Back from hiatus
 

Hi,
My name is uglogirl and I have Diabetes 2 and Neuropathy. My fasting sugars are high run 160 to 190 and by dinner they are normal. I have had neuropathy for a couple of years And took Lyrica, gabapentim, magneseum, alpha lypolic acid the rest and didn't like any of it so I stopped.

For a period there was a difference the burning, tingling, water and sand in my feet feeling felt better.
I don't know if the twitches and legs jerking were due to the PN or the medications but I don't experience them only once in a while. I stopped taking all the meds cuz after a while they were not helping enough for the side effects.

Most of the time if I have too many carbs within 10 minutes my feet are unbearable with burning, numbness, shooting pains. I am now determined to work at getting my sugar under control. There is a big difference under control the symptoms are tolerable probably a 3 or 4 on a sliding scale.
My DIabetes upon retiring is around 90 to 120 and in the morning it is 170 to 199. I feel it is sun dance syndrome.

Sometimes the inside of my cheeks and lips get numb that is why I came back hoping someone could help me understand. It is scary.:group hug
If anyone has similar issues I would appreciate very much hearing from you.

Hi uglogirl,

Your morning levels of 170 to 199 are fasting levels? While sleeping you go from the bedtime range of 90-120 to 170-199 range upon waking?

Do you ever wake during the night and take a reading?

That is quite a jump even with the dawn phenomenon coming into play.

What diabetes meds are you taking? What do your A1C's run? How long have you been diabetic?

What do your readings run two hours after eating a meal?

How often do you test?

Are diet and exercise your only methods of controlling your blood sugar levels?

You did not mention any meds related to diabetes, just for the neuropathy. Do you have any other medical conditions or medications?

Hope to hear from you.

Hi Hopeless,

Yes that is correct just took a reading and is 109. It will be fine until sometime during the sleeping hours and in the morning like yesterday fasting was 177!

I take 2000 mg of Metformin and 20 grams of glipizide. The dr just added
5 grams of Glipizde two days ago.

My A1C a couple months ago was 7 and a few months before that was a 6.

Readings after with added pill are good 120. Before the added pill not so good 150 to 170. Having smaller dinners this past week too seems to be helping.



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Hi,
Fasting sugar today is 144. Lowest in a long time.where Cani start a new post?


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Hi uglogirl,

Your numbers are strange for a type 2 diabetic. To have HIGH fasting blood sugar levels and better numbers throughout the day, even post-prandial, makes me wonder about the timing of your diabetes meds and your liver function. Also, what time do you have your last meal of the day before going to bed? Any snack or anything to drink after your last meal?

Are all of your other lab results within normal range when you have a basic metabolic panel done?

Hi Hopeless,
I take the morning meds at 9 am and evening at 7 pm with dinner. At night I like a bowl of cereal with a little Splenda.

Last night reading was about 103 had a slice of toast about 1 am and sugar was 144 fasting this morning.

Too my reading now before dinner and is 89


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There is also a thread for uglogirl on our diabetes forum -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread223949.html

A simple slice of toast can really raise your level and if you ate that at 1 am and then had a morning level of 144, that is not surprising even though your bedtime level was 103.

Try not to consume ANY carbs after your dinner at 7 PM. If you need a snack later in the evening or during the night, you might try some protein but NO carbs and see if your morning levels come down from those 177-190 levels.

The cereal at night can be attributing to your high morning levels.

If you like cheese or egg, you could try that as a night time snack and see how that changes your morning readings. If you like avocado, that would be a good choice for a snack.

I try to keep a hard boiled egg in the frig for those rare occasions that I get hungry LATE, due to no eating enough at dinner. It gets rid of the hunger but does not elevate my blood sugar readings in the morning.

Do you take your diabetes meds both morning AND evening or all at the same time. You mentioned morning med time and evening med time, but not what meds at each time.

Some diabetics can get away with eating more carbs than others and it depends on the individual. One slice of bread will skyrocket me no matter how much med I have on board.

