Tips and tricks
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| Tue, 04-15-2008 - 11:20am |
Not so much on the eating and exercise and such side though...Here's the scoop:
I was dx'd a bit over a year ago and I'm still doing well. However, my SIL's MIL (got that one?lol) was just told that her blood sugar is high and she was handed a meter and they showed her how to use it. But that's ALL they told her! They also told her to go take a class at the local hospital which she's going to do. In the meantime, though, she's scared, confused, etc. not knowing what it all means or where to turn. I've given her a bunch of info and directed her to both the ADA and Joslin websites which has been helpful for her.
Now to the topic at hand: when I was diagnosed, I hit the web, the bookstores/library, *this board*, etc and got LOTS of information then set up a spreadsheet to track what I ate and how my blood sugar reacted and all. Lots and Lots of Data. Having that knowledge helped me feel more like I was in control of the situation rather than being a victim. I took as my "mantra" a quote from 1 Corinthians 10:23 "'Everything is permissible'—but not everything is beneficial." I can *choose* to eat a box of chocolates BUT it's is not a good choice and the short and long term repercussions of it are not what I choose. Having a sense of choice rather than deprivation is important for me (might not be as important for others).
So, what I'd like to know from y'all is what tips, tricks, mantras, etc have been helpful to you to get from the initial shock, denial, fear, anger to acceptance and moving forward managing the situation.
--Deb

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Growing in buckets is really easy it just takes some creative thinking.
If you run into a major oversupply problem, I can tell you that our local food pantry,
I usually give my overflow to the children's home where I volunteer.
Well if I remember right
Sue,
I was a little younger than you when I was diagnosed. I felt so awful it was a relief to know what was wrong. I managed on medical nutritional therapy (diabetic eating) and
I was dxd last year when I was 46 1/2, so not much younger than you are.
Just got my latest A1C back and it was 6.2. I know that for some, that would be a good number but that's higher than the entire last year. I've never been above 5.8 (hovered between 5.6 and 5.8 all year, tested quarterly) so this really threw me. Plus with my bp up and my weight up, the only saving grace is that my lipids are doing good.
So, today I start reining in the slippages of the last couple of months. I told DH that he has direct orders to pester me when he sees me eating - my daytimes are usually okay since I'm "stuck" with whatever I pack to bring to work, fairly easy to control (a low carb multi grain tortilla bean burrito - homemade just-mashed-beans with no added fat or salt, for lunch today for example; my afternoon snack is 1/2 cup greek yogurt with about 1-2 tsp of agave and a good sprinkle of cinnamon) but it's the after dinner munching that gets me - a nibble here, a nibble there that adds up. So, (a) I'm re-committing to my exercise (I've done 30 minutes per day on the bike or treadmill every day for the last 4 days) (b) I'm getting hubby's support (and DS will probably chime in) (c) I've gone back to my tracking spreadsheet and added fiber, sodium, and potassium tracking as well so I can try to aim for the 2:1 ratio between potassium and sodium that is helpful in maintaining helpful bp - anyone looking for a good bp control plan might check out the DASH plan - works really well - DH's bp dropped from scary high to normal in about 2 months, but the little 'bumps' up and down (heredity) led to a small dose of medication as well.
--Deb
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