What I thought was gout: diabetes OT

Thanks to all who reposnded to my post a cupla weeks ago. Based on your replies, i actually got off to the doctor. Blood work came back last night as diabetes. I guess this explains the fatigue and tingling as well as the foot pain.
My younger brother has it, and has been treated for years- he says it changed his life for the better in a huge way when they got it under control. Any of you guys?

Yep. Put off having it checked out for years. Getting my blood sugar under control made a big difference for me, too.

There are ways to help diabetics without going on medications. Diet is a large factor as is physical activity.

I am seeing a naturopath who put me on a low glycemic diet eliminating most carbs as well and it brought my blood sugars back into the normal range with very little effort.. Its worth checking into cause the meds end up being a nightmare for some people.

I am a Diabetic. I became aware of it in 1996 when I had by-pass heart surgery. since then it has been a battle for sure.At present I have a hard time with nerve Nuropaphy in my feet,PAD in both legs,eye sight has demenished considersbly .I keep it under control with a pill in the morning,an injection of insulin prior to bed,for my nuropaphy I take 3 pills for that which mostly takes care of the itch,hurt and tingly feelings. It is a day by day battle but as long as my Insurance and medicare will take care of Doctors care ,medication and testing supplies I think I have a chance for a fairly normal life if what I have is normal for a Diabetic. Diet,Excercise,Medication and walk,walk and walk if you can.if you do not have a Cardiologist you can call on I would suggest ,find one you are comfortable with and do what he suggests.Diabetes and heart desease go hand in hand. Good luck,JH

What is your age? We found out my wife is a diabetic 3 years ago. And her blood sugar is NOT under control, only sometimes. One thing that sucks is that it very hard for her to reach her peak, at bedtime, if you know what I mean. This started happening 6 months after we found out she is diabetic. Other factors that have not helped my wife is a high stress job and low exercise. My wife is 40.

All the best to you. I have two sons with type 1 diabetes the oldest one is 6 and was diagnosed 6 days before his 2nd birthday and my youngest is 4 and was diagnosed about 6mo ago. I understand the where your comming from and where your going. I do know that there is help for testing supply's if the insurance won't. The wife figured it out and we have about $1300 a month in supply's for the two. Oh and not to mention both have been given the insulin pump that cost almost $8000 each [Here boy's here is your pump DON'T BREAK IT] . All I can say is if you can manage it correctly you can live with diabetes. Best of luck Trucker

Hope you can keep it under control. Best wishes. Jim

I have been diagnosed about a year ago as a pre-diabetic. The doctor picked it up as three consecutive high borderline blood glucose levels six months apart. I have been extremely careful to follow Dr.'s orders and have lost 38 pounds and have gone on a pre-diabetic diet and have been able to achieve very good blood glucose control. I am trying to avoid having to go on medication for Blood glucose control. I feel highly motivated....since diabetes has prematurely caused the untimely demise of three people in my family. Diabetes is no joke!

I'm 53...I think my weight is under control ( I'm about 185) and I got out of a super high stressed job about two years ago, so I've got that on my side. My diet blows, and it's my fault- I eat once a day late at night and way to much in a single sitting.although I'm not an alcoholic I like my beer and bourbon. I know the diet and alcohol have to change.
Good luck to your wife...40 is the new 20 for women, so she's practically a teenager!

(quoted from post at 06:54:58 10/08/11) Thanks to all who reposnded to my post a cupla weeks ago. Based on your replies, i actually got off to the doctor. Blood work came back last night as diabetes. I guess this explains the fatigue and tingling as well as the foot pain.
My younger brother has it, and has been treated for years- he says it changed his life for the better in a huge way when they got it under control. Any of you guys?

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wife's there but controls it with diet and a pill for metabolism that has her losing weight steadily (she is overweight). She eats what she wants but has to adjust timing. Not a real big deal for her and she feels much better.
I posted a link yesterday to a bunch of documentaries. Couple of them on diet and diabetics that may interest you.

Good luck.

James has been on meds for diabetes for about 10 months now. When changing your diet you need to reduce carbs and download a glycemic index off the internet.

A glycemic index will tell you how fast a food breaks down to sugar. The faster it becomes sugar the worse it is for a diabetic.

