Re: Fran: Frustrated and Angry (was: Normalizing Lantus ...)

[Guest guest]

> At first I was like..ok...I can

> do this...that was before I knew

> how bad diabetes could be.

I firmly believe that your first

reaction was the correct one, Fran;

you CAN do it! Diabetes does not

have to be " bad " if properly

managed - there are many worse

things than diabetes out there.

> I get fustrated when my glucose

> readings are not good when I

> didn't do anything wrong.

That might be because you are

measuring so much AFTER meals.

That is the time when your BG is

changing rapidly and the actual

reading you get is very dependent

upon the state of your digestion

and the exact time that you take

the reading.

You might want to try taking BG

measurements BEFORE you start

eating instead of afterwards.

At that time the reading should

be fairly constant and not

dependent on the time or your

digestion. My wife measures

before big meals and, if she has

not snacked since the last meal,

expects to get a reading around

100mg%. If she does, then she

goes ahead and eats the meal, if

she gets a much higher reading

then she waits an hour and tries

again.

That way, you can be sure that

your BG goes up and then comes

down again before the next meal.

The way you are doing it, you

have no idea whether or not you

were still high before you started

the meal so the reading after the

meal does not really tell you

anything of much value.

You could still try taking a couple

of readings a week at exactly

the same time AFTER finishing

a big meal (90 minutes after is

a good time to do it) just to keep

a record of how your medication

is doing (for your physician, you

can't do much about it yourself).

The original safety report for

metformin hydrochloride (which

is what you are taking) gave

the treatment aim as reduction

of HbA1c below 7% after 24 months

of treatment so you need to be

a little patient - it is not going

to happen overnight.

> Trying to get control is hard.

> Its being afraid that I can't

> control it that gets to me most.

But it is very much easier than with

many other chronic disorders, Fran!

Try thinking positive! With many

other chronic disorders there is

nothing at all you can do yourself.

One of the big positives about

diabetes is that much of it is in

your own hands - YOU can make the

biggest difference, not the physicians.

To do that you need to take readings

that you can act on and those will be

before you start to eat, not after:

BG high - don't eat, BG normal - eat

normally, BG low - get it back up

again. You can't do any of that if

you measure AFTER the meal, all you

can do that way is to feel bad about

it if it doesn't tell you what you

want to hear. Frustration is the

inevitable result.

There is no real point in measuring

your BG if you are not going to get

useful information from it - there

is such a thing as obsessive BG

measuring, don't forget! If you are

going to use up 8 test strips a day

you will get better return on your

test strip investment if you use up

a day's supply on one meal. Try

taking one reading every half an

hour for four hours after you start

eating, plotting the results on

squared paper and drawing a curve

through the points if you want to

visualize your complete BG response

to that meal. The other two meals

that day, you can then eat without

testing.

It is good now and again to forget

the: " I am sick and have the BG

figures to prove it! " approach for

the sake of your nerves and the

nerves of all those around you.

> Now I'm angry I have it. I feel

> like I'm being punished.

If you are a practising Christian,

that is a very easy one to fix, Fran!

Just sit down and read the Book of

Job again and all will be clear to

you. Anger and feelings of being

punished are totally unproductive

and you might want to get rid of

those first, blood glucose control

can come later!

Regards

Thornton

Pforzheim, Germany

[Guest guest]

Thanks .

I firmly believe that your first

reaction was the correct one, Fran;

you CAN do it!

I know I can do it. It just learning and seeing some progress. I need to

work on my patients:)

That might be because you are

measuring so much AFTER meals.

I do test alot after meals and get upset because Im not back down to normal

yet.

You might want to try taking BG

measurements BEFORE you start

eating instead of afterwards.

I test before also. I test 8 times a day. In the morning when I wake up,

before and after meals and before bed.

You could still try taking a couple

of readings a week at exactly

the same time AFTER finishing

a big meal (90 minutes after is

a good time to do it) just to keep

a record of how your medication

is doing (for your physician, you

can't do much about it yourself).

I will try this..thanks.

But it is very much easier than with

many other chronic disorders, Fran!

Try thinking positive! With many

other chronic disorders there is

nothing at all you can do yourself.

One of the big positives about

diabetes is that much of it is in

your own hands - YOU can make the

biggest difference, not the physicians.

Very true. I think i get fustrated because Im so used to being in control

and fixing things for me and other family members. When I cant control this as

fast as I like I get upset. It would be easier if we were all the same and there

was a fixed set of rules to follow.

There is no real point in measuring

your BG if you are not going to get

useful information from it - there

is such a thing as obsessive BG

measuring, don't forget!

Yes I do tend to get obsessive over it. Even using extra strips at times.

[Guest guest]

Thanks .

I firmly believe that your first

reaction was the correct one, Fran;

you CAN do it!

I know I can do it. It just learning and seeing some progress. I need to

work on my patients:)

That might be because you are

measuring so much AFTER meals.

I do test alot after meals and get upset because Im not back down to normal

yet.

You might want to try taking BG

measurements BEFORE you start

eating instead of afterwards.

I test before also. I test 8 times a day. In the morning when I wake up,

before and after meals and before bed.

You could still try taking a couple

of readings a week at exactly

the same time AFTER finishing

a big meal (90 minutes after is

a good time to do it) just to keep

a record of how your medication

is doing (for your physician, you

can't do much about it yourself).

I will try this..thanks.

But it is very much easier than with

many other chronic disorders, Fran!

Try thinking positive! With many

other chronic disorders there is

nothing at all you can do yourself.

One of the big positives about

diabetes is that much of it is in

your own hands - YOU can make the

biggest difference, not the physicians.

Very true. I think i get fustrated because Im so used to being in control

and fixing things for me and other family members. When I cant control this as

fast as I like I get upset. It would be easier if we were all the same and there

was a fixed set of rules to follow.

There is no real point in measuring

your BG if you are not going to get

useful information from it - there

is such a thing as obsessive BG

measuring, don't forget!

Yes I do tend to get obsessive over it. Even using extra strips at times.