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Anyone find that foods listed as "safe" spike your blood?
I found a couple of menus for Diabetic 2 people. I tried them and it was like being poisoned! I have found I cannot eat a skinny bread sandwich with fat free turkey, fat free cheese, and five spinach leaves. I had a few baked chips with it. That was last night and this morning my blood was 155!. So no more sandwiches. I tried cereal with blueberries one night. My blood was again in the 150's the next morning. Next supper, I ate a salad: lettuce, a small plum tomato, a sprinkle of walnuts, and five mini carrots. I used fat free dressing. My blood was 166! So sandwiches, cereal, salads are out.
The only food that works is roasted chicken breast, and green veggies. No bread, no fruit. Heaven forbid I should eat pasta or rice or a dessert of any kind.
The greens are good, but I have eaten them daily for weeks, and have reached the point that I don't think I can look another plate of these items without feeling ill. I have been exercising every day, and have lost NO weight. So I don't understand that. I have seen a dietitian twice because my endocrinologist required it. The little girl (I say that because she was maybe 22 years old and couldn't answer any questions I had---not too well schooled.) didn't even have a diet to give me to follow. She had the pat answer: "Eat a diabetes diet, exercise, and check your blood."
My endo doesn't agree with the American Diabetes Assoc. So most of my appointment with him is telling me the differences and suggesting medicine I could take. I take no medicine. I am at my wit's end. I agree with @ihatediabetes. I am totally tired of this disease ruining and ruling my life.
retiredteacher
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Yes I do volunteer work when the time allows me to. I volunteer at a rehabilitation center for diabetics that have suffered some type of damage that leads them to have the rehab-stroke, amputations and more
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1 ReactionSince I work full time a mother of 4 and a full time grad student my volunteer hours have decreased these past two years. I should finish school in December so I pray I will be able to go back to my normal volunteering routine.
(Currently studying for a Masters in Public Health)
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1 ReactionThat's one problem I have is that my PCP never told me anything about being pre-diabetic. I have regular bloodwork for her twice a year. Every time she sent the results and would say "normal" even if the numbers were not in the range. I'd ask. She would say, "They're fine." I blame her for either not knowing the numbers or not even reading them. What I received was a computer print out. Now when I go for bloodwork, she runs in with her computer to mark what I owe and is there two minutes, maybe. That's it with her. Had I known, I think I could have prevented this disease. Maybe not. The strange thing is that I exercised on my tread mill every day but two in the month of May and I gained. The weight just doesn't want to give. But, I know at 73 I am not able to be an exercise fanatic. I have realized that I am not going to lose three or four pounds a week. I eat healthy and gave up most bad foods, except for a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary. You are right that 1 or 2 pounds is a loss, so I need to remember my age and intensity (or lack thereof) to do more than walk on the tread mill.
Thanks, Brenda.
retiredteacher
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2 ReactionsIf you're not satisfied with your physician find another one. It sounds like yours doesn't care about your health and welfare, just revenue. And it doesn't sound like she is competent.
@retiredteacher it sounds like you are doing a great job already. Maybe try changing your routine-and I know you wont like to hear this but I have to say it because it is a fact, but usually the weight gain in this circumstance is muscle gain. I hate it too, I was in the same whole for about 4 months but my numbers were almost perfect when it came to my blood work.
-Brenda
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1 Reaction@brendisha79 I know that with age, our pancreas might not work as effectively. Since you are in-the-know regarding diabetes, I'm just wondering about A1C: does the "acceptable or normal" level rise with age given the aging of the pancreas (and also given no complications such as kidney problems, vision problems or neuropathy)? Teresa
@retiredteacher, I forgot to mention that working with so many providers I have learned that the General or Family Physicians usually wont do a lot of educating when it comes to speaking with the patient with results from tests. It almost seems like once they give you your results their job is done and they pass it on to a Specialist to deal with it and then the PCP is just for your normal maintenance. I have been blessed with a great doctor who will sit and talk to me about options and what the risks or benefits will be depending on what I decide to do. He is such a great Family Doctor that I may only see my Endocrinologist once a year-if that.
