In which I am royally f&cked

[MoonCat]

...But not in a good way.

So...I have diabetes. I can't believe I even just typed those words.

But, I'm not here to whine. It's the result of my own bad choices. Now it's up to me to get things on track.

I'm on metformin (just started) and was already under doctor's orders to lose min. 30 lbs. by next April...which I thought was doable. I lost some weight last year but put it back on over the winter. I'm back where I was before I started working on this in 2013. At least it's no higher.

So I just wanted to see if anyone here on the board has any advice other than the standard "get more exercise, eat less, especially carbs". I've been doing that anyway, and seeing as shit just got real, I intend to keep at it.

Any pro tips on living with this? I would really appreciate some moral support and practical advice.

[Tama]

Eat small, frequent meals.

Keep a blood sugar monitor. And check those labels! You'd be SHOCKED how much sugar you can find in weird places, places you'd never think they'd use it.

[mathnerd]

I've lost 70 pounds since April of 2013. I've kinda hit a plateau the last few months, but I do intend on getting back to things shortly. What worked for me was making very small lifestyle changes, and when those became habits, begin another change.

For example, at first I just started taking slow walks every morning. I didn't worry about my diet, I didn't worry about making my walk a workout, I just made getting up and walking for 20 minutes a habit. Once that was part of my routine, I started making it a real workout, gradually adding time and intensity until I could run for 30 minutes straight (this was a process that took months). Around the beginning of the second week, I started paying attention to my diet. Just like with exercise, I made slow, steady changes, little by little, until over the course of 6-8 weeks, my diet was totally revamped.

So, I guess my advise is to make small changes one or two at a time, and not stress about making huge, major changes all at once. Too much change too soon might lead you give up, but small changes are a lot easier to manage.

[Seanette]

Any pro tips on living with this? I would really appreciate some moral support and practical advice.

When my husband was diagnosed, there were two books we found quite helpful: "Diabetes for Dummies", and "Diabetes: the First Year" (author on this one is Gretchen Becker).

mathnerd and tama both have good advice, too.

[Kheldarson]

I'd add in the thought of making yourself accountable somewhere. I just realized how bad my weight gain has gotten here recently, so I've started exercising again. And because I'm lazy when I don't have to report to anybody, I started a blog (*shamelessly points to link in signature*).

Lord knows how many people actually read it or care, but I can pretend and it helps.

Oh, and don't beat yourself up for your bad days. They happen. Just figure out why you had a bad day so you can avoid it later, if possible.

[fireheart]

Get thee to a dietician as well, they can give you a heap of advice. I'm not diabetic, but the dietician I saw for a few sessions to get my weight under control gave me a book listing certain brands of foods that were better than others.

[csquared]

The American Diabetes Association's Exchange Diet, sometime called the Constant Carb diet. Lots of good info on http://www.diabetes.org. Several cook books are available for it too.

What really helped me, The Wife cleaned the kitchen. Threw out all the bad foods (gave it to food banks and friends). Stock the fridge with veggies. You don't have to starve yourself up front. Cut back on the starches and fatty/processed meats. Eat more veggies and lean meats.

One trap to look out for. Salads are great. Salad dressings are not.

I'll also give a shameless plug for Penzey's. Dieting does not have to taste bad.

In March 2012, I was told that I was diabetic. By August, I was prediabetic and off my meds. Last week, I was told that I was no longer prediabetic (A1C is now 5.5). If I can do it, you can do it.

[iradney]

My best friend's late husband was morbidly obese and a Type II diabetic for 20 years. They both went Paleo and within a year he'd lost close to 170 pounds. Unfortunately, the long term effects of his health issues resulted in his passing away on 30 December last year.

Basically, if it's super processed, don't eat it. Read the labels - sugar is in everything. It's a little more effort to make food, but you can cook in bulk over a weekend and freeze meals for the next two weeks. Leafy greens are your friend. A quick and easy salad - baby spinach, watercress, any leafy green you like, tomatoes, cucumber, avo, cold chicken chunks. Dressing? Tbsp olive oil, tsp apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper. Makes for a nice lunch/dinner.

