Well, dang it I turned up Type-II diabetic.

[Prinz Eugen]

Not a complete surprise, it runs strongly in the family, so I knew the warning signs.
For me it was having to drink like 4L of water a day, waking up 5 times a night to let it out,
a nasty, 'sweet' taste in my mouth all the time, and losing about 30lbm in 3 weeks.

Not good.

There are 100s of strategies for monitoring and bringing into control all these new numbers I have to learn about, but I can do it.
2011 AD era technology has tons of improved and nearly painless monitoring techniques compared to the 1970s. My mom had it then, she was well into retinopathy and couldn't see well, and just like how cell phones were the size of a brick back then, monitoring eqpt was large and you needed to let out several large drops of blood all the time. VERY MESSY and GROSSED ME OUT as a kid.

So a sad farewell to some of my food fav's for a while at least.

ON an anime/Kumoricon note, if my vision deteriorates, I may need to ask someone to help or to take over making the AMV contest openers ...

[DaemonForce]

That sucks. Diabetes is really strong in my family too. All the males in my family have it. Except me and my grandfather anyway. We're just anemic. Still sucks though. :/

I've always wondered what I would use if I needed to keep my blood sugar under control. What do you intend to do?

[Washougal_Otaku]

That sucks, Prinz!  I still owe you lunch some time, so if you're coming to the April general meeting, I'll take you to wherever you want.

[Prinz Eugen]

I've always wondered what I would use if I needed to keep my blood sugar under control. What do you intend to do?

Well, the big NUMBER ONE is: "Whatever my doctor tells me to do."

Before I was 'officially' diagnosed, and while the signs of onset were unmistakeably strong,
I went and bought Walgreen's teeniest little BG monitor for $9.99.
They only need a 0.5microliter sample nowadays, which is a half sphere of blood about 1mm in diameter.
I can barely feel the lancet and I'm usually quite the squeamish, whiny baby about needles. I learned how to do it over last weekend.
My initial readings were in the 300's (untreated.)

After 1 day on Metformin I came down to 286 yesterday and 264 this morning.
I am going to get seen again today and they may give me a bit of insulin to smack it down to normal. (maybe 80 - 110)

Type II (adult onset) can be very well managed with a careful diet, regular exercise, and medications.

Your body's own dashboard of meters is broken, so you have to go in there and take the data yourself, then YOU DRIVE.
Your system can't handle carbs and sugars and fats and stuff 'on automatic,' but you can know what you just added to the system by checking what's on the nutrient labels.

For me at this stage I have to discover a 'carb to glucose ratio,' and the way to do that is to take a blood reading before a meal, know who much carbs are in the meal, then check blood again after 2 hours. Doing this over about a week will let me know how my blood reacts to what I just ate.
Then I can avoid 'bad things happening' by avoiding things that I know would spike the numbers - ( a chopped strawberry shake made with double-yolk French Vanilla ice cream, and whole milk - 4.3% fat) - - or I can cut way down on the quantity and have just a small taste now and then.
People on insulin get to 'prepare' for an indulgence, rather than wait for the body to react (or fail to react.) If you know your carb to glucose ratio, you can figure what a butterscotch sundae will do to your numbers, and then apply an countervailing dose of insulin. (NOT GOOD PRACTICE. But people 'play' like this.) Thing is, if you then NOT have the sundae, or if you calculate wrong and you slam your glucose into the basement, then you could go for a coma, or get hypoglycemic and do stupid, stoner type things, like walk down the street naked...

Luckily I don't have a big sweet tooth - my vice is large meat servings with heavy sauces.

Every person's body will be different.

[Prinz Eugen]

so if you're coming to the April general meeting, I'll take you to wherever you want.

We expect to attend the April meeting, but it's still Lent so there's a bunch of stuff I can't have for religious reasons.
(But it's Palm Sunday... Almost done...)

I will PM you with an idea or two...

[superjaz]

I am so very sorry.  Type II runs on my mothers side and I lost my best friend to type I.
I am really happy to hear that you are gonna do what you need to do to manage it.  I have worked with a diabetic client who always refused to.