At work my colleagues and I have realized that many of the PCP's of the children that are referred to us for our program don't educate the families at all or even show them the child's BMI chart or explain why they are sending them to us. I was just on a call of a mother that took her son in for a routine yearly physical and after the provider walked out of the room a Medical Assistant walked in and handed mom her son's allergy prescription and a flyer and told them to have a great day. I have also experienced this exact situation with other families and the mother on the other end of the line will yell at us or even hang up because "there is no way my child needs to lose weight my doctor didn't tell me that." Some parents may feel offended that when they call we are the ones who answer the line and have to be the ones to give them the reason why they may be calling.- What parent wants to hear from a stranger that their child is overweight and will need our attention?
The mother called us because she actually went home and read the flyer. The flyer comes from our program explaining our cause and benefits and it clearly states on there that a doctor has to send a referral in for this child so that the child can be registered. She said that not at any moment did they tell her that her son was overweight, she was shocked when she called the pediatric clinic back to find out why this flyer was given to her. The receptionist told her that during her visit her pediatrician must have charted her child at a 85% on their growth chart for the BMI and this was why she was given this flyer. What the doctors office should have done is talked to the mother and child about the condition, explained what a growth chart is and she should have at least been briefed on if she would like to be referred to our program at all before letting her just walk out with our flyer.
Most doctors just cannot take the time to do all this so they rely on their Medical Assistants or nurses but they are usually super young and inexperienced and just want to keep up with the doctor so they rush in and out of rooms too. When we started our program we educated each and every provider that would be referring to us on how to introduce our program to the families. obviously 3 years later now we still have this negative experience happening. So we do have several parents that will call us just like this mom not even knowing that their child could be in need of our help. This is why I know that doctors just test and give diagnosis and if it is something that need to be more closely supervised they refer out and don't even bother to educate the patients because they are in the mind set that their nurses have done it or that the Specialist will have to do it anyway.
It sucks but it's a reality. You should mention your feelings to your doctor before finding a different one, sometimes they just need a little reminder that they are treating HUMANS and not numbers. Try this before switching providers because that too can be a hassle- its best to keep a good medical history in its original location.
-Brenda
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1 ReactionThanks, Teresa. After the nasty reply to me, I had to take a break and decide if I wanted to be a part of a group that allowed those types of comments. I felt bullied, and that's not allowed in schools or even colleges, so it definitely shouldn't be allowed on a forum where people are seeking answers and help and decent discussion. As I wrote, it was a hard, dark time for me, and I didn't need someone attacking me. If it had been someone I knew personally, it would have been a different story. I never would have stood for that behavior. I appreciate your encouragement and feel more empowered to deal with the diabetes dragon. Brenda's posts today have helped me tremendously. She understands the situation I am in as a diabetic, as a teacher, and with a very weak PCP. So, I thank both of you.
retiredteacher
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1 ReactionI understand how you feel about having to run interference. I was in the same situation in teaching. Any time a gifted child earned lower than perfect, the parents refused to believe it. It's not easy when you have to deal with the public, and so many are uninformed, as I was and still am about diabetes. I know more now, but I had rather be reading a good book than researching diabetes. However, I have to put health first. My husband and I only have each other; we are both adopted only children, so no family history and no one to rely on. We have been together since being high school sweethearts; that's 58 years. As a result we work on being as well as we can be to take care of each other. It's interesting that we see our PCP twice year, but when I went to the endo, he was older; he sat down and we talked for two hours my first visit. Now when I see him, he sits down, asks the right questions, and takes time to calm my concerns. I'd rather see him than the PCP. But, we do what we have to do at our ages.
retiredteacher
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1 ReactionThe situation where we live is complicated. Changing doctors is not an option. It's easy when there are many physicians to choose from, but where we are, that is not the case. We have tried to figure out how to change the situation, but for now we have to deal with what we have.
Thanks though,
retiredteacher