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Keeping the Faith and Fighting the Good Fight

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bunty

Well-Known Member
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74
Second thread started today...

I dont know why but after 18 months since diagnosis i seem to have hit a huge block in my diabetes. I'm wondering has anyone else here found themselves in a similar position and if so, have they any sage advice to offer?

Since diagnosis i lost over four and a half stone in weight and looked and felt better than i had done for years. My 3 HbA1Cs were 5.6; 5.4 and 5.4 and all seemed well for me.

But back in late October i started to get pains in my foot and hip and gave up the exercises because i was in so much pain and discomfort. I also found i resented the diabetes.

In December i had an eye examination that showed one tiny mark of diabetic retinopathy which i was assured was not a cause for concern because, 'if we looked at a diabetic perhaps, weekly, we would see that in a very large percentage but these spots are absorbed back by the body and we get concerned when they dont disappear or when a few appear...'

And that seems to have triggered within me a sort of rebellion.

I rail against diabetes. I have gained weight - weight i worked hard to shed!

My GP has told me i have arthritis in my hip, foot and hand (been X-rayed bone by bone, lately, lol!) and i am now on daily painkillers for that, which help to the point that i can now get up from sitting without hobbling in pain and i can even run up and down the stairs some days. As the GP said, i am too young for arthritis but there we have it! (i am 51 in May)

As from yesterday i have tried once more to take a grip on my diet. I havent exercised yet but i plan to start again next week, if i can get a few successive pain-free days.

My Metformin was reduced slightly four months ago, in an experiment to see will that reduce the number of 'lows' i was having and if that has a knock-on effect on my cholesterol, which had risen in a year. My GP feels that the stress placed on the body during a low can raise cholesterol levels.

So, i had a blood test last week for the arthritis and for cholesterol and this Friday i have another HbA1C (my GP is giving me these every 3/4 months and same with the cholesterol check).

But i just feel i have lost my way, really. I find myself resenting the limitations on my diet. I am cross to have a disease and furious that i allowed myself to get fat and lazy in the first instance...
...moan, moan, grumble. Incidently, my GP says that she believes the diabetes itself causes people to gain weight and that starts/exacerbates the weight issues.

Please, is there anyone out there who can somehow help me get back on track? I dont know if i can do it a second time....i need to lose a stone and a half. I need to remember i am diabetic and to be careful. I havent abandoned testing and i havent taken up eating all things stupid but as you can tell from my gained weight, i have allowed myself to eat carbs in TOO big a quantity and to allow myself far too many treats.

I have tried telling myself off. Have tried scaring myself about lost limbs, sight etc etc.

Help!

bunty
 
A question that immediately springs to my mind is are you on statins for your cholesterol??These can cause pains in muscles.Is the doc definite that it is arthritis?
 
No, i'm not on statins and hope not to be.

My GP said she couldnt see any good reason for putting me on them as my cholesterol was higher than originally but still not in a worryingly high bracket and she isnt convinced that, in the absence of any heriditary factors or any other problems, such as raised BP, the statins would be of any use.

She far preferred, as did i, to see would a change in diet and tighter monitoring be all that is required for now. That is one reason that she is giving me quarterly HbA1Cs - so we can see what is going on with me and react accordingly sooner rather than later.

But in any case, the first X-ray, that of my hip, showed damage to the joint commensurate with arthritis changes.

bunty
 
Prior to all this pain and stiffness i was on a 'lowish carb' diet which meant i limited my carb intake and the carbs i ate were brown - i.e. wholemeal pasta, rice and if i ate it, oatmeal bread.

I'm dangerously allergic to all soya and soya traces and to all nuts and nut traces and to most fruits and to tomatoes, seseme seeds and to contact with some raw root veg...lol.

I am trying to get back to my previous successful regime and in fact for the past 3 months have reverted to starting every day with a bowl of pure, rough oats made with 300mls of skimmed milk and i use Splenda in moderation with that. I have tested my BG and it reacts really well to the porridge; with DP i am higher on average before porridge than after.

For lunch i eat low carb oatmeal crackers or similar and a pate or lowfat ham, with raw peppers, a few gherkins and a fat free yoghurt. I limit the crackers, too. They have 3.5/4 grams of carb in them...if that is how one counts, that is.

I have also, since the past 3 months, allowed myself one glass of red wine every other night, with my evening meal.

I think it's the evening meal where i have gone wrong. I allowed myself way too many carbs and stopped eating the brown carbs. In fact, i allowed myself to enjoy the mash my lodger makes, and he makes yummy mash!

The problem seems to be that i am utterly hacked off with diabetes and cant understand why, after so long, i now seem rebellious to it.

bunty
 
Hi Bunty

Just to say that my husband (the only one not diabetic in our family) has just been diagnosed with osteo arthritis in his hip and is to have either a total hip replacement, or because of his age (he is only 42) they call it a hip resurfacing, it's a similar operation, I think they just use different materials - but this is not my area of expertise - so I shouldn't say too much.

