Type 2 Diabetes

Post Reply New Topic

I just got diagnosed with this. It sucks... I also have a back surgery coming up in one week, so it feels like I'm falling apart at only 22. The past couple of days I've been limiting my carbs/sugar a lot, and it seems to be getting my blood sugar down a little lower... I usually have a really hard time controlling myself when it comes to food, though... So I don't know how well this is going to work out in the long run.. But since this is pretty much life-or-death, maybe I can stay motivated to control myself. The doc says that after my surgery he's going to put me on meds for diabetes(metformin most likely?). I know that i should exercise too, but until i recover from surgery that will be difficult for awhile. My grandfather is also diabetic, but he didn't get it until he was much older than I am. Anyone else with diabetes here? Have any tips about food, keeping blood sugar down, or anything?

Hi,

I haven't been diagnosed, but I'll be getting a blood test next Thursday. At any rate, I'm pretty sure I have it.

Regardless of the diagnosis, I am finding that what is helping me right now is exercise. I use a Nordic Track ski machine and do about 20 minutes in the morning and another 10 minutes just after dinner. The nice thing about the ski machine is that it is relatively easy on the back. I can use it even when I have strained my back. (I've been doing this for years, but only recently increased how long I work out.)

If you are not able to do any intense exercise due to your surgery, would it be possible to go for low impact walks? When I started exercising, I built myself up by first walking around the block, then walking for half a mile then a mile etc. Biking is also a relatively low impact aerobic exercise. If you have a safe route nearby you may find that a 20 to 40 minute ride in the mornings can really help.

At any rate, since you still have a week before your surgery, you should dive into the exercise now. The sooner you start, even if you have to pause for a bit to recover, the better off you will be.

I have read a few articles lately which suggest that a vegan diet is very helpful. I'm already a vegetarian so moving toward vegan isn't as huge a leap for me. If you are neither, you may find that changing to a vegan or vegetarian diet could help you a lot.

Here are a couple links that I found yesterday.

Vegetarian Journal Link

Medical article on Type 2 Diabetes and vegetarian diet

Drinking alcohol doesn't seem to improve things. As much as I don't want to, I think I'm going to have to completely cut out wine and beer. I am also working on reducing how much I eat at a sitting.

Please let me know what you find works. This is pretty new to me as well and I can use all the advice I can get too.

Good luck,

Lars

My Grandmother was diagnosed with it recently. I helped modify her diet and explain stuff to her. You should avoid big meals and instead eat smaller portions throughout the day. Exercise is important and so is controlling your weight if that is a problem with you. You will need to change your lifestyle, but plenty of people live long and healthy lives with diabetes. In addition to blood glucose (sugar), you will probably need to watch your sodium (salt) intake. You should be fine. If I can help you with anything let me know.

Thanks, both of you. Hmm.. I used to be a vegetarian for 8 years, but I think that's part of what contibuted to this in the first place. Meat doesn't have any carbs, and while I was a vegetarian I ended up eating lots of carbs. The reason I started back eating meat is that I was borderline diabetic and the majority of low carb and sugar foods had meat. It probably could work for some people... But being vegetarian or vegan means cutting out a lot of the stuff that is low in carbs and sugar, so it would just make it harder to eat a low carb diet. It kind of sucks, but, for me, it seems like eating meat is the only option to keep me healthy now.
But, yeah, exercise... My Mom' has this gazelle exercise thingie that might work. Maybe I will try that some. Walking much can really hurt my back, but I guess that's why I have all that oxycodone, lol. Today I went bowling and it didn't hurt my back, surprisingly.. But I did get to sit down between frames. After surgery I'm not supposed to do anything strenuous though. They want me to walk to keep scar tissue from forming, but strenuous activity can mess it up. They're cutting out part of a disk in my back. So I will have to be careful with any exercise for a couple months. I'm kind of surprised that all the stimming I do hasn't kept me more fit. Actually, I should probably be careful to remind myself not to stim too hard after surgery(no bouncing against the back of chairs while rocking!).