Type II Diabetes

[Nevada]

Okay my bday present to myself this year was a full physical, yay me!. However, found out that I have type II diabetes. :cry: ...so any helpful tips out there? Like how long does the glucophage nausea last? I don't have to take insulin, but have to check levels twice a day.

[gardo]

Sorry to hear hun, but it can be taken care of through a diet change. The nausea stays for usually a couple of hours. and regular excersice is the key to fighting it.
Any help or support you need.... We are here

[Nevada]

Thanks..currently going through sugar withdrawal which has made me a little cranky.

[gardo]

I know that feeling I had cut just about all sugar from my diet (cant give it up in the coffee :wink: ) be strong the sugar withdraw lasts for 2 -3 days after that it gets easier. Just drink alot of water. 8)

[Holly]

HUGS...
Gardo is right... diet adn exercise can help a lot.

as for sweeteners... Splenda is the best fake one out there.
My uncle is Diabetic. My Dad and i are both hypoglycemic.

you can do it:)
HUGS

[Emyrldlady]

I also am Type II and it's hard, I have it really bad, both pills and insulin. However if you are truly dedicated there are alot of alternatives out there. And I can't stress how important it is for your doctor to send you to a dietician! They teach you how to eat again. It's alot easier now with everybody being on low carb diets. As for the naseua, it really stinks, I still get it, however it only lasts about an hour now, I used to be really sick from it. What were your sugars coming in at?

Any think I can do to help let me know.

[Nevada]

sugars are between 208-264---fasting......I did p/u splenda and had my Dr. office request and education class for me. What's sad is I have been around it (family, work) and when I worked medical actually used to do blood sugar reads for the patients. I had discovered which fingers I dont like stuck. and fortunately my machine has a device to use for alternate testing areas. I am reaaaalllyy wanting the glucophage to settle already. Its affecting my gut in a bad way.

[Emyrldlady]

Well feel better, when I was diagnosed it was over 600! Try to get THAT down to 70-120 yeaaaa riiiiiight I'm happy at 120 to 150. anything lower and I get dizzy. As for the glucophage, try crushing it up and putiing it in puddin,that worked for me early on.

[Nevada]

600?! Yeesh! Whats sucks is they just changed the "normal" range to 99 and below for blood sugars. What is getting me is when I eat it doesnt stay in place long so that really aggravates the hunger feelings I get anyway...this sucks...but being a trooper and already gone through a bit of crud anyway..will get a handle on this. Just wish my system would settle out already :?

[Mairi the Herbwench]

One of my best friends was diagnosed - kind of by accident - in her mid 20s. She has found out that if she gets sick - head cold, flu, it throws her sugars completely out of whack - usually a day or two before she has sympyoms. Exercise - that's proving to be the very key issue for controlling sugar swings.

Diabetes runs in my family and gallops in my husbands...

[Nevada]

Pasta bad!!! bad, bad, bad!!!---Sheesh...whats the point in only having a quarter cup!

[Absinthe d'Accalia]

Did you happen to see the little blurb in the Parade magazine this past Sunday about how some studies have found that cinnamon can lower blood glucose levels? Diabetes runs rampant on my Mom's side of the family (both juvenile & type II), and on my Dad's side type II is scattered amongst the relatives, so this sort of info always catches my eye. The findings look interesting. If you're on meds for diabetes, then taking the cinnamon might make blood sugar levels wonky, so talking to the doctor about it might be good - to err on the side of caution. :)

Cinnamon (Cinnamonum zeylanicum)

Dr. Richard A. Anderson, lead scientist at the Beltsville, Maryland-based Human Nutrition Research Center, explained that his mostly unpublished research shows that a compound in cinnamon called methylhydroxy chalcone polymer (MHCP) makes fat cells more responsive to insulin by activating an enzyme that causes insulin to bind to
cells and inhibiting the enzyme that blocks this process.

While it is too soon to recommend the spice as a regular treatment for type 2 diabetes, Dr. Anderson said patients could try adding 1/4 - 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to their food. "The worst that will happen is it won't do any good and the best is that it will help dramatically" he stated. [Preliminary findings announced by the USDA August, 2000]
A US Department of Agriculture study of 60 type 2 diabetics revealed that one gram of cinnamon taken daily, over a course of 40 days, improved management of blood sugar levels, as well as triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Some of the subjects took three grams of cinnamon per day, and others took six grams per day, but none of the subjects
in these two groups showed an increased benefit over the group that took one gram per day. One gram of cinnamon is less than half a teaspoon. Researchers continued to monitor the study participants after the 40-day trial, and found that the subjects' overall blood sugar levels began rising when the cinnamon intake was discontinued.

Just half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day significantly reduces blood sugar levels in diabetics, a new study has found. The effect, which can be produced even by soaking a cinnamon stick your tea, could also benefit millions of non-diabetics who have blood sugar problem but are unaware of it. The discovery was initially made by accident, by
Richard Anderson at the US Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland. more from NewScientist.com news service

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994413

Cinnamon Helps Stop Diabetes

http://www.healsa.co.za/diacinnamon.htm
by Mike Hodge.

American scientists have claimed that a teaspoon of cinnamon a day may help prevent the onset of diabetes.

