#: 741599 S2/News and Newcomers [DIABETES] 17-Jul-97 01:02:57 Sb: Brand New Fm: Daniel 73127,2304 To: All Hi..... I am a brand new person here and I just want to ask a couple of questions. First, I am 60 years old, and my blood glucose was normal until approx two weeks ago. At that time the lab reading was 315. Approx 3 to 4 months ago, I went on a binge eating sweets almost 24 hrs a day. Are you ready for this? I would wake up with two twinkies and a cup of coffee. After that pastries and milk. Then watch tv and eat snickers miniture candy bars, five to six at a time. For lunch, I made sandwiches of two large cookies with lunch meat in between them. Then work a crosswod puzzle with more candy bars or twinkies. All in all, I consumed almost daily, two boxes of twinkies, one box of ice cream bars, a bag of snicker minitures, and a bag of cookies. I would wake up at 3Am after my daily snack, then put the following in a bowl and eat it: an ice cream bar..(minus stick), two twinkies, four candy bars and some cookies. I had all the symptoms but didn't recognize them. A couple of scary things happened. While half asleep, I felt myself coming into darkness....passing out, going into a dark area, and I shook myself out of it. Still didn't think I was in trouble. Just tired or whatever. Took my yearly physical, and my Dr called and told me to pickup medicataion from the pharmacy and cut back on my sugar intake. He than told me my glucose level, 315. I freaked and became scared. One week later, my lab test read 214. I purchased a One Touch Basic monitor, and I have been getting reading of 147 - 157 at various times. I am scheduled for another test on Monday. My questions are, and I will ask my Dr on Monday also, are: I don't think I am a diabetic...just had too much sugar in my system from the idiotic binge I was on. After my BG levels are normal again, I should be able to go back to normal again, just be careful not to be an idiot again. I don't have the medication with me right now, but the first two letters are MA. 5 grams each So I will be looking in the forum, downloading from the library, and learning all I can, so I won't be in trouble again. Thanks for listening. Daniel. #: 741635 S2/News and Newcomers [DIABETES] 17-Jul-97 09:02:45 Sb: #741599-Brand New Fm: SYSOP-BrookeDisbrow 76711,1671 To: Daniel 73127,2304 (X) >> I don't think I am a diabetic...just had too much sugar in my system from the idiotic binge I was on. << Daniel, Welcome to the forum!! People who are not diabetic do not go over about 140 even after a crazy period such as you describe. Their undamaged pancreases keep up. Please download T2INFO.TXT from the News and Newcomers library and you will find out a lot about your disease. It's good that you have a meter. Please test yourself 1-1/2 to 2 hours after each "meal" to see what it did to your body. Fasting blood glucose readings are only part of the story. Then ask any questions you have. We're glad to answer them. :) Btw, "cutting down on sugar" is not the key to Type 2 diabetes control. Cutting back on fat is even more important. Keep your fats under 20% of your calorie intake a day and you may see the insulin resistance that causes Type 2 abate for a long time. What do you weigh? Have you lost weight recently, especially without trying? Those bad episodes you had in the night could be your high blood sugar plunging down low, or they could be signs of ketoacidosis (which often comes with high blood glucose and can be fatal). Brooke #: 741651 S2/News and Newcomers [DIABETES] 17-Jul-97 09:45:43 Sb: #741599-Brand New Fm: SYSOP-John Davis 73455,43 To: Daniel 73127,2304 (X) Welcome. Sorry you have to join our club but Welcome anyway. Now for the bad news.. .YOU ARE DIABETIC, That sugar binge you went on is a SYMPTOM not a cause. Type 1 or 2 is yet to be determined but you ARE diabetic (Likely type II) Now, here's how it works in non-diabetics (I'd say normal but in my expierence the so-called normals have a ways to go to be "normal") The more sugar you eat the more insulin your body produces (you have a rather large reserve capability, on the order of 100% extra capacity) And your blood glucose never tops 200, Not even at the Ice Cream and Candy bar. However if you are type II then you don't have that much safety, You may only be able to produce 50% extra to cope with an overload, or 25 or 12.5 (you