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        Daily Chat >> General Posts >> Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
        
(Message started by: Sandy_C on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 1:19pm)

Title: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by Sandy_C on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 1:19pm

My good friend's son, age 32 ( he was my daughter's very first boyfriend in the 8th grade) was just tested for diabetes.

One year ago, his fasting blood sugar level was 89. Last week it was 248.

What does this mean? How could it have gone so high so fast?

I would love any info you have that I can pass to my friend to help her.

Thanks

Sandy

modified to change 98 to 89 last year

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by nani on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 1:24pm

http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp

Sorry to hear that, Sandy. This looks like a good place to start.

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by Linda_Howell on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 1:58pm

You scared me with that first figure of 248

I just went and read the paperwork in Jim's glucose testing kit and it said that a fasting blood suger count of 80 to 120 was within a good range. Hope that helps.

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by Sandy_C on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 3:16pm

Thanks for the replies, and I'm checking out the website Nani, thanks.

How can someone go from 89 to 248 in ONE year????

He's only 32 years old, a new Dad. He was adopted as a baby by my friends. He was born with a bicuspid aortic valve…two instead of three and he has developed a slow leak, and at some point he will have to have a valve replacement.

I know that once a diabetic, you will always be diabetic, but, diabetes can be controlled with proper diet and medications. How does/or could his heart problem compound it, and how could his blood sugar increase that drastically in one year?

He is such a nice young man, and is a marvelous new Daddy to his baby son. I've known this child/boy/man since he was in the third grade.

God, this just hurts.

Sandy

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by thomas on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 3:30pm

It doesn't take long for the blood sugar to sky-rocket once the body quits producing insulin.

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by Grandma_Sweet_Boy on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 3:53pm

Sandy - my son in law is a diabetic - first diagnosed as Type II and they tried diet and then pills and he now wears an insulin pump which does a better job for him of controlling his sugars. Injections just didn't seem to work for him for some reason.

The pumps are really expensive but they work better for Eric.

He does everything anyone else does and doesn't let the disease get in the way of life.

It's a different mindset, for sure - but hopefully your young friend will get it all sorted out.

Wishing him good luck
Carol

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by brewcrew on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 4:00pm

My neuro is diabetic and also wears the insulin pump.

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by Annette on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 4:01pm

Sorry to hear about your sons friend. I hope he hasnt developed diabetes yet.

Random fasting sugar level is just a screening test, it may not mean much.

He will need to have a proper glucose tolerance test to confirm the diagnosis.

Diet and exercise can help reducing sugar level quite effectively.

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by Linda_Howell on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 5:04pm

Quote:

How can someone go from 89 to 248 in ONE year????

Sorry, Sandy, I guess I read your edit wrong. I thought you were saying that it went from 89 last yr. to 98 this time it was checked. My bad...

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by Ray on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 7:29pm

I'm NOT a doctor, and don't even play one on TV. ::)

Type II, or "adult onset" diabetes has 2 basic contributing factors.

One is insufficient insulin being produced

Two is when the body becomes "insensitive" to insulin and it becomes unable to convert the glucose into energy efficiently.

Diet and exercise are really helpful, as is reducing weight if overweight. Carbohydrates are the main thing to reduce -- alcohol is metabolized as a carbohydrate and needs to be reduced or eliminated.

I hope these "factoids" are helpful, but be sure to check them with the doctor. Annette is right, a glucose tolerence test is probably the next best step. Make sure there is someone to drive him home, he probably won't be feeling very well when it's done.

Wishing you well,

Ray

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by DonnaH_again on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 10:34pm

When one gets up in the morning, and before any food is consumed, the "desired" glucose level is best between 80 and 110.

Carbs and sugar cause the level to rise, so about 2 hours after breakfast, the reading will be much higher..."desired" being between 110 and 140.

I am caring for an old gentleman who has insulin dependent type II. When I read his morning fasting blood sugar level, I determine what to make him for breakfast.....something very low in carbs and sugar free.

Example....in the grain family, one serving equals between 10 (low) and 20 carbs(high). I usually end up serving 1/2 measured cup of corn flakes, 2 eggbeaters with 1/2 slice of raisen bread, and coffee. I try to keep the figure at 15.

