@Zany_in_CO do you have a Y near you? Medicare Advantage insurance plans cover membership, and Silver Sneakers classes are offered at the Y for all levels of fitness (or lack thereof).
Husband just got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
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There are currently a lot of lawsuits gearing up over Ozempic. Now I know that a lot of this is over the use of Ozempic as a weight loss product (not approved) so I would recommend speaking to your doctor about that.
I have late onset Type 2 Diabetes...'late onset' just means that I developed it after I turned 40. There have been a lot of changes surrounding diabetes over the last few years:
First is the assumption that being overweight causes diabetes, when often times it's diabetes that lead to weight gain.
Second is that your blood glucose level should be 90, that you A1C goal should be 5. For people WITHOUT diabetes that is certainly true, but for people WITH Type 2 Diabetes...my BGL is 130, my A1C is 7.
Third is that you are forced to eat twigs, bark and trail sweepings. I remember the first Diabetes Nutrition class I attended...it was all about what you CAN'T...which is pretty much everything and it was soooooooooooooooooooooo depressing. I went back to the class a few years later and when they started in on what your CAN'T eat, I requested that they tell us instead what we could eat. Now days, the guidelines are about moderation.
I would recommend going with a CGM (continuous glucose monitor). I had been using the Freestyle Libre for the last couple of years and then recently switched to the Libre 3 because I can't always tell when I'm 'crashing' until I'm sitting on the floor. One of the biggest advantages of the CGM (besides the lack of finger sticking) is that it also you to control your diet better. It is NORMAL for your blood sugar to rise after eating...it's part of the digestive process of turning food into energy and breaking down needed vitamins and minerals. You can't go carb free, fat free, sugar free diet and not have health issues as a result because your body NEEDS carbs, NEEDS fat, NEEDS sugar...but in moderation. So you can track better which foods cause problems and which foods don't and the stuff that is 'bad' for you, you can cut down on and/or find better-for-you alternatives.
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I'm glad you said it, 'cause I was going to! You could have knocked me over with a feather when I read that...
I heard that. I hope it doesn't become that serious. His a1c was 11 and it's more like 5.5 in less than a month. Everything he's doing is really helping.
He's 48, so same. But it is in his family so it's not surprise.
That's rather good to know. He is obese even though the doctor says he's healthy other than the diabetes thing. Well and the blood pressure (also runs in the family) and him needing to finally get glasses.
My A1C was prediabetic last I was there. Might have changed by now but that was only 6 months ago. I'm going to have a much harder time with a diabetic diet than he is. I'm very picky in my food and don't like alot of the stuff that's supposed to be good for diabetics.
lol, yeah I noticed. Although the spinach salad with cheese, grilled chicken, and a couple tablespoons of light ranch is just delicious.
I was wondering about those. How do those work exactly? Does the doctor put them in or do you do it yourself? The little monitors with needles I mean. I heard there are issues with accuracy on those. Although I think it might make it easier for him to track spikes. Do they hurt like the finger pricking does? He's had some times where he's having difficulty getting blood out though I did some research and found some info that has helped immensely. I heard that the gsm's are changed weekly, or is it two weeks? (conflicting info out there).
MelissaG: Thanks for the insight! I'm going to switch over to Lakanta sugar. Never heard of it but it sounds wonderful!
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Lone Tree Rec Center has Silver Sneakers classes. It's close by. Thanks for the suggestion, though. I appreciate it.
Honestly? My problem is motivation. With no purpose, no joy and nothing to look forward to in my life except more of the same, I just can't seem to get with it. So there's mental, emotional and psychological blocks I have to overcome. 3 Medical professionals have recommended therapy but good therapists within the Kaiser system are in short supply. So, I have to be my own therapist and I am working on it.
Just be well informed. There are lawsuits now in reference to Ozempic and it causing stomach paralysis. I have also read that erythritol is bad.
