Re: Introducing Myself

April 23, 2006

Hi Ray,

I'd suggest you ask the cardio about anti-arrhythmic drugs. I take

flecainide and have had just one 10 minute episode of a-fib in the last

18 months. It is not the only effective drug, but is one that is used a lot.

Beware of the pacemaker idea. It is a method of last resort and does not

stop the actual a-fib, it just makes it easier to live with.

Are you able to tell the difference between a-fib and NSR by taking your

wrist pulse? If you don't stay longer than 18 hours in a-fib at one

time, you may not need to go to the ER. Let your doc know how long it

lasts and ask at what point you should go back to the hospital.

- OU alum in MI

The Halls wrote:

> Hi Everyone!

>

> I am so glad to have found you all! I am new to this so bear with me.

> Thanks for any opinions you can offer!

>

> Ray

>

April 24, 2006

Re: Introducing myself

HI

Pacemaker will not stop afib however if you have severe bradycardia you

may need one, I had one fitted after doctors detected slow rhythms and

heart pauses of 5 seconds, then I had to wait 3 weeks on a heart monitor

to make absolutely sure it was necessary.

Beware of the pacemaker idea. It is a method of last resort and does not

stop the actual a-fib, it just makes it easier to live with.

April 24, 2006

Just want to clear something up real quick. Pacemaker was something that was

mentioned while I was full on in A Fib. It is not something that has been

mentioned as a treatment since that day. And it was not mentioned by the

cardiologist, just by the ED staff. Not really interested in that anyway.

Ray

May 24, 2006

>

> I recently was reading about Dreamlands pasta and was able to find

> some at my local grocery store. The carb grams listed on the box were

> around 45 per serving (I think) but then it mentioned digestable carbs

> on the box as a lot less. I have never heard the term digestable

> carbs. Does anyone have any experience with this particular brand of

> pasta and what does it do to your BG?

>

Welcome, !

Usually the term " digestible " or " net " carbs means the carb count minus the

dietary fiber and any sugar alcohols. So, for example, if a label said that

a serving contained 35g of carbs, but also 5g of dietary fiber, you would

have a total of 30g of " digestible " carbs. The theory being here that you

can subtract off the fiber because it doesn't digest and therefore doesn't

make your blood sugar rise. I myself have found this to be more or less

true.

Pasta for some reason has less effect on my blood sugar than other forms of

grains. I'm not familiar with the Dreamlands pasta, but I've had good luck

with the Mueller's enriched stuff. (I can't remember the exact brand

name.) I limit my portions quite a bit, though.

Molly

May 24, 2006

In a message dated 5/24/2006 4:49:39 P.M. Central Standard Time,

mjachowitz@... writes:

Usually the term " digestible " or " net " carbs means the carb count minus the

dietary fiber and any sugar alcohols. So, for example, if a label said that

a serving contained 35g of carbs, but also 5g of dietary fiber, you would

have a total of 30g of " digestible " carbs. The theory being here that you

can subtract off the fiber because it doesn't digest and therefore doesn't

make your blood sugar rise. I myself have found this to be more or less

true.

I do not know about Dreamlands Pasta, but I have some Dreamfields Spaghetti

in my pantry (haven't tried it yet). The nutritional label is different than

what I am used to seeing as it relates to the fiber grams. The carbs are

about 45 grams and the fiber is about 5 grams. As previously stated, you would

say 45 - 5 = 40 grams of carbs. However, the box advertises 5 grams of

digestible carbs. So, looking at the ingredients, the spaghetti contains

Inulin

which is a natural vegetable fiber. There is a fiber tablet called Fiber

Choice which is primarily made from Inulin. Having said all this, I do not

know

the difference between the Inulin Fiber and the Fiber grams which are listed

on the nutrition label.

Hope to try the spaghetti in the next week or so to see what happens.

Jimmie

May 24, 2006

>

> Hi everyone,

>

> I have been lurking on this list for a few weeks. I was diagnosed

> with Type 2 diabetes about 2 months ago. So far I have been able to

> stay off meds and have lost about 16 lbs.

>

> I was told by my doctor to limit my carb intake to 45 g. per meal but

> have had more success not going over 30.

>

> I recently was reading about Dreamlands pasta and was able to find

> some at my local grocery store. The carb grams listed on the box were

> around 45 per serving (I think) but then it mentioned digestable carbs

> on the box as a lot less. I have never heard the term digestable

> carbs. Does anyone have any experience with this particular brand of

> pasta and what does it do to your BG?

The instructions I received from my dietitian were:

If the fiber was 5g or more per serving, you could subtract that from the

carbs.