There are so many options these days, byetta, lantus, humalog, to help manage it.

Lets see what I can do not is when I bring cookies to meetings to skip you, unless I have a low carb/sugar item.

At least meat is free food sorta

for desserts how do you like fake sweetners like splenda ? 

[RemSaverem]

Best wishes to you. Diabetes and high blood pressure are increasing in the general population. When I worked for an Eye Clinic, the optometrists and ophthamologists diagnosed many cases of untreated diabetes by identifying diabetic retinopathy. Prayers for your eyes. Also be attentive any time you have any wounds to your feet. That is a notorious area of concern with diabetes.

I hope to make the meeting. We should have a brief check in to get our panel form at least started, potentially turned in, for the Religion panel. I will check in with Father Augustine to confirm he is still interested.

Love always,
Rem.

[DaemonForce]

Also be attentive any time you have any wounds to your feet. That is a notorious area of concern with diabetes.

Oh Jesus...This. I used to work with a girl that had to deal with this so much because she was always on her feet. Same with a guy twice my age but he had his body under better control. The girl killed herself a week after I quit that job and I don't know if that's related but whatever. The diabetics I meet seem like they're in more frequent and severe pain than I am and I can't get over the ones that start showing up at work missing toes. That's not cool. Take care of your body. Snipping limbs isn't what I call taking care of it. o_O

We all have to die of something but I'd rather keep all my limbs/appendages until that point. I know it's just me entertaining some immortality fantasy like every pig that stays away from smoking, drinking and rough sex(or some combination thereof) but I made my decision and I'm committed to it as I'm sure you've already made your decision. High blood pressure? Anemia? Hypertension? Doesn't get much better than this. Diabetes only got the better of half my family and you seem right in the head so I'm sure you'll live longer than me. Make the best of what you've got.

（ﾉﾟωﾟ)ﾉ
(ヽ｡ω｡)ヽ

[jaybug]

Well that sucks Eugen. But all shadenfreud aside, I am glad I am not the only one here with type II diabetes. Even if I am the only one in my family with it. baz faz.

So far so good. Been dealing with it two years now. Sometimes I wish I could/would do more than mow the lawn and vacuum the house for exercise though.

[MiriaRose]

Holy crap. That really, sucks. I'm sorry. D:

One of my best friends from middle school was diagnosed with Type II diabetes right after I moved to Oregon. He's doing alright, though, and looks much healthier a few years later, maybe because of the better diet/more exercise?

Anyway, good luck. And make sure that your dog doesn't try to eat your feet off (true story).

[jaybug]

Take vitamin D supplements. It's good for distal blood circulation. Also start a low dose aspirin regimen.

[lychee-twist]

Consult your doctor before taking a vitamin like Vitamin D. Too much vitamin D can result in calcium build up in your bloodstream, and I do believe it has reactions with certain medications and can make them less effective.

Many people don't think about listing natural and herbal supplements when talking with their doctor, but it is important to mention them because of the possibility of reactions.

Vitamin C, on the other hand, is a vitamin that is pretty much impossible to take too much of and isn't known for reacting with prescriptions. If you take too much Vitamin C, you pee it out. Vitamin C is good for preventing urinary tract infections also since it makes your urine more acidic and helps kill any bacteria. Still, even with it's low risk of causing problems, tell your doc!

Sources: Working at a clinic and having a Registered Nurse for a mom.

Prinz, I'm terribly sorry for the diagnosis, but it's not a death penalty and doesn't mean you'll lose your site or your feet. Yes, that is all a concern, but it is mainly with people who don't monitor their blood sugar. I kind of went "OMG o.o" when reading about your current levels. Will you be going on insulin?