In the beginning of my diabetes road, I could eat a sandwich for lunch on occasion but as the disease has progressed, sandwiches have been off limits for me for quite some time. My body can no longer handle bread. That is why I asked how long you have been diabetic.

It is a progressive disease and we have to be more and more aggressive with our control as time passes. You may have reached a point where your body can no longer handle a slice of toast or a bowl of cereal, especially if the meds are peaking in their performance at a different time than you are consuming the carbs. (The reason I asked about the timing of your meds.)

Please keep us posted on how things progress. We are here to help any way we can. The complications that go with diabetes can be horrific. Not just the PN, but the entire body and all of its organs.

When I am tempted to eat something that I know has too many carbs, I ask myself if the momentary satisfaction I will get from consuming the item is really worth my eyesight, my kidneys, my limbs, etc. I quickly lose interest in eating that item.

I am far from perfect with my diet and I will indulge in a few items that I know will raise my blood sugar on special occasions, but the thought of the complications help keep me pretty compliant with my food intake.

Even "healthy" foods can make my blood sugar go sky high. I happen to love cabbage but even it will make my blood sugar soar. Just plain cabbage. (NO seasoning or additives of any kind.) Have I eliminated cabbage from my food choice completely? NO. I just don't cook it as often as I would like because my meter has told me that my body does not react well to indulging in it on a regular basis.

I tried going by a list of items from a dietician or nutritionist at first as my guide but I found my meter was the BEST indicator of what I should and should not eat. Everyone is different and their body reacts differently to different food items. Your body will react differently to slow carbs and fast carbs, also.

I do think the cereal and/or toast at night may be factors in your high morning readings.

Let us know if we can help.

Hi Hopeless,
I have had diabetes for 12 years and Neuropathy for 2 yrs. I take 2 Metformin 500 mg each with 2 glipizide 5 mg each. I do this twice a day.

I had to much dinner had corn and mashed potatoes sugar pre dinner was 89 2 hours after was 139 now it has climbed to 169. I can't imagine what it will be by morning plus it started stabbing random pains in my feet.

I was told I could have 35 carbs per meal plus 2 snacks of 15. I know I do the breakfast and lunch meals it is the dinner meal I have to get .serious about. No more cabs after dinner. An Apple should be ok.
Your right an innocent bowl of cereal and piece of toast Are no good for me. I am beginning to understand that now.

You have helped I did not want to admit it but I am doing it to my self with dinner toast and cereal. I have to adopt ur thinking is it worth it.
You would think a little piece of toast would be harmless wi


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My blood sugar being only 89



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Just curious was is a sample dinner for you?


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I am sorry it is dawn syndrome. I call it Sundance


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Hi uglogirl,

I will respond as soon as I get back from my doctor appt.

Talk to you soon.

I just want to mention while you probably shouldn't be having be having cereal, you don't mention the type of milk. Whole milk is actually preferable for your blood sugar levels. Also, there has been lots of research that artificial sweeteners can cause blood sugar spikes even more severely than white sugar. You might try unprocessed honey, it has a lower glycemic index than processed honey or sugar, and because it is sooo sweet, a tiny bit goes a very long way.

I'm not diabetic but have always been very sensitive to my blood sugar levels--my father was diabetic my entire childhood (the drink of choice in our house was diet Coke and I realized it was spiking and crashing my blood sugar all day when I was in my early 20's.) and my mother developed diabetes in her 60's. When my mom's dietician gave her a food plan, I thought it was still too carb heavy. The American diet has become very focused on processed foods over the past 50 years--almost all of which are carb heavy.

You migh look into eating Paleo. The site I followed when I was doing it strictly was Marksdailyapple.com. The site recommended staying below 50 carbs a day 6 days a week and having one cheat day. Not only is this way of eating protein heavy, there is also a concentration on eating high quality fat.

