Diabetes Community

Well, your sugar has been high for a pretty long time. 2 more weeks wont make more difference to what's already happened. When your insurance starts out, I would suggest getting bloodwork done and a microalbumin to check your kidneys. Early detection of problems is the best, because then you can stop the damage.

How many carbs are you eating per meal? What are you doing for exercise? Are your meals evenly spaced, or do you go for long times without eating then eat a big meal?

without being overweight, are you sure you're type 2 and not type 1?

damondj, I would guess at this point it doesn't matter if you wait for a couple more weeks. It is obvious you have not taken your diabetes seriously enough. You might want to review all the posts from 5 months ago, where we "all" gave you advise to your post "HAVE TO GET MY NUMBERS DOWN". You still have the high numbers you brought to us before, so in my opinion your numbers have been high for 5 months what's a couple more weeks? I'm sorry but that's how I feel.

One reason why you may not "feel" any complications is that high sugars also destroy your nerves. Taking six pills on top of eating the wrong stuff won't make much difference. Some of those pills may further injure your pancreas by forcing it to chug out a lot of extra insulin to cover your food, thus destroying more of your few remaining beta cells. Maybe that is why your blood sugar continues to go up.

Type 1 diabetics require insulin to survive, as the body doesnt make any. Unless it's latent type 1 (which requires some insulin until the body destroys insulin producing cells), more than likely damondj is a type 2 moving towards beta cell failure.

Best advice would be to report your readings to your doctor, test, frequently, as you have (good job!), eat as healthy as you can and, finally, try to do some exercise, everyday...

and, maybe, change your screen name, too...

I don't think I am type one but never was tested until I was in my 40's... I did my best to not take the needle but now I realize it's the only way I can go.... or complications will set in. By the way.. whats wrong with my screen name? After the 302 count at 1am I went to sleep at about 3am and woke up at noon and the count read 176 which was okay considering BUT I know it will rise again during the day. So far I had EggBeaters and a slice of pumpernickel bread for breakfast which was about 4 hours ago... the eggbeaters have zero carbs. I will take my count in about an hour and see if it has gone up. My purpose for posting is not just for me but also the hundreds or even thousands that come on here also looking for answers and do not post. I'll probaly eat some tuna fish shortly as I am getting hungry again but I'll take my count again before eating. So far according to all of my 3 month blood tests my kidneys and liver is fine... blood pressure is 130/70 with pills... cholesterol 126 with 80 milligrams of zocor which I tried to have reduced but the doctor won't do it... heart and arteries are fine... but I do have fatique. I take Two Glucovance twice a day 1000/2000 plus Onglyza at 10 milligrams and yesterday I took Prandin twice as a throw in but still read 302 despite eating low carb foods. Thats when I really knew I am headed for the needle. I'm always wondering what "your" sugar count was when first diagnosed and was it in the 300 range?

Just took the BC again and it read 207... not sure why it went up but now having tuna salad on pumpernickel... will test again in 4 hours...

How many slices of bread are you having? How many carbs in "one" slice?

I'm assuming brunosbud "may" have meant changing your name as some people mentioned that you were on here before with this name and didn't listen or do what people suggested.

Are you exercising?

167 isn't great either...Sleeping "might" let you know you've had too many carbs or your numbers are up.

I'm glad you're starting to be more aware of carbs. Try to use a little less, and see what will happen. Skip the bread, and make a salad with the tuna for now. Your numbers are so high, that it takes time for it to come down. What "else" are you eating? Are you snacking or having a slice of fruit? All that adds into the count.

Damondj, I am not familiar with your diabetic status as I do not frequent the forums that often and am currently traveling in Asia. Based on your posts in this thread alone, however, I suspect that you still haven't invested the time required to learn the in's and out's of this very nasty disease. When my diagnosis was confirmed, I CHOSE to go on insulin very early on. Why did I want to voluntarily go on the "dreaded" needle? Because I wanted to bring my elevated BG levels under control as quickly as possible since I was already battling neuropathy at the time (which included foot drop syndrome; the latter was a significant impediment to my daily 2-hour morning walks). I also made major modifications in my diet even though I had been largely vegetarian for nearly ten years at the time of diagnosis and, quite frankly, that is what is required of all diabetics: major modifications in diet.

