no low fat .. It's should not be more expensive to change ..but may take a little forward planning .. What are you eating now .. Don't be scared .. Your in the right place to get great advice ...

 

[Totto]

It's reversible, don't worry, but you need to decide on which route to take, medication or way of eating.

Lunch can be packed night before and I'm sure it's cheaper than a cheap bought lunch and better for you.

Cutting down on carbs in order to get better BG control and lose weight seems to be something that works for a lot of people. And up the fat intake accordingly.

 

[Cloudlesssky]

I understand where you're coming from.
Totto is quite right.
Try to really cut down on your carbs - I've been amazed at what a really good selection of foods I can still enjoy!
Just don't make the mistake I did at first and think that Low Carb High Fat meant have lots of fats ... Low carbs and full fat rather than low fat or 0% options is what it means! (As I'm sure you know!)

 

[DeejayR]

Hello. I see from your postings that you have been having difficulties for over 18 months now. Why do you think this is? Much good advice has been offered. What is it you don't understand about the simple programme that could help you?

 

[cratat]

DeejayR

I don't understand the whole concept of the simple programme I have tried to make the changes but saw no results. I also can't stop eating the **** or wrong foods so this leads to me feeling depressed so then I eat more **** to try to feel better so its a vicious cycle

 

[ButtterflyLady]

After reading your previous posts, I will say this: If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always got.

If you don't want to get a meter and test your blood, and commit to learning how to stick to a low carb diet, then our advice is wasted.

By refusing to consider home testing, you are allowing an incompetent nurse to dictate your health level. She doesn't deserve the right to do that. It's your body, listen to what more competent people than her are saying, and start monitoring your blood glucose. Otherwise you are just going to keep getting bigger, need more meds and insulin, and get complications such as blindness, amputations, and kidney failure. All because you listened to an incompetent nurse ahead of hundreds of people who have proven home testing is of a key part of the best way to control diabetes. Plenty of doctors and nurses support home testing, so it's not just us saying it. Up to you.

 

[Lamont D]

If something is not right, then you have no choice but to change what you are doing!

You are walking blindly down a dark tunnel with no torch!

You have to get a torch to see where you are going!

Get a blood glucose meter, and reduce all your carbs and sugars. Test what gives you spikes and see what doesn't! It is the usual baddies, bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, pastry etc!
Reduce your plate size should help!

I don't have a choice, if you carry on, you won't!
Get back on board!
If you don't want to be on meds, then the only other option is what you eat and doing a little more exercise, just a walk around the block for half a hour a day, this will help with your blood glucose levels as well!

You are craving for more carbs!

The bother thing is that this should be for the rest of your life, so it doesn't happen overnight, it's a marathon not a sprint!
It took me nearly three years to get down to where I am now.

You really want to do something, go and do it mate!

As I said, I had to, do you want to put yourself in that situation?

 

[ButtterflyLady]

Another thing I would suggest is asking your GP to refer you for an overnight sleep study, as with your weight, age, and gender you are at risk of having obstructive sleep apnpea syndrome. Symptoms include excessive daytime sleepiness, loud snoring, and breathing pauses followed by gasping for air while asleep. The poor quality of sleep that results from sleep apnoea leads to carb cravings the next day. It's treatable and once it's under control, most people find it easier to lose weight.

 

[britishpub]

It's actually not confusing at all.

As a diabetic there are certain foods that your body cannot process properly.

Identify those foods and cut them from your diet, and you will be in control.

You will most likely find that your life will improve immensely as a result, and rather than increasing your meds your GP may even start reducing or removing them.

 

[Totto]

DeejayR

I don't understand the whole concept of the simple programme I have tried to make the changes but saw no results. I also can't stop eating the **** or wrong foods so this leads to me feeling depressed so then I eat more **** to try to feel better so its a vicious cycle

This is simple enough to understand http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Ask your GP for a BG meter. Or buy one. The Codefree is popular and the test strips are cheap.

 

[DeejayR]

DeejayR

I don't understand the whole concept of the simple programme I have tried to make the changes but saw no results. I also can't stop eating the **** or wrong foods so this leads to me feeling depressed so then I eat more **** to try to feel better so its a vicious cycle

I don't believe you don't understand it. I think you might still be in denial though, which is a form of blocking. Also, @CatLadyNZ suggests you ask your GP about sleep disorder -- worth a try. You deserve better than this, as we all do, so give it another go.

Keep talking to us and try to focus on a simple improvement to start with, like giving up rice and pasta. If you must have sandwiches for lunch pack as much low-carb plus fat between slices of wholegrain as possible. Lots of people on here have to eat on the run and have devised ways of coping -- have a browse.

 

[graj0]

I do not test on a daily basis to record my blood sugars.

I know that I haven't been healthy eating as I am so frustrated with all the conflicting advise . . . . .

I leave the house at 5am to go to work so don't put up a packed lunch and as money is tight I tend to pick cheap lunch options rather than healthy options.

Really worried and scared my weight has ballooned from 19st 1lb to 20st 13lbs and not sure if I can reverse the damage, all help and advise would be appreciated.

