Diabetes

[Uncle Al]

To all;

Please becarefull and watch your blood sugar levels.
My wife, who is a diabetic, has been having difficulty in
maintaining her blood sugar levels. Last night around
8:30PM she said she felt funny and took her blood sugar.
It was extremely high at 497. Gave her the shot dose of
insulin-24hr slow release type. Took the count again at
10:00 PM and it was 496. Took her to the E.R. and so
far, her level has come down to 262. Still high, but dropping
235 points is good news. She is now on a 2nd bag of fluid
to get her hydrated again. She was given high strength
potassium as well. If her level gets down to 150, I may
get to bring her home. It's 4:50 AM on 14 Feb, and I came
home to get her other Meds and let the dog out for 'his business'.

Hopefully, I will have an update later today.

Uncle Al
Duncanville, TX

[crfriend]

Good luck with that, Al, and best wishes to everybody involved! Here's hoping for a speedy and complete recovery!

[Milfmog]

Fingers firmly crossed for you both Al. Diabetes seems to be one of those things that folk sometimes get complacent about but as you report it can bite if ignored.

Thinking of you,


Ian.

[sapphire]

Uncle Al,
Best wishes for your wife and a speedy recovery and return home.

I too have diabetes and yes I had become complacent. For many years, my high was around 140. Then two weeks ago, I got knocked on my keister and woke up in the emergency room. Three bags of fluid later and 4 units of insulin, I was discharged with a suger level of 231. I felt weird for the next several days. Went to the doc who put me on metformin.

Luckily, my new meter arrived yesterday and i've been happily trying it out. Its very easy to use and provides fast readings and no coding required. The stabber is virtually painless. I've checked my sugar without the medication and it hovers aroound 200-250. Not good. Next I'll be checking my levels with the medication. Have also joined a diabetic support group.

[Inertia]

Sending good vibes to both of you, which is all one can do. I have diabetics on both sides of my family, and know a bit about it. Take care of yourselves.

Cheers,

Jill

[Sarongman]

Diabetes is a serious issue, there is no doubt about that. I was diagnosed about 15 months ago as a type 2 (adult onset) and was told to lose 10 kilos. I have lost over 8 in that time but have hit a plateau. My weight was 80 K. The doctor put me on Diaformin but it had a terrible effect on me so was put on Metformin. Radical changes in diet and using Stevia for the sweetener has kept my condition under control. A sobering thought was an acquaintance who went into a coma and died. Barbara is also a diabetic so we are a mutual support team somewhat like AA

[Kris]

Do take care. My Mom struggled with diabetes for 20+ years before her death. She had a variety of problems, heart disease, reduced kidney function, neuropathy, eczema, all caused or made worse by the diabetes. In later years she was on oral medication as well as both long and short acting insulin, and it was always a balancing act to maintain good blood sugar levels.

Kris

[Uncle Al]

Well, around 1:00 PM today, my wife called me from the hospital.
Her blood sugar got down to 192. But it went back up, and is
holding between 225-240. She has had 6 bags of I.V. fluid to get
hydrated. Her facial skin looked like it had nothing but wrinkles.
Now, she has full, smooth facial skin. The Dr. is going to try several
new things. Some include short acting injections. He did say that
high blood sugar will cause her system to over-heat, and become
dehydrated. She was wondering why she was going to the bathroom
so much. Now we know. She will have to be on a very low carb diet.
I did get the Dr. to tell her NO MORE PEPSI. He did say she could have
all the diet softdrinks she wants. He suggested changing 'brands',
to help change her 'taste' for certain colas. They must be made
with Splenda (TM). Aspertaime gives us both Major Problems.
Splenda (TM) is a derivate of sugar, but with out the side effects
of regular sugar. IF she does ok tonight and tomorrow morning,
I may get to bring her home tomorrow afternoon. Otherwise it looks
like Monday afternoon-late, or Tuesday mid day before she gets out.

So, with 4.5 hours sleep since yesterday, I'm going to bed in about an hour or so.

Later!

A tired Uncle Al
Duncanville, TX

[Sarongman]

Aspartame ISa major problem. I, for one, am heartily sick of Big Pharma using us as guinea pigs. Google problems with aspartame and be disgusted. We also use Splenda for cooking where sugar is indicated.

[sapphire]

I gave up on aspartame a long time ago. It's gross

Stevia is a wonderful sweetener and not much is needed.

I'll have to ask the doctor, but my choice for something to drink is plain water with a bit of lemon juice added.

Uncle Al, Please ask the Dr about the recipes in a cookbook called "Mediterranean Light" by Martha Rose Schulman. You may want to get a copy from the library. Not only are the recipes geared toward low-cal, low-fat, but were also designed to help the author's husband control his diabetes. I've used various recipes from this cookbook for years and Carl agrees that they are very tasty.

When I was first diagnosed, I brought this book to my Dr. and he thought it would be good for me. I'll bring it along to my diabetic support group and see what the current wisdom is.

[Uncle Al]

Well, we left the hospital at 1:45PM. Deb's blood sugar was
169 before lunch, and 172 after lunch. She will be contacting
the Dr's office tomorrow to get set up for special quick acting
insulin shots. We will be going to Barnes & Nobel book store to
get some books about Carbs and Carb counting. She ended up
with 8 bags of I.V. fluids. She is fully re-hydrated.

She feels a whole lot better now. I think this episode has
scared her enough to start watching what she eats. The
Dr. has said diet sodas and Tea are OK. We will start walking
tomorrow. The Dr. said this was the best thing to start with,
just around the block then increase to two blocks, etc.

Counting Carbs will be better for both of us. I should lose
80 or so pounds myself. I will do much better at or a bit
below 200 pounds. We've talked and noted that on TV,
NBC's Biggest Loser show, most of the people have been able
to stop diabetes medications, heart medications etc., because
of their weight loss.

Well, off to the races..............

Uncle Al
Duncanville, TX

[sapphire]

Glad to hear that Deb is better and is home.

While at Barnes & Noble, try to find the magazine "Diabetic Cooking". There's another magazine called "Eating Well" that may also be of assistance

Best of luck

[Sarongman]

I've just had an offer in the mail that could be of interest to Al, Deb and Sapphire. Rodale Press (a U.S. outfit) has sent me a brochure extolling their book "Glycemic Index Cooking made easy". The recipes look delicious and, as we diabetics all know, we have to watch our G.I. That goes for ordinary folks too. (Talking of GIs, our soldiers in WW2 uused to say there were 3 things wrong with GIs Overpaid, Oversexed and Over Here )

[sapphire]

Hi Uncle Al,
How is Deb doing?
Sapphire

[Uncle Al]

Sapphire,

I wish I had good news. For the 1st few days home she watched what
she ate, was careful of the Carbs and sugar of her food.
She has slipped back into some old habits.
I'm not sure what to do. I may call her Dr. tomorrow and ask
what I can do to guide her back to good health.
Then I will have to from flying objects as she won't be getting
what she wants.

Uncle Al
Duncanville, TX