might notice I'm just halving the amounts) or NONE. Now if you happen to be in this last calss (NO EXTRA PRODUCTION ABILITY) then you can still controll your diabetes through Diet and Exercise (many do). Or it may be controlable with oral medications like you have (I'm not familure off hand with an MA_____ though I'm sure someone else here will.. ME__(taform) I know of. These druges either try to reduce insulin resistance (ReZulin), Increase insulin production (most of them) or slow, and/or, decrease sugar absorption (I'm not sure which one this is) But I'll bet that along with eating all those Twinkies (Yuck) and candy bars (yummy) you were drinking gallons of water (I know I was) (and I do mean GALLONS, I hit about five of them one day best as I can estimate). In any case I say again "Welcome to our club, Sorry we had to join" Oh yes. Suggested reading list. t2info.*** which should be in library 2 That's t2info.txt (text file can be read ONLINE) t2info.exe (Self extracting ZIP file requires a DOS machine) and t2info.zip (standard ZIP file can be uncompressed with any system that deals with PKZIP files) It is an exaustive text.. But it's also the best collection of interesting facts that I've ever seen in one file. #: 741703 S2/News and Newcomers [DIABETES] 17-Jul-97 13:05:01 Sb: #741599-Brand New Fm: Barry Stoll 101726,2007 To: Daniel 73127,2304 (X) Daniel <<"Welcome to our club, Sorry we had to join">> Before I was dx'd I did the same silly thing by drinking gallons of sweet drinks. Then falling asleep by the roadside and waking hours later feeling like hell on earth. As you've already been told in this thrd you are a DIABETIC. No question of that. Do all the reading you can and learn as much as possible about the disease and ask as many questions as you want. We're here to help each other and this is the best place to be. You mentioned 60 (I'm 62 going on 108) Are you retired? I'm not and I eat far less when I'm working or otherwise occupied. Take care and good luck Barry Nottingham UK #: 741817 S2/News and Newcomers [DIABETES] 17-Jul-97 21:50:54 Sb: #741599-Brand New Fm: SYSOP-Martin MacArthur 103135,242 To: Daniel 73127,2304 (X) <> Oh, Daniel! Your story had me on the edge of my keyboard. I thought I was the only one who did crazy things like that. But not with Twinkies. Can't stand them. I go for Ring Dings, Ho-Hos, and Yankee Doodles. Haven't done it in years, but they were great when I did. Also those little candy bars are cruel and should be banned. You think well one isn't so much, and then well one was so little I could have another, and then the package is empty. I hope you are right that you simply pumped too much sugar into your body. But being realistic, I have to think you really are diabetic. If you weren't your own body would have adjusted quickly, and your bg readings would be back to normal. The fact that you are still averaging about 150 tells me you are in for it. You can't fool your body; it doesn't believe a thing it hears. Keep trying to stabilize, and talk to your doc. Make sure he is up on the latest in DM medication and treatment. Get to a Certified Diabetes Educator to learn as much as you can. Almost all insurance companies pay for it. I am 64 myself, and my insurance company has worked wonders for me. Good luck, and remember the Twinkie days fondly. It's bye-bye. MM #: 741846 S2/News and Newcomers [DIABETES] 17-Jul-97 23:53:35 Sb: #741599-Brand New Fm: SYSOP-Paula DuBourdieu 73021,567 To: Daniel 73127,2304 (X) Dear Daniel, I've never heard of anyone else making sandwiches out of cookies and lunchmeat, so I am guessing that you are quite a creative and original kind of fellow! (g) Unfortunately, it sounds like you really do have diabetes. During the time of your sweets binge, it's likely that your blood sugar levels were quite high -- and your cells were sending out lots of messages saying "FEED ME!" because the energy (sugar) was in your bloodstream and not getting into your cells. The more sweets you ate, the higher your blood sugar levels probably went and the more sugar was sitting in your blood vessels instead of your cells, causing your cells to cry out louder for food -- and, naturally, you responded. One might even say, with gusto! (g) The current definition for diagnosing diabetes is a fasting plasma glucose (blood sugar) level of 126 mg/dl and normal plasma glucose levels