I am now a diabetic with diabeetus

colawars

I was discharged from the hospital yesterday after being in there for four days. I went to the emergency room complaining of exhaustion, where they discovered the onset of diabetes. My blood sugar level was 570. For 3 months I was suffering from dehydration, a voracious appetite, and dramatic weight loss (I'm 6' and went from 200 to 159 lbs. without trying). They did a good job of answering my questions, and I had a two hour lesson with a diabetic counselor to learn how to test blood sugar and administer insulin. Luckily they have me on the insulin pen, which is a lot easier than previous methods of injection. Also have a monitoring device that keeps track of my past 500 tests.

They haven't determined if I have type I or type II diabetes yet, but they are leaning towards II. I'm on a preliminary schedule of 9 units of Novalog 3 times a day and 20 units of Lantus at bedtime. The pricking and injecting are far less icky than I ever imagined; it gets easier every time. I'm relieved that the diagnosis wasn't something more serious (cancer, HIV, whatever else was running through my mind).

I'm scheduled for follow ups with my doctor, an endocrinologist, and a dietitian in a few days. I'm aware of the dramatic changes to my lifestyle I'll have to make, and won't attempt to do everything at once. I'm trying to get used to diet soft drinks (not as bad as I thought) and some are better than others. My other vitals were great, which is a blessing.

So, I'm asking for any advice anyone is willing to share with a newcomer to the diabetes epidemic. All I've really done so far was read the Wiki on diabetes. Any good websites out there for support, recipes, etc? Anything I should be prepared to talk to my doctor about? My appetite is still gigantic, yet I need to find some way to curb it while I work on stabilizing and maintaining my sugar level.

I've been ok with it mentally, I'm not living in fear or anything anymore. Even so, some anecdotes or reassurance would be welcome. Anything else you need to know? Ask...

chromdom

I was diagnosed with type I diabeetus when I was 8. My wife was diagnosed with type 1 when she was... 28? Hang on, let me check. 27. Four days after her birthday. Strangely, we met 'cause we're both hockey fans, not because we're both diabetics. Anyway, I digress.
Parts of it really suck. Having to carry stuff with you, and poking and pricking gets old. But, like you say, there is a hell of a lot worse out there. Best part is, and a dietitian probably won't tell you this, the diabetic diet is nonexistent. There is only eating healthy. Don't think of it as you have to lose all the good stuff in life. Think of it as a reason to not eat like all the other fat greasy bastards in this country (it really helps to have a superiority complex about things like this). Remember, you're not carb dodging, you're carb counting!
As far as more support? Hm, dunno, I haven't really gone that route. I'm sure it's out there though. I know for a fact there are a few blogs out there, might help to read a few and get some resources.
Feel free to PM me if you have a question for me or my wife for either perspective. Sorry I can't be more help, but you REALLY aren't going through this alone.

EDIT: Coke Zero FTW!

EDIT EDIT: ^5 dude!

dispatch.o

Keep a super close eye on ANY lacerations, ulcers or sores. Especially on your hands legs and feet. Don't fuck around, if something isn't healing within a normal period of time, or if it looks strange in any way go to your doctor. I am not exaggerating. The options are inconvenience your doctor or probably lose a limb if a wound goes untreated.

Stevia is a good sweetener, it is very strong but it doesn't have the funky aftertaste of other artificial sweeteners.

Get a bracelet with information on it. If you pass out in the back of a Taxi cab it's better for them to give you a candy bar over just wonder.

Carry a snack at all times. They even make this goo that is sugar-syrup for emergencies, getting stuck in traffic or something one day could give you quite the blood glucose ride if you aren't prepared.

I had a friend who had type II and we went to Reno and on the way there we discussed all this crap. He checked his blood glucose crazy often at first just so he could get a feel for being on an even keel. It's best to normalize instead of go up and down a lot. Spiking and Dipping will give you mood swings and lethargy and shit.

Orange Juice + Sugar is a great way to boost your sugar levels in a pinch, but get some carbs as quickly as possible afterwards.

Glocjt

If you're losing weight that suddenly, and especially since they started you on Lantus and Novolog right off the bat as opposed to a insulin sensitizer, I'd think more that it's Type 1 DM, but I'll leave the diganosing to the doctors.

dispatch.o wrote: »

Keep a super close eye on ANY lacerations, ulcers or sores. Especially on your hands legs and feet. Don't fuck around, if something isn't healing within a normal period of time, or if it looks strange in any way go to your doctor. I am not exaggerating. The options are inconvenience your doctor or probably lose a limb if a wound goes untreated.