The common spice could help millions of sufferers of Type II, non-insulin dependent, diabetes. This condition usually develops in middle-age and prematurely kills 100 million people around the world every year. Type II diabetes causes cells to lose their ability to
respond to insulin, a hormone that tells the body to remove excess glucose in the bloodstream. If glucose builds up in the blood, tiredness, weight-loss and blurred vision are some of the resulting symptoms. In extreme cases this can lead to blindness, heart disease and premature death.

Data from the Agricultural Research Unit in Maryland was first published in the New Scientist in August 2000. The researchers found that cinnamon rekindled the ability of fat cells in diabetics to respond to insulin and greatly increased glucose removal. It is
believed that a substance in cinnamon called MHCP is the main reason for its beneficial results.

When mice were given MHCP, their glucose levels fell dramatically and tests on humans have begun this year. The researchers are so confident that cinnamon will have the same dramatic effect of reducing insulin tolerance in humans they recommend that type II diabetics should take a quarter to one full teaspoon of cinnamon per day.

Many Type II diabetics have already found a new feeling of wellbeing and improvement in health by using this simple cinnamon supplementation in their diet. Cinnamon has long been known as an "energizing" spice and it is likely that increasing the intake of this common and cheaply available food will benefit even non-diabetics, if used as a daily energizing tonic. The Insulin resistance that leads to type II diabetes develops relatively slowly as the body ages and even those who have not yet experienced severe symptoms may have some degree of elevated insulin resistance.

Cinnamon is also a rich source of Magnesium, which is essential for maintaining bone density, electrolyte balance, certain enzyme functions and many other crucial biochemical processes.

Magnesium is also linked to the more dramatic forms of diabetes that occur earlier in life. Much research has been carried out to establish a metabolic defect in diabetics that prevents the absorbtion of magnesium. As Cinnamon provides a readilly available source of MHCP, magnesium and possibly other beneficial substances it seems like a
very cost-effective way of offsetting future health problems related to glucose/insulin imbalances as we grow older.

Cinnamon can be bought for a few cents in a convenient powdered form at almost any food shop and taking it couldn't be easier; just use up to a teaspoon a day in milkshakes or fruit juice. I personally take a half-teaspoon daily in this way every morning and can confirm a distinct energy benefit.

Diabetics should always inform their doctor before taking cinnamon as it may affect medication requirements.

[Nevada]

That was an interesting article...I will definitely ask my doc about it..thanks for the heads up!

[rennusgeekus]

Did you happen to see the little blurb in the Parade magazine this past Sunday about how some studies have found that cinnamon can lower blood glucose levels? Diabetes runs rampant on my Mom's side of the family (both juvenile & type II), and on my Dad's side type II is scattered amongst the relatives, so this sort of info always catches my eye. The findings look interesting. If you're on meds for diabetes, then taking the cinnamon might make blood sugar levels wonky, so talking to the doctor about it might be good - to err on the side of caution. :)



i saw that when i was add my parents' house this weekend (to take the LSAT nearby and goodbye to my dog who is getting put down in about 9 hours), but we saw that and it helped to explain why my dad is not diabetic...he has many of the factors that lead to the disease working against him but he chews on cinnamon gum all the time, and is not diabetic...i decided that since i am at risk for developing diabetes i am going to encorporate cinnamon into my diet.

its somehow magic

filip

[Ysobelle]

Does cinnamon gum have enough real cinnamon in it to work like that?


And I'm so very sorry about your dog. I've been there-- you have my deepest sympathy.

[Malina]

My Dad has had Type II Diabetes for close to 20 years now. His was partially due to diet/weight but it also runs in his family.

He's actually turning 75 today! :bananada:

He does cheat once in a while but he follows the diabetic diet recommended by his doctor very carefully. His sugar does vary due to extreme exercise and/or illness. He had quit drinking any alcohol since he was diagnosed. He has recently started having a glass of wine here and there.

Little things he does that seem to help - he doesn't eat peas/corn often (they're a starchy vegetable = sugar) He's switched from baked white potatoes to baked sweet potatoes (there is actually less sugar in a sweet potato - go figure).

Be careful of items marked "No Sugar Added" - I wanted to buy my Dad some "NSA" candy and luckily read the ingredients. I asked the people at the counter and what they said was that actual white sugar is not added. But sugar was present in the chocolate, caramel etc. Kind of tricky but you just have to be watchful.

Always carry some glucose tablets and/or some hard candy in case you sugar gets too low. That can be at least as dangerous than it going up higher.

Check online for diabetic recipes, there are tons!

[rennusgeekus]

Does cinnamon gum have enough real cinnamon in it to work like that?


And I'm so very sorry about your dog. I've been there-- you have my deepest sympathy.

i am guessing so, he chews ALOT of the gum... and thank you

filip

[Nevada]

Yeah...I also have learned even though it says sugar free you have to watch for the sugar alcohol content....sheesh.....I am already planning on 1 ear of corn on the cob for July 4th......then no other starch the rest of they day....mmmmmm cooorrnnnn

[Absinthe d'Accalia]

:( Sorry to hear about your dog, Rennus. I hope your pup's passing was gentle and that he was comforted by your presence.