[frankhobbes]

Hi everyone,
I have read great things on this program from itunes but I really need some help to get started. Everyone has had great results it seems, but maybe it's just my doctor, but I'm having a tough time lowering my blood sugars. How do you all do it to make your BS lower? Any easy tips I can try out immediately?

[dano]

Hi Frank - Welcome to the forum! We will need more information about your medicines. Are you using diet & excercise, pills or insulin to manage your Type II Diabetes?

Some people do have great results and others struggle everyday. Recently, my situation is basically the latter, as I have had the disease for twelve years and am now just getting it under control with the help of GB. I currently take five shots per day and log everything that I do, this includes counting carbs for calculation of insulin for injections after each meal. My Doctor and I have tried nearly everything from diet & excercise, pills, Byetta and Insulin. One thing that has helped me, for the last couple of years when I was having control problems is excercise. If you can stand walking, as an excercise, then shoot for 10,000 steps per day. This will help lower the high glucose level along with a sensible diet.

[frankhobbes]

I take 500 metformin two times a day (before breakfast and before dinner).
I try to eat as healthy as I can, including skipping on desserts very often. It's sometimes hard and I'll indulge a bit.

For breakfast I'll usually have oatmeal and coffee.
Lunch: Turkey or roast beef sandwich or something similar usually.
Dinner: Usually italian or chinese food.

Throughout the day i'll have a few graham crackers as snacks.

I know i should be exercising more but it's hard to find the time. I'm sure most of America will agree with me on that but I think it's time for me to start being more aggressive. I hope Glucose Buddy will be able to help me see progress.

[g8rduc]

Hey Frank!

Here's my advice and I hope it makes sense.

First, the thing you realize is exactly the first thing you need to tackle: Exercise. Not only will exercise help lower your glucose values, you will get in better shape, you will help your cholesterol and blood pressure, it will allow you to eat more of the foods you love.

Second, realize that not all oatmeal is the same. You HAVE to pay attention to the nutrition panel. Cut those carbs down to about 50-60grams total per day. Get those sugar alcohol and fiber grams up.

You can have bread, but find bread that has about 12g per 2 slices. Italian means carbs....regular pasta is anti-diabetic, as is white rice.

Are you seeing a nutrtionist??

[dano]

Frank;

Your Doctor has probably told you if you need to lose weight or not. If you don’t need to then good for you, if you do need to lose weight then please take your Doctor’s advice. If you are not sure then check here.

Metformin is one of the standard Type II Diabetes medications. You may wish to talk with your care provider about Januvia. You can find out about the majority of prescribed medications here or at WebMD and believe it or not there is a free iTunes App for medicine information as well.

You are doing pretty well for breakfast and lunch. However, I am afraid that you are doing yourself in at dinner. Someone else (g8rduc) mentioned watching the oatmeal and cutting way back on the rice, breads and pastas. These are carbohydrates (carbs) and basically are our enemy. This is why we keep such a close eye on them and count them religiously. You did not mention the number of times per day that you check your blood glucose level, but I would imagine that your fasting “out of bed” blood glucose level is higher than 200, after one of the usual dinners. I have been there and the only way to get these numbers down is to walk for a minimum of thirty (30) minutes after dinner. You may also want to download one of the free weight watching apps, from iTunes, so that you can watch you caloric intake and to count the carbs that you are eating for each meal. You will be amazed at what you should be eating and what you should not be eating as well.

Yes, you should be exercising and yes, it is hard to find the time. However, it suffices to say that, Diabetes is a disease that will ultimately make us find the time or we will lose the battle. I for one, along with most American’s, can tell you that if it were not for our sedate lifestyles there would be a lot fewer people with Type II Diabetes. Good luck with your battle with this Disease. I hope that this information helps in some way!

[odar]

Hi Frank - have you read Dr Bernsteins - solution to diabetes? I recommend you read this book - it iwas / is very helpful for me in keeping my BS in control. I am a low carber and exercise everyday. The key to Diabetes is eating to your meter, and TEST TEST TEST until you find what foods you can tolerate without going to high. Keep a food diary and elimate what doesn't work for you.
Stay away from anything "white" - rice, potatoes, bread, chips (anything highly processed has either too much carbs or added sugar.. and this will not help you. You will soon see a difference in BS - but YMMV aso please test everything until you know what foods works for you.