I was just diagnosed with Diabetes

fatalspoons

I'm a bit pissed off. I'm 6 foot, 205 lbs. A little overweight, but not crazy-like. I drink, but I don't smoke. I don't eat sweets. Maybe I don't exercise enough, but I do more than most people I know, at least with walks around the neighborhood.

I figured I might be a little unhealthy. I thought my blood pressure might be a little high, and that I might need to lose a few pounds. But I never expected that I had diabetes, and it pisses me off. Drunken video games is like my favorite past time, especially when playing with friends. I do it most weekends. Now I'm told that I can't.

I'm also a little scared. The doctor basically ran down a list of symptoms including frequent urination, a feeling of being tired, and worst of all, blurred vision. I had all of these. It was like a slap in the face.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has/is going through this. I could use a little support.

I'm really, REALLY gonna miss drunken video games.

Butters

Light the @Druhim signal to give you expert tips and the @Stale signal to call you a bitch and fraud

Abracadaniel

@druhim got diagnosed a few months ago

you can be diabetebros

DrZiplock

Well, you don't reeaaaally have to give them up. You should, but there are ways around that (what you drink, the moderation and amount, etc). However, there are others around here that will know better than I.

Off the top of my head, @stale and @druhim. Stale is the beetus vet while Dru is fairly new to it but also has less overall shit than Stale. They'll help ya get sorted.

No need to be scared, mang. Better to know than not and hopefully you'll begin to feel better as you begin to manage it.

DrZiplock

Well...I believe we three covered those bases.

Our work here is done.

Fandyien

i often worry that i'm diabetic because i eat so much candy and have such a shit diet

i'm the same size as you, too, and i exhibit a bunch of those symptoms but i can never decide if the blurred vision is just HPPD / weed or if i'm actually horribly ill

i almost don't wanna know

for reals though i'm sorry to hear that, fortune is fickle + lame

Brolo

take two of these

Larlar

Diabetes is a stupid disease and you should rip your pancreas out right now and throw it into a pile of sugar.

fatalspoons

Fandyien wrote: »

i often worry that i'm diabetic because i eat so much candy and have such a shit diet

i'm the same size as you, too, and i exhibit a bunch of those symptoms but i can never decide if the blurred vision is just HPPD / weed or if i'm actually horribly ill

i almost don't wanna know

for reals though i'm sorry to hear that, fortune is fickle + lame

The blurred vision is actually what made me get tested. It hit me so fast, and my vision has always been good. Went to the eye doctor and she said I didn't fit the profile, but I should probably get checked for diabetes because that was the most common cause of sudden blurred vision.

Anyway, I don't even know if this forum is meant for this kinda stuff. I just felt like ranting. Thanks for the replies.

Usagi

Dude, at least you found out the good way (as in, not from an ER trip because you were having an episode)

As Dru's other half I can say our life hasn't really changed a whole lot--definitely less bread and sweets, but moderation is really the key

Butters

Stale has more shit and is Type 1 which is a much bigger deal than Type 2 which Druhim has.

Fandyien

type 2 can theoretically be managed without regular insulin injections right

#pipe

Don't be mad, that's stupid. It's not really your fault so don't be mad at yourself, and being mad at the universe is not going to help anything.

just fuckin figure out how to deal with it, then deal with it.

In a couple of weeks you'll probably feel way better than you have in a long time after a few small lifestyle changes.

Stale

First off, calm down and breathe. You're type-II and young. You are fine provided you make some relatively (in the grand scheme of things) minor changes to your lifestyle.

Now, odds are good you have these images of amputations and dialysis and blindness and OHH GOD running through your head. Stop it, you're being a little bitch.

You lucked out. Type-II is very, very controllable and provided you aren't an idiot, those things won't happen for the next 60 years or so. By then you'll be so old and broken down who the fuck cares?

For your diet, you need to learn to control your carbs. Carbs are everything. Keep in mind, your body operates on one kind of fuel, sugar, and everything, to one degree or another breaks down to fuel your cells. Obviously gummi bears and wheat bread break down to very different kinds/concentrations of sugar, but in the end, they are the same shit.

The next few weeks you need to start testing your blood, a lot. Learn your chemistry. Learn what your ratios are. Everyone is different. How your body reacts to a bowl of rice is different than how mine does, or how Dru's does, or how your nutritionist's does. The only way to learn is by observing and taking notes. Get a decent meter, and get a decent journal. You won't have to keep as close an eye on things forever, just until you learn your chemistry.

Test strips are expensive. Welcome to earth. This is not a cheap disease. Deal with it.