Stay away from all "white" foods - white potatoes, white flour (breads), white rice, etc. Roman Meal makes a very, very good 100% whole wheat bread.

Sweet potatoes stimulate the pancreas which produces insulin. You can get sweet potato french fries in the frozen food section at the grocery store. Spray lightly with olive oil and put in the oven. They"re good.

Untreated diabetes can result in amputation of your feet and blindness. Do what your doctor says!

Not really, 5 years ago she was a real cougar in the sack, that was at her peak.
Oh--well she is still a good sport and likes to exercise with me when she wants to.

"Being diabetic" can mean a lot of things. How being diabetic affects you might be very different than it might be for someone else. Might I suggest that you get an appointment with the best specialist in diabetes in your area ASAP!

If you are overweight, do what it takes to lose some weight. Sometimes that is all it takes to deal with a diagnosis of diabetes. Exercise lowers blood sugar levels and helps raise metabolism and weight loss.

You probably need to look carefully at your diet and most likely alter what you eat, at least somewhat. There is a ton of information about diabetic diets on the internet.

Your doctor may put you on medication(s). If you are lucky, you will get good results controlling you blood sugar levels with Metformin, which is inexpensive and often very effective. There are other medications that also may be tried, and if your problems cannot be handled by medications alone, you may have to inject insulin.

Now that you know that you are diabetic, you should start testing your blood sugar. Your doctor will probably give you a prescription for a machine and test strips. You want your sugar levels to be around 100-125. If they are lots higher than that, they are too high. If they are much lower than 100, you may need to do something to raise them a bit, like eating a piece of fruit.

Your doctor will want to do blood testing. The best test currently to see how your diabetes management is going is the A1C test. I don't know just how the test itself works, but it measures your blood sugar levels for about the previous 3 months. The doctors like to see results that are under 7. If the results are over 7, the doctor may want you to try something else. They also test for liver enzymes, to make sure your liver is doing OK from the medications and will probably test cholesterol and triglycerides.

Adult onset diabetes or type II diabetes is very common. My understanding of it is that the body either produces less insulin than it used to, or else the insulin is not used as effectively as it was when you were younger. Anyhow, the mechanism that used to control your blood sugar automatically quits working right, and so you have to figure out ways to control the levels other ways.

Not controlling high blood sugar levels can do all sorts of bad things to you, including blindness, loss of circulation leading to amputations and even death.

But most people who have been diagnosed as being diabetic are successful at managing the disease and live long, reasonably healthy lives.

I was diagnosed more than 10 years ago as being diabetic. I lost weight, am reasonably careful about my diet, exercise (though probably not as much as I should!), take my medications as directed and usually my A1C levels are under 7. I think I am doing OK, at least with my diabetes, but I keep getting tested every 3 months.

Good luck with your diabetes problems. If you haven't already done it, get an appointment with the best diabetes specialist in your area. Do what you have to to keep yourself healthy. For most people, diabetes can be managed if you try, and do what has to be done.

Gads Jose, that's tough news. Should have stuck with the gout. If it is diabetes, find the best diabetes doc you can find and follow their directions to the letter. Diabetes can be controled to a great extent - sooner you get it under control the better. Uncontroled, or carelessly, or improperly controled, the prognosos ain't pretty. Best wishes, prayers.. Ray

My age? Right now I am 74 years . I was 59 years when diagnosed as a Diabetic.

I have been diabetic for about 10 years. Recently I have made some progress in my sugar levels. 2 big things - no sweets and no alcohol. I have cut down on the potatoes and bread. I have lost over 40 lbs. I am 5 10' and 190. My doc wants me down to 170. I try to exercise every day, gets the sugar down.

My nephew was diagnosed in July 2010 with diabetes. He doesn't go to the doctor regularly and he had lost several pounds. He weighed around 375 and he quit drinking soft drinks and consuming sweets. He now weigh's 225 and had to buy all new clothes. He's about 6'3" and he's not taking any medication and is watching his diet.

We told him for years to lay off the soft drinks and sweets. He never eats any vegetables except french fried potatoes and chicken nuggets. Hal

170 would make us both lean, mean fighting machines. I'd have to drop about 20 lbs. This summer I did a week long soccer camp with a bunch of high school kids- got down to 174. Gained it all back when I stopped that running around.