[freeatlast]

I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2005. Was placed on Metformin and visited a dietician. Gradually, I stopped watching my diet and then when I lost my job and my insurance in 2007 stopped being treated. After time, didn't really think about it and ate and drank whatever I wanted. This caught up with me big time. On Good Friday, I finally went to the ER (still with no insurance) because I thought I had a boil on my thigh and another coming up in my groin. This resulted in 4 1/2 hours of surgery to clean up the necrotizing faciitis that resulted, a well as having developed sepsis. I spent 8 days in ICU and when released from the hospital had a very large open wound that the surgeon was hesitant to close up because of the risk of infection. A few weeks later he closed up about 1/2 of the wound and then I had to visit the wound center weekly for another 8 weeks before being declared healed.

Let this be a lesson to anyone with diabetes to take it seriously. When I am tempted to eat something I shouldn't, all I have to do is remember my ICU stay and it is very easy to avoid that temptation.

[Amina516]

Im sorry for your diagnosis, Mooncat.

Theres a ton of advice and anecdotal info. Listen to them. And whoever said get to the dietician, yes! It amazes me how people are started on medications but never referred to a dietician. If your insurance allows, please ask for a referral. Just remember, youre not alone. I've watched family suffer with diabetes for years. Some are great at listening to the doctors, eating well and taking their meds. They do great. Some, not so much. And as Freeatleast shared, there is a price for it. So many people have diabetes (at least around here) that some view it as not a big deal when it truly IS a big deal. But it doesn't have to consume you. Good luck, read up and stay positive.

[EricKei]

The best advice we can give is a) Talk to a nutritionist and a diabetic specialist (often the same people), if you haven't already, and just sit down and talk shop with them, and b) do what you can to control it -- diet, keeping up on your meds, etc (I was diagnosed pre-diabetic around 2 years ago, still on metformin *crosses fingers*).

One thing my specialist mentioned (that had not already been covered here) is to adjust what kinds of carbs you're eating, and how much. e.g., go for an apple as a snack if needed (fruit has what may seem like a surprisingly high amount of sugar, albeit as fructose rather than as glucose), as, you're not supposed to eliminate carbs entirely, but reduce them and be more careful which ones you take in. Again, a specialist can help you work up a meal plan - be honest with them regarding what you eat now, and tell them what you are prepared to just never eat again, effective immediately (there WILL be some things like that), and which things you know you shouldn't eat, but know may take time to wean yourself off of. Having a plan you can actually follow may make things easier. Diabetic-safe(r) eating doesn't mean tofu and bean sprouts all the time, but it will be an adjustment (little to no bread, for example).

On the blood test-meter front (and weight, I've had to deal with that too, but I've lost around 20lbs this year) -- keep a journal of your readings and weigh-ins. Over time, this will help you to form a better picture of exactly how you're doing, where you need to go, and the milestones you have surpassed along the way.

[greek_jester]

My mother's diabetic. Remember that, so long as your condition is managed properly, there's no reason why you can't lead a normal, healthy life. Here's a few tips.

1) When using the tester on your fingers, stab the side of your fingers rather than the pads. Your writing hand will thank you, as will any touch screens you deal with.

2) For the first couple of months keep a small notebook with you and try to test at the same times several times a day, e.g. just as you get up, just before you go to bed, at regular intervals through the day. This will help you build up a pattern and get a feel for when your "danger" periods are. You will also need to bring your weekend sleep schedule in line with your weekday sleep schedule, or you risk your blood sugar going screwy. Routine is important.

3) If it's feasible with your job, eat small and often rather than 3 large meals. This helps to keep your blood sugar on an even keel, rather than swinging wildly up and down. You'll end up feeling healthier overall.

4) Read the packets on everything. You'd be amazed what has sugar in; for instance soups and instant porridge usually have loads in. If you don't already, learn how to cook from scratch so that you know exactly what goes into your food. If you can get on with artificial sweetener, go for it; the powdered versions have very little difference to sugar when cooking. If you can't get on with them, experiment with herbs/spices that can be substituted for sugar; stevia and cinnamon work quite well. Once you're cooking from scratch, try cooking several portions then freezing the extra, as this will save you time in the week when you're working. That also goes for things like pasta sauces and soups; if you have access to a microwave at work then you can nuke a soup very quickly (mugs like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sistema-Soup.../dp/B005D6Y1OM

are very helpful; note the pop-up vent in the lid).

