I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in January 2001. For many years after that diagnosis, I kept my blood sugar under great control, with HBa1C test results coming back at or around 6.1 every time. For those who don’t know, that number should be under 6, so my blood sugar control was considered good.
Sometime last summer, things changed. I lost 48 pounds without dieting, without trying. I felt fatigued and drank water at an alarming rate. For some reason, that did not compute in my head as a problem with diabetes. A visit to my primary care physician was all it took to find that my blood sugar had gone whacky.
| Month/Year | HBa1C Test Result |
| Dec/2011 | 6.1 |
| Dec/2012 | 6.2 |
| Aug/2014 | 11.8 |
| Jun/2015 | 9.7 |
Dr. Howell advised me to increase my metformin to two tablets a day, and prescribed Lantus, an insulin injectable medication. I started out with 10 units of insulin per night, right before bedtime. The next time I went to see her, six months later, my blood sugar was still out of control. She told me to increase my insulin by 5 units every four or five days until it was at 25 units a night.
On Monday, I went for a follow up visit, and had blood drawn again. This time, my HBa1C was 9.7, a little better but still not good. That is unacceptable. The doctor told me this time to start increasing my insulin injection by 1 unit per night until my morning blood test is at 110 or below. This morning, it was at 128. I have a ways to go yet, and need to get it down by at least 18 points, or more.
So, I am asking you, my readers, who may have Type 2 Diabetes or have a family member who does, to give me some tips on how to get my numbers down. If you have links to recipes you enjoy that are good for a diabetic diet, or links to websites that you use, please do add them to your comments. If you have ideas about exercises someone can do sitting in a chair, I need that info as well. I need help as I am running out of ideas.
I am thinking about adding a little box in my sidebar to update with my morning blood glucose finger prick results. Maybe that will help me get things going in the right direction. Any other ideas you might have? Let me know.
Robin Rue (@massholemommy) says
June 26, 2015 at 12:01 pmMy mom is a diabetic and she does not take good care of herself. I keep telling her that she needs to eat a consistent, healthy diet, but she just won’t give up the junk. It drives me bananas.
Jeannette says
June 26, 2015 at 1:00 pmMy mom has diabetes and completely changing her diet has been the biggest help for her. It’s a big commitment but she’s seen more results from that than from anything else.
moscatomom says
June 26, 2015 at 1:16 pmDrink LOTS of water! Water is your best friend when battling diabetes and high numbers.
Tamra Phelps says
June 26, 2015 at 4:14 pmI’m diabetic (Type 2, about 7 years now)–I’ve had the most luck with Actos. (I also use Metformin & Januvia.) I can’t tell you how much I hate this illness. Even though my numbers are currently good, I still have to get up every 2 or 3 hours every night to pee, lol, & I can’t remember the last time I woke up feeling rested in the morning. It wears you down, slowly. I guess you already know this, but you learn what foods trigger high numbers in you (and it can vary, oddly. Milk sends my numbers high, while M&Ms barely affect them. Weird.) Honestly, I’m tempted to ask for that bariatric surgery because it can apparently get rid of Type 2 diabetes. (I do need to lose weight! It’s a hard row to hoe, as they say, but I’m working on it.)
Liz Mays says
June 26, 2015 at 7:54 pmI don’t have any experience with diabetes but I hope some other bloggers have some recipes and diets that could help you! I hope you can find something that works for you!
jasmine says
June 26, 2015 at 8:30 pmI don’t really know anything about diabetes but I hope you can find something to get it under control.
Maria says
June 26, 2015 at 10:34 pmDrink lots of water, cut out as many carbs as possible. If you’re a bread eater (like my mom is) switch to whole wheat/whole grain, and ONLY have it once a day. If you’re not on any blood thinners or an aspirin regimen, try eating a lot of leafy greens. They somehow give your pancreas a boost and will help break down the insulin even more. Try not to eat past 7pm, and if you love fruit, limit it to one to two pieces of fruit a day – since some are higher in sugars than others.
I hope it gets under control. We’ve gotten my mom’s glucose under control by doing what I just said above. My mom’s morning sugar used to be 375 or higher! We’re not at a consistent 100-120. Good luck and reach out if you need anything!