And yes, you can drink, yes you can eat what you want. You want a beer or two? no problem, just realize that those carbs have to come from somewhere else in your diet. It's all a balancing act. The sugar from booze will burn hot and quick, while the sugar from say, rice will burn low and slow. You'll learn this when you learn your chemistry.

Sound annoying? it is. Welcome to earth.

Now, take another deep breath and thank whatever God you choose that you aren't type-I.

Druhim

Seriously. Type 2 is a fucking cakewalk compared to type 1. Just remember, you had diabetes before you were diagnosed. So the diagnosis is a good thing, because now you know what's going on and can be proactive about better managing your health. Instead of looking at it as, "oh these are all the things I have to give up" look at it as an opportunity to be more proactive. "Hey, now I can be better informed about how to not feel like a sack of shit and not notice that I'm walking on burning coals like Dan".

u Dan

Stale

If you ever need a reminder as to why you are jumping through all these annoying fucking hoops

and why you can't just eat all the cake in sight without sacrificing elsewhere

come talk to me. I'll show you the hole in my foot that hasn't closed in 4 years, or the scars from med-ports on my thighs, or how my legs burn 24/7.


You don't want this life.

#pipe

Druhim wrote: »

You had diabetes before you were diagnosed. So the diagnosis is a good thing.

This is the soundest medical advice a person can get.

Homeless

I am diabetic. That does not stop me from drinking way too much and eventually dying an early death due to heart disease.

Druhim

Also, keep in mind that managing your diabetes is about managing risks. You can't guarantee that you won't have eye problems like glaucoma or foot neuropathy, but you can significantly reduce your risk for them so that you're not blind and having to wear "diabetes" shoes and compression sleeves when you're 40. I'll have dessert once in a while. Sometimes I'll have more than I should. And you may wonder now how you're going to have the willpower to resist that cupcake or ice cream. My willpower comes from understanding (based on my experience) that if I have a bunch of ice cream, I'm going to feel like shit for a couple of hours and it's usually not worth it. But sometimes I'll decide that it is.

Fyndir

#pipe wrote: »

Druhim wrote: »

You had diabetes before you were diagnosed. So the diagnosis is a good thing.

This is the soundest medical advice a person can get.

You mean the doctors don't look you over decide what you should have and give it to you?

Larlar

Let's all just be thankful we don't have ALS.







...Stale, you better not have ALS.

Stale

so far, no

Abracadaniel

Larlar wrote: »

Let's all just be thankful we don't have ALS.







...Stale, you better not have ALS.

I'm pretty sure that if you stuck your hand into a bag of scrabble tiles and pulled a few out, whatever you got, Stale has.

Druhim

Fyndir wrote: »

#pipe wrote: »

Druhim wrote: »

You had diabetes before you were diagnosed. So the diagnosis is a good thing.

This is the soundest medical advice a person can get.

You mean the doctors don't look you over decide what you should have and give it to you?

I'm just saying it's a matter of perspective. You can get pissed off that you got diagnosed with diabetes, just like some people get pissed off that their dentist is scraping away at their bloody gums. But the doctor didn't give you diabetes and the dentist isn't responsible for someone's poor oral hygiene. They're just doing what they can to clean up the mess after the fact and help you manage the problem better.

#pipe

Smart Hero wrote: »

Larlar wrote: »

Let's all just be thankful we don't have ALS.







...Stale, you better not have ALS.

I'm pretty sure that if you stuck your hand into a bag of scrabble tiles and pulled a few out, whatever you got, Stale has.

centraldogma

Stale wrote: »

And yes, you can drink, yes you can eat what you want. You want a beer or two? no problem, just realize that those carbs have to come from somewhere else in your diet. It's all a balancing act. The sugar from booze will burn hot and quick, while the sugar from say, rice will burn low and slow. You'll learn this when you learn your chemistry.

I’m not sure that’s right. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate, that’s going to end up in your bloodstream hella fast. Anything with complex carbohydrates (this is probably the case with rice) or with oils (ie. pizza) is going to need time to break down and will enter the bloodstream slowly.

From my understanding, type 2s are going to want to stick to complex carbohydrates. Being as their bodies can metabolize sugar, just at a much slower pace. Now that’s no reason to go slathering everything in oil, because you’d just be adding needless calories to everything and that’s not going to help your situation.

I’m not too familiar with the breakdown of alcohol, but I’m not sure why it would be off limits to diabetics. Alcohols are not sugars and shouldn’t affect your blood sugar beyond the carbs in whatever your drinking, which isn’t too much last time I checked. Maybe there’s medications issues?

Also:

Stale wrote: »

If you ever need a reminder as to why you are jumping through all these annoying fucking hoops

and why you can't just eat all the cake in sight without sacrificing elsewhere

come talk to me. I'll show you the hole in my foot that hasn't closed in 4 years, or the scars from med-ports on my thighs, or how my legs burn 24/7.