5) If you're prone to spikes in your blood sugar level, chug a large glass of water. This can help to bring it down quickly, but don't do more than a pint, as you risk fatal water intoxication.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

5) If you're prone to dips in your blood sugar, collect some of those little individual-serving jars of jam. They're easier to swallow than chocolate or sugar in a dip, and can be topped up with the flavour of your choice. Alternatively carry around bottles of glucose-heavy drinks such as Lucozade.

6) Make damn sure you read the things you can't eat any more due to the tablets; my mum "forgot" she wasn't allowed to eat grapefruit one too many times and ended up in A&E.

7) Be very careful of your extremities, as diabetics are very prone to infections which can turn into sepsis very quickly (a late girlfriend of a family member was very bad at keeping her diabetes under control, and twice ended up with such bad blood poisoning her legs were amputated below the knee). If you get a cut on your feet or hands, clean them thoroughly, first with soap and water to remove any debris, then with antiseptic to kill any bacteria. Cover them with a waterproof dressing (the blue food prep ones are good) and change them regularly to prevent infection.

8) When you are trimming finger or toenails, don't do a dramatic curve, leave them nearly straight across (just file the sharp corner down a bit so you don't scratch yourself). Curved nails are more likely to tear, leading to the possibility of infection.

9) Make sure you don't skip opticians' appointments. Diabetics have an increased risk of glaucoma, so make your optician aware so that they can monitor you for it. They can often pick up other diabetes-related problems, so a decent optician is a must.

10) Finally, make yourself aware of signs of kidney problems and blood pressure problems. They are often linked to badly-managed diabetes, but just as with diabetes they can be managed by good nutritional standards and reasonable exercise.

Good luck.

Just out of interest, have you tried swimming? That's usually a good way to exercise if you're a bit out of shape as the water supports you while providing resistance to strengthen your muscles. It's often worth seeing if your local pool does aquarobics classes, too, for the same reasons. I have collapsing arches in my feet, which makes conventional exercises very difficult for me. Swimming, however, gives me plenty of exercise without leaving me crippled.

[EricKei]

I already had blood pressure issues and hypothyroidism prior to the diabetes diagnosis, but it would not surprise me if they just didn't catch the signs of the diabetes when they should have. My issue with exercise is that I have back injuries from a while back. I do some walking, but anything more strenuous than a 10-minute walk has proven rather painful (as in, 3 jumping jacks put me on the floor for an hour...stupid of me, I know). Trying to figure out a place to swim, as that would be ideal;I just can't currently afford $40 a month for the Y, and the only other places with pools around here are country clubs, so they make the Y look dirt cheap.

[MoonCat]

I'm just going to address comments here all together. First, thank you all so much for your advice! I really truly appreciate it.

Whoever mentioned Penzey's, thanks for the reminder, we have one in town and I may pick up some additional stuff. Their products are great

Dietitian: A good thought. I'll see if I can get a referral to one.

I spoke to a diabetic specialist a couple times last year when I was told I was pre-diabetic, but to be honest, he didn't tell me anything I hadn't already read online at the American Diabetes Assn. website.

I do have a blood meter. Last year they had me testing to see when my problem times of the day were. I started monitoring that again today (doc prescribed supplies along with the metformin). Whoever said don't stick your finger pads, yeah, I agree! I sometimes do it on the side instead; my main problem is that if I get very warm my hands sweat and it's hard to get them dry enough to not dilute the drop of blood.

Exercise: I walk every day on my afternoon break. I'll be continuing that as long as I can. Once there's too much snow & ice I'll have to walk in the building. If possible I may buy a treadmill (as long as the doc says that's ok). I can't swim, so walking will have to be my main exercise to start with. I need to recalibrate my pedometer.

Re: processed foods and sugar - you ain't kidding! It's appalling how much sugar there is in these foods. I don't eat fast food, but so many other products are full of the stuff. The hardest thing will be staying away from bread. I love breads and pastries

Making smaller changes to start with is a good idea too. I have to increase the walking (I was doing more last year), and ditch foods that are problematic. I ordered a book called the Mediterranean Diabetes Cookbook; the Med. diet (as in "way of eating", not "weight loss plan") is supposed to be very healthy, so we'll see how that goes.

[Kheldarson]

Instead of a treadmill, you may want to try an elliptical. It's easier on the knees, uses the arms more, and I find it doesn't make me dizzy from moving in one spot like a treadmill does.