Karen says
June 26, 2015 at 11:15 pmThank you for the letting me know what has worked for you. I am really trying to do what is right.
Sara Byron Jeffers says
June 26, 2015 at 11:35 pmMy DH has Type 2 Diabetes. He (and I) are overweight, but his is health affecting. We tried Weight Watcher, Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet and Paleo. We lost weight, but went off the diets and gained it back. In addition, as all of those diets consiste of ME cooking and controlling the food, we FOUGHT constantly. My kids asked me to stop making dad lose weight, because he would get mad at me and binge eat. His doctor called me in for a consulationa and blamed ME for his health and weight (which really ticked me off!)
Last January the doc put hime on Bidureon injections which really upset him. His A1C was 8.1. In March I forced us to start Nutrisystem. They have a diabetes plan, which I don’t think is very different from the regular plan. Since March he has lost 24 lbs – his A1C is down to 7.0. All other numbers are better, choloesterol, BP, triglycerides.
If you follow the plan, DON’T CHEAT, you will lose weight and get healthier. But, I am not going to lie, the food is not good. If we want a TREAT, we eat a lean cuisine! You get used to it. And if you change your mindset to food = sustanance, rather than my belief that food should look, smell and taste enticing – you can get used to eating this food and succeeding. Compared to our old grocery + Costco + eating out bills, Nutrisystem is cheaper. Really. I would choose the plan with the most choices, as you need the frozen, better tasting selections. We don’t fight, because I am not telling him what to do – Nutrisystem is the bad guy!
The trick for us now, is that his success will give him the delusion that he can be less strict. This is when he usually fails. BTW, I have lost 16 pounds, my GERD is much better, my arthritis is better, and my need-to-be-replaced knees are working better.
So, a strict balanced diet, lose weight. We are 65 & 57, BTW – don’t exercise much. But I hope that changes soon.
Costco has discounted gift cards for Nutrisystem, and they have specials sometimes. Let me know if you want me to send a discount code to you. sarabyron@att.net
Sara – Good luck! You can do it too!
Karen says
June 26, 2015 at 11:50 pmThank you for letting me know. I don’t know if Nutrisystem is for us. If we do that, we would have to continue on it forever, because it wouldn’t really teach how to eat a balanced, healthy diet. We need to learn that first.
crystal says
June 27, 2015 at 11:46 amOh gosh. I’m so sorry to hear this. My father-in-law used Medifast to change his diet. I hope to read your success story soon.
seasidemermaid says
June 27, 2015 at 10:33 pmI honestly wish I had some advice for you. However, diabetes runs rampantly on both sides of my family. I’d search for natural remedies and/or herbs for diabetes.
HilLesha
Allison says
June 28, 2015 at 3:59 pmI don’t know much about diabetes and wish that I had some advice for you. Start with eating a healthy, balanced diet and exercise when you can!
Anne says
June 28, 2015 at 7:11 pmDiabetes is one tough disease. My mom suffered from it, and I was her caregiver when she came to live with us for the last few years of her life. I did a lot of research and was able to help her get better control of the diabetes through her diet. It’s not just a question of eating what the magazines profess to be a “healthy diet;” for example, some fruits are quite high sugar content, so they have to be eaten in moderation. It also has a lot to do with balancing the proteins and the carbs (or at least it was in her case). My mom loved her carbs, so we did things like giving her peanut butter on her English muffin in the morning. She never did get off the insulin, but at least we were able to keep her numbers even so she didn’t have big swings in her glucose levels. Good luck to you. It’s not easy, that’s for sure.
Shell Feis says
June 30, 2015 at 6:42 pmI’m so sorry to hear you’re having issues with it! When I was very, very little, my Great Uncle who had diabetes lived in the apartment below us with his sister. He had had some complications from it, so I know how scary it can be. I wish I had some advice but he passed on my 6th birthday {unrelated to diabetes} so I don’t know as much about it as I probably should. I hope that number keeps on dropping!
Ellen ThatChicMom says
July 2, 2015 at 2:07 pmI am so sorry, that must be really frustrating. I hope you find answers soon.