Test, Test, Test, whatever anybody says. That way you don't get to a point where your HbA1c has gone up and your doctor wants to add more meds.

Not sure where the conflict is, eat less carbs, it will help help keep your BG down AND your total cholesterol. It did the trick for me.

I think we can all appreciate that, it needs organising and once you've done that, things should be easier.

Any drug that the doctor might prescribe in the future that makes you produce more insulin will help you gain weight. Metformin doesn't work that way and in theory might even help a few pounds go, although I've never noticed it with my efforts at losing weight.

So lower the carbs, test, test, test and don't go out of your way to increase your fats unless you want to maintain your current weight.

 

[Alzebra]

@cratat If you look at my signature you'll see I spent 3 years in denial and my HbA1c went up to 83. My BMI was over 50 at that point As a lifelong comfort eater, I found it really hard to cut down and besides, I felt ravenously hungry all the time. Making the decision to embrace LCHF was a massive step forward and the rewards in only 4 months have been incredible. Reading this passage from Blood Sugar 101 was probably the final push for me to make the change:

In the past two decades, when people who were headed towards diabetes begin to gain weight, they were advised to eat a low fat diet. Unfortunately, this low fat diet is also a high carbohydrate diet--one that exacerbates blood sugar problems by raising blood sugars dangerously high, destroying more insulin-producing beta-cells, and catalyzing the storage of more fat in the muscles of people with dysfunctional mitochondria. Though they may have stuck to diets to low fat for weeks or even months these people were tormented by relentless hunger and when they finally went off their ineffective diets, they got fatter. Unfortunately, when they reported these experiences to their doctors, they were almost universally accused of lying about their eating habits.

It has only been documented in medical research during the past two years that that many patients who have found it impossible to lose weight on the low fat high carbohydrate can lose weight--often dramatically--on a low carbohydrate diet while improving rather than harming their blood lipids.

I agree with the advice you've already had and can only repeat that it comes down to you to make the changes you need. There is no magic wand I'm afraid. Good luck!

 

[Daffodils1]

Hi crarat, I hope some of the kind advice offered above helps you. One thought I'd offer is that if you could face cutting down on the carbs for say four days to a week, you'll probably find that the cravings for carby food then shrink down, so from then on its much easier to carry on eating like that. Until you try the approach it's hard to describe the way it changes your appetite. I'm 7 months into eating low carb, and am realising that though I have to think more carefully about what to eat, and plan ahead, I'm not driven to eat, and sometimes over eat, like I used to be. It's like my brain has been re-trained!!

If you do cut right down on carbs, good to drink lots of water.

All the very best.

 

[bevg]

in may this year my hba1c was 91. I had a word with my db nurse and discussed what I had learned on here. I take 4 5oog metformin a day and it was 2 gliclazide and one forziga tablet's daily and byetta injection twicw a day. I have changed to the slow release metformin and my stomach is a lot better and I don't take gliclazide anymore. within a week I felt human again and still take the forziga and byetta. in a month my hba1c was down to 71 and I lost a stone and a half in weight. I used to eat thing's I shouldn't but I've stopped. every other week I have a little treat but thing's are looking up. keep going and just train yourself to be good. it's hard but you will get there

 

[oldnevada]

First thing to do is look at what your eating .... Look hard at what your eating and how you can change it ... The easiest way to bring down blood sugars to to cut the carbs and to only get full fat foods ..no low fat .. It's should not be more expensive to change ..but may take a little forward planning .. What are you eating now .. Don't be scared .. Your in the right place to get great advice ...

I use MyFitnessPal to help me count my calories and carbohydrates. It's a terrific app and has helped me quite a bit, including shrinking my stomach so that I become very full very quickly. I think it's terrific. I'm Type II and am on Glyburide and Metformin.

 

[Moosepig]

When I went on my DESMOND course, there was a guy there who had been type 2 for years, was very overweight and in complete denial. I had stopped at a zebra crossing to let a big bloke stuffing his face with chips to cross.....when I got to the course, this was the guy, who blatently told the dietician he religiously stuck to his regime, even denying the chips when I quietly mentioned to him I had stopped my car to let him cross the road. He will never get any better because he lies to himself, you have to learn to respect your body, accept you only get one life and have the strength of character to try and live it to the benefit of your health. We all struggle, we're all human and tomorrow is another day and can be a fresh start. Good luck mate, we're all there with you

 

[Sonia08]

I understand where you're coming from.
Totto is quite right.
Try to really cut down on your carbs - I've been amazed at what a really good selection of foods I can still enjoy!
Just don't make the mistake I did at first and think that Low Carb High Fat meant have lots of fats ... Low carbs and full fat rather than low fat or 0% options is what it means! (As I'm sure you know!)

OK I'm also confused now. I thought I was supposed to try and eat more fat aswell. I'm sure that's what the original advice I read said. Confused

 

[ButtterflyLady]

OK I'm also confused now. I thought I was supposed to try and eat more fat aswell. I'm sure that's what the original advice I read said. Confused

I think of LCHF as low carb, higher fat. ie higher than the usual dietary advice. I agree with beegee, it means eating full fat yoghurt instead of low fat yoghurt, for example. It does not mean eating a high fat diet.