Dietary modifications alone are inadequate and they must be combined with an exercise program that is conducted/performed a minimum of five, preferably seven days a week. The advice that one often sees in the media that suggests exercising just "20 minutes a day, three times a week" as being "adequate" really only applies to "youngsters" and not to those of us over fifty (and much, much younger if diabetic). Stateside, my walking partner, who is on oral meds, has been in partial denial for the past three years. Although she is marginally carb-conscious, she still eats many foods that I personally avoid like the plague because of their impact on my blood sugar levels. Her last A1c (45 days ago) measured 6.2 (up from 6.0). In contrast, my A1c is 5.2 (down from 5.3). She has promised to start eliminating more starches from her diet but when push comes to shove, she seems to apply that only to desserts and side dishes, not necessarily to main dishes/courses. It took me a while to convince her that whole wheat/whole grain bread and bagels were just as detrimental as their white flour counterparts. She finally believed me when she used up some extra test strips and saw for herself that I wasn't being "overly paranoid or just making it up" (her words, not mine).

I suspect you're in a similar quandary and haven't yet made the genuine dietary modifications required to lower your blood glucose levels to a healthier range. Pumpernickel bread may have a lower GI (glycemic index) value than white bread but when all is said and done, it still metabolizes into glucose in the body except that it may take a little longer (than white bread) to get there. An average single slice of pumpernickel contains 15 grams of carbs (2 gm of fiber). If you're making a sandwich and eating 2 slices, it's going to add nearly 30 gm of carbs to your meal. If you use mayonnaise on your tuna, you will add another 2 gm. What does that translate into in terms of BG levels? Although we are all slightly different, in my body, a single gram of carb will elevate my BG level approximately 5 points. 30 grams will elevate it 150 points unless it is countered with insulin (I am a type 1.5). A unit of regular insulin will lower my BG levels approximately 25 points. Therefore, the six units of insuin that I inject for each meal will cover a pumpernickel sandwich but doesn't provide any allowance for additional carbs in veggies and nuts which I like to include in my meals. However, if I skip the bread (any type) and replace it with a high fiber tortilla (e.g., La Tortilla's Smart & Delicious Low Carb, High Fiber Tortillas ) instead, I can squeak by with a carb load of only 8 gm or less (the La Tortilla Smart & Delicious large size tortilla's sold in my area only contain 6gm of carb 12 gm of fiber).

To summarize, you will have to learn how various foods affect your BG levels and how many units of insulin you will require to offset that impact. It's going to involve some trial and error, more frequent monitoring, and lots of tweaks and adjustments until you master the science.

Good luck !

I am sorry but I have to ask - have you been to your dr since 5 months ago, back then your numbers were high? Didn't your dr tell you how to test or when?

When I was diagnosed I went to a dietician and a diabetes workshop there they told me or I should say instructed me to test first thing in the AM when getting up, 2 hrs after eating and before bed.

Why do you test every 4 hours? What is the purpose of that, you already know it is high because it has been for a long time. If you remember 5 months back you told us you stopped testing for 5 months and you were getting on board again so what happened?

Thank you NutriJoy and Teddybear.. I saw my doctor about 5 days ago and he took a A1c test... and despite not having the results back I know it will be high. I've consigned myself to the needle and made an appt for November first to see the doctor about going on it. About 5 months ago I was posting to see if I could do it by diet but it does not work for me... if i get a week of good readings I stop testing and eat what I want again, That is wrong and I found out the hard way. Last night at midnight I ate a rather large salad with Lite Ranch dressing and was afraid to test myself at 2am so I waited until this morning and it read 145 which is my best reading so far. I test every 4 hours to see how food is affecting me. As for pumpernickel bread I just eat one slice with tuna or chicken salad per meal. One question I will ask my doctor is that when I go on Lantus is... will I be able to have occasional sugar free cake or ice cream as I do have a sweet tooth. However the answer may be no. I am happy over the 145 this morning as it is better than 302. I will now eat oatmeal for breakfast and see what happens. This diet is no fun but guess it is the only way.

Damondj, "This diet is no fun but guess it is the only way" was your last statement. IMO, You are not really on any diet except your old "whatever" plan. Do you realize that when you are on insulin you will have to be MORE careful and count all your carbs correctly, or else you may go low and really be in trouble, such as a diabetic coma. Insulin is a weight gaining hormone in the long run because people tend to eat more to cover their insulin, then their blood sugar goes up even more, then they eat more to cover the insulin, etc,. etc., etc.

Diabetics who are very careful in their management do very well on insulin and sometimes it is the only method that works for them because they are type one and produce no insulin in their own body. However, it seem to me that you are type "Whatever is easiest" in the short term, without figuring out what the long term effect may be.

Going on insulin doesn't mean you get to eat whatever you want. You are still going to have to be careful of what you eat and now you are going to have to figure out how much insulin you need to take. You haven't been successful in figuring out what to eat. Now you're adding insulin to the mix. I fear you may have trouble getting the right dosage if you eat willy nilly. You better think this through and commit yourself to following the doctor's instructions STRICLY, or else you may be headed to the ER.