What a catch 22
 

[QUOTE=LIT LOVE;1159693]I just want to mention while you probably shouldn't be having be having cereal, you don't mention the type of milk. Whole milk is actually preferable for your blood sugar levels. Also, there has been lots of research that artificial sweeteners can cause blood sugar spikes even more severely than white sugar. You might try unprocessed honey, it has a lower glycemic index than processed honey or sugar, and because it is sooo sweet, a tiny bit goes a very long way.

I'm not diabetic but have always been very sensitive to my blood sugar levels--my father was diabetic my entire childhood (the drink of choice in our house was diet Coke and I realized it was spiking and crashing my blood sugar all day when I was in my early 20's.) and my mother developed diabetes in her 60's. When my mom's dietician gave her a food plan, I thought it was still too carb heavy. The American diet has become very focused on processed foods over the past 50 years--almost all of which are carb heavy.

You migh look into eating Paleo. The site I followed when I was doing it strictly was Marksdailyapple.com. The site recommended staying below 50 carbs a day 6 days a week and having one cheat day. Not only is this way of eating protein heavy, there is also a concentration on eating high quality fat.[

The Paleo diet won't work cuz of my Cholesterol. This is becoming a real issue.

I drink Diet Coke and am trying to ween my self off it and have lemon and ice water.

My milk is 1% at Giant Eagles Dairymen's milk.

My doc was out of the office and I have a message from him to start a different medication which I will go get today.

The doc that was subbing for him said to take 5 more mgs of Glipizide.

And my extra helping yesterday did not help today my mouth is numb and legs ache a little.

I am going to look into the zone diet and compare with the paleo diet.

Good luck at your Dr's appt.

There was a doctor from the Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara that wrote a book about blood sugar and high cholesterol and said that all of the diet changes to fight high cholesterol have had the opposite effect on patients. There is no evidence that eating high quality fat raises cholesterol levels. (I gave my copy to my mom who has of course never opened it, sigh.) There has been lots of research on this in the past 10 years or so.

Eating low quality fat, highly processed fat is to be avoided, but you want to consume ingredients that are less processed.

So, not only is the cereal an issue, so is the 1% milk. After going Paleo, I never returned to drinking milk, but sometimes use it in recipes. Using whole milk greek yogurt is a better choice, IMO.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dairy...#axzz3hmdzJrGM

The idea behind Paleo is that everything you eat is nutrient rich. If you're going to eat something high in sugar, it should be something that has lots of additional health benefits like a 1/2 a cup of berries.

[The Paleo diet won't work cuz of my Cholesterol. This is becoming a real issue.]


We have some threads on the latest cholesterol & statins info...
A few here-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...hlight=statins
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...hlight=statins

Different responder
 

[QUOTE=uglogirl;1159721]Hi uglogirl,

I think you may not have noticed that it was Lit Love responding, not me since you said good luck at my doc appt.

It was a LONG appt. and now I have many more tests added to my calendar. My doc sent orders to 5 or 6 different places for testing procedures so I guess I will be busy for the rest of the month. And this was not my endocrinologist appt. that is scheduled for later this month. Wonder what HE has in store for me when I see HIM. It gets to be a juggling act when you have 8 docs and coordinating them.

OK, back to topic. I took Glimeperide for a while and it would NOT help my post-prandial levels which was the purpose, but it would finally kick in during the night and drop me into LOWS frequently. I would awaken with sweating and shaking and knew I needed to take corrective action. Changed to Glipizide, the one you are taking and did not do any better. This is why I asked about the timing of your meds. You seem to do well during the day and then spike at night during sleep, just the opposite of me. That is when I would crash.

Since I have been on insulin, I am no longer crashing into lows during the night and can make adjustments easily and can predict when the insulin will peak. Still working on getting the dosage at the right amount.

Everyone's metabolism is not the same. Your body may not be breaking down and absorbing your med at the appropriate time.

There is no ONE method or one solution to the body's reaction and blood sugar levels. There are MANY factors that will affect your levels. Not just food.