are considered to be under 110 mg/dl. Your home meter doesn't give you plasma glucose levels, but the results are probably within 15-20% of the kind of plasma tests that are done in hospital labs. Non-diabetic people can eat heaps of sweets without having their blood sugar levels rise into diabetic ranges. It just doesn't sound at all likely that your doctor is wrong about your having diabetes. There isn't likely a soul here that wouldn't dance with joy to hear that you don't have diabetes -- we all know what a lousy thing diabetes is, but it does you no favors to help you evade believing the truth about things, because facing your diabetes head-on is the very best way to limit the toll that diabetes takes on the body. The odds are good that you might be able to adjust your diet and lifestyle to make it possible for you to keep your blood sugar levels in healthy "non-diabetic" type ranges without needing any medication. If this happens, this will not mean that your diabetes went away or that you didn't have diabetes in the first place. It will only mean that you are able to manage it well without medications -- you'll still have diabetes. It can take a while to find the right treatment approach and our needs change from time to time, too. Ideally, it's thought best if Type2 diabetics can manage their diabetes without medications, but if that's not possible, the usual course is to use various types of oral medications (e.g., pills named glyburide, glipizide, Amaryl, Micronase, Glucotrol, Glynase, and Glucophage, etc.). If that is still not sufficient, then the usual course is to use insulin in addition to the pills or in place of them. Whether a person uses medication or not --and what kind of medication a person uses, if any (pills or insulin)-- doesn't reflect on how "serious" a case of diabetes a person has. Every diabetic has a "serious case" and any doctor who doesn't admit that isn't likely a good doctor for a diabetic to use, by the way. Sometimes doctors recommend that newly diagnosed Type2 diabetics try to manage their diabetes with changes to diet and increased exercise alone, but some doctors put some of their newly diagnosed patients on medications right away, without trying diet and exercise alone first. This doesn't indicate that the doctor is not a good doctor but is likely a reflection on the doctor's sense of the individual health and lifestyle factors that a particular patient brings to the situation -- and the knowledge that, should a patient be able to make good progress with diet and exercise, the patient can always discontinue the drug when it's not needed any more. This may be the reason your doctor prescribed medication right away to help get your blood sugar or blood glucose (BG) levels down So, it sounds good that your doctor has taken a good review of your situation and is keeping in close touch with you right now. Often, when we first get the word we have diabetes, a lot of what the doctor tells us goes right out of our heads when we leave the office because it's a lot to take in and we're feeling pretty stunned. Scheduling another appointment soon can give a patient time to take in the news, get over the surprise, formulate some questions, and be in a better position to participate in making decisions about treatment options. It's great you'll be seeing your doctor again Monday. It's perfectly natural to wonder if there could be a mistake or if the situation could be a temporary glitch, especially when a person has been on a sweets-binge, but with the BG levels you mentioned, it really doesn't seem that there is reason to think that is so. If that's the case, then learning all you can about diabetes and your own body's version of diabetes is the next big and important thing to do. There is no cure for Type2 diabetes, but there is a lot that most of us can do to help maintain our health and limit the toll that diabetes takes on the body. None of it is simple but a lot of things aren't as difficult as they might seem at first. Like so much else in life, a bit of time, experience and getting used to things makes a big difference. While you are at your doctor's office on Monday, you might want to ask him about your lipid levels (triglycerides and cholesterol), cardiovascular health, kidney function, and what forms of exercise you may safely do (e.g. is walking okay?). You should also ask him when he wants you to call him about your blood sugar levels (does he want you to call if your meter says 300? 