New here

December 28, 2005

Kathleen,

When you feel like that, particularly after restricting your food so much,

test you bg's---

Those symptoms are a couple of typical ones for going low (hypoglycemic),

and that is to be avoided. Since you're just on oral meds, lows can feel really

lousy, but are not typically dangerous like they can be for someone using

insulin.

Nevertheless, they are to be taken seriously as you could be called upon for

some action or thinking & not be able to respond properly because of the low

bg's

*****************************************

, T2, dx'ed 4/98 with Fasting bg 350mg/dl & HbA1c 15.5%

Controlling until last month with LC-D & very little E

Average Fasting bg 105mg/dl, Last HbA1c 6.0%

7+ Year Historical HbA1c 5.6%-6.0%

Now Experimenting with Metformin, Glyburide & " Merlot Therapy " for HbA1c

nearer 5.0%

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

>>> ,

I think I did the wrong thing again. When I found out all the changes

that were happening yesterday with the added meds and higher A1C, I

decided to cut my calories drasticly to fix my problem. Now I feel

real shaky and weepy, I guess 1000 calories isn't enough.

Kathleen <<<

December 28, 2005

I looked up beets, which are 8.62, diced, per cupful, (that is including the

minus of the fiber).

Sugar beets are grown to produce sugar and they are white, in color, and I

don't believe they are available on the foodie market.

Jo in MN

Re: New Here

>I had no idea that tomatoes could raise blood sugar. I'm about to the

> point that I don't know what to eat anymore between allergies (wheat,

> yeast, barley, celery, and peas), 3 doctors have ordered me not to

> eat any beef (it raises my cortisol levels), low-sodium due to

> Cushing's Syndrome, and this impossible to figure out diabetes diet.

> Kathleen

>>

>> Hi Kathleen and welcome to the list~!

>>

>> You mentioned beets. Aren't they higher in carbs than some veggies?

> I'm guessing at this one. I just remember them being called sugar

> beets. I may be way off target here. I have tham so rarely and in low

> quantity, I never looked up their carb content.

>>

December 28, 2005

At 10:30 AM 12/28/05, kathleenataylor wrote:

>I am allergic to wheat and yeast, so I don't eat any bread, pasta, or

>cereal. I do eat rice, it's my main starch. I also eat rice cakes

>quite often. Sometimes I eat potatoes, but I eat carrots fairly often.

Is there any special need for a " main starch " considering that you're

diabetic and starches raise blood glucose?

In another message you mention that you eat corn, dry beans, potatos and

raw carrots. Maybe you should remove them from your diet until you get your

blood glucose under control and THEN try adding small amounts of them back

in and testing to see what happens.

sky

December 28, 2005

O my, Kathleen, the last thing I want is to discourage you. I thought I was

problem solving to hopefully help you to figure out why your BG was higher than

you like. I was overwhelmed in the early days too.

When I saw people saying they couldn't eat tomatoes, I was rebellious enough to

know right then that if I wanted a mixed vegetable diet, I was going to eat it.

I have other medical conditions and limitations too and knew I didn't want

uncontrolled diabetes to add to the list, so I knuckled down, went straight to

insulin and that's how I enjoy any vegetable I want. I have always believed " all

things in moderation " but must admit to being a carbohydrate addict before my

diagnosis. I didn't understand why I had these carbohydrate cravings until I

stopped eating so many of the grains, etc. and began to understand how it all

worked. After about three weeks of severely limiting " the white things " - rice,

pasta, potatoes, sugar) not only didn't I crave them, I didn't even miss them.

My worst battles were with ice cream and popcorn.

I'm not saying you need to go on insulin, though many here who finally went on

it wondered why they waited so long. :-) I was just saying that after you find

out which veggies affect you most, you may have to do a little extra exercise to

offset the meal, or possibly ask your doctor for one of the medicines that

offset BG rise at mealtime.

I see in a later email that your Avandia has been increased and Glucophage has

begun. I don't know how Avandia works but I suspect that with these two new

things in your regimen, you will be seeing lower numbers - real soon.

Hang in there, it does get easier, really it does.

in OH

grammyDx2@...

t2 dx 8/03

WOE. Lantus. Novolog

Last HbA1c 5.5

From: kathleenataylor

Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2005 3:29 PM

I had no idea that tomatoes could raise blood sugar. I'm about to the

point that I don't know what to eat anymore between allergies (wheat,

yeast, barley, celery, and peas), 3 doctors have ordered me not to

eat any beef (it raises my cortisol levels), low-sodium due to

Cushing's Syndrome, and this impossible to figure out diabetes diet.