You don't want this life.

Jesus Christ how did you do that!?!

Were you originally a type 2 case that developed into a type 1?

Mr. Buttons

Stale wrote: »

The next few weeks you need to start testing your blood, a lot. Learn your chemistry. Learn what your ratios are. Everyone is different. How your body reacts to a bowl of rice is different than how mine does, or how Dru's does, or how your nutritionist's does. The only way to learn is by observing and taking notes. Get a decent meter, and get a decent journal. You won't have to keep as close an eye on things forever, just until you learn your chemistry.

Test strips are expensive. Welcome to earth. This is not a cheap disease. Deal with it.

Walmart - Relion Prime Glucose meter and test strips... buy a lancing device at the same time because it's the only meter in the world that doesn't come with one. $15 for the meter and $9 for 50 strips.

Metalbourne

Stale wrote: »

First off, calm down and breathe. You're type-II and young. You are fine provided you make some relatively (in the grand scheme of things) minor changes to your lifestyle.

Now, odds are good you have these images of amputations and dialysis and blindness and OHH GOD running through your head. Stop it, you're being a little bitch.

You lucked out. Type-II is very, very controllable and provided you aren't an idiot, those things won't happen for the next 60 years or so. By then you'll be so old and broken down who the fuck cares?

For your diet, you need to learn to control your carbs. Carbs are everything. Keep in mind, your body operates on one kind of fuel, sugar, and everything, to one degree or another breaks down to fuel your cells. Obviously gummi bears and wheat bread break down to very different kinds/concentrations of sugar, but in the end, they are the same shit.

The next few weeks you need to start testing your blood, a lot. Learn your chemistry. Learn what your ratios are. Everyone is different. How your body reacts to a bowl of rice is different than how mine does, or how Dru's does, or how your nutritionist's does. The only way to learn is by observing and taking notes. Get a decent meter, and get a decent journal. You won't have to keep as close an eye on things forever, just until you learn your chemistry.

Test strips are expensive. Welcome to earth. This is not a cheap disease. Deal with it.

And yes, you can drink, yes you can eat what you want. You want a beer or two? no problem, just realize that those carbs have to come from somewhere else in your diet. It's all a balancing act. The sugar from booze will burn hot and quick, while the sugar from say, rice will burn low and slow. You'll learn this when you learn your chemistry.

Sound annoying? it is. Welcome to earth.

Now, take another deep breath and thank whatever God you choose that you aren't type-I.

Stale, I don't know who you are and maybe a fraction of what's wrong it's you, but I want to meet you.

Usagi

centraldogma wrote: »

I’m not too familiar with the breakdown of alcohol, but I’m not sure why it would be off limits to diabetics. Alcohols are not sugars and shouldn’t affect your blood sugar beyond the carbs in whatever your drinking, which isn’t too much last time I checked. Maybe there’s medications issues?

When you're drinking, your liver is super busy metabolizing alcohol and doesn't have time regulate your blood sugar so you crash

Stale

No, the sugars found in most booze break down quick. So you get a sudden quick spike, and an equally quick drop back down.

Complex carbs will be a slow rise, and a slow decline.

Diabetic or not, that's how the body works.

Alcohol is generally ill-advised for diabetics because of the quick rise/fall. It makes it very very easy to misjudge and end up hypoglycemic. Similar to sitting around in saunas and hot tubs. The elevated temperature can deplete the glucose found in the blood stream much quicker than most people can adjust to. Now the sugars found in things like beer are closer to complex in nature and thus will rise/fall slower.

Again, it s different for everyone's body chemistry but some basics hold true across the board.



As for me, I have been Type-I since childhood, but incredibly insulin resistant. Making it next to impossible to control tightly. A Type-I not tightly controlled goes haywire. The only bodily system not ravaged by neuropathy and breakdowns is my eyesight.

Johnny Chopsocky

I've been on the cusp of Type-II diabetes for almost a year now (122 fasting glucose both last week and 10 months ago, but my A1C has maintained a steady sub-6 in the same time frame so my doctor doesn't want to make the diabetes official yet). Since I first got those numbers, I've eliminated sugary drinks (I miss Pepsi Throwback something fierce), milk chocolate and most white breads from my diet and dropped 25 pounds as a result. The levels stayed the same, though, so I'm starting to worry that I'm probably never going to get below pre-diabetes range again and the only way I have left is up. This coupled with my family history (father's dad, mother's mom) of diabetes plus my work schedule (2am call time makes it hard to sleep well and eat healthy) has me worried that the diagnosis is an inevitability.

So it's reassuring to hear from people who actually go through this stuff and not get the usual "death sentence everything I eat is bland or salty" routine.

