Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Cee, THANK YOU! I was hoping you'd have time to pop in and help Greg out. Hugs! Cyndi In a message dated 1/24/2007 7:55:33 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, cbrowne writes: Greg...I decided to grab a few minutes before my first meeting just to get started. First, once a diabetic, always a diabetic. It's simply a matter of getting it under control and keeping it there. But let me ask you a couple of questions...how old are you? Are you overweight, and if so, by a large amount or are you just a little heavy? And are you sedentary or do you exercise a lot or a little? These all play into what you should do to combat your diabetes. Cyndi's last post indicated that you have a job that requires a lot of exertion. (Almost all of type II diabetes is caused by obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.) Lastly, how much do you understand about the glycemic index and how it affects your blood sugar??? Let me give you a little background on myself so you'll understand where I am coming from. As a diabetic, I was pretty lucky. I've worn many hats in my life and I used to be a cardiovascular technologist so I understand a little bit about the heart, plus I minored in nutrition while in college, (to be an RD) so understanding a diabetic's dietary needs is elementary for me. I also come from a family with a heavy medical background. All of this gave me a terrific advantage in taking control of my disease. Greg, diabetes is a progressive disease that will slowly rob you of your health if you choose to be a passive victim. If you fight it with all the weapons in your arsenal, you have the potential to live as long as any other person (barring any damage that you may have that is irreversible). I am going to assume that like most people you probably don't totally understand how diabetes works, so I am going to give you a quick primer on diabetes 101 as you must UNDERSTAND the enemy in order to whip it into shape! We will start with a healthy person and watch them progress through the stages to full-blown diabetes... DIABETES 101: The most basic thing you need to know before we start is that your pancreas can be compared to your home's furnace or heating and cooling system. Your pancreas releases insulin (a hormone) that controls how well the glucose in your bloodstream is utilized, and this is triggered by various signals (sensors) in your body. Your home's heating and cooling system works exactly the same way...you have a pre-set thermostat (your pancreas) that kicks on your furnace or air conditioner that is triggered by cold drafts or heat waves signals, and it adjusts the temperature accordingly. In a healthy person, the furnace (pancreas) works perfectly and responds to signals appropriately. A taste of sugar on the tongue sends the first signal to the brain which in turn sends a signal to the pancreas to begin releasing insulin because sugar is on it's way! The sweeter the food, the stronger the signal..the more insulin that is released. An orange or an apple will trigger a small load while a hot fudge sundae will trigger an avalanche of insulin. Even in healthy people, it is possible to overload one's system with insulin when eating a highly refined carbohydrate diet, and since insulin is a "fat hoarding" hormone, it can start the downward spiral into obesity. AVERAGE AMERICAN: Let's take a healthy, active, young normal weight guy who eats the typical American diet, but manages to stay fit looking and limber through sports, activities and a manual laborer job. He has a busy life, so like most Americans starts eating more and more fast food on the run. His body now has to keep upping the insulin output to help his body metabolize all those refined carbs, so he begins to gain a little weight from the additional fat-hoarding hormones (insulin) and the increased trans-fat in his diet. He's getting a little older now, mid-30's, and growing a little pouch on his belly, but he LOVES his Twinkies and burgers and Cola and is not about to give them up. (A little sugar now and then never hurts a healthy person, mind you...we are talking overindulging.) He now has less energy from the additional weight and the natural aging process, so combined with his bad eating habits, he continues to put on weight. He is truly overweight now and it begins to take its toll on his body. His blood pressure is up and his cholesterol is rising. His doctor puts him on BP medication, and his risk of getting diabetes rises. (Did you know that most BP medications put you at risk for diabetes and some diabetes medications can cause high blood pressure??? They go hand-in-hand.) He's no longer a young pup, late 30's, so switches jobs from a manual laborer position to a desk job, and his energy output decreases even more. BEGINNING DIABETIC: He is now in his 40's and his metabolism has slowed down more due to the aging process but even more so from inactivity, and he is now officially obese. His pancreas is exhausted from the massive load it must continually put out, his arteries are hardening from artificial fats, and his body can no longer utilize the insulin sufficiently. (Think of a furnace that is set to 80 degrees in the middle of winter even though you keep your windows wide open. The cold air--sugar--continually coaxes it to put out more and more and more heat--insulin--until, overworked, the thermostat--pancreas--dies or begins to malfunction. Do this for years on end and find out how fast your furnace will quit on you!) Now this poor man's body can send all the signals it wants but, the pancreas can no longer put out what it used to. His unhealthy body also cannot use what little insulin it is given effectively. He feels sick and very tired all the time, urinates frequently and has an incredible thirst (it's his body's way of trying to dilute the concentration of glucose in the blood). His doctor recognizes