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Very Active and Healthy - Newly Diagnosed

diabeticdancer

diabeticdancer

Well-Known Member
Messages
117
A couple of days ago I was diagnosed with diabetes. Although I was showing nearly every symptom it came as quite a shock because I exercise for at least 12 hours a week and I follow a healthy diet(minus the odd chocolate bar or slice of cake). After the doctor took my urine sample she said it was full of sugar and then suggested I do a fasting blood test. The blood results came back pretty high and she put me on metformin straight away. She also said I will be put on insulin within the next few weeks. How can I avoid this? Is there a way I can get off the tablets too?

I am 25 year old female. The doctor couldn't tell me wether it's type 1 or 2 at this stage. She wants me to meet with my diabetes nurse.

Are there any other people out there who were really fit and healthy when diagnosed. How did you go about things? When did you get your energy back?


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I also worked out 10-12 hours a week and my meals were mainly bread so not to bad, but they told me that I got it possibly from a trauma my body got from the knee surgery I had or from over working myself. So before you go back to the gym you have to ask advice to your doc how it works because if your sugar drops while working out so maybe you'll have to eat something sweet before you start. Anyway don't over work yourself 12 hours is a lot so try doing a bit less, I started going back 2 weeks after I got diagnosed so it's not so bad
 
hi and welcome :)
there are many healthy sports people with diabetes, once your sugars are lower you should start feeling better
 
Hi, Welcome

Sorry for your shock, its quite normal to go through shock and many other emotions when first diagnosed, when you say healthy diet? is it high in carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes? because although you may think these things are healthy, they are not! its a misconception

any questions you may have please go ahead and ask, have a read of the forum you will pick up lots of tips
 
I was playing tennis regularly when diagnosed type 2, at 61. I'm still playing at 75. With good control you can cope. Ask for a meter & test strips. There is a lot of advice on the forum - feel free to ask any questions you have.
 
Hi, and welcome.
There are many people on the forum who were very fit when diagnosed and are still very fit now. Once you're properly diagnosed you can adapt and carry on with the exercise, here's a great website to help.....
http://www.runsweet.com/
 
I was fairly fit when I was diagnosed, gym two or three times a week, cycling a couple of times a week, as well as walking the dog every day. It was during a stressfull family illness/death that I converted to the dark side.

10 years on, I'm 55, and I run/cycle or swim, pretty much every day, and also walk the dog (new dog, the old one has passed on), even done the occasional Triathlon, although I am now medicated and on a moderate carb diet.

You should still be able to exercise, in fact it's really good for diabetes, you just need to keep an eye on those BG levels.

Hope you get a T2 diagnosis rather than T1, much easier to manage.

Seems to be a lot of people put on meds straight away these days, when I was diagnosed my GP sent me away to try sort my levels out by diet for 3 months, which I did, managed a year or two before meds. Then after being on meds for a few years sorted out a decent sports regime and was able to come off again. Until recently, that is, now back on meds.

Andy
 
Hi, unless you are a lot overweight, it sounds very likely that you are a Late onset T1 (LADA). Sadly, there is not a lot you can do about it but go onto insulin when needed. Metformin will only make a very small difference to your blood sugar but is given to most diabetics partly because it has other health benefits. There are other tablets you could be prescribed for a while but I suspect the GP is right and insulin will be needed shortly. Don't panic about that as it's not as bad as it sounds. There are two tests that can be done to confirm LADA but it sounds that it's likely to be your diagnosis based on young age and being healthy. As others have said, keeping the carbs down will always help even when on insulin.
 
For healthy you don't need to look any further than Sir Steve Redgrave.

Welcome to the forum Diabeticdancer :)
 
Thank you all so much for your replies. I am so glad to speak to people who are or have experienced the same thing as me.

I am a 2nd year dance student so I traini in dance technique lost days and run rehearsals on others. I try to keep active on my days off too and would really like to get into more strength training.

I follow a vegetarian diet, no fish or meat but I do eat eggs. I try to snack on fruit and I do have the odd chocolate bar. I love seeded whole wheat bread, brown rice and brown pasta. Should I cut out carbs like this?

What type of foods are a big no no?

I'm so grateful for your help.



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diabeticdancer said:
Thank you all so much for your replies. I am so glad to speak to people who are or have experienced the same thing as me.

I am a 2nd year dance student so I traini in dance technique lost days and run rehearsals on others. I try to keep active on my days off too and would really like to get into more strength training.

I follow a vegetarian diet, no fish or meat but I do eat eggs. I try to snack on fruit and I do have the odd chocolate bar. I love seeded whole wheat bread, brown rice and brown pasta. Should I cut out carbs like this?

What type of foods are a big no no?

I'm so grateful for your help.



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There appear to be two schools of thought. I believe low GI incorporates these foods which might be great for you. Douglas99 is good for advice in this sphere as is Yorksman - I think he eats brown rice and wholewheat pasta. I like LCHF see www.dietdoctor.com and have lost weight! Good luck!
 
diabeticdancer said:
Thank you all so much for your replies. I am so glad to speak to people who are or have experienced the same thing as me.

I am a 2nd year dance student so I traini in dance technique lost days and run rehearsals on others. I try to keep active on my days off too and would really like to get into more strength training.

I follow a vegetarian diet, no fish or meat but I do eat eggs. I try to snack on fruit and I do have the odd chocolate bar. I love seeded whole wheat bread, brown rice and brown pasta. Should I cut out carbs like this?

What type of foods are a big no no?

I'm so grateful for your help.