The doctor puts in a prescription for them...I get a three month supply for about $130 with my insurance. Each one is good for 14 days. Mind you, this is the Freestyle Libre 3...there are other kinds on the market like Dexcom and Omnipod that are 10 days. You also have some that work with smartphone app like mine or work with a separate monitor and then you have Real Time monitors vs intermittent. My first Freestyle Libre was the intermittent one meaning that I had to put my phone up the senor and check. Not too hard to remember as I set up an alarm to remind me to check at least every four hours. The Libre 3 is real time and I can set alarms for highs and lows. I don't worry to much about highs since I don't want the alarm going off while digesting my food, but the lows are important. The only downside to the Real Time is that it runs down the battery on my cell phone faster, but I have a charger at work and my car if needed.
You'll want to get a box of alcohol wipes, I got a box of 100 BD ones on Amazon for $2.18. I also bought the transparent Fixic Freestyle Adhesive Patches because the adhesive on the sensors aren't always the best. They are $15.91 for 25, but it's cheaper than having to pay for a new sensor out of pocket or going without (which I have).
Putting the sensor on doesn't hurt at all. You start with clean, dry skin then use the alcohol wipe and let dry again. Put the little gizmo against your upper arm and then press down firmly and hold to the count of ten and remove. I then place a patch over it and then open the app on my iPhone and hold it over and it syncs. This morning, I got an alarm at 4:16 when my blood dropped to 69. My daughter happened to be up since she works nights and keeps the same hours and heard it because it's linked to my husband's phone. She work me up...had a peanut butter and honey sandwich and a can of pineapple juice for me. My sugars when up to about 200 for about a half hour and then dropped back down to about 130. I'm sitting around 101 right now...I need to have a snack. I'll grab some pecans...fat and protein.
Just be careful because too much erythritol can give you a stomach ache since it's an alcohol sugar. It tastes slightly less sugar than table sugar. But this particular brand really does taste like it.
Very interesting. I've talked to my husband. He has an appointment soon with the doctor and he's going to ask about Libre. We think he might have crashed the other day actually. He got really really wasted tired. I had him eat something and he was better after. He hadn't had any snacks that day just the meals. He's still way too heavy and his body needs a certain amount of calories to work properly so sometimes I remind him to go eat. Personally think he had too little of something that day, whether it's sugar or whatever. Kind of like when you have a really strong craving for something, it's your body saying you're missing something. You know, like a woman wanting a steak during that time of the month.
We're still getting the hang of this.
When we were running a hotel many years ago, the maintenance man collapsed in the front office. It turns out that he hadn't eaten that day and had diabetes. He had to be given glucose by the ambulance. I really don't want something like that to happen to my husband.
With diabetes it is important that you eat. I find light meals with snacks in between work better at controlling my blood sugar than "three squares a day". I like pecans, kettle corn, bbq potato chips, a handful of dark chocolate M&Ms, sugar-free jello/pudding in snack packs.
You'll want to get some Glucose Tablets. I have tubes that I keep in my desk at work, desk at home, car and purse and I refill from a jar I get from Amazon. I also keep Jolly Ranchers all over the place and I get those small cans of Pineapple juice and Pepsi with Real Sugar.
I'll be honest I don't really follow a 'diabetic diet' because my husband does most of the cooking because of my commute and cooks what he wants to eat which are pretty no fuss/no muss meals. We eat pretty decently...no fat frying unless I want gravy and that's maybe once a month because hubby doesn't like gravy expect for Thanksgiving turkey. Lean meats...mainly chicken and pork, beef once in a while. I love fish, but hubby prefers fish sticks unless it's sushi and fish sticks raise my blood sugar too much. So he gets fish sticks and fries (baked) and I get salmon and a salad. Hubby's big on Rice a Roni, I prefer brown rice cooked with a bit Better Than Bouillon. We try to have veggies with every meal. We do a lot of salads during the summer...I'll get a bag of greens and dump in a huge Tupperware bowl and chop up all sorts of things in it. Except for tomatoes...I buy those little cherry ones even though they are expensive so I can pick them out.
