Not sure what to think

[bdalameda]

Any diabetic riders out there?

About 10 days ago I took a blood test in order to change my life insurance policy. I received a call from my insurance agent informing me that the coverage would not be available to me due to some issues that came up from the blood work. He recommended that I make an appointment to discuss with my doctor. I received the results of the blood work and it was plain to see that my glucose, A1C etc were very high. At this point I have no symptoms other that a 55 lb weight loss that I thought was due to my eating right over the last year. My doctor confirmed that my glucose was at 489 and a ratio of 11.2 that should be around 5. He put me on Janumet and Lipitor and he is getting me an appointment with a specialist. All other signs are great - low blood pressure, heart rate, weight and other bloodwork / functions looks great. I had bloodwork done less that 2 yrs ago and everything was great. He said it was "rapid onset" diabetes. No family history at all of diabetes in my family as well. I am somewhat dumbfounded by all of this as I have been completely healthy other than sleep apnea my entire life. I feel absolutely fine. Trying to absorb all this and look forward to see and understand how this is going to effect my life.

Dan

 

[DbleDutch]

You are a type 2 Diabetic. Your pancreas function producing insulin is slowing down. Diet awareness of carbs and sugar can significantly help your A1C #. Type 2 Diabetes does a lot of damage to organs, as with slow change in your bodies ability to use sugar/carbs. My hiking/backpacking buddy is Type 2 and controls his with diet and does everything he always did, including marathon running. My Son is a Type 1 and his pancreas simply quit producing insulin at age 15. Within a week we were in the Pediatric ICU and took another week to get him stable. Type 1 are insulin dependent and take multiple daily shots (my son) or use an insulin pump.

Keep playing the poker hand life deals you. Learn how your body uses it's food and keep riding!
Best to you.

 

[Dave.David]

Type 2 here. When I found out the main suggestion I repeatedly got was do everything to resist using the needle, don't start injections without second option. Because once you start you'll never get off the needle.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

[rdmsttrav]

I just found out in mid December I had type 2 diabetes. I was fortunate in that my doctor wanted me to use diet and exercise first to treat. He said that unless necessary he didn't want to start meds until we tried that first. They described that its the fat in my cells that are preventing insulin from bringing glucose into the cells for energy, keeping the blood sugar high, and creating insulin resistance. Its a simplification of whats taking place but its laymen terms I could understand. He had his main nurse come in and give me dietary information which she had been trained in and is a new to Kaiser or at least to me. I also took a 2 hr class at kaiser. They prescribed a plant based no added oil diet and exercise. I agreed to try it on a 3-4 month basis when I would have another a1c to see if it worked or not.
The program originates from a Dr McDougall (https://www.drmcdougall.com) who has been using food to treat disease for decades. She suggested I watch Forks Over Knives ( on Netflix), and McDougall videos on diabetes ( on his site) to get an idea of the way to eat and then stay in touch to fine tune.
I needed to lose weight so did a modified weight loss track. I lost 40lbs in less than 4 months and my A1C went down to 5.7 from diabetic levels.
All this was counterintuitive to me because I had been high protein low to no carbs for years and thought I was eating the right way for a pre diabetic, aside from portion control I was eating as one should by most recommendations.
The big killer in all this for Type 2 diabetics is fat, either added oils or natural animal fats like in my favorites cheese, milk etc.
So now my plate is 70% potatoes, corn, beans, rice, some pasta, sqaush, oatmeal and non starchy vegetables i.e. broccoli, kale, salad etc. for the other 30% of the plate.
I began feeling better within about a week and after the 4th month was feeling fantastic.
I have gradually as an experiment added back some fats to see where the line is for me personally between health and flavor, but am finding out that I cannot go far out of line and maintain high energy levels, and satisfactory blood glucose levels.
Its very challenging to eat this way but so far the benefits far outweigh the down side.
My riding over the last 2 years has suffered from my lower energy getting worse and i am pretty sure that the diabetes was the culprit in many ways. So on one hand I'm excited to ride this summer
and I am nervous about taking my customary long trips. I think I have the food figured out enough to eat on the road bringing my own.

