Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Morning BS...

Blood sugar, I mean. Mine has been high in the morning in the past and I've been struggling with how to get it down. For a while, eating a little protein before bed worked. Exercise in early evening also seemed to help. But the numbers are creeping back up and that's not good. I'm a type 2 diabetic and have really good control over my blood glucose levels (not with insulin; with food), but lately it seems like diabetes has become my part-time job.

Last bloodwork, my BG and A1c were great, cholesterol slightly elevated (which is normal for me), but my triglycerides were sky high (up 300 + points from the test 3 months earlier). If anything, I've been exercising more and eating better. I tried a month of high fiber/no bad anything (ask me if I ever want to SEE brown rice again...), new test: 100 points up on triglycerides.

I'm currently reading Dr. Oz's YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger and it has a lot of good info about cholesterol and preventing heart disease, but not much about how triglycerides can be reduced (only that they're an indicator of heart problems...anything over 150 is high and mine are in the 700s). Also that worrying about it is going to make it worse. The only way I know how to get anything done is to worry about it. I can run two minute sprints at 5.8 and have my heart rate down to 140 immediately after. People with heart disease can't do that, can they?

Where am I going with this? More treadmill, more bicycling, more fiber, more raw foods. Less worrying, lowfat dairy products, and red meat. Reading Dr. Oz's other book, You: On a Diet. Quit the bitching. Watching more Discovery Health (I know, I am a fan of the man they call "Oz"...love his new show The Truth About Food) and less TBS (hard not to get pulled in by those Family Guy marathons though).

Besides, shouldn't everyone's health be like a second job?

10 comments:

  1. I know it sounds silly, but have you ever actually read the South Beach Diet book? It mentions being good for diabetics a lot...and I'll bring my copy next weekend if you want to take a peek.

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  2. How much flax seed is in your daily diet?

    As long as you are on the topic of food— which day are we having lunch together? Isn't there a noodle bowl place in West Ashley now?

    P.S. Remind me to tell you about the strange experience I had after I saw you last week.

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  3. I, too, am T2. I try (with varying levels of success) to avoid any carb. When I am very good, my TriG are good. My doctor suggested I give up alcohol, which I did, and TrigS dropped precipitously while exercising and carb restrictions. No exercise, light carb intake, and they head back up.

    Aaaaarrrghh....

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  4. I own the South Beach Diet book! Too much meat for me. I am doing sort of half Perricone (yes, salmon 5x a week) and half Oz.

    Ida - I do flax seed oil capsule every morning - I think it is 1000mg. Just found out the noodle place is closing but will email you about alternates.

    Agricola - ANY carb at all? I quit drinking over 2 years ago (when I was diagnosed) so I know that's not it. I've pretty much given up white foods altogether and the carbs I get are from vegetables. Do yours get in the 700s?

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  5. I started having a series of health issues a couple of years ago including high blood sugar numbers and extremely high blood pressure. I got very serious about watching what I ate and starting doing 15 min of excerise 5 days a week, now I am up to 25 min. I gave up all diet soda and tea and art. sweetners.....I only drink water....I thought it would kill me at first I LOVED diet-coke.....but I have been able to lose about 15% of my total body weight. My blood sugar is normal as long as I watch what I eat and excerise and I feel soooo much better.Dr.Oz says that the caf./and art/sweet. tell your brain that you are hungry and not full.

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  6. My trigs have hovered in the 300 - 500 range for years. Occasionally, they get to the 1000 range. The last time that happened, I was hospitalized for 4 days for Pancreatitis. You do not want to go throught that experience. I have used the carb goal of Dr. Bernstein of 35g of complex carbs per day, with periods of success. But it is very hard. Lots of exercise, particularly the elliptical, is the only thing that really knocks down my BS and Trig.

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  7. I’m a Type 1 diabetic, and I can tell you that I need significantly more insulin at night before I go to bed than I do throughout the day. This is called the “Dawn Phenomenon”. Something you might want to consider as a Type 2 diabetic is a drug derived from Gila Monster saliva. It is injected, but from what I understand it staves off type 2 diabetes far better than “sugar pills” and there is a weight loss side effect as well.

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  8. I hope that you feel better soon, Kelly.

    I am worried about your triglycerides!

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  9. I actually feel pretty good, physically. My weight is down and energy up, but my blood work tells a different story. Now I am worried (a) I might get pancreatitis or (b) I might have to inject myself with lizard spit.

    I think the only thing that would make me feel better is to have Dr. Oz as my personal physician.

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  10. Lizard spit sounds creepy, but believe me when I say, the alternative is far worse (i.e. injections with every meal, neuropathy, or amputations). It's taken me years to fully accept that I'm a diabetic. I don't know your particular situation and everyone is different but generally speaking when my A1C is less than 7-6.5 everything else falls in line. If it gets higher than 7, everything goes out of whack. That's why accurate and thorough control is so important.

    What ever diet you use (and that's a very personal decision) you still need to monitor carb intake. Carbs from natural sources like fruits and veggies are always better than the complexed (processed) stuff like bread or pasta, but they're all still carbs and will have some effect on your blood sugar regardless.

    Good luck, there's nothing easy (or cheap) about being a diabetic.

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