One thing I have absolutely refused to give up...my morning coffee with International Delights Irish Cream. I will spike until the cows come home but I will NOT give up my cup of coffee in the morning. I gave up cheesecake. I gave up German Chocolate Cake. I pretty much gave up ice cream...NOT giving up my coffee.
Potatoes have always been a big part of our diets. We both love a good baked potato with cheese, bacon and sour cream. Plus, I love french fries. Oh and I love ice cream. My biggest weakness is pepsi. Though I used to drink 4 cans a day and I'm down to 2. There was a time when I had a 2 liter a day. I've been working on us eating better for a while. It's surprisingly difficult.
We have found a really good keto bread that tastes just like regular brown bread and only 9 carbs. We found white cheese smart popcorn that we both love.
I have a severe allergy to anything sea food and don't like the taste anyway although he loves it. We've been ordering from Cracker Barrel. They have this catfish with veggies that my husband loves and I've been getting that delicious loaded casserole with sausage.
I saw those at Walmart. Are they for times when your sugar gets too low? We tend to have things with sugar around the house regardless. Because of the damage from a car accident in 2004, sugar is one of the only things I can taste clearly. Hence my problem. And I still have days where things taste like straight salt, taste like nothing, or the taste is just overwhelming. One of the reasons I can't stand the taste of seafood is that it just tastes really really bad to me.
He's been doing very well avoiding all the sugar stuff in the house. But he's alot less picky than I am. He's found he's developing a like for cauliflower (yuck) and broccoli (yuck). He says cauliflower tastes like nothing. I say it tastes like old socks must taste. He loves broccoli which he says is delicious especially in cheese soup. I say it has the texture of little brains so I refuse to eat it. He's developed a taste for portabello mushrooms. I say fungus should be in the ground not in my mouth. So yeah, there's that.
My husband would be envious. He's developed a kind of sensitivity to tomatoes. Kind of like milk does to me. Things like a terrible stomach ache. Yeah, I love ice cream anyway lol. I used to have at least a couple scoops of ice cream a day because I love it so much. But I've been having one Breyers carb bar a day and trying to go lower.
Like I said, he's doing better than I am with the adjustment.
I think everyone has vices. If yours is coffee, than so be it. Better than cigarettes or alcohol or worse.
We've been going to the grocery store together. We used to just get it delivered. Though yesterday it was about 115 degrees so we just had it delivered. It gets us both walking. It makes us both move.
One thing, how do you exercise in this kind of heat? The absolute last thing either of us wants to do is exercise. Even being in the house is hot. It reached 79 in the house today with the ac set to 70. Walking around the block? Forget that, it's like asking to die of heat stroke by the time you get back to the front door.
Wish we had an ice rink around here but we don't. I'd love to strap on my skates again. It may be almost 20 years but it would keep us cool and give us exercise. My husband doesn't know how to skate so I could teach him. It would be so much fun.
Yes, the Glucose tablets are for low blood sugar. Eat one, wait 15 minutes then have another..
We used to have potatoes in some form six nights a week and have cut it down to two. I love O’Brien Hash Browns and sometimes I make a snack out of them…just a half of serving and I use EVOO.
I like those little 7.5 oz cans of Pepsi. Spendy, but I don’t like soda in a plastic bottle and won’t drink a larger can. Occasionally I can get Pepsi bottled in glass out of Mexico…brings back memories.
Be careful with ‘low carb’ stuff. 1) Your body needs carbs. 2) A lot of the so-called ‘low carb’ really isn’t or contains stuff that isn’t good for you. Go ahead and have the ice cream, but not ever day and sprinkle some chopped nuts on it. The protein and fat in the nuts helps to counteract the sugar content.
I don’t exercise given the amount of walking I do at work…and I’m old and overweight and too tired when I get home.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
That's very useful to know. Thank you. We'll get some.