the signs, does a fasting blood sugar and puts him on medication right away. FULL BLOWN DIABETIC: His thermostat is now totally broken. No matter if a blast of cold air hits it or a steam cloud of humid jungle breath is blown on it, does not work properly. Sometimes it responds a little, sometimes not at all. Most of the time it WAY overshoots its target and our man finds himself having hypoglycemic episodes, in which he shakes, feels dizzy and can't think clearly. He feels like he is about to pass out. (What happens is that the broken pancreas will detect sugar or refined carbs in the body and will release a TON of insulin like it's used to doing...usually too much insulin for him to handle and the blood sugar crashes.) Here's where our 'victim' of the typical American lifestyle has choices. He can do what most diabetics do and continually get worse over the years or he can change his diet and exercise habits and fight it back into submission. If he chooses to fight it, he can eventually (note that I said *eventually* as it will NOT happen overnight!) train his body through good nutrition and exercise to send better signals to the pancreas, coax the pancreas to release a more appropriate amount of insulin to the body, and his body will respond in kind with a healthier response. He can once again be a healthy, thinner, more active person with a bright future ahead of him... Well, Greg...enough for lesson 1. We will discuss how to effectively manage your diabetes in lesson 2. Any questions? Ask! We're just getting started... Hope this helps! (((HUGS)) --Celia-- Greg wrote:>> I am a diabetic, and the doctor has me taking a pill to regulate my sugar. It doesn't seem to be working at all. He tells me that if my sugar isn't down by my next doctor visit that I will have to go on a Byretta injection. I dread needles! To top things off, I also have high blood pressure, hypertension, high clorestoral, narcolepsi, and sleep apmea. Not to mention the diabetic neuropothy that plauges me daily. I feel like I'm on death's door. Last night before I went to bed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Greg...I decided to grab a few minutes before my first meeting just to get started. First, once a diabetic, always a diabetic. It's simply a matter of getting it under control and keeping it there. But let me ask you a couple of questions...how old are you? Are you overweight, and if so, by a large amount or are you just a little heavy? And are you sedentary or do you exercise a lot or a little? These all play into what you should do to combat your diabetes. Cyndi's last post indicated that you have a job that requires a lot of exertion. (Almost all of type II diabetes is caused by obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.) Lastly, how much do you understand about the glycemic index and how it affects your blood sugar??? Let me give you a little background on myself so you'll understand where I am coming from. As a diabetic, I was pretty lucky. I've worn many hats in my life and I used to be a cardiovascular technologist so I understand a little bit about the heart, plus I minored in nutrition while in college, (to be an RD) so understanding a diabetic's dietary needs is elementary for me. I also come from a family with a heavy medical background. All of this gave me a terrific advantage in taking control of my disease. Greg, diabetes is a progressive disease that will slowly rob you of your health if you choose to be a passive victim. If you fight it with all the weapons in your arsenal, you have the potential to live as long as any other person (barring any damage that you may have that is irreversible). I am going to assume that like most people you probably don't totally understand how diabetes works, so I am going to give you a quick primer on diabetes 101 as you must UNDERSTAND the enemy in order to whip it into shape! We will start with a healthy person and watch them progress through the stages to full-blown diabetes... DIABETES 101: The most basic thing you need to know before we start is that your pancreas can be compared to your home's furnace or heating and cooling system. Your pancreas releases insulin (a hormone) that controls how well the glucose in your bloodstream is utilized, and this is triggered by various signals (sensors) in your body. Your home's heating and cooling system works exactly the same way...you have a pre-set thermostat (your pancreas) that kicks on your furnace or air conditioner that is triggered by cold drafts or heat waves signals, and it adjusts the temperature accordingly. In a healthy person, the furnace (pancreas) works perfectly and responds to signals appropriately. A taste of sugar on the tongue sends the first signal to the brain which in turn sends a signal to the pancreas to begin releasing insulin because sugar is on it's way! The sweeter the food, the stronger the signal..the more insulin that is released. An orange or an apple will trigger a small load while a hot fudge sundae will trigger an avalanche of insulin. Even in healthy people, it is possible to overload one's system with insulin when eating a highly refined carbohydrate diet, and since insulin is a "fat hoarding" hormone, it can start the downward spiral into obesity. AVERAGE AMERICAN: Let's take a healthy, active, young normal weight guy who eats the typical American diet, but manages to stay fit looking and limber through sports, activities and a manual laborer job. He has a busy life, so like most Americans starts eating more and more fast food on the run. His body now has to keep upping the insulin output to help his body metabolize all those refined carbs, so he begins to gain a little weight from the additional fat-hoarding hormones (insulin) and the increased trans-fat in his diet. He's getting a little older now, mid-30's, and growing a little pouch on his belly, but he LOVES his Twinkies and burgers and Cola and is not about to