(Long Post!) First Experience with Glucose Meter - Thanks, Jenny

First, I want to thank Jenny for the excellent resources on her
website, especially the page on diabetis risk at:
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/risk.htm

My mother was always very obese and she developed Type II diabetis
when she was 51 years old. I have been obese for most of my life and
was the classic yo-yo dieter, losing weight only to gain it (and more)
back eventually. As I got older, it became harder and harder to lose
any of the weight at all. As I neared 50 myself, I became more and
more concerned about the very real possibility that I would also end
up a diabetic like my mother. My doctor said my glucose level was
fine and that I "could lose some weight," but she did not think it was
a major issue. I know now that this "diagnosis" was based strictly on
fasting blood glucose levels, but I did not know anything about that
at the time. But I knew that something was wrong. I was constantly
hungry, I had very little energy and tired easily, and I would often
find myself nodding off after lunch (which is not a good thing when
one attends many afternoon planning meetings at work!). I had pretty
much given up on ever losing any weight and felt resigned to my fate.

Then, a little over a year ago, I ran into an old acquaintance who I
almost did not recognize because he had lost so much weight. He told
me that he had done it using the Atkins diet and that I should give it
a try. I now look back on this chance meeting as almost a miracle
because my life has changed so much for the better. I have lost 65
pounds, I am never hungry the way I once was, my energy level is great
and constant throughout the day. I feel like I have been given my
life back.

So, I had not been thinking much about diabetis lately until I started
reading this newsgroup, especially Jenny's postings. The recent
thread on Blood Glucose Meters got me thinking about it again and I
read Jenny's page on risk and decided to get a meter and see what it
showed.

I did my first reading Tuesday nite about 2 hours after dinner and the
reading was 79. Wednesday morning before breakfast it was 72. I had
2 low-carb Walnut Cinammon muffins (from the Low Carb Comfort Foods
cookbook) for breakfast and an hour and a half later the reading was
90. I wanted to try the blood sugar test before lunch, so I went
ahead and did it. I'm not sure if I should have waited for the BG to
come down some before doing the test, but I don't think it would have
mattered.

Anyway, for my test I ate a 4-pack of Dolly Madison Zingers (they're
like Twinkies). The package says 2 servings (yeah, like anyone eats
half a package), each with 31 grams of carbs (21 grams of sugar). So,
the total was 62 grams carbs, 41 grams sugar, and I think it was 410
calories. The funny thing is I did not enjoy eating this at all,
though I once ate stuff like this every day and loved it.

Exactly one hour later I tested and my BG was 150. At two hours it
was 126. I realize that these are only slightly above the "normal"
readings of 140 and 120, but I can only imagine what these numbers
would have been 65 pounds ago. Anyway, I decided to go for a walk
instead of eating lunch after this little experiment. I walked for
about 30 minutes, but I started feeling queasy and decided to head
back to work. By the time I got back to my office I was in a cold
sweat and felt light-headed and dizzy. I took another reading and my
BG was 51. I don't have any kind of sugary foods here, but a
co-worker gave me a Nutrigrain bar and I ate half of that and started
feeling better. I followed that up with a can of sardines and lots of
water for lunch. I didn't feel normal again until much later in the
afternoon.

This little experiment was a real eye-opener for me. Sure, I had read
Dr. Atkins and the Drs. Eades on the effects of insulin and blood
sugar swings, but I never really "felt" what they were talking about
until now. I really can't believe this was how I once lived. I had
already decided that I would be eating low-carb for the rest of my
life, but this has made it clear to me that I really do not have a
choice. I strongly encourage everyone to read Jenny's risk page and
consider getting a meter so they can check themselves. We are
responsible for our own health and can not be totally dependent on
doctors for our care! Thanks again, Jenny.

Pat,

Thank you so much for taking the time to write up your experience! Your
message really made my day which hasn't been all that fun otherwise since
I've messed up my back, big-time, lately and everything hurts.

You are so fortunate that you've discovered your abnormal blood sugar
chemisty before it has had a chance to do any more damage. The chances are
very good that you before you lost all that weight you were spiking much
higher and that the swings back down were making you so hungry that weight
control became extremely hard. You may have had abnormal blood sugars all
your life, particularly if your mother was diabetic when she had you--which
may not have been diagnosed back then. Children of diabetic pregnancies can
be born with a tendency to abnormal blood sugars, alas.

But now you know, so you can control it for the rest of your life. Given
your extremely normal numbers while low carbing, it shouldn't be too hard.

The only thing I would urge you to remember is this: if for whatever reason
you do end up going off the diet--and trust me, it happens to the most
devoted of us--don't give up on managing your blood sugar. Use that meter
and make yourself look at the numbers. Find out what you can eat that keeps
your blood sugar at those target numbers: under 140 mg/dl at two hours and
under 120 mg/dl at one hour.

If you can't keep your blood sugars there, talk to your doctor about Precose
or Metformin. That way you can keep from killing off more beta cells while
you're getting it together to go back onto your low carb diet.

Gaining back weight when you crash off a diet is sad, but killing your
pancreas cells with high blood sugar spikes is a tragedy, and irreversible.
So make maintaining your blood sugar health your number one priority no
matter what happens with your weight!