It would help if I wasn't so picky lol. I just don't like most vegetables. Peas, carrots and corn are about my limit. Oddly apparently he doesn't like carrots. We got some for him to eat with hummis and to quote "they were gross". I suggested he tries celery instead. I hate celery because it's like eating string but maybe he will like it.
How often do you have one?
We found out smart water is awesome. Not sure why but it's actually more refreshing than other bottled water. And it tastes great.
Yeah, our big thing is that we tend to eat alot of carbs in our diet. We both love pretty much any forms of bread, pasta, rice, etc. There's a reason that there's so many fat people in the New Orleans area. The food is completely delicious and very heavy in sugar and carbs. He loves gumbo and I love jumbalaya. Both are made with heavy amounts of rice. Just as an example. Heard something about parish rice which is supposed to be good for diabetics but it seems to be sold out every time I go and only one grocery store brand carries it.
You don't seem old to me lol. I'm overweight and so is my husband. Both of us get tired much easier than we used to. I think it's just that we aren't kids anymore. Things change. I used to be able to sleep 3 hours and get up for school the next day and feel fine. Now? I need my 8 hours.
You're welcome Zany. It definitely has been interesting. Gecko has alot of interesting info.
A 6-pack of the "minis" will generally last me a month, but that is because I got out of the habit of drinking it unless it contains 'real sugar'. I also drink a lot of unsweetened tea though sometimes I will have a large ice tea with just a teaspoon of sugar or hot tea with just a small dollop of honey. Smart Water probably tastes 'refreshing' because your body is lacking in electrolytes like potassium, calcium and magnesium. Other that that it's just processed tap water.
I believe that a lot of the health issues that we have are directly related to the amount of chemicals that are in our food, and now we are dealing with GMOs. There hasn't been enough time to understand how these GMOs will effect our bodies. And too...there is the issue that even when you buy fresh produce, it's been picked well before it's time so you're not getting the full benefits of vitamins and minerals. I can't remember the last time I ate a banana or cantaloupe that actually had any taste to them. And it's why I have started visiting local "Farmer's Markets" looking for local produce to put in my cupboards (canning) or freezer.
I love beans and rice, but I kind of, sort of make it myself. I start with Mexican Rice, but only use the seasoning pack and use brown rice, mix in Black Beans and a can of Rotel. When it's done, I toss on a bit of Monterey Jack cheese. It's filling and the beans help to offset any spikes. Again, I caution you on 'diabetes' products...brown rice would work just as well as your Parrish Rice and a lot easier to find. Note though...it takes longer to cook that white rice.
I'm in my early 60s.
I've tried so hard to find good tea but most of it is tasteless to me unless it has sugar. Or it just tastes weird and very weak. My mum used to drink Good Host Iced Tea growing up but she always added sugar. It was delicious. Can't get it down south though. Can't find my favorite chips or chocolate down here either.
Don't know about missing calcium because I LOVE cheese. Stomach ache or not, it's one of my favorite things to eat. Growing up, my parents used to get a big block of cheese from the grocery and my sister and I would kill it in two days. Maybe the others though.
That wouldn't surprise me. We do put alot of garbage into our food. I'm thinking of buying more from the farmers market I go to, If the heat ever gets better. Feels interminable this year.
You have to wait until the banana gets a bit of brown spots on the rind. That's when it tastes the best. I've never much liked cantelope. I have noticed that, while I used to hate blueberries, they seem to taste better now. I think scientists are right when they say that our taste buds change as we get older. I used to love the icing on cake now I take it all off because the cake is sweet enough by itself. I always wondered why my mum did that. Now I know.
My husband likes black beans. I'm more for red beans (great with roux and rice).
Not that much older than me *wink*
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 50! My pancreas was damaged with a severe gallbladder episode. I was in ICU for 10 days before they could remove it. I have severely struggled with keeping on track. I am getting an insulin pump on the 24th so hopefully that will help. I k ow the struggles of adults facing this issue.
I've been reading it's become much more common in older adults. It just really sucks.
