How does anyone find anything..?

[Celtic Angel]

Hello, I'm new here although I have been a silent reader of various topics without contributing for a few years.

i have type 2 diabetes and I'm having a lot of trouble with my blood sugar levels. I'm certain that it started with my craving for grapes. I just couldn't get enough of them. I would easily munch my way through a couple of kilos a day... every day.

then one morning I didn't feel too good, my mouth was dry and I couldn't get the feeling of it being like the bottom of a parrot cage, no matter how much I drank.. my body ached and I had absolutely zero energy or motivation for anything.

i called the doctor who came out and checked my blood sugar, imagine the look of horror when the machine just stared back with a HI...
no numbers, he did another test just to make sure that the first wasn't faulty, then tested my urine, oh my God, I didn't know what to say or do.

he told me he was going to put me onto some different medication and I must take a blood sugar testing every morning before breakfast.

things started to improve, I managed to get it down to 23 - 27... but there it stayed. Then the diabetic specialist from the hospital called and said I should still be taking my Metformin 850 as well as the glyclazide that the doctor had put me on.. she increase the Metformin to 1 gram two times a day and the glyclazide up to 120mg two times a day..
this has been going on for the past two months and the levels are now between 17.9 and 14.5

I've not had any grapes again although I have been having melon...
I read about the chamomile flowers that are growing in Germany and how they can help to control sugar levels in people with diabetes. They use the whole flowers without crushing them. I wonder if anyone has ever been successful in using the tea to help bring sugar levels down.

i can't remember if I read it on here, but I was originally trying to find the article about people getting chronic inflammation, my daughter suffers from this in her ankles. She is not overweight and doesn't have diabetes.. but I can't seem to find that article at all...

its all a jumble of paragraphs on different topics and none of them follow on the same topic as the first paragraph..

hence the reason I am asking about the chamomile tea for bringing down blood sugar levels and if anyone else has tried it and how they got on...

as I don't always manage to get online every day I'd love it if you could make your replies stand out so that I get to see them and they don't blend away in the sea of plain paragraphs...

with gratitude and warm regards

Celtic Angel

 

[Marie 2]

Hi.......... That's still pretty high levels. Being put on two meds and it only coming down that little in 2 months seems a little concerning. You probably need to review what you are eating? Ask for a diabetic education course?

There are some herbs and supplements that can help with blood sugar control. But usually they help...........not necessarily solve. And your levels seem to be staying pretty high. Some people need insulin to help bring down their levels, you might discuss with your doctor about what other options might work to help more.

You also might ask for an antibodies test for being a type1 and a c-peptide test. An antibody test if positive is a sign of being a type 1, a c-peptide test if low or low normal is a sign of being a type 1 as you are lacking insulin production and if high or high normal it's a sign of being a type 2as you make extra to cope with insulin resistance.

They changed the forum, so it does feel a little harder to navigate.

 

[Deleted member 527103]

As with the previous forum structure, the easiest way to find something on a specific topic is via the Search at the Top Right of every page.

 

[Celtic Angel]

Hi.......... That's still pretty high levels. Being put on two meds and it only coming down that little in 2 months seems a little concerning. You probably need to review what you are eating? Ask for a diabetic education course?

There are some herbs and supplements that can help with blood sugar control. But usually they help...........not necessarily solve. And your levels seem to be staying pretty high. Some people need insulin to help bring down their levels, you might discuss with your doctor about what other options might work to help more.

You also might ask for an antibodies test for being a type1 and a c-peptide test. An antibody test if positive is a sign of being a type 1, a c-peptide test if low or low normal is a sign of being a type 1 as you are lacking insulin production and if high or high normal it's a sign of being a type 2as you make extra to cope with insulin resistance.

They changed the forum, so it does feel a little harder to navigate.

Thanks so much for getting back to me on this.
My BSL this morning was 17.1 and I have been very stressed for quite some time. I've spoken to the diabetic specialist about the things I'm eating and she said that she can't see anything that is likely to be causing my BSL to stay that high.

She sent me through some information about an injection that you take once a week. Trulicity, apparently they can use this to bring the sugar levels down.
I think once they are back to the 7-8 ratio I'd be able to keep them there. More than likely it's been the craving I had for grapes that has messed it up.
Previous time I spent in hospital for completely unrelated reason, they took my BSL daily and I was between 6 - 8 constantly and it was fine.
I did ask why they tested it every day, since my last doctor would insist that because I was only type 2 diabetic that I didn't need to test it every day. I had asked her at the time if I could have one of the kits to take the test but she refused. I bought one on Amazon and have been using that one ever since.
What is your opinion on testing if I am type 2.?
It surely doesn't do any harm. The diabetic specialist said she wanted to do a test to check my cholesterol, before introducing the trulicity pen as an option. I'm all for it, as I want to know what to ask for when they take my blood. I'm sorry, my writing is a bit all over the place, I've got such an inquisitive mind and so many things I want to ask about that it's all coming out in a big jumble...

I hope you're able to make some sense of it, and any advice or tips on the herbs and spices that can help would be gratefully received.

Thank you again for replying to my first thing so fast,

Kindest regards

Celtic Angel

 

[Marie 2]

The testing would be to determine if you are really a type 1 or 2. My concern is because of the drugs you have tried and them upping the dose and you are still remaining so high. While eating a lot of sugar could send your levels higher (grapes, natural sugar) you aren't eating them anymore and have been put on medications that usually make more of a difference by a month or two. I say usually because some people have a rougher time than others and we can all be very different. It could depend on what else you are eating, hence the diabetic education courses that might help.

When you get type 1 as an adult, it can take quite a long time to completely lose the ability to make insulin. It's what we call the honeymoon period and it can last up to 8 years plus. 35% of type 1's are misdiagnosed as type 2's at first because exercise, diet and lifestyle changes can work at first because you still make some insulin for a while until you finally completely stop. The tests would tell you if you are a type 1 instead and will need insulin or if you are a type 2 and other changes might be needed. .

C-peptide checks your insulin production and GAD is the most common positive antibody test. There are some others that can be done, but because of costs aren't commonly done in a lot of countries. I'm not saying you are a type 1, I have no idea. It's just when things don't completely make sense, it's just something to keep in mind.

• C-Peptide
  While most tests check for antibodies, this test measures how much C-peptide is in a person’s blood. Peptide levels typically mirror insulin levels in the body. Low levels of C-peptide and insulin can point to T1D
• Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Autoantibodies (GADA or Anti-GAD)
  This test looks for antibodies built against a specific enzyme in the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells.
• Insulin Autoantibodies (IAA)
  This tests looks for the antibodies targeting insulin.
• Insulinoma-Associated-2 Autoantibodies (IA-2A)
  This test looks for antibodies mounted against a specific enzyme in beta cells. Both the IA-2A and GADA tests are common T1D antibody tests.
• Zinc Transporter 8 (ZnT8Ab)
  This test looks at antibodies targeting an enzyme that is specific to beta cells.
• Islet Cell Cytoplasmic Autoantibodies (ICA)
  Islet cells are clusters of cells in the pancreas that produce hormones, including insulin. This test identifies a type of islet cell antibodies present in up to 80 percent of people with T1D.