Kathleen

December 28, 2005

At 03:29 PM 12/28/05, kathleenataylor wrote:

>I had no idea that tomatoes could raise blood sugar. I'm about to the

>point that I don't know what to eat anymore between allergies (wheat,

>yeast, barley, celery, and peas), 3 doctors have ordered me not to

>eat any beef (it raises my cortisol levels), low-sodium due to

>Cushing's Syndrome, and this impossible to figure out diabetes diet.

tomatoes, onions and garlic are all what low carb books call " borderline "

foods. Now I happen to like all three of those so I eat them. I just try to

not eat as many tomatoes as I used to. Garlic isn't a problem unless I want

to make " Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic " . Onions, well...a day without

onions is like a day without sunshine.

I can't imagine also going without beef. While cortisol is supposed to help

build vicereal fat, I don't *think* it raises blood glucose, does it?

Sometimes you have to balance things out. Losing weight is not necessarily

going to lower BG's, anyway. We have those on this list who can vouch for

that.

- sky -

Old age comes at such a bad time.

http://www.skydancers.com

http://www.skydor.com

December 28, 2005

,

I think I did the wrong thing again. When I found out all the changes

that were happening yesterday with the added meds and higher A1C, I

decided to cut my calories drasticly to fix my problem. Now I feel

real shaky and weepy, I guess 1000 calories isn't enough.

Kathleen

>

> O my, Kathleen, the last thing I want is to discourage you. I

thought I was problem solving to hopefully help you to figure out why

your BG was higher than you like. I was overwhelmed in the early days

too.

>

> When I saw people saying they couldn't eat tomatoes, I was

rebellious enough to know right then that if I wanted a mixed

vegetable diet, I was going to eat it. I have other medical

conditions and limitations too and knew I didn't want uncontrolled

diabetes to add to the list, so I knuckled down, went straight to

insulin and that's how I enjoy any vegetable I want. I have always

believed " all things in moderation " but must admit to being a

carbohydrate addict before my diagnosis. I didn't understand why I

had these carbohydrate cravings until I stopped eating so many of the

grains, etc. and began to understand how it all worked. After about

three weeks of severely limiting " the white things " - rice, pasta,

potatoes, sugar) not only didn't I crave them, I didn't even miss

them. My worst battles were with ice cream and popcorn.

> I'm not saying you need to go on insulin, though many here who

finally went on it wondered why they waited so long. :-) I was just

saying that after you find out which veggies affect you most, you may

have to do a little extra exercise to offset the meal, or possibly

ask your doctor for one of the medicines that offset BG rise at

mealtime.

> I see in a later email that your Avandia has been increased and

Glucophage has begun. I don't know how Avandia works but I suspect

that with these two new things in your regimen, you will be seeing

lower numbers - real soon.

>

> Hang in there, it does get easier, really it does.

>

> in OH

> grammyDx2@n...

> t2 dx 8/03

> WOE. Lantus. Novolog

> Last HbA1c 5.5

>

December 28, 2005

Sky,

The cortisol problem is connected to my Cushing's Syndrome. As long

as I avoid beef the Cushing's is under control.

Kathleen

>

> >I had no idea that tomatoes could raise blood sugar. I'm about to

the

> >point that I don't know what to eat anymore between allergies

(wheat,

> >yeast, barley, celery, and peas), 3 doctors have ordered me not to

> >eat any beef (it raises my cortisol levels), low-sodium due to

> >Cushing's Syndrome, and this impossible to figure out diabetes

diet.

>

> tomatoes, onions and garlic are all what low carb books

call " borderline "

> foods. Now I happen to like all three of those so I eat them. I

just try to

> not eat as many tomatoes as I used to. Garlic isn't a problem

unless I want

> to make " Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic " . Onions, well...a day

without

> onions is like a day without sunshine.

>

> I can't imagine also going without beef. While cortisol is supposed

to help

> build vicereal fat, I don't *think* it raises blood glucose, does

it?

> Sometimes you have to balance things out. Losing weight is not

necessarily

> going to lower BG's, anyway. We have those on this list who can

vouch for

> that.

>

> - sky -

>

> Old age comes at such a bad time.

> http://www.skydancers.com

> http://www.skydor.com

>

December 28, 2005

Cortisol raises bgs, but I never heard that beef raises cortisol. That

doesn't mean it doesn't. Stress definitely raises cortisol and being a

new diabetic is a stressful situation. However, there are other ways to

lower cortisol than eschew beef. Meditation lowers cortisol by

interfering with the stress cycle. Some SSRIs in very small doses also

lower cortisol in certain people. Like me, I take 10mg of celexa every

morning. I also meditate and I eat beef.