Dark Raven X

I had a pretty fun lecture last week on diabetes. They were fairly negative about diet control in Type 2, saying eventually y'all need tablet control and you'd be better off going on it as soon as you're diagnosed. That sounded way too general for my liking, but hey, they know more about diabeetus than me I guess. :P

fatalspoons

I don't even eat sweet stuff, though. Honestly, I'm a salty/spicy kind of guy. I don't crave sweets.

So the only conclusion I can come to is that I drink too much. Probably upwards of 40 beers a week. So the only real life change I can come up with is that I need to exercise more, and quit drinking. I'm certainly capable of quitting drinking. I'm not an alcoholic. I just enjoy it. Especially when playing multiplayer video games.

But I'll live. I should have given up drinking years ago anyway. Guess this is a good enough wake up call.

Dark Raven X

There's a genetic factor too, you could have the model healthy lifestyle and still develop diabetes.

Baroque And Roll

Holy fuck. 40 a week?

Stale

fatalspoons wrote: »

I don't even eat sweet stuff, though. Honestly, I'm a salty/spicy kind of guy. I don't crave sweets.

So the only conclusion I can come to is that I drink too much. Probably upwards of 40 beers a week. So the only real life change I can come up with is that I need to exercise more, and quit drinking. I'm certainly capable of quitting drinking. I'm not an alcoholic. I just enjoy it. Especially when playing multiplayer video games.

But I'll live. I should have given up drinking years ago anyway. Guess this is a good enough wake up call.

you aren't listening

your food doesn't need to be sweet to raise your glucose.

Fun Fact: a slice of wheat bread will raise your sugar overall more than a piece of rock candy. You need to learn this shit, or you will be dealing with a lot of bullshit complications.

Talk to your nutritionist.


"I don't have one."

Get one.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

err dats a lot of booze

fatalspoons

Stale wrote: »

fatalspoons wrote: »

I don't even eat sweet stuff, though. Honestly, I'm a salty/spicy kind of guy. I don't crave sweets.

So the only conclusion I can come to is that I drink too much. Probably upwards of 40 beers a week. So the only real life change I can come up with is that I need to exercise more, and quit drinking. I'm certainly capable of quitting drinking. I'm not an alcoholic. I just enjoy it. Especially when playing multiplayer video games.

But I'll live. I should have given up drinking years ago anyway. Guess this is a good enough wake up call.

you aren't listening

No, I am. And I'm definitely making changes. Low carb diet. 30 minute daily exercise routine. No more beer.

I just want to bitch about it for a little while longer.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, though.

UnbrokenEva

yeah it kinda seems like it was a race to see what gave out first, your pancreas or your liver. And from what I've seen regarding liver failure, this was the preferable result.

Stale

fatalspoons wrote: »

Stale wrote: »

fatalspoons wrote: »

I don't even eat sweet stuff, though. Honestly, I'm a salty/spicy kind of guy. I don't crave sweets.

So the only conclusion I can come to is that I drink too much. Probably upwards of 40 beers a week. So the only real life change I can come up with is that I need to exercise more, and quit drinking. I'm certainly capable of quitting drinking. I'm not an alcoholic. I just enjoy it. Especially when playing multiplayer video games.

But I'll live. I should have given up drinking years ago anyway. Guess this is a good enough wake up call.

you aren't listening

No, I am. And I'm definitely making changes. Low carb diet. 30 minute daily exercise routine. No more beer.

I just want to bitch about it for a little while longer.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, though.

no problem

it's just I've seen way too many people say things like "But I don't even eat a lot candy!"

while shoveling away their 3rd bowl of cheerios

and having their feet amputated.

YoSoyTheWalrus

fatalspoons wrote: »

I don't even eat sweet stuff, though. Honestly, I'm a salty/spicy kind of guy. I don't crave sweets.

So the only conclusion I can come to is that I drink too much. Probably upwards of 40 beers a week. So the only real life change I can come up with is that I need to exercise more, and quit drinking. I'm certainly capable of quitting drinking. I'm not an alcoholic. I just enjoy it. Especially when playing multiplayer video games.

But I'll live. I should have given up drinking years ago anyway. Guess this is a good enough wake up call.

That is definitely too many beers (coming from someone who drinks almost that amount of beers myself), but you have to keep in mind things like booze and diet are risk factors. They just contribute to or take away from your genetic predisposition. You might have had a perfect diet with no booze and still gotten the diabeetus. Or maybe the booze triggered it, but if it didn't then something else may have. The point is not to blame yourself or be pissed off at fate or something. Sometimes shit just happens, and in the grand scheme of things this is one of the less shitty things that can happen to you biologically.