QFT. I've seen diabetic foot infections. You don't want them. That, and I assume you like keeping your limbs...

Also, avoid skipping meals as best you can, especially since they have you on injectable insulins; it'll make you go hypoglycemic, and that's no fun. Having quick carbs on hand in case you do get hypoglycemic symptoms is really handy, like the oj or sugar that dispatch mentioned.

And really, diabetes is quite manageable - yeah, you'll definitely have to adjust your diet and lifestyle some, but I think you'll be fine.

mts

Yea, you typically don't lose weight with type II. of course i will get people saying i have type 2 and lost weight.

if it is type 2 push for an exercise program. it will help way more than anything a doctor can do. regardless you need to be active. you don't want to be a couch potato or loss muscle mass since it won't grow back anywhere as close to easy as someone who is healthy

RubberAC

Write down your test numbers. I've had diabetes almost 6 years now (i think) and i'm reaaally bad at taking care of it now, it's actually really bad. Having your numbers in your monitor is great and all, but you'll have to visit the hospital/specialist/doctor pretty often to make sure you're staying steady, and they'll want an easier way to read stuff. After a while, you get sick of carrying around your book o' numbers all the time.
Watching what you eat is a super huge bonus too. You'll literally feel better if you eat, well, not so much healthy as balanced.... You should be eating healthy no matter what, really. Always make sure you change your poker needle everytime you use it. It only takes one or two times of skipping it to get used to it. It's a huge problem I have.
This all seems really obvious to you, probably, but after a long time dealing with Diabetes you start taking shortcuts, and it's something you have to actively try to avoid.
I use Splenda for almost anything, it tastes super good and works in a lot of baking as well. It's a tad bit expensive, but most good sweeteners are. The abolishment of soft drinks is the one benefit of Diabetes though. Seriously, shit's so bad for you. After a while you're going to despise the taste of real pop. Crystal Light or another sugar free drink mix is wicked cool as well. It's nice to have something carb-free you can drink aside from downing tons of Coke/Root Beer/etc and dissolving the enamel on your teeth and everything else.

Oh yeah! Exercising is great too. It regulates your levels and keeps you feelin' good. Try to figure out how you feel when high/low. Feeling really thirsty for some reason? Test. Low blood sugar is way easier to spot, it tends to be pretty obvious. Just make sure you're not just brushing off possible symptoms of being high as normal things.

Gabriel_Pitt

dispatch.o wrote: »

Keep a super close eye on ANY lacerations, ulcers or sores. Especially on your hands legs and feet. Don't fuck around, if something isn't healing within a normal period of time, or if it looks strange in any way go to your doctor. I am not exaggerating. The options are inconvenience your doctor or probably lose a limb if a wound goes untreated.

I know these guys mean well, but seriously, don't freak out over cutting your finger or scraping your toe, it's not an issue at this point. The problems with diabetics and their extremities comes after years of poor control and elevated blood sugar do extensive damage to the circulatory system and the fine capillaries. That leads to poor blood flow to the extremities which retards healing and the ability to fight infection.

As for fighting the need to eat, I love to snack, but since I'm a type 1 diabetic I have to keep careful watch over my calorie intake. Vegetables are a great snack with no appreciable caloric content. Carrots, celery, radishes, leafy salads, stuff like that are good. They taste so much better with dressing on them, but there's a lot of fat calories in salad dressing. Go with vinegar dressing, and go easy on how much you apply.

An entire can of Campbell's condensed chicken soup is only something like 120 calories, so if you have more calories available to you, that's a good choice. Straight vegetable soups with no noodles or other additions are also very low calorie but filling.

dispatch.o

Gabriel_Pitt wrote: »

dispatch.o wrote: »

Keep a super close eye on ANY lacerations, ulcers or sores. Especially on your hands legs and feet. Don't fuck around, if something isn't healing within a normal period of time, or if it looks strange in any way go to your doctor. I am not exaggerating. The options are inconvenience your doctor or probably lose a limb if a wound goes untreated.

I know these guys mean well, but seriously, don't freak out over cutting your finger or scraping your toe, it's not an issue at this point. The problems with diabetics and their extremities comes after years of poor control and elevated blood sugar do extensive damage to the circulatory system and the fine capillaries. That leads to poor blood flow to the extremities which retards healing and the ability to fight infection.