I really hope any adjustment you have to make with your lifestyle comes easily, and please stick with it. Same to you, jaybug. We like you guys and would prefer keeping y'all's eyesight around so you guys can keep posting and what not. There's lots of people who lead happy, active lives with Type II diabetes, and you guys can be some of them

On another note, our old dog Maggie had diabetes thanks to my family overfeeding her. We clued into the problem since the poor thing kept wetting the floor in the middle of the night, and the smell was so awful. She was a big dog and lived until she was 12, I think. That's a good old age for big dogs. We had to give her insulin shots twice a day at 8AM and 8PM. She was really good about getting her shots in her butt, and she would actually put her rear to us so she could get it. Given she was a dog, but as soon as we got her weight in check and her blood sugar managed, she did great! In case you were curious, she had hip surgery that went septic, and we had to put her down since she got so sick.

It's a bump in the road but not a dead end!

[Washougal_Otaku]

so if you're coming to the April general meeting, I'll take you to wherever you want.

We expect to attend the April meeting, but it's still Lent so there's a bunch of stuff I can't have for religious reasons.
(But it's Palm Sunday... Almost done...)

I will PM you with an idea or two...

Sounds like a plan, then!

[Prinz Eugen]

Appreciate the suggestions and the questions to ask my doc.
We will be hitting all the areas of concern over about a month,
including an eye exam (opthalmologist) and other tests as they see fit.

Yes I know about the old guy who lost feeling in his feet and his dog chawed off a few toes.

Numbers still coming down and it's been only a week, so modern medicine can keep things in control.

BP 110 / 70. (yay!)

Fasting BG (morning) was 243 this morning, so I should be able to stay out of the 300s now.

Still throwing ketones but that could also be my Lenten regimen - I'm running around 1200 kcal/day for intake.
Still spilling proteins too, but my doc says that will stop once my numbers get all the way on track.

Their goal for me is Fasting BG <=140, and max meal spikes to be 150 - 180max.

They are not recommending insulin at this time; they want to see the Metformin ramp up and check if that'll do the trick as is.

Anyways I am doing:

OTC:
4000mg fish oil QD (by day)
81mg aspirin QD

Rx:
Metformin 500mg QD
Lisinopril 20mg QD
Simvastatin 30mg QD before bedtime

DAMMIT I WANT A LIVERWURST, RAW ONION, AND MAYO ON A TOASTED ONION BULKIE ROLL!

[jaybug]

How much vitamin D is in the fish oil? Doc told me to take 4000 i.u. 3x per day of the stuff.

I take metformin and gemfibrozil. BG and triglycerides.

Did you go for a walk?

What made you go see the doctor in the first place? Me it was my wife's insistence. I had a cold that wouldn't go away. But I also had been very short tempered for the previous couple of months. And my thirst was insane. Of course I was drinking soda pop, non-diet. "Say doc, what's with all these symptoms?" "Diabetes" "But what about...?" "Diabetes" He kenw instantly. Crap.

I went through some diabetes education classes. Did the doc sign you up for them?

[Animeman73]

Prinz Eugen  sll I can say is ooh ack. Not good. My stepfather has diabetes aand it definitely sucks. All I can say is I wish you nothing but the best if your efforts to control this thing. And I hope you're able to  keep on being the main AMV guy for many years to come still.

[lychee-twist]

Prinz! Those are the numbers I like to read! Congratulations! Keep it up.

Seriously, about the feet thing, I wouldn't worry about it unless you ignore your doctor's advice and do whatever you want. If I remember right, it's poor circulation that does feet in. You can lose feeling in your limbs if you don't use them. Moving to a go-cart for mobility is, for many people, very convenient but a very, very bad idea since your limbs don't get any exercise at all. When I get old, I will fight my hardest to avoid getting a go-cart. Possibly even to the death.

Fun fact: I found out thanks to my old job that an original test for diabetes was to get the patient's urine specimen and taste it. If it was sweet, diabetes. Yuck, right? My old coworker, when she used to be a doctor's assistant, her doc would do that. She's well above my age, though, so times were certainly different back then.

Congrats again that your medication is working Maybe you can work something out on your next doctor's appointment about that wurst issue you've got. Maybe just a small portion to get rid of the craving?

[jaybug]

@ lychee, can we still call you scooter pie?

[lychee-twist]

When did "Scooter pie" come along? o.o;; I am not familiar with any "scooter pie". Sounds like a bad thing...