If there are sugar alcohols, you can subtract 1/2 of those from the carbs as

well. (These are the sorbitol's or other things that end in 'tol which are

usually also flagged as stating 'Excess consumption may have a laxitive

effect')

I usually look for high fiber foods, but (simply out of ease) don't bother

subtracting the fiber from them. The few things that have sugar alcohols

that I eat are consumed in small amounts as snacks... and I generally don't

mess with subtracting them either. This way, I get the benefit of the fiber

without the temptation to increase my serving size. There are somethings I

was trained as being 'free' and those are the low calorie veggies (like

broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and similar things, as well as herbs and

spices)... some have said they count these, but I don't (I figure they are

made up for by skipping the fiber reduction of other foods).

As far as pasta goes, I do well with whole wheat pasta. Of course, watch

your serving size and eat it with protein and heart-healthy fats (i.e.,

olive oil).

Mike

May 25, 2006

I have problems with portion sizes. I've been finding that I have to eat a

meal with less than 25g carb if I want my BS# to be an acceptible level to

me even though my dr and his team say it can be higher. Yesterday I ate

pretty much anything I wanted within reason now that I am so happy to be

loosing weight (lost another 2 lbs )

My endo team started me at 40-60g carbs but that was too high. I had to

figure this one out myself and it was an answer found totally by trial and

error and accident - but I found it!

My nutritionist told me not to worry about the fibers and alcohol sugars

etc. She said it would just drive me crazy(ier?!) because they included in

the total carbs so I decided just to listen to her about that as a start.

She said I surely could find out more about them myself and I think now

might be the time to do just that and to also find out about the Glycimic

Index stuff.

I have learned pretty much what I can't eat but am having trouble figuring

out what I can add to my limmitted foods. I also have to figure out how

to become comfortable with eating every 3 or so hours and what to eat on a

schedule like that.

I need my comfort foods, too, so maybe every other meal is a junk meal???

:-)

JUDITH

> Hi everyone,

>

> I have been lurking on this list for a few weeks. I was diagnosed

> with Type 2 diabetes about 2 months ago. So far I have been able to

> stay off meds and have lost about 16 lbs.

>

> I was told by my doctor to limit my carb intake to 45 g. per meal but

> have had more success not going over 30.

--

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May 25, 2006

>

> I have problems with portion sizes. I've been finding that I have to eat

> a

> meal with less than 25g carb if I want my BS# to be an acceptible level to

> me even though my dr and his team say it can be higher. Yesterday I ate

> pretty much anything I wanted within reason now that I am so happy to be

> loosing weight (lost another 2 lbs )

>

Hi Judith,

You know, I am really impressed by your dedication and determination to

fight this disease. There are a lot of people out there who can't eat more

than a certain amount of carbs at a meal without seeing their BG go up....

and eat the carbs anyway. :-)

That having been said, have you considered getting a little help from meds?

I'm just wondering if it's something you've considered and rejected, or

whether it just hadn't occurred to you. Before metformin, I couldn't eat

anything. I mean, really, anything, except for meat and cheese. The

metformin allows me to not go completely insane when trying to meal plan,

and I still feel I'm eating a very healthy diet. Not that I am pushing

metformin specifically, I'm just saying that there are possibly options if

you feel you're reaching a point where your diet is causing you insanity.

:-)

Congratulations on the 2 lb!!! I've been stuck at my current weight for

over two weeks, very discouraging considering I've been exercising and

really sticking to my diet.

Molly

May 25, 2006

Hi Molly,

Hi Judith,

Thanks for being impressed. I am too. I never thought I could do this and

I am not sure how it is really happening but it is. I didn't think I had

the discipline and determination but I do know I have an incredibly strong

survival instinct. I've been told twice that I was going to die but here I

am with orphan diseases that I seem to know as much as my doctors do.

I am not far from eating those carbs and other junk foods, but to tell the

truth the weight loss has me so motivated. I am totally obsessed about

loosing weight because it will help with not only my other medical issues,

but I'm tired of feeling ugly!

Yes, I have considered the possibility of talking to my endo about meds so I

can eat, but I take more meds now for other issues than you want to know

about. My body is super sensitive to everything so I really don't want to

be adding any more meds if I can avoid it. and of course with meds and

being able to eat - well I do not want to be this fat LOL :-)

Now you have it in a nutshell, except for the fact that my dh is also

diabetic, on meds, using an endo I found and ran from, won't switch to the

team I use because then he would have to take a good look at how he is

eating and he doesn't want to I guess. I have foods in my house that you

NOW couldn't pay me to eat that he suddenly started bringing in to eat

himself when he saw I was loosing weight and my BS#s were going down.

Believe this one too: I have major hissy fits, loud and unpleasant when he

has eaten the last piece of lettuce and that was on my day's food plan! Oh

well.....

RE the weight loss, I am NOT dieting. That is not possible for me as I also

have an eating disorder which I have to make sure doesn't rear its ugly

head. I am just trying very hard to eat the foods I enjoy on a very limited

food list that I can digest, and to figure out how to space times between

meals. yuck!