Kathleen, there is so much that you can eat, you do not have to fill your

plate with rice. Everytime you go to the supermarket, browse the produce

section and try something you haven't had before. Most of the veggies

there, like cabbage, spinach, lettuce, cucumber, which I am sure you have

eaten in the past, will make a lovely stir fry with poultry or fish. You

can pile that on your plate and there will be no room for rice! If soy

sauce has too much sodium for you, you can try the low sodium kind, or

flavor your stir fry with Chinese mustard.

Now the new stuff, have you ever tried daikon radish? Bok choy?

Avocados? Really healthy for us. Chinese cabbage? Kale?

This is not the end of your life, this is the beginning of a whole new

culinary adventure. Even if your allergies are a problem, your

imagination can take you to new places and new enjoyments.

Helen

December 28, 2005

,

Add to that the fact that I am extremely sensitive to female hormones

due to the hormone imbalances that the adrenal cancer caused (33

hormones out of balance). Not only do I end up extremely ill when

exposed to female hormones (Yes, beef does have female hormones

injected into it to help the cattle gain weight fast), but I have had

a reaction similar to a stroke where have my face suddenly droops and

the other half is fine.

Kathleen

>

> I can see the reason for not eating the beef. Most likely it is

due to

> the hormone levels in beef which in turn can raise cortisol

levels.

> Yes, cortisol can raise BG. Stress alone raises cortisol levels

which

> in turn raises BG. They are all hormone related and all affect

BG.

>

> >I can't imagine also going without beef. While cortisol is

supposed to help

> >build vicereal fat, I don't *think* it raises blood glucose, does

it?

> >

>

December 28, 2005

,

It probably doesn't help that I am trying to recover from mono and

bronchitis.

Kathleen

>

> Kathleen,

> When you feel like that, particularly after restricting your food

so much,

> test you bg's---

> Those symptoms are a couple of typical ones for going low

(hypoglycemic),

> and that is to be avoided. Since you're just on oral meds, lows can

feel really

> lousy, but are not typically dangerous like they can be for someone

using

> insulin.

> Nevertheless, they are to be taken seriously as you could be called

upon for

> some action or thinking & not be able to respond properly because

of the low

> bg's

>

> *****************************************

> , T2, dx'ed 4/98 with Fasting bg 350mg/dl & HbA1c 15.5%

> Controlling until last month with LC-D & very little E

> Average Fasting bg 105mg/dl, Last HbA1c 6.0%

> 7+ Year Historical HbA1c 5.6%-6.0%

> Now Experimenting with Metformin, Glyburide & " Merlot Therapy " for

HbA1c

> nearer 5.0%

>

> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

>

> >>> ,

> I think I did the wrong thing again. When I found out all the

changes

> that were happening yesterday with the added meds and higher A1C,

I

> decided to cut my calories drasticly to fix my problem. Now I feel

> real shaky and weepy, I guess 1000 calories isn't enough.

> Kathleen <<<

>

December 28, 2005

At 08:04 PM 12/28/05, kathleenataylor wrote:

>Sky,

>The cortisol problem is connected to my Cushing's Syndrome. As long

>as I avoid beef the Cushing's is under control.

Ah, I see. You can eat other meats, though? I'm such a carnivore, and I'm

afraid a rare steak is a favorite of mine. I suppose if mad cow disease hit

the states I'd have to stop....

Sky (still learning new things)

December 28, 2005

Kathleen: It's not calories you need to cut; it's carbs. Carbohydrates.

Specifically, cut out the high GI carbs. If you do, you'll control you

BGs and you'll lose weight, too.

Check Mendosa's website for info about the glycemic index, otherwise

known as GI.

And when you feel shaky and weepy do check your BG!

Vicki

Re: New Here

> ,

> I think I did the wrong thing again. When I found out all the changes

> that were happening yesterday with the added meds and higher A1C, I

> decided to cut my calories drasticly to fix my problem. Now I feel

> real shaky and weepy, I guess 1000 calories isn't enough.

> Kathleen

>

>>

>> O my, Kathleen, the last thing I want is to discourage you. I

> thought I was problem solving to hopefully help you to figure out why

> your BG was higher than you like. I was overwhelmed in the early days

> too.