As for fighting the need to eat, I love to snack, but since I'm a type 1 diabetic I have to keep careful watch over my calorie intake. Vegetables are a great snack with no appreciable caloric content. Carrots, celery, radishes, leafy salads, stuff like that are good. They taste so much better with dressing on them, but there's a lot of fat calories in salad dressing. Go with vinegar dressing, and go easy on how much you apply.

An entire can of Campbell's condensed chicken soup is only something like 120 calories, so if you have more calories available to you, that's a good choice. Straight vegetable soups with no noodles or other additions are also very low calorie but filling.

No freaking out over cutting your finger or stubbing your toe, just keep an eye on it. A lot of people feel like they are bothering their doctor if they bring something up as mundane as a wound that's lasted a little longer than normal. Just be aware that's what they're there for.

Floofy

One thing you might want to consider is some sort of counselling- my mum was diagnosed with type 2 five years ago and it certainly took her a while to mentally adjust to the idea she had a permanent condition. If you find yourself with any depressive tendencies or bleakness you might want to see if they have any groups/therapy etc you could join up with.

Infidel

How old are you?

Eat meat, cheese, pickles, etc. Before I was diagnosed I ate more than anyone in my family. I was also the lightest. I have had type 1 diabetes for over 10 years now, and I still outeat most people. My metabolism is high because on a typical diabetic diet I was wasting away. I lost 40 lbs in a month. They put me on a protein heavy diet and man I'm glad they did, I could eat a lot of high protein/fat snacks with nearly no carbs as listed to keep me from perpetual hunger.

The nice thing about type 1 compared to type 2 is that I control my insulin and can eat more or less normal. I eat the same meals everyone else does. Be sure to educate yourself on diet if nothing else. If you're like me you can eat without too much worry yes, but there are a lot of things I just know to watch out for now. Even if you can handle a pretty unrestricted diet you'll want to avoid "shocking" your system with fast sugars and junk even though "lol 30g carbs is 30g!", it's not healthy to replace your dinner with a gatorade or something obviously but keep this in mind even on the small stuff. Know how to look at a dinner and say to yourself "yeah this is about right and won't make me sick as a dog tonight."

With you have lost that much weight and what I'm assuming was a relatively abrupt fall into diabetes I'm gonna guess that you happened across type 1 like me, so don't worry too much about the fats for the short term and munch on some meat and cheese imo. Better to control your hunger and have you watching your carb intake, you don't want to be making a mess of your sugar levels while you're trying to settle into all of this just because of uncontrollable cravings.

edit: Oh and as for needles and testing, that shit got trivial fast. People say "oh man I couldn't do that... " but when you come to "Here, you need to do this to live" you accept and get over it damn quick. The needles are so ridiculously thin that it barely matters, the worst part is just trying to remember to not lose your kit somewhere.

Sebbie

I can't offer much advice that hasn't already been mentioned but I will say this. Make sure to watch yourself in stressful periods of time (e.g. exam periods). My sister was diagnosed when she was 16 and every time she falls in a dangerous low it is during stressful times. Last time I caught her convulsing and it was the most terrifying experience of my life and I had to bring her levels up when I was alone at home. I don't mean to scare you or anything but my sister tends to slip with her tests so I figured I'd warn you.

Infidel

Sebbie wrote: »

I can't offer much advice that hasn't already been mentioned but I will say this. Make sure to watch yourself in stressful periods of time (e.g. exam periods). My sister was diagnosed when she was 16 and every time she falls in a dangerous low it is during stressful times. Last time I caught her convulsing and it was the most terrifying experience of my life and I had to bring her levels up when I was alone at home. I don't mean to scare you or anything but my sister tends to slip with her tests so I figured I'd warn you.

This is very true and surprised it wasn't mentioned yet. oops!

I have a bag of Lifesavers in the car in case I sugar-crash while on the road, and before an exam I will take one unit or two less of insulin and/or grab a coffee with sugar, sometimes a super sickly icecap if I'm feeling like it.

All that thinking and stressing really burns through my sugars quick, and if it doesn't then the high doesn't have much of an impact on me until post-exam so it's all good and I'll take care of it then. Better than having to interrupt the exam.

This applies to other similar situations, but since I'm a student again this is the one that really comes up for me.

Willeth

My Dad kept a tube of some sort of gel in the fridge (I think it was called Hypostop) and we were taught from a very young age that if we found daddy passed out somewhere that we were to rub it into his gums. I don't know, though, if this still exists or if it even works, never having to use it.