[Prinz Eugen]

When did "Scooter pie" come along? o.o;; I am not familiar with any "scooter pie". Sounds like a bad thing...

From the site:
"Scooter pies" are are a version of the Moon Pie named after NY Yankees shortstop Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto.
They have 2 graham-like crackers sandwiching a layer of marsh- mallow covered with chocolate.

Now, click for MORE NERDALICIOUS SUGAR DEATH !!!

[Washougal_Otaku]

^ No wonder I don't like Scooter Pies... they're names after a NY Yankee!

[lychee-twist]

I am not opposed to the nickname Scooter Pie if it is a delicious treat. XD It's really pretty funny, actually. I'm still confused why I would make a good Scooter pie aside from my fluffy belly.

[jaybug]

Dunno. Maybe it was from Laverne and Shirley. I remember they loved Scooter Pies. But it does beat the heck out of calling you Hacksaw.

[lychee-twist]

THERE IS SOME REFERENCE HERE THAT I AM NOT GETTING. XD

[RemSaverem]

All I can think of is Scooter from the Muppet show!

*sending love & prayers for your continued success in self-monitoring*

[jaybug]

Well Scooter Pie has a ring to it. Lychee bug doesn't. Sometimes I call a co-worker Pookie Bear. I'd call you Cuddle Muffin but my wife would kill me. Oh, to see the look on your face.

Oh! Eugen. Once your blood sugars are under control. When you get sick, they'll be allover the place. Been sick only twice since I found out, and to wake up and see a 133 instead of something in the 80s-90s is like NO! the meds aren't working anymore, I don't have much longer! Oh, yeah, being sick screws things up, whew!

[lychee-twist]

Whatever you want, Jaybug.

I had no idea that illness effects blood sugar. That is important for someone with diabetes to know.

Let's keep those levels where they need to be! As the cheerleaders at my walk today cheered B-I-C-C-O-R-Y! Biccory! Biccory!

Turns out they were spelling "Victory" and my hearing's terrible.

[superjaz]

I had no idea that illness effects blood sugar. That is important for someone with diabetes to know.

Yup,very broad here, not a doc, but have experince with the subject.  Think of anything that your body does/goes thru (walking swiming, also bodily functions sleep a fever when ill, being out when cold ect) can affect how it uses fuel, which on a most basic level is sugar.  That and everyone's body is different, and there are a 1001 different factors out there that affect us every day. Its paying attention to the signs we can see even if if they are tiny.

My mom expects to be Type II at some point because my grandma, and great aunts and a great uncle all got it.  My grandma Lita has a sweet tooth, and once I saw an aunt give her some bags of kettle corn, aka sugar and salt covered pop corn, I was like "not good" I think I hid a bag of it on top of the fridge.  If my Lita hadn't moved since then, it would probably still be up there...

[jaybug]

I'll admit I do eat some sweets. Things like ice cream, or peanut butter cookies. BUt I then try to have something else, so that the food is a little more complex than simple sugars or barely more complex starches.

They told me at diabetes education class it's much better to eat a snickers bar, than it is to eat a plain slice of white bread. The white bread would give the same blood sugar reaction as a sugar cube. But the snickers bar has a slow rise of blood sugars.

I try to have my snacks sized to be about 60 grams of carbs. Whether that's a piece of fruit, or a couple of mini-bagels and cream cheese.

Today my exercise was mowing the lawn with weeding. wheee

[Prinz Eugen]

Well I'm still tangling in the 250's - 31x range and today they bumped the Metformin up to 2000mg/day.
Let's see what happens over the next few days.

I'm also still in Lent so for this week at least I still forgo 'delicious' foods.

I have much less of a sweet tooth; rather a general, top-of-the-food-chain opulence: meats, especially unusual animals now and then, and cheeses.

But I'd much rather have a 6oz portion of chicken baked in lemon juice than a can of lentils.

[jaybug]

Wow, and you don't have high triglycerides? I guess that is just a sign of too much food period.

I need to start walking and not stop.