>>

>> When I saw people saying they couldn't eat tomatoes, I was

> rebellious enough to know right then that if I wanted a mixed

> vegetable diet, I was going to eat it. I have other medical

> conditions and limitations too and knew I didn't want uncontrolled

> diabetes to add to the list, so I knuckled down, went straight to

> insulin and that's how I enjoy any vegetable I want. I have always

> believed " all things in moderation " but must admit to being a

> carbohydrate addict before my diagnosis. I didn't understand why I

> had these carbohydrate cravings until I stopped eating so many of the

> grains, etc. and began to understand how it all worked. After about

> three weeks of severely limiting " the white things " - rice, pasta,

> potatoes, sugar) not only didn't I crave them, I didn't even miss

> them. My worst battles were with ice cream and popcorn.

>> I'm not saying you need to go on insulin, though many here who

> finally went on it wondered why they waited so long. :-) I was just

> saying that after you find out which veggies affect you most, you may

> have to do a little extra exercise to offset the meal, or possibly

> ask your doctor for one of the medicines that offset BG rise at

> mealtime.

>> I see in a later email that your Avandia has been increased and

> Glucophage has begun. I don't know how Avandia works but I suspect

> that with these two new things in your regimen, you will be seeing

> lower numbers - real soon.

>>

>> Hang in there, it does get easier, really it does.

>>

>> in OH

>> grammyDx2@n...

>> t2 dx 8/03

>> WOE. Lantus. Novolog

>> Last HbA1c 5.5

December 29, 2005

I am not a vegetarian, I eat many other meats. I try to avoid

shellfish, because I have heard that they are not the best for

diabetics to eat (plus they tend to be more expensive). I eat lots of

chicken and turkey (I use ground turkey as a ground beef substitute),

fish, ham (I don't go for pork, but I do eat ham occasionally),

buffalo, and occasionally other meats.

Kathleen

> >Sky,

> >The cortisol problem is connected to my Cushing's Syndrome. As long

> >as I avoid beef the Cushing's is under control.

>

> Ah, I see. You can eat other meats, though? I'm such a carnivore, and

I'm

> afraid a rare steak is a favorite of mine. I suppose if mad cow

disease hit

> the states I'd have to stop....

>

> Sky (still learning new things)

>

December 29, 2005

So, how many Carbs to I eat per day? or per meal?

I tried asking my doctor quite awhile back how many calories per day

I should eat and he said that I should probably start with 1800 until

my body gets use to it and then go to 1500 and then down to 1200. He

didn't want me to try 1000, but I think it would fix things faster.

Kathleen

>

> Kathleen: It's not calories you need to cut; it's carbs.

Carbohydrates.

> Specifically, cut out the high GI carbs. If you do, you'll control

you

> BGs and you'll lose weight, too.

>

> Check Mendosa's website for info about the glycemic index,

otherwise

> known as GI.

>

> And when you feel shaky and weepy do check your BG!

> Vicki

December 29, 2005

>

> So, how many Carbs to I eat per day? or per meal?

>

> I tried asking my doctor quite awhile back how many calories per day

> I should eat and he said that I should probably start with 1800 until

> my body gets use to it and then go to 1500 and then down to 1200. He

> didn't want me to try 1000, but I think it would fix things faster.

> Kathleen

Kathleen, I know this is all very confusing, and there is no easy

answer to your question, even though a lot of doctors and health care

workers try to make up one. Basically, your own body and your own

degree of insulin resistance, along with the amount of medication or

injected insulin you are comfortable taking, will ultimately determine

how many carbs you eat. The only way to know for sure while you're

trying to get a handle on everything is to count the carbs in your

meals (ALL of them) and test. Meanwhile, try to eat those lower carb

veggies you've seen listed here, along with lean proteins. Instead of

a veggie and a starch with your meal, have two or three moderate

servings of different types of vegetables. Salads are good if you

don't add starches or sugars. Beware of salad dressings. Some of them

are very high carb. Learn to read the labels of everything, and

measure servings until you really understand what a half cup of

something is, or what 100 grams of a food looks like. Almonds, in

moderation, make a good snack. So do berries, raw veggies dipped in a

fairly low carb dip or hummus, and small amounts of plain yogurt, which

you can flavor with Splenda or walnuts or fresh berries or whatever you

prefer. See if you can talk your doctor into giving you more test

strips. I used to go through an average of 8 a day until I learned

what my body would tolerate. It's good to test before meals, for a

baseline, 1 hour after meals, and then 2 hours after meals. Meanwhile,

I'd concentrate on doing tests 1.5-2 hours after meals, to get an idea

of how high you are spiking. If it's too high, reduce the carbs next

time. We can help you as you go along, with specific suggestions for

fine tuning your diet.

Christy

December 29, 2005