Ask me about Type 2 Diabetes

Fish mentioned a diet change in the LC thread, then explained he found out he's diabetic in ...

I was diagnosed T2 in Nov. '06. Complications have killed two of my Dad's sisters too young. He has 3 more siblings with T2. (I learned this after diagnosis. I knew one brother of his, and my grandmother were T2.)

To say I sat up and took notice is an understatement. I'm too damn young to let this thing kill me. I spent about 3 months learning all I could on the internet and came up with a plan that I can live with.

The number one killer of diabetics is heart attack, (65% of deaths among T2's.) Other complications are kidney disease, loss of eyesight, amputations (slow healing wounds), erectile dysfunction. It's not pretty.

The basis of my food plan can be found here: Newly Diagnosed aka Test, Test, Test.

The first year after diagnosis I tested my blood sugar tons. I'll warn you now, your doctor probably won't give you a prescription for the test strips you would need to do this. I purchased mine off the web. They're expensive, but it was worth it to me. PM me if you want to know where I bought them.

So you eat a meal, test your BG to find the highest level after that meal. Cross that meal off the list or modify it to get your BG within acceptable levels. Personally I aim for non diabetic numbers.

It helps to eat small amounts throughout the day. For your bigger meals of the day think: salad, vegetable (not potatoes), and meat.

Some recommend eliminating anything white from your diet: potatoes, rice, pasta, white bread, milk to start. Also, no regular soda obviously.

It's a good place to start, but I've found I can eat half a serving of potatoes with an evening meal. It's not something I do on a regular basis, but when we go out to dinner or have a special family dinner I'll indulge. I can also eat Lean Cuisine type portions of pasta if the total carbs is under 35 grams for lunch. On the other hand, my body can't handle rice.

As Fish has discovered, there's a bonus in that you'll probably lose weight if you reduce carbs and eat to your meter.

By following this plan, my A1C went from 7.6 upon diagnosis to 5.2 on my latest test. (Keep copies of your lab results!)

I've settled on an average of 100 carbs a day. It would be higher for Fish, being a guy. Everyone is different. There's no one thing that works for everyone.

A website I'd recommend is Blood Sugar 101: What They Don't Tell Y...

The sad fact is that over 90% of the public that has diabetes does not have their blood sugar under control. For that reason, doctors even get complacent because they're used to patients just wanting a pill. It doesn't help that you feel great even though the big D is silently killing you.

I have so much more to bore you with, but I'll stop here for now and add more later.

Edit: Corrected diagnosis date above to Nov. '06