Have you started exercising yet?

[lychee-twist]

I'll admit I do eat some sweets. Things like ice cream, or peanut butter cookies. BUt I then try to have something else, so that the food is a little more complex than simple sugars or barely more complex starches.

They told me at diabetes education class it's much better to eat a snickers bar, than it is to eat a plain slice of white bread. The white bread would give the same blood sugar reaction as a sugar cube. But the snickers bar has a slow rise of blood sugars.

I try to have my snacks sized to be about 60 grams of carbs. Whether that's a piece of fruit, or a couple of mini-bagels and cream cheese.

Today my exercise was mowing the lawn with weeding. wheee

Yeah. I have experience with the bread thing. I've passed out and have a lot of close calls with passing out because my breakfast would be a bagel. The carbohydrates and sugars would zip my blood sugar up just to have it come crashing down. It happens a lot so I have to make sure to eat some protein and drink water.

I'm terrible at exercising, but this term I'm taking a swimming class and walked a 10k yesterday (that's a little over six miles). I highly recommend swimming since it's low impact and works out both your arms and your legs. Plus, even if you flounder from one side of the pool to the other, it's still exercise. You don't have to be good at it, you just have to know how to float so you don't drown. Even if you don't know how to do that, beginning classes will help you out, and there's no shame in learning! Everyone should know how to swim. Every summer someone dies of drowning because they don't know how to swim and get sucked under currents and ledges.

Swimming is my favorite exercise for sure!

[superjaz]

I am getting tested tomorrow to see if I am diabetic from being preggers.....

[DaemonForce]

Wow, and you don't have high triglycerides? I guess that is just a sign of too much food period.

This reminds me...I need to consume more MCTs or I'm going to die during my workouts. I somehow managed to lose about 7 pounds last week and I need to gain it back, fast! (;ω;)

[Prinz Eugen]

Wow, and you don't have high triglycerides? I guess that is just a sign of too much food period.

I get high 'fatty' numbers before Lent, then I usually come out of it OK. (Last year: cholest: 169, trigun: 188 iirc.)
This time we are smackin' 'em with sim-vash-stampede-statin which is a Lipitor knock-off.

I will be getting a full panel again in a week or two and I'll include a C-peptide to see if there's any Type-I lurking off stage.

As far as 'too much food,' well that might have been so leading up to Mardi Gras, but during Lent I've been averaging 1200 - 1550 kcal/day which is (for me) within a safe range of total consumption to allow noticeable but safe weight reduction over 6 weeks. The main reasons I checked myself out for diabetes is because I was losing faster than expected and I had those other symptoms kick in. (Homer Sympton?)

Have you started exercising yet?

Yes, now up to 30min 4x per week. 15min on rowing machine then immediately switch to 15min on Nordic Track.
My sister is recommending that I look into an elliptical. I may eventually add some modest weight-work, but again I will be consulting w/ my doctors first and foremost.

I really hate exercise, though - I'd love if there were a way I could take my head off like Kryten in Red Dwarf and stick it on some other module so I could surf the net or play PS3 for 40min or an hour, while 'the other head' exercises the body and takes a shower and re-applies my deodorant for me, and then I put my head back on my body without ever having to have felt all that oogie physiology stuff going on: sweat, heart rate, exertion, etc...

[RemSaverem]

Loving the Trigun and Red Dwarf references. Wishing you the best.

[Prinz Eugen]

I'm up to 1000mg Metformin x2/day and I have been floating around 225 - 330 all week.
253 this morning, and - Well - out of nowhere - my pre-lunch is 137!

Hope this isn't a fluke! Ketostix also seem to indicate I am OUT of ketoacidosis.
I am now down to like 15mg/dl on the color chart.
That's ANOTHER relief...

Now, I am STILL going out to Easter Brunch tomorrow, but I'll be back to counting everything Monday,
and I have another check-up Tuesday.

....

[lychee-twist]

That's awesome! Yahoo! I'm glad to see stuff is happening in a very good way! (I think! I'm pretty clueless when it comes to diabetes).