I was able to get off high blood pressure medication as a result and had some really great bloodwork in other areas as well. I still have sleep apnea as well.
The main resources I used were:
https://www.drmcdougall.com ( they have a ton of free information and offer seminars that are 3 day or 10 day for information and or treatment)
http://www.dresselstyn.com/site/
https://www.masteringdiabetes.org
http://dryoungberg.com
http://engine2diet.com
http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Home.html

Not trying to start an oil thread or push anything on anyone hope it doesn't come across this way...I understand everybody has different chemistry and what works for one person isn't always good for another, this just worked for me so far.
Good Luck with getting better though at least it sounds like you hopefully caught it before any of the severe effects have taken place.

 

[Nashcat]

I was diagnosed pre-diabetic for years and didn’t do anything to correct it, until 2 years ago, when I lost feelings in one toe. Non reverseable nerve damage! I tried a couple of medications that upset my digestive system, but finally found Glimepiride. One tablet daily, with a meal, has my A1C below 7, down from 11. Of course, I have given up sugar, such as sodas and desserts.

I have found that a couple hours on the bike will lower my glucose level my about 40 points. The Dr. speculates that I’m keeping my core muscles working as I ride, which is burning off sugar, much like exercising. Sure beats time on a treadmill!

Ride Safe
John

 

[bdalameda]

I appreciate all the info. Good to hear about successful outcomes.

 

[Oldbikefixr]

I've been type 2 for 15 years. The janumet/whatever else won't fix you by themselves. You have to remain physically active. I still work in the yard, maintain the house and hit the gym three days a week. I manage to keep my weight to what I was in the military.....195 some 43 years back. My blood sugar isn't back to normal, but it it maxes out 150 or less. Take care of the weight and diet, otherwise all your old-guy problems will deepen and accelerate.

 

[Al Gully]

I've never been a pill popper and this stems upon my 93 year old mother that still takes no pills, only vitamins supplements.
She was raised on a farm and she still eats like she still lives on a farm. Mainly a plant based diet. Her 60 year old doctor says to me that she is heathlier than he is.
Just finished watching the fork over knives documentary. Boy is that ever an eye opener. Thanks rdmsttrav for posting this.

 

[Honda-st-team]

Wow great info THANKS !!!!!

 

[thekaz]

also type 2 here .... I was on lots of pills to start but now after diet change, weight loss and some attitude adjustments I am doing great. Now with only Metformin & Januvia I am a constant 6
It was a tough road for me because my lifestyle was not consistent with good eating habits.

 

[SMSW]

Good to hear about successful outcomes.

Best thing you can do is find a very good endocrinologist and talk to him/her. Not all docs are created equal - any more than all mechanics, plumbers, concrete finishers, or sculptors are equally good. I have a long time friend who's doc for years ignored her A1C numbers. She went to the joslin clinic in boston (excellent reputation) and they told her that if she continued with her then current program, she would be dead within a year. She went back home and her doc refused to follow joslin's recommendations. After talking to some friends, she found another doc, and has turned her life around. Ignoring her disease for years with that first doc resulted in gastroparesis, peripheral neuropathy, and eye problems. This is one serious disease that can be controlled. You can avoid the problems with proper treatment.

If I were to come down w/ diabetes, I'd pull out all the stops and do whatever it took to find the best doc around.

 

[KCJones]

I was diagnosed type 2 10 years ago. Since then I've actually kept my a1c to under-diabetic levels through just diet and exercise. Avoid the pills, avoid the needle by all means.

 

[Al Gully]

I like this quote from the documentary forks over knifes

The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs,
but will rather cute and prevent the disease with nutrition.

 

[Howard]

Diabetes is really scary and very insidious. Neither my wife nor I are over weight but after a few symptoms such as tiredness and feeling thirsty a lot we got checked out and found we were both in the danger area. 'the blood sugar diet' by Dr Michael Moseley was recommended and we found it brilliantly effective. Well worth a read and all about diet and exercise so no meds. Basically it is carbohydrates {ie sugar} that is the problem and is turned to fat around the internal organs. So whilst we looked ok from the outside, inside we weren't. We thought we had a healthy diet as we didn't eat obviously sugar high foods. Trouble is our staple diet was rice, pasta and potatoes. All carbs =sugar=internal fat= diabetes. Now on a 'mediteranean' diet and never felt better. Hope this helps give options.