Bunty, I've had diabetes for 34 years, and you sometimes go through these kind of ups and downs. I am so glad I found the forum as I was in a bit of rut for quite a long time, with HBA1cs in the 9s, but with the support of the guys and girls here, I'm working on it. I get my HBA1c checked next week, I'll be delighted if it has improved.

My husband lost a stone for the sake of his hip, but is now finding it difficult to exercise as much as he would like to because of the pain - so through him, I sympathise on this note.

I hope you get some encouragement here on the forum too, I'm sure you will.

Orchid x
 
bunty said:
Incidently, my GP says that she believes the diabetes itself causes people to gain weight and that starts/exacerbates the weight issues.
Click to expand...

Your GP is right.

Unfortunately things like connective tissue diseases and arthritis may have been caused through glycation of tissues while your BG was high but not high enough to be diagnosed. RA seems more linked to Type 1, gout is another thing that can come alongside Type 2.

It's a double whammy because such things may make it hard or impossible to exercise, and also generate inflammation, both of which can worsen BG and IR. Then that makes your BG go up and also your lipids which then get stashed as body fat, then the added weight stresses the joints . . .

. . . where do you think would be the best place to break into this cycle? Teach your lodger the benefits of cauli-mash? Have half the oats mixed with ground flaxseed?
 
I agree Trink, diabetes is associated with obesity, it's not caused by it. The disease itself causes thirst AND hunger, I felt angry earlier today that my diabetes was not found earlier because then I wouldn't of put on so much weight (lol)
 
My immune system is all over the shop, it seems.

I have a really severe food allergy syndrome, that is life-threatening if i eat or come into contact with the trigger foods.

The arthritis is auto-immune , as is diabetes.

Grr!

My lodger is going to join me on a reduced carbs evening meal. The oats i eat for breakfast have a beneficial effect on my BGs - i am lower once eaten them than beforehand and not hungry right up till lunchtime.

I think the Dicloflenic is causing my BG to rise, as is the pain and inflammation but that may settle down.

The exercise is a tough one for now because if i dont exercise, i am in virtually no pain, now i have been 2 weeks on the meds but as soon as i start to overdo it, the aches return with a vengeance.

My GP suggests i wait for this all to settle down, as she hopes i am just having a sort of flare-up that will subside and i can get back to how i was before.

Meanwhile, i make myself go for gentle walks a few times a week, so that i dont stiffen up entirely and to retain some of the exercise ethos. I am pinning my hopes on the end of the winter heralding warmer weather and easier movement!

I also think a lot of this general malaise is self-defeating. I feel a failure regarding my diabetes control, which had been excellent. I feel resentful as heck that i now have a 3rd medical issue to contend with. And i am so cross that i allowed myself to slip back to old ways!

bunty
 
CalicoBec said:
I agree Trink, diabetes is associated with obesity, it's not caused by it. The disease itself causes thirst AND hunger, I felt angry earlier today that my diabetes was not found earlier because then I wouldn't of put on so much weight (lol)
Click to expand...

BTDT.

I was and still am fit and skinny EXCEPT when I was stuck on the Heart Healthy Diet which was a disaster

There's a lot of research now into the links between what Gary Taubes calls "Endocrinology 101" involving carbs, insulin, leptin etc.

You can get a good up to date picture by reading many if not all of the blogs listed here

http://weightoftheevidence.wordpress.com/

(note how many doctors are now involved)
 
I had my review this morning with the nurse at the clinic and i think i am now feeling far more postive that a few week's back.

I have finally got to grips with my eating and have lost a whole two pounds in 4 weeks and i know that isnt much to crow about but at least i didnt gain that amount!

My HbA1c this time was 5.4! I was really taken aback and relieved - that is the same as the previous two, so as the nurse says, i am obviously doing something right.

My cholesterol, which had risen to 6.7 in October, is now 5.7 but the ratio of 'good to bad' has risen more dramatically although i didnt write that down accurately. The nurse said, prior to diagnosis in 2007, my 2005 cholesterol was 5.1 but at that point i had a very poor ratio and the good cholesterol level was below 1 and is now above 4. Very complicated, eh?

My BP is higher than 6 months ago, too but still not high - 130/80 this time but 6 months ago it was 116/72, and i put that down to stress from the pain and not exercising and the gained weight.

We discussed my general feeling of being slightly depressed and very resentful about the diabetes but as she pointed out, in four months i have got my cholesterol back within normal limits and at the same time, increased the ratio to a commendable level. And my HbA1c hasnt altered, despite me thinking i had thrown caution to the wind!

So, now i need to get to grips with weight loss and exercise. I need to lose a stone to get back to where i was in the summer. I find this bit daunting as the pain in my hip and foot is considerable and i hate taking the Diclofenic in case i get used to it. Gentle for now, anyway. I will carry on with my three times a week walk into town and back during lunchtimes and progress from there when i am able.

And i have reduced further the amount of carbs i eat, because that is the only sure way to lose weight and control my BG.

Oh, well, i shall force myself to stop moaning now and get back on the straight and narrow, eh?

Sorry if i have been a depressing poster of late!

bunty
 
All round excellent performance!

Goes to prove how well you *can* do when you do sensible things instead of putting up with the mediocrity you are encouraged to aspire to
 
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