And while it's OT, it IS IMPORTANT.
That is what Shiney Sue said about her cancer in post #10 that it is becoming less of a problem. She had been undergoing chemo and it seems that the treatments have been successful!

HORRAY SUE! Keep beating the monster to death and hug your kidlets!

Melody I am sure both You and Alan will go thru honey withdrawal, it is the curse of life for those who have to 'watch things' Sigh - j

Mrs. d this was exactly the way it was explainded to me,hugs to all Sue: Mrsd:
your a joy.

--there is a balance involved, but everyone's is individual.

And it is true that once you've becme diabetic--even pre-diabetic (disturbed glucose tolerance), the blood sugar swings tend to be, calorie for caloire, wider and more erratic than they are for "normals". (This is part of the reason that true reactive hypoglycemia a few hours after meals, indicative of insulin resistance, is considred a forerunnner of diabetes--the body is becoming less able to absorb the shocks and keep glucose within a narrow range.)

I do agree with Mrs. D that the hemoglobin A1C is a much better indicator of your situation overall than a series of blood glucose readings are. Blood glucose readings are notoriously dependent on outside factors even among "normals"--just how glycemic your last meal was, how good your liver function is, whether you've been exercising, and so on.

I'm sure, for example, that I could convince any doctor I had glucose dysregulation if I had them do a glucose reading about an hour to an hour and a half after I've eaten one of my son's classmates' birthday cake slices. But if you took it two hours later, you'd say I was hypoglycemic. The link is the insulin resistance, and the overproduction of insulin driving down my glucose level before it gets very high (and in glucose tolerance testing, it never gets than high--but that's only a 75mg dose). It's gotten to the point that I watch the insulin levels more closely than the glucose readings.

Though I'll occassionally cheat at special events, I've really tried to follow the Zone-diet type principles--balanced diet of carbs/protein/fat, eating small meals at regular intervals (not three meals a day--more like five smaller meals), and protein-oriented snacks when I have them. I also try to do as much weight-bearing exercise as my cervical spine will tolerate (admittedly not as much as it used to--can't wait for the pool here to open), as muscle tissue tends to handle insulin best and reduce resistance. (Staying away from the "white foods"--except for caulifower--helps too.)

Thanks Glenn:

As for honey withdrawal, I never touch the stuff, so I couldn't care less. Today, I just sprinkled some splenda on Alan's sweet potato. He has taste perversion ever since he went off the fentanyl pain patch, so his tastebuds are WAY off. But no more honey. He knows and he doesn't care.

He also did not have his coffee roll. This morning I made him some egg beater stuff on some light toast. And his decaf tea. Oh, I juiced a nice juice drink for him as soon as he got up.

Cantellope, apple, pear, a little piece of fresh ginger, some fresh pineapple, and a carrot. He said it was the most delicious thing he ever drank.

I have carrot, celery, zucchini, and some other green stuff. Just a slice of apple to make it tolerable.

And I only drink a small glass. BUT I DO LOVE THIS JUICER. It's really powerful.

But I think I'm better off doing what Glenn does. Little meals,

I bought bean sprouts today. For dinner, I just sauteed them in a bit of garlic and added some fresh asparagus. Bean Sprouts can't hurt right?? lol

I also found out something about my body. While I may like the taste of a brownie on the weekend, my body really doesn't like when I put anything with sugar in it. I've been using the Duncan Hines.

Alan knows that this weekend was the last time I will make brownies.

I'll have to find some other sugar free treat to give us next weekend. Maybe I'll make a splenda cake or buy some sugar free apple stuff.

It's something to look forward to , and it makes the body rev up the metabolism. Someone from Cornell told me "if you want to lose weight, never eat the same thing and the same way every day. Your body gets used to it". So I've been following that principal.

Hey, I just might get into that Bikini some day.!! lol

I'm so sorry...I seemed to have missed something somewhere (duh! huh?). Did you say cancer and a cancer hospital? Can you PM me and bring me up to date or someone please do.

Billye

Hi Melody, I just read this rather complex thread and thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.

First, I don't think you need worry about the platelet count of 130. It's very near normal, and it's a test that is easily technically off a bit. As a rule, it's a good idea not to stress yourself with investigating all the causes of and potential problems of a blood test that is abnormal ONCE. I'd not worry at all unless it was abnormal on repeat, and MORE abnormal than this.