-- Jenny - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight. Type 2 diabetes,
hba1c 5.2.
Cut the carbs to respond to my email address!

Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips, recipes,
strategies for dealing with diabetes and more at
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/

Looking for help controlling your blood sugar?
Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/...0Diagnosed.htm



"Pat Paris" wrote in message
...
First, I want to thank Jenny for the excellent resources on her
website, especially the page on diabetis risk at:
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/risk.htm

My mother was always very obese and she developed Type II diabetis
when she was 51 years old. I have been obese for most of my life and
was the classic yo-yo dieter, losing weight only to gain it (and more)
back eventually. As I got older, it became harder and harder to lose
any of the weight at all. As I neared 50 myself, I became more and
more concerned about the very real possibility that I would also end
up a diabetic like my mother. My doctor said my glucose level was
fine and that I "could lose some weight," but she did not think it was
a major issue. I know now that this "diagnosis" was based strictly on
fasting blood glucose levels, but I did not know anything about that
at the time. But I knew that something was wrong. I was constantly
hungry, I had very little energy and tired easily, and I would often
find myself nodding off after lunch (which is not a good thing when
one attends many afternoon planning meetings at work!). I had pretty
much given up on ever losing any weight and felt resigned to my fate.

Then, a little over a year ago, I ran into an old acquaintance who I
almost did not recognize because he had lost so much weight. He told
me that he had done it using the Atkins diet and that I should give it
a try. I now look back on this chance meeting as almost a miracle
because my life has changed so much for the better. I have lost 65
pounds, I am never hungry the way I once was, my energy level is great
and constant throughout the day. I feel like I have been given my
life back.

So, I had not been thinking much about diabetis lately until I started
reading this newsgroup, especially Jenny's postings. The recent
thread on Blood Glucose Meters got me thinking about it again and I
read Jenny's page on risk and decided to get a meter and see what it
showed.

I did my first reading Tuesday nite about 2 hours after dinner and the
reading was 79. Wednesday morning before breakfast it was 72. I had
2 low-carb Walnut Cinammon muffins (from the Low Carb Comfort Foods
cookbook) for breakfast and an hour and a half later the reading was
90. I wanted to try the blood sugar test before lunch, so I went
ahead and did it. I'm not sure if I should have waited for the BG to
come down some before doing the test, but I don't think it would have
mattered.

Anyway, for my test I ate a 4-pack of Dolly Madison Zingers (they're
like Twinkies). The package says 2 servings (yeah, like anyone eats
half a package), each with 31 grams of carbs (21 grams of sugar). So,
the total was 62 grams carbs, 41 grams sugar, and I think it was 410
calories. The funny thing is I did not enjoy eating this at all,
though I once ate stuff like this every day and loved it.

Exactly one hour later I tested and my BG was 150. At two hours it
was 126. I realize that these are only slightly above the "normal"
readings of 140 and 120, but I can only imagine what these numbers
would have been 65 pounds ago. Anyway, I decided to go for a walk
instead of eating lunch after this little experiment. I walked for
about 30 minutes, but I started feeling queasy and decided to head
back to work. By the time I got back to my office I was in a cold
sweat and felt light-headed and dizzy. I took another reading and my
BG was 51. I don't have any kind of sugary foods here, but a
co-worker gave me a Nutrigrain bar and I ate half of that and started
feeling better. I followed that up with a can of sardines and lots of
water for lunch. I didn't feel normal again until much later in the
afternoon.

This little experiment was a real eye-opener for me. Sure, I had read
Dr. Atkins and the Drs. Eades on the effects of insulin and blood
sugar swings, but I never really "felt" what they were talking about
until now. I really can't believe this was how I once lived. I had
already decided that I would be eating low-carb for the rest of my
life, but this has made it clear to me that I really do not have a
choice. I strongly encourage everyone to read Jenny's risk page and
consider getting a meter so they can check themselves. We are
responsible for our own health and can not be totally dependent on
doctors for our care! Thanks again, Jenny.

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004 14:37:44 -0500, "Jenny"
wrote:

Thank you so much for taking the time to write up your experience! Your
message really made my day which hasn't been all that fun otherwise since
I've messed up my back, big-time, lately and everything hurts.

I'm glad it brightened your day a little; it kind of came pouring out
without my really trying, you know. I hope you are feeling better
soon!

You are so fortunate that you've discovered your abnormal blood sugar
chemisty before it has had a chance to do any more damage.

I feel very fortunate, but also more than a little bit ticked off
(more at myself than anyone else). I should have discovered this
years ago, but I was too complacent about it after the doctor said
things were OK. I knew they weren't, but I didn't do anything about
it. I don't think I'll be making that mistake again (knock wood).

The only thing I would urge you to remember is this: if for whatever reason
you do end up going off the diet--and trust me, it happens to the most
devoted of us--don't give up on managing your blood sugar. Use that meter
and make yourself look at the numbers.

When I bought the meter I figured the worst that could happen would be
I'd be out $30 to find that nothing was wrong and it would be worth
the money to have that peace of mind. After seeing the numbers, and
especially that drop to 51 when the insulin overload kicked in, I
consider it the best $30 I've ever spent. I'll be using it every time
I add a new food to my diet.

I really can't thank you enough for the effort you put into your web
page and the time you spend helping folks here.