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Click to expand...
If it turns out u are Type one, and have no excess waist fat, then u may be like i was, I was your age when i first started going to the doc with symptoms, i was fit, on a similar, near vegan diet., but was not diagnosed until, after many unpleasant years of tiredness, thrush, muscle aches etc, i went into a coma. When my notes with my years of doctor visits were seen by the hospital, i had extensive tests - there was no sign of damage and it was suggested this was possibly due my diet preventing too many peaks. 35 years on from those tests i am free from the common complications, and some years ago it was suggested by my consultant that my mainly veg protein diet was a good one to continue with. Recently, a carotid test was clear, again diet was discussed , and it was suggested my diet was a factor. It is complex, though, i have been told that genes etc may be relevant. Cant do anything about genes, but If u are already veggie, with no extra weight, i would only suggest stay much the same, with a few more beans, less dairy, etc, more carbs from root veg, and less pasta, rice and bread. This sort of food is so much more available than when i was younger. Hope all works out well.
 
I was diagnosed as type 1 when I was 23, back in 2003...at the time, weighed in at 13st 2, my height is 5"9 (apparently quite overweight on the rather useless BMI scale)...my bodyfat was 4.4% though and my waist was 28".
Played American Football, worked out in the gym 5 days a week, trained twice with the team in the week and a 3.5 hr game on a Sunday.

When I got sick, my bloods were 42 and I'd shed 2 stone in a fortnight (apart from the unquenchable thirst, lethargy etc)...knew I had Diabetes, I did Sports Science at Uni and one of my papers was based on Diabetes in sport and centered around Sir Steve Redgrave!

If anything, I am even healthier now that I was then...as I watch my diet like a hawk...still workout 4-5 times a week and play Cricket (not American Football anymore, for the simple reason it's brutal and my body doesn't like 5 day aches after games!)

Lot of good advice on here, plenty of knowledgable folk.
Best advice is, test, test, test and test. I Your diet. workouts are half the battle, as it won't take a massive lifestyle change in that respect...will take some time getting used to it though, but in time, this condition is not something that should stop you doing anything in life...well, apart from jobs that require "healthy" people ;-)

Random fact...I met Richard Lane http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4330717.stm who was guest speaker at Lords for a Tesco/Diabetes UK charity Cricket event last September which I was fortunate to play in this (not because I was a T1 Diabetic I might add!). Spoke to him after our trophy presentation, what a truly nice chap...and he had it bad...very bad prior to the implant. Made me thankful of my situation.
Listening to his story, I didn't envy him or wish I was cured...as I've lived with it for just over 10 years now, got it under control..and it doesn't bother me really, its part of my life and I actually would feel strange not having it!

Can't beat a reason to eat a Galaxy caramel anyway... ;-)
 
Thanks for the reply..

It was confirmed today that I am type 1. I have been put on insulin and I am looking forward to feeling better so I can keep my training at an optimal level.

I would love any diet advice for when I am active.

I have been advised to ease myself back into my training because of the insulin.

How did you react when you found out?


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I found out 30 years ago. And I'm still reacting.

If there were a reversal available, I wouldn't be the first in the queue.

If I were you I would ditch the wheat (largely), and replace it with rye.
 
Hi,
There are Olympians with T1 and people who climb Everest. You can still do what you want to do. I was far older than you but wanted to make a statement about it not changing my life so after diagnosis trained and ran a marathon.
It's early days yet but the best advice I can think of is to test regularly before and after meals, fasting and at bedtime. When you exercise take your monitor with you so you can see the effect of your exercise on your levels. Keep a diary and watch for patterns. The more you learn about how your body reacts to insulin, food, and exercise the better you will be able to gain control.
You might like to look at this site , or perhaps bookmark it for the future. It has lots of advice about T1 diabetes and exercise but it's probably a bit soon to go into the fine detail.
http://www.runsweet.com/
 
Wow, congrats on the marathon. Thanks for wise words. I'm a bit of a control freak so I will make sure I keep a log off everything. I'm about to inject my insulin for the first time myself :s I then plan on taking a morning run and some yoga.

I'm so pleased with this app. It makes me feel better to hear how well people are doing.


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It's strange to remember how I reacted, as I wasn't feeling exactly chipper with a BG of over 40!
Self loathing and pity, why me, pretty helpless and hopeless...also angry as there was no single explanation for it. Thinking it's ruining all my hard work in the gym, my sport etc..

Was also looking forward to the actual feeling better part though, once that began, started to embrace it and think...actually, this is not the worst thing in the world to have.

I visited a good friend of mine in hospital last week, he has Crohns Disease, been in and out of the place as he has constant constrictions in his intestines/colon etc...needs to have his innards inflated...drinks raw milk, has to follow a pretty strict diet but still is in agony with his insides constantly.

Count myself lucky some days that I don't have that kind of chronic illness, or anything else for that matter.
End of the day, diabetes is life changing...but its not life ending if you embrace iand learn to live with it and keep learning.

One thing I do constantly, is remind myself why I want to take care of myself...it could be anything...but something precious and worth living for. In reality, yourself should be the biggest motivator...but for me, my little boy is what makes me focus on being the healthiest I can be. If I shorten my life expectancy because I didn't take care of myself, then he shouldn't be made to suffer (or any of my family).

Get yourself comfortable with your insulin, test yourself as much as you can...keep a food diary and log meals vs tests. Get that into a routine...then introduce your workouts, test before after etc.

You'll get there...we are here to help you along the way.

Am up at 6am to take the dog out for a 11 mile run...well, he is running and I am on my bike! Testing kit at the ready...porridge prior to the run...lucozade and insulin in the rucksack :)
 
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No worries....and the dog runs are always great! Better at this time as there aren't any or many distractions on the trail! :-)
 
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