Next, on your diabetes: Melody, do you work with a nutritionist? Most diabetes I know have a diabetic nutritionist who they report to regularly with charts of what they've eaten, when they've taken their insulin, and what their blood sugar is. Then both insulin and diet can be adjusted appropriately for that individual. But it's hard to say there's any one rule that solves the problem of a person who is on one dose of insulin a day. To keep it in range, you really ought to be seeing a nutritionist weekly until it's stablized. While I agree with Mrs D that the A1c is an important indicator, having glucoses as high as 150 is not good for you. Glucoses of 120 and above have been associated with complications, which is why doctors more and more are aiming patients at tighter control. But it might be surprising how much you can affect the numbers with dietary counselling.

Shiney Sue: Congrats! Good news is always great to hear.

Thanks Liza Jane:

Alan and I both went to the nutritionist who put us on a good sensible diet, with no refined carbs, plenty of fruits and vegetables (not so much fruit for me), and no red meat. We didn't find this hard at all because we had mainly been eating this way for 5 or so years.

Alan lost over 75 lbs and I lost close to 100 from when I was REALLY OBESE. It's been a long long time to lose the weight. I had to change my whole attitude of food.

What confused me was that I hear different things from different people (including the nutritionist) She had said 'many diabetics have to eat something before bedtime so as to not get hypo during the night".

I stopped eating after 7 p.m. and had no adverse reactions whatsoever. I got good control and my a1c really was improved.

Then someone told me "you must, as a diabetic eat something before you go to bed". So I did that, and in the a.m., my sugar went up. I went to Cornell and told them and they said :"why are you listening to anyone else", keep doing what you've been doing".

So I went back to not eating after 7 p.m. Well, for some reason, my sugar would get various readings. One morning it was 120, then the next it was 118, then one day it was 190. I dont' eat anything white, I don't cheat (maybe a brownie on the weekend (but as I said, my brownie days are over).

I have the neuropathy at bay with the B-12, so that's a good thing.

I worry a lot about Alan's feet and now they want to give him a $1200 CROW foot boot. All this stress, well, I have no idea if this raises my sugar.

And the stuff with my son, well Mother's Day just passed. That was not a good day for me. I deal with stress very diffently than a lot of my friends. I do not cry, I just accept. It's what I do and I don't think I can do it any differently. I have had to make a lot of adjustments in my head over my son, and this is not easy when you have a sick man to take care of and no family.

But as I said, I adapt and I accept. I've questioned various diabetic nutritionists and everybody has different theories, but they all agree that one has to find a good balance.

Years ago, my sugar never went below 265. I used to weigh 300 lbs.

So now I have my a1c is a better range and each day my sugar is getting better. I don't want to increase the Lantus, but when I go to Cornell on May 30, they will tell me what to do.

I was kind of hoping (I know this is a long shot), but I was hoping for a miracle that SOMEDAY I might even be able to go off of insulin completely. Is this foolish of me?

I mean, I watch the Biggest Loser, and these people lose 100 lbs and they go "I don't have diabetes any more, and I'm off all my blood pressure meds".

I think this is a stretch for someone my age, but I have to try.

I'm taking Glenn's advice and doing the small meals . Giving this a try.

I eat correctly, this I know. I just want to be off of insulin.

I really don't think I have a shot. But I'll try.

I go to Cornell on May 30 and I'll try and speak to their nutritionist at that time. Every single nutritionist I've spoken to tells me "no white stuff", no pasta, no potatoes, no bread, no red meat, eat small meals, no sugar, no rice cakes, no popcorn, no chips, plenty of fish, plenty of veggies, etc.

You know, a good healthy diet.

What confuses me is the fact that every healthy diet says "eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables". Then I'm told "no fruit".

Now if I treat my body with good stuff, isn't it supposed to heal and let me eat fruits and vegetables. I don't understand this.

If I'm good to my body, why can't I eat the recommended allowance of fresh fruit? I know about the glycemic index and that some fruit is allowed but I just thought that SOMEDAY, I might be able to eat fruit like Alan can eat fruit.

Not doing that yet. Sticking to greens. And colors in the salad.

I think if I could just knock off the last 30 lbs that is stuck in my body, I just might be able to be off all insulin.

Not sure, but I'm going to do my darndest.

thanks for all the good info.

This past Mom's day was very hard for me. I'm not sure, but doesn't stress reach havoc with the body, and doesn't that raise sugar levels??

Melody

By the time someone is diagnosed with Type II diabetes,
1/2 of the pancreas is no longer working.