That is why a doctor may prescribe one particular med for you and prescribe something entirely different to another patient. Diabetes does not have a "one size fits all" treatment plan that works the same for everyone. Treatment must be tailored to each individual and how their body and metabolism works.

I am no doctor but from some of the numbers you have listed, to just increase your dosage seems to me that may lead to lows at the times when your current levels are in the normal range. It appears your biggest challenge is the spikes during the night. Maybe the timing of your meds needs to be changed so that they will work during the night and of course, what you eat before bed will have an effect.

Many diabetics can eat a lot of things that I can't eat without spiking. Everyone is different. A good general rule is to limit the carbs but there is more to it than just that. Even GOOD for you food with little to no carbs will adversely affect one's blood sugar level if portion size is disregarded. Over eat anything and it will have an effect, even good for you stuff. And there is still mystery with diabetes and food intake. I can eat the EXACT same thing and same amount one day and have a totally different response the next day to the same food and quantity. Now that makes me CRAZY !!! The body is a very complex piece of machinery. Maybe my cells were more resistant one day than the other, or maybe I was stressed, or whatever ???

You have had a lot of experience living with this disease but it sounds like this night time spiking is a recent development. Am I correct on that?

You mentioned you will be starting a different med. What is he prescribing for you?

Enjoying talking with you. I am sorry that you are having some STRANGE readings. Sometimes it makes others feel better to know that they are not alone in the battle trying to keep diabetes under control.

Lit Love had some good advice.

Maybe try not to use artificial sweetners like Splenda.
35 Yrs ago I had a an MD/Naturopathic type doctor who found I was hypoglcemic. He put me on a diet of ONLY fish, lean meats and vegetables, salads,,water and herbal tea....NOTHING ELSE. He was a brilliant guy and he said our pancreas reacts to artificial sweetners as if they are sugars so I could not use them. He said, just do this for 3 months. He not only controlled my hypoglycemia which had gotten so bad I was fainting, stopping all sugars and simple carbs fixed a chronic UTI problem I had for years...he told me Sugars feed bacteria.

Here is an article by Dr Mercola....a doc much like my previous doc....

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...fuse-body.aspx

I agree with Hopeless that having a nutritious snack like a hard boiled egg or piece of cheese is better. Or, if you really crave bread for toast, have half a slice with almond butter. I know a slice of toast or cereal seem harmless but they do make sugar levels spike. I have a slice of turkey rolled up with a slice of cheese as a snack or some nuts. I had basically been vegetarian but have been scolded by docs for not getting enough protein so I am back to eating some fish, eggs, chicken. I also recently discovered almond cheese which is actually pretty good.
Also a brand of breads and cereals called Ezekial which are made from sprouted grains...very nutritious. Generally found in the freezer section or if a health food store that moves alot of products, like Whole foods or Trader Joes, they may be with regular breads.

My best,
Diandra

Thank you Diandra I have to agree with you. I do get my bread at Trader Joe's. Years ago my primary told me about it very low in carbs like 7 per slice plus it is good. I am going to put together a plan and meals. I am resigned that counting carbs does not work for me. It is what I eat. It is a paradigm change for me.





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Hi Hopeless, I see that lit love posted.thank you for pointing that out. New script is Jenuvia 50 mg once a day. You are correct somewhat new the spiking. I have been telling my primary for months (long story). Then had a lot of stress and not watching very well kept thinking it was me not my toast and cereal and diet coke.
I was having Eas carb smart only 4 or 5 carbs would spike my sugar. A protein drink. Lol I was confused with the conversation with lit love. I would think Hopeless said this and not that.


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Hi uglogirl,

Stress will elevate your levels, too. Even having nightmares while you sleep, that you can't even remember, can stress you in your sleep and have an effect on your levels when diabetic.

All in all, it sounds like you have been doing a good job of controlling it for many years.

Hopefully, once you get those nighttime spikes under control, maybe your PN will improve.

Wishing you the best. Please let us know how the Januvia works for you. It may take a short while before you see the effects of the new med.

Thanks for posting.

Hopeless