If his level is too high, then no corn flakes and no bread. I replace them with rice cakes with sugar free jelly. In his case, too high would be over 180. It's OK to stay in the 200's for a day, for him. He goes to the ER if he gets up to 400, but so far, I've been able to keep him out of the ER. Trouble is, he sneaks food at night. LOL.

So, doing the sugar level test is important and keeping the carbs and sugars down is vital.

Too high levels (ask the doc what that should be for you) for too long causes organ damage.

Exercise is very important.

A year and 1/2 ago, I tested positive for type II. I decided to try dieting and exercise before meds and my doc agreed. I was 138 lbs, the most I've ever weighed, at 5' 2" tall. I saw him 3 months later and weighed in at 112, and my sugar level was normal. So far, I've kept the weight off.

I've gotten this info from a dietician at the hospital I worked for and on the Internet through the Diabetes Association.

Be sure to keep in mind that these figures differ from person to person and to consult your own doctor before making any changes.

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by Callico on Mar 3^rd, 2008, 11:47pm

Sandy,

It sounds like the onset of Type II diabetes. As has been said several times it can often be controlled by diet and excercise. It requires a mindset that can be difficult to get hold of, but once he decides he is now a diabetic he will be just like one of us that decides he is a clusterhead and will get on with his life.

I have had it now for about 10-12 yrs, and for the first 7-8 I controlled it totally with diet and lost weight. I kind of went off the wagon and quit the hard physical work after an accident and gained some of the weight back and had to go on oral meds.

The hardest thing for him will be adjusting himself mentally to the new circumstances he will be dealing with. If he goes at it with the attitude of what he "can't" do he will have a harder time of it. He will have to learn what he "can" do and get on with it.

Carbs will be the most important number for him to learn to deal with, not just sugar. Often times things are labeled as "no sugar added", but will be made with sorbitol or something of the sort that is as high, or even higher in carbs than the sugar was.

He will need to get a good monitor. I recommend the "Freestyle", put out by Therasense (sp?) because it does not require a finger stick. It can be used on the arm or leg, and uses a much smaller amount of blood than most, hence a smaller lance. I rarely even feel mine, and at most it feels like a mosquito bite. There are others out there as well, but I have used this one for about ten years now, and it has been the best I have found.

Please feel free to pass my address on to him if he would like to talk about it. I'll be happy to help all I can. I'm no expert, but have learned what works well for me.

Jerry

BTW, 248 is not all that high a number. It sounds like they caught it early on, and that makes it MUCH easier to control. Mine was 315 when they caught it, and my Dr. told me it was good that it was caught that early.

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by BarbaraD on Mar 4^th, 2008, 8:07am

Cut out the carbs and sugar. I'm hypoglosemic(msp) and when I don't stay on the diet I feel like the devil. You can get used to leaving off the potatoes and sugar and it's not that bad. Just check labels for the sucrose and all the other "croses".

Lots of "green" stuff.

One of Granny's "home remedies" (take it or leave it -it's worked with several "bad" diabetics). Vinegar water each morning. Couple of tablespoons of vinegar in a glass of water and drink it down. (This is the "old" version -- they make vinegar "pills" nowadays - check the health food store - they're easier to get down - drink a glass of water with three of them).

But get him to a doc and get a glucose tolerance test. Takes about 6 hours (if done right) and is just loads of fun :).

Good luck and remember it's not the end of the world.

Hugs BD

Title: Re: Any doctors on board? - Diabetes?
Post by purpleydog on Mar 4^th, 2008, 5:00pm

Sandy, there are several things that will need to be checked. My 17 year old niece was having trouble with her eyes, and they found out she has diabetes, and she wears a pump now, her body stopped making insulin.

Barb, I'm like you, I'm hypoglycemic, and I understand what you are saying about your diet. One thing I've noticed, is the more protein I eat, the less hungry I feel, and the more level my blood sugar stays. I don't eat too many carbs, veggies are good, and milk and milk products are the only food that has protein and carbs in it. If I'm feeling shaky, etc. from not eating, I'll have a glass of milk, instead of juice, and it straightens me right out.

Sandy, when he goes to see the doc, they will educate him on every aspect of the disease, diet, exercise, insulin, if needed, and I mean everything. When my niece had to change her diet, the whole family did, and my brother and sis-in-law both lost weight.

Diabetes isn't a life sentence. If a person manages it right, then other problems connected to it will be much less likely to crop up. Like blindness, and other things that can happen to your body. They'll live to be a ripe old age, just like everyone else.