400? 450? and what if it's after hours -- what does he consider an emergency?) and what to do about sick days (if you get a bout with stomach flu, diarrhea, etc.). If you need referrals to get insurance coverage for them, you might ask about referrals to a podiatrist (to learn about diabetic foot care) and an ophthalmologist (to get a full, dilated eye-exam). You should also ask about a referral to a Registered Dietitian, who should help you prepare a mealplan suited to your individual needs, lifestyle, cooking interests, etc. You might be interested in a file in the forum Library called DRAPPT.TXT. You can even print it out and take it along with you, if you wish, as a checklist of what to expect and go over at your appointment. Very few of us manage to fit our diabetes seamlessly into our lives when we're first diagnosed. There's a lot to take in and we are usually feeling pretty lousy at the time, too. Sometimes questions flood the mind, even when we have heard the answers before, and sometimes we feel so inundated with new information that we just want to stop thinking about our diabetes and forget about it. It's important to keep facing it head-on, though, because you don't want diabetes to steal a march on you -- and look back later and wish you'd known better. There are thousands here who will be glad to share some tips and wisdom, as well as a shoulder and a strong hand, to help you get a good grip on your diabetes so never be shy about writing (or answering) a message. Hoping to hear how things are going, Paula P.S. If you haven't already, you might be interested in getting access to the men-only section here in the forum for the discussion of male complications. It is not necessary to be experiencing male complications to join, but it is necessary to agree to the confidentiality terms. To get access to the MaleRoom, you need to send a Private message to SYSOP-Tom Arthurs (76702,1653). No e-mail messages, please. #: 741878 S2/News and Newcomers [DIABETES] 18-Jul-97 07:26:42 Sb: #741599-Brand New Fm: Jody Dickey/WA 76746,2131 To: Daniel 73127,2304 (X) Hi Daniel, Welcome to the forum, I am sure that others will help you. And they will all tell you that, YES, you are diabetic. Those numbers happen only when one is a diabetic. Even on Halloween, a kid will never see those numbers. And that is after eating about 4 full bags of high sugar candy. I was doing the same thing. I never kept candies, cookies, twinkies, or anything like that around the house. Then I started buying them in case someone should visit. By the time of diagnosis, I was eating a few bags of candy a day, mostly chocolate. Not to mention the chips, cheese, Little Debbies, etc. I never got into the ice cream, though... too cold for me. Sit back, relax, and download as much as you can... we can keep you reading for months! Jody Port Orchard, WA #: 741713 S2/News and Newcomers [DIABETES] 17-Jul-97 14:00:02 Sb: Brand New Fm: Wayne Gaetz 71124,2127 To: Daniel 73127,2304 (X) Actually this is for Daniel. I am havin g problems in creating messages. I was exactly like you. Drank at least a gallon of milk a day along with sodas and other sweet things. Spent the whole night in the bathroom passing all of the good stuff right down the old drain. Take the time to read the t2inof. A lot of time was spent in making the file and I find that it is better than anything the dr gave me. As a matter of fact, I gave him a copy of the file and he asked to keep it as it contained more information than he had in the office. Like everyone said, "welcome to the forum". We all would rather have met under different circumstances but now that we have something in common lets work together to keep it under control. wayne@tokyo #: 742139 S2/News and Newcomers [DIABETES] 19-Jul-97 02:44:03 Sb: From Daniel Fm: Daniel 73127,2304 To: All Who Answered I want to thank you for the replies, encouragement and info! Right now my chin is balanced on a stack of books, to balance my head, whiuch is approx 12 inches from the screen, so I can see thru the reading part of my bifocal glaasses. As soomn as I can do something about this, I will anser all. I have downloaaded info fron the librqry and wiil look at it. Thanks again an I will answer as soon as I can. Hugs! Daniel