how can there be no change?

Avatar for bellevuemama
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-01-2003
how can there be no change?
5
Thu, 04-22-2004 - 1:52am
Hi again,

Three weeks ago my husband was diagnosed with type 2. His fasting level was 285. He started taking metphormin (sp) and watching his diet pretty well. He has made a lot of changes that have been really tough. He hasn't had any soda, candy, or pastry. And that's a big deal since he was having a lot of all those things before. He has also been limiting carbs of all kinds and trying to make sure the carbs he does eat are in a less refined form, brown rice etc.

So he finally got a monitor tonight and his BG was 288! He tried it several time over the next hour and it was never very different. He even had me try it as he was hoping the monitor was broken, but mine was 95.

We will be in class next week and they will probably help... but I would sure appreciate any info you had for us in the mean time. He is feeling very discouraged.

Thanks again!

Sharon

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Thu, 04-22-2004 - 10:19am
Hi Sharon! I'm sorry your husband is starting to get discouraged. Hang in there with him and he'll learn what works for him. You say he's cut back on carbs and is eating more refined forms of them..but is he still eating the same amount of the "good" carbs? Eating too much of even the "good" carbs will raise the blood sugar. Remember that carbs are not just rice, pasta, and bread, but also fruit, milk, beans, peas and corn among others. He needs to have a good balance of carbs and protein, and definitely needs to watch the portion sizes. 1 serving of cooked rice is 1/2 cup. Some people can't eat even that much because it makes their levels skyrocket. When I was first diagnosed, I would test both before eating and then 1 and again 2 hours later when I ate rice, pasta, pizza, fajitas, just about anything actually, for the first couple of weeks so I could see how my levels responded to those foods.
Avatar for bellevuemama
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-01-2003
Thu, 04-22-2004 - 11:33am
Angie,

Thanks for the encouragement. I will remind him about the exercise, he has increased his activity level, but not like he should. He tested it this morning when he first got up and it was 197. I pointed out that it was nearly 100 point improvement over the test at the Dr's office. I figured that was more significant since both were fasting. How "normal" can we expect his numbers to be at this point?

He told me yesterday that he has noticed that he is a lot less thirsty. So he is making progress, right?

Thanks,

Sharon

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Thu, 04-22-2004 - 12:30pm

Hi Sharon! Yes, being less thirsty is a good sign, and you're right that a 100 point difference is good, but as you both know, 197 is still too high for a fasting level. My fasting level this morning was 100. My bedtime level was was 98 so I had a cup of milk to help with the insulin resistance that would occur in the middle of the night. It's hard to say how 'normal' your husbands levels should be at this time. It depends on how on board he is with what he should be doing and eating, and also on his body responds to what he does and eats. I immediately upon diagnosis took complete control of my disease and my highest level that I've seen since diagnosis

Avatar for cl_maryfrances40
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Thu, 04-22-2004 - 12:37pm

Hi Sharon,


I would like to echo what Angie said plus it takes up to 8 weeks to see the maximum effect of the oral meds. What your hubby needs to do now is to just test on schedule and keep a food diary. He then needs to bring both to his education classes so that they can tailor his program to him. When keeping a food diary he needs to weight and measure his food, not eye ball it. Our eye balls aren't accurate and the portion increases all the time! He needs also to correlate his blood sugars with his exercise program and he absolutely needs to exercise.


So he needs to test before meals and at bedtime. Once in a while it is proper to test 2 hours after eating. Everyone's blood sugar goes up 1 hour after eating and normal people's blood sugar returns to a normal level two hours after eating. Diabetics aren't normal and so it usally takes 3 hours for their's to return to normal.


Don't stress out on the numbers yet. He isn't under total control yet but he is on the path. Living as a diabetic requires life style changes and soon he will feel so much better. Better than he felt for a long time before he was diagnosed.


Hugs,

Mary Frances


cl-maryfrances40


Co-Cl Diabetes Board


iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2004
Fri, 04-23-2004 - 2:18am
Sharon~

I sure can understand how your husband can be frustrated. Mary Frances is correct. It takes a while for the BS to lower, but one must watch the amount of carbs as well as the types. I'm insulin resistent as well as having Diabetes II. There were so many questions I had. A good tip that was given to me was no carbs before bedtime, but a protein instead. I found a strip of string cheese carried me through the night and my numbers became better in the AM. I don't eat before bed now and my morning bs runs about

93-100 usually.

When I started on this board, I was battling with getting my numbers below 200. I'm still on Amaryl 8mg at bedtime. The bs came down reasonably with that, but now that I'm on 500mg Metformin, they've really dropped!

Just keep plugging along.

:-)