Category Archives: Diabetes

Diabetes Research: Where everything goes upside down


Posted by katiebird

Regular visitors know that I’ve had diabetes for 10 years or so.  And that getting & keeping my blood sugar under control was the biggest reason for my weight loss adventure.  Oh, and why I’m interested in eating issues in general.  People in my family who don’t keep control diabetes die at age 62.  If they control it?  93 or more.

That’s what I thought, anyway….

From the New York Times:

Tight Rein on Blood Sugar Has No Heart Benefits
The results provide more details and bolster findings reported in February, when one of the studies, by the National Institutes of Health, ended prematurely. At that time, researchers surprised diabetes experts with the announcement that study participants who were rigorously controlling their blood sugar actually had a higher death rate than those whose blood sugar control was less stringent. Continue reading →


March 13, 2007 — Just 4 Today


Posted by katiebird

Just 4 Today logoJust 4 Today, I’ll drink my fiber twice (once), test my blood sugar at least once after every meal (after breakfast – 118), drink 2 liters of water (about 1/3), walk 3 miles (with 3415 & an after-dinner walk I might reach 6 miles), NOT eat between meals & NOT take seconds.

The Sugar Diet

I think I’ll call it the Blood Glucose Diet — taking 6-7 tests a day (1 or 2 or 3 after every meal) really seems to keep me on track. Because I hate seeing that meter jump over 150 (which isn’t really bad after a meal. But I know that if I eat right it’ll stay under 120.) Plus the whole Blood thing sort of makes eating unattractive, doesn’t it? (I’m kidding — you’re not going to see updates on the Blood Glucose Diet. But if you’ve got Diabetes, would taking extra readings help you stay focused?)

It doesn’t have to be food related: What are you going to do today?


February 22, 2007 — Just 4 Today


Posted by katiebird

Just 4 Today logoJust 4 Today, I’ll drink my fiber twice (ONCE!!), drink 2 liters of water (about 1/3), walk 3 miles (yesterday & the day before I walked OVER 3 miles), NOT eat between meals & NOT take seconds.

What are you going to do today?

3415 at work

So for the 3415 program has worked terrifically! I aim for walking at 10, 12 & 3 — and yesterday one of my co-workers called at 3 to see if I was still planning on a walk!

The only drawback is that we’ve been walking on the upper level of the parking garage right outside our building and the surface is covered in something horrible. I feel like I’m covered in cement by the end of the day. Still — it’s so easy to walk there, it’s almost worth it. I think I’ll by some extra slacks and clothes that are rugged enough to be washed after every-single day…

The Sugars (Eating for Diabetes)

Also, I’ve been testing my blood sugar with extreme regularity (10 times yesterday & the day before) and it’s getting better since I’ve been so much stricter. The day before yesterday EVERY test was above 150 (but below 170 — so that’s not as horrible as it could be.) But yesterday it was almost always below 130 (except for once not long after lunch.) And a couple of times down below 105 (which is normal.) Still it hovered between 110 & 125 most of the day. Which I think is a little high.

This morning it was 100 when I woke up. And I can tell things are still a little rocky. I just checked and after eating breakfast an hour ago, I’m at 184! Which is terrible. I’ll check again when I get to work. But I can see that I’ve really left things to drift for way too long.


Diabetes: The Importance of Weight Management and Exercise


Posted by katiebird

Maybe I’m talking too soon, I haven’t seen the whole report for myself yet, but my doctor’s nurse called yesterday to tell me that my HA1C is 5.8 — which means I am well in the normal range — it is very good news. She said that the doctor was very pleased with all my results and had drawn a smiley face on the report!

This report came along just when I need a boost to my confidence. It can seem so useless trudging around the block day after day. And depressing to restrict my snacks all the time.

But I know that if I wasn’t walking 3 miles (most days) and if I was eating what & when I want, these numbers — especially my HA1C & my HDL (which hovers around 30 when I don’t exercise) would have been very different.

Having the blood tests is a hassle and I don’t like it at all. But the extra little boost I get when I earn a smiley face from a healthcare professional is worth it.
:)


So I thought it was Diabetes. But that’s offensive to some people.


Posted by katiebird

It turns out (according to a recent New York Times article, Beyond ‘I’m a Diabetic,’ Little Common Ground) that when people like me say they have diabetes, it’s an insult to all the innocent children with Type 1 Diabetes. I guess they think I should be saying that I’ve got Type 2 Diabetes just to make it clear that it’s at least partly my own fault that I’ve got this disease:

To address the epidemic of obesity, the state ran a series of hard-hitting television advertisements that ridiculed junk food and showed sweet-faced preschoolers asking questions like “Can I have some fat?” or “Dad, can you buy me some diabetes?”

The advertisements were aimed at parents of children in danger of developing Type 2. But there was little response from that audience.

Instead, parents of children with Type 1 barraged the state with e-mail messages and phone calls, furious that the ads had referred to diabetes without mentioning Type 2.

The ads lumped all diabetics together, the parents said, implying that Type 1 diabetics were somehow to blame for their disease.

And it goes on:

“I really find it hard to take seriously the complaints of Type 2 diabetics, who, in my view, brought this on themselves,” said Harry Mahaffey, a 15-year-old champion fencer from Los Angles who has Type 1. “With Type 1 diabetes, there is absolutely nothing tied to my lifestyle, and this is something over which I had absolutely no control. But people sometimes suggest that it’s because I ate too much sugar or something, and that drives me crazy.”

Maybe I should say, I’ve got Type 2 Diabetes and I’m obese. Just to make it really clear how pathetic I am. And that I know I don’t deserve a future. But, No. I’m not going to play that game.

Continue reading →