Had that in one of my CE's. No one knows if it is capable of coming
back, but that is why they are now switching to using insulin instead
of oral meds for Type II's.

The net has lots of diabetic dessert recipes so you can still have some treats.
Seems to me if one can never "go back" that injecting a bit more insulin daily
in order to have a quality of life --fun with food-- might be worth it.
http://www.lifeclinic.com/whatsnew/c...escookbook.asp

Research shows that it is NOT only the pancreas dying however that causes diabetes type II.
There is some factor blocking insulin at the cell level affecting glucose that way.

So sensitizing insulin is important, not just having MORE.

Things that sensitize insulin
chromium
http://www.thenutritionsolution.com/...ndDiabetes.htm

r-lipoic acid
http://www.advance-health.com/rlipoicacid.html

cinnamon
http://www.rxreview.info/columns/1.html

taurine
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/conten...00003/art00003

Ah, my dear Mrs. D. What would I do without you.

I just came back from Dunkin. There was a guy there who shouted out "ONE LARGE COFFEE WITH 11 SPLENDAS"

The guy behind the counter almost had a stroke. Splenda is way more expensive than Equal and they offer Sugar, Equal, Sweet & Low, and Splenda.

The guy said: "I WANT A LARGE COFFEE WITH 11 SPLENDAS".

Now, it's my understanding that one splenda is equal to two teaspoons of sugar. So if that's the case, this guy ordered a large coffee with the sweetness of 22 teaspoons of sugar?? I thought Alan had a taste problem, but oh my goodness.

I then came home and looked up Splenda on the internet. I mean, I REALLY LOOKED UP SPLENDA.

It seems that they changed the molecular anatomy of the cell or something to that effect. They add so many things to make it the way it is, well, it had me thinking. Alan uses 5 splendas with one large cup of tea. He drinks maybe 3 to 4 large cups of tea a day. That's a lot of artificial sweetner going into his body. Maybe all this is aggravating is psoriasis. I read about the negative side effects of Splenda.

I also read about how REALLY BAD aspartame is, and thank god, I went off that almost 7 years ago.

So I just told Alan, from now on we use Stevia. Can't find anything negative about that. I went to Puritan.com and they are having a 70% off sale on Stevia Products. So we'll stock up on that. I've tried it, it tastes fine. It also comes in many form.

Packets, liquid, powder. I don't know which form is the best to use. Do you have any idea??

Oh, this is interesting. Last night at 9:30, I had a small piece of low-fat Gouda. It was very nice.

This morning at 8 a.m. I took my sugar . it was 174. Thirty seconds later, I used a different strip and it was 154.

I'm going to test my meter with the sample testing solution they provide. I mean, how can it drop 20 points in 30 seconds??? Something kooky going on here.

Also, I'm not going to juice for a few days. I'll still juice for Alan, but I'm going to do the protein, and veggies, and see how that impacts my sugar reading in the morning. When I told Cornell I was juicing, they DID NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL. Something about the concentration of the juice going into my body versus just eating a piece of fruit.

I am wondering, does this apply to green vegetables also. Would the juicing of celery, zucchini, asparagus, cucumber (with a small slice of apple for sweetness), well would that affect my diabetes?

I always thought that juicing fruit would impact it, but I never thought that juicing veggies and other greens could affect one's diabetic levels.

Oh, I just found this on the internet. No more carrots for me.

http://www.diabetescure101.com/juice4.shtml

I also didn't know that by the time one is diagnosed with Type 2, one half of the pancreas is damaged.

Now here's the rub!!!

Can we fix our pancreas??? no one knows do they??

Well, I reversed the diabetes in my eyes. I no longer need glasses. I broke the protocol at Cornell and my body reacted better than anyone else's.

And that happened when I went on Lantus, and stopped the oral stuff.

So can Melody re-engineer her pancreas?

I can most assuredly tell you that MELODY IS GOING TO TRY.

I mean, if I got my feet to stop buzzing and burning (with using Methyl B-12), well, God only knows what other wonders I can get my body to do.

I shall be a test case.

All good stuff going in, and all toxins going out.

And I shall walk every day.

So we shall see.

I ain't giving up till the FAT LADY SINGS!!!!

And no, I'M NOT THE FAT LADY!!!!

lol

removes the fiber from the food. The fiber serves a useful purpose,
it releases the carbs slowly so there is no spike to overstimulate insulin release.

Fiber also helps the colon work better.