give them up. (A little sugar now and then never hurts a healthy person, mind you...we are talking overindulging.) He now has less energy from the additional weight and the natural aging process, so combined with his bad eating habits, he continues to put on weight. He is truly overweight now and it begins to take its toll on his body. His blood pressure is up and his cholesterol is rising. His doctor puts him on BP medication, and his risk of getting diabetes rises. (Did you know that most BP medications put you at risk for diabetes and some diabetes medications can cause high blood pressure??? They go hand-in-hand.) He's no longer a young pup, late 30's, so switches jobs from a manual laborer position to a desk job, and his energy output decreases even more. BEGINNING DIABETIC: He is now in his 40's and his metabolism has slowed down more due to the aging process but even more so from inactivity, and he is now officially obese. His pancreas is exhausted from the massive load it must continually put out, his arteries are hardening from artificial fats, and his body can no longer utilize the insulin sufficiently. (Think of a furnace that is set to 80 degrees in the middle of winter even though you keep your windows wide open. The cold air--sugar--continually coaxes it to put out more and more and more heat--insulin--until, overworked, the thermostat--pancreas--dies or begins to malfunction. Do this for years on end and find out how fast your furnace will quit on you!) Now this poor man's body can send all the signals it wants but, the pancreas can no longer put out what it used to. His unhealthy body also cannot use what little insulin it is given effectively. He feels sick and very tired all the time, urinates frequently and has an incredible thirst (it's his body's way of trying to dilute the concentration of glucose in the blood). His doctor recognizes the signs, does a fasting blood sugar and puts him on medication right away. FULL BLOWN DIABETIC: His thermostat is now totally broken. No matter if a blast of cold air hits it or a steam cloud of humid jungle breath is blown on it, does not work properly. Sometimes it responds a little, sometimes not at all. Most of the time it WAY overshoots its target and our man finds himself having hypoglycemic episodes, in which he shakes, feels dizzy and can't think clearly. He feels like he is about to pass out. (What happens is that the broken pancreas will detect sugar or refined carbs in the body and will release a TON of insulin like it's used to doing...usually too much insulin for him to handle and the blood sugar crashes.) Here's where our 'victim' of the typical American lifestyle has choices. He can do what most diabetics do and continually get worse over the years or he can change his diet and exercise habits and fight it back into submission. If he chooses to fight it, he can eventually (note that I said *eventually* as it will NOT happen overnight!) train his body through good nutrition and exercise to send better signals to the pancreas, coax the pancreas to release a more appropriate amount of insulin to the body, and his body will respond in kind with a healthier response. He can once again be a healthy, thinner, more active person with a bright future ahead of him... Well, Greg...enough for lesson 1. We will discuss how to effectively manage your diabetes in lesson 2. Any questions? Ask! We're just getting started... Hope this helps! (((HUGS)) --Celia-- Greg wrote:>> I am a diabetic, and the doctor has me taking a pill to regulate my sugar. It doesn't seem to be working at all. He tells me that if my sugar isn't down by my next doctor visit that I will have to go on a Byretta injection. I dread needles! To top things off, I also have high blood pressure, hypertension, high clorestoral, narcolepsi, and sleep apmea. Not to mention the diabetic neuropothy that plauges me daily. I feel like I'm on death's door. Last night before I went to bed I went ahead and made my peace with God because I seriously didn't think I would be waking back up. I was having chest pains, soreness in my left arm, and my lips went numb. I just don't know what else to do and quite frankly, I'm scared.Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Celia, what a great post! I'm learning together with Greg. Keep telling us everything about diabetes. Barbara PS. I have no problems with blood sugar but want to learn anyway. Greg...I decided to grab a few minutes before my first meeting just to get started. First, once a diabetic, always a diabetic. It's simply a matter of getting it under control and keeping it there. But let me ask you a couple of questions...how old are you? Are you overweight, and if so, by a large amount or are you just a little heavy? And are you sedentary or do you exercise a lot or a little? These all play into what you should do to combat your diabetes. Cyndi's last post indicated that you have a job that requires a lot of exertion. (Almost all of type II diabetes is caused by obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.) Lastly, how much do you understand about the glycemic index and how it affects your blood sugar??? --Celia-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Thanks! Never hurt to educate oneself. The more you know, the more you can do to prevent it from happening to yourself and others... <smiles> --Celia-- RealSimple , " Barbara " <barbara3 wrote: > > Celia, what a great post! I'm learning together with Greg. > Keep telling us everything about diabetes. > > Barbara > > PS. I have no problems with blood sugar but want to learn anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Hahahaha! You know me, Cyndi, LOL! Hugs back at ya! --Celia-- RealSimple , cyndikrall wrote: > > > Cee, THANK YOU! I was hoping you'd have time to pop in and help Greg out. > > Hugs! > Cyndi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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