I’ve been watching this discussion since it started 2/29/2024. My history is as follows:

* 1975 Type 1 diabetes diagnosis at age 18
* 1975 - 2005 college, graduate school, marriage, 2 very complicated pregnancies (resulting in 2 fabulous daughters) and a full life including family, career & caring for all 4 in-laws who had various conditions and needed home health care.
* 2005 pancreas transplant at age 48
* 2008 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) diagnosis due to diabetes. At that time mild / moderate stage.
* 2016 Type 2 Diabetes and CKD stage 4 diagnoses
* 2016 - present taking care of diabetes and kidney disease

I think I’m (finally) ready to chime in here. Previous posters have all had great suggestions regarding controlling diabetes. I’m going to try to categorize and summarize them here:

EATING (diet / nutrition) - low carb, low fat, low sodium. A nutritionist well versed in diabetes (nephrology & cardiology too) can help determine how many carbs are appropriate for the individual. High fiber (such as whole grains) is a special kind of carb that is absorbed and digested differently. It can help to minimize the blood sugar spike that happens with other carbs & simple sugars. There are 2 kinds of fats. “Bad” fats are saturated & / or trans fats. They raise LDL and clog up your circulatory vessels. The “good” fats such as olive oil raise the HDL. Low sodium is generally a good idea. Too much salt raises blood pressure and can contribute to heart & kidney problems. Weight management is important and is directly related to diet. Your provider can determine the best weight range for you. A dietician can help you customize a diet best suited to help get you there.

EXERCISE - this goes hand in hand with your eating plan. It doesn’t have to mean a full on workout! It simply means enough activity (movement) to utilize the nutrients being put in the body. Too much or too little of either is a bad idea! Think of Goldilocks. Find what is just right for you. The same thing applies to the type of exercise. This is really important because people enjoy different activities. If you really hate doing something, you probably won’t. It takes time to develop a good habit. Start small and gradually increase your activity level and time spent working at it.

REST & RELAXATION- be sure to make time for this including getting an adequate amount of sleep each day. Folks talked about different breathing techniques to reduce stress and increase relaxation. Recreation, hobbies and other enjoyable activities provides variety and a needed change of pace.

HYGIENE & SELF CARE - this goes without saying but is so easy to minimize and forget. This would include feet care (already described by another member). It is really important for diabetics because we tend to have deficits in circulation especially in the extremities (mainly feet). They are easily ignored. A wound or infection there can become a crisis.

MEDICATION - many members mentioned various medications. All meds have side effects and there can be interactions between other medications that are taken. This is a matter best worked out between each patient and their medical providers. There is no such thing as “one size fits all”.

TECHNOLOGY & MEDICAL DEVICES - members mentioned continual glucose monitors (CGM). These devices provide a 24/7 picture of what is going on. (Related to this are insulin pumps or insulin delivery systems). Other tests and measurements were referred to such as fasting glucose, pre and post prandial testing. This is testing blood sugar upon waking, before eating and 2 hours after eating to determine how particular foods affect blood sugar. For example I will get a bad blood sugar spike after rice or pasta. This is good to know because although I really like those things I don’t indulge very often and strictly watch portion size.

I’ve yammered long enough. Hope something here helps.

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