Gabriel_Pitt

That was a glucose gel. As simple as its possible for sugar to get, and its in the blood stream less than 5 minutes after hitting the stomach. Rubbing it on the gums would've caused salivation, which would've dissolved the gel and eventually gotten some of it to the stomach even if your dad was unconscious.

-bean

Like people have said with snacks, just repeating. I carry glucose tablets in my pocket always. You get stuck somewhere/it's late and no shops are open, or for whatever reason you're dropping and you can't get some other food readily, then they're useful.

Also, drinking alcohol makes my blood sugar go down a lot. I tend to take a bit less insulin with my meal if I know I'm going to be having a drink afterwards.

Tav

Sugar free jello is the best sweet thing ever. Seriously, a whole bowl of it is like 20 calories and there's no sugar in it.

RubberAC

Oh. Everytime you get one of those advertisements for a new meter in your mail, that say you can get it free with a purchase of strips? Fucking do it. Calibrate them, and then fill them with the minimum supplies you need. Then leave one everywhere. Your cupboard. One in your car. Maybe one at work/school. That way you aren't completely fucked if you lose your primary kit. I have about 6-7 laying around, I mean, only about 3 work, but i'm constantly grabbing new ones.
Also it keeps you from getting bored of your kit!

Gabriel_Pitt

-bean wrote: »

Like people have said with snacks, just repeating. I carry glucose tablets in my pocket always. You get stuck somewhere/it's late and no shops are open, or for whatever reason you're dropping and you can't get some other food readily, then they're useful.

Also, drinking alcohol makes my blood sugar go down a lot. I tend to take a bit less insulin with my meal if I know I'm going to be having a drink afterwards.

This. Processing alcohol is rather energy intensive, so hard liquor can cause a drop in your BG. This only really applies if you're drinking the hard liquor straight, because once you start mixing it with cola, or have a beer, or a wine cooler, you're consuming a lot more calories than you're going to burn processing the alcohol.

Lykouragh

Exercise is good.

First, exercising is cheaper than insulin, and it lowers blood sugar dramatically. Once the last of your islets die off and you're injecting all your insulin, this will be worth considering unless you have super great health insurance or are rich.

Also remember that, speaking statistically, being diabetic means that very late in life we're likely to have shitty circulatory systems and therefore it's even more in our best interests to avoid clogging our arteries and keep our cardiovascular systems in good shape. Therefore sustained heart and lungs exercise (jogging, biking, swimming) is good.

The problem is that if you just go out and run for an hour starting with a blood sugar of 120 you're gonna be shaking when you get home. You have to take the exercise into account when taking your insulin, which means it needs to be regularly scheduled exercise. Which I, at least, hate.

RubberAC

Ugh your sugar monitoring systems confuse me so much. I mean, I'm supposed to stay between 5-8.
Is weird seeing triple digits.

chromdom

RubberAC wrote: »

Ugh your sugar monitoring systems confuse me so much. I mean, I'm supposed to stay between 5-8.
Is weird seeing triple digits.

It's in milligrams per deciliter. What are you measurements in?

EDIT: mg/dL, am I right about that? I think that's the measurements

urahonky

My dad was just diagnosed on my birthday (January 2nd). It sucks, but at the same time it's a little better. He used to eat so much, and whatever he wanted. Never worked out or did anything to himself. It's almost as if his body finally had it and did something to make him think about it.

Now he plans meals in advance. Works out daily. Seemingly in a better mood as well.

Being diagnosed with the beetus isn't always a bad thing. It sucks, sure, but really you learn to work your life around it.

PS sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I hope all goes well for you.

mts

the numbers reporting glucose will vary by the region. at least in the US it gives you some cockamamie units which like the inch and pound is not used by scientists or the rest of the world (metric)

mts

to add about glucose meters. while not diabetic myself, my doctoral dissertation involves diabetes. I really liked the one touch ultra glucose meter. it was quick and only needs a ul of blood, plus strips are not that expensive.
it makes it easy when drawing blood from a mouse to have it fast

Toldo

Keep an eye on your feet! Those things don't grow back if you have to chop them off.

Jokes aside, take particular care of how you cut your toenails. Instead of cutting them by following the 'curve' of the nail, allow them to grow out a little bit and cut them straight. As weird as it sounds, this can decrease the chance of an ingrown toenail and complications from it.

diabeticdood

I've had type 1 diabetes since I was 13 or 14 (not 17). I'm not finding it so hard. It has its downs yes but I don't let it control me so it never gets to me. If you ever have any questions let me know.