I guess I'll be joining you folks!

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

Thanks Bren! We just found out that we can't get into the class until Oct 3rd! So I guess we're on our own until then!

That's so funny that your hubby like the Dummies book, I was looking at that one and unfortunatley put it back and got one called Type II Diabetes for Beginners...its sucks. I started reading it and found like 4 typos before I even got to the first chapter! It drove me nuts so I put it back in the bag and I'm planning on trying to return it and get the Dummies one! I'm glad to know he likes it. John hates to read so I'll probably be doing most of the reading and highlighting stuff for him to read.

2big, John actually had a prescription for a meter and supplies, the pharmacist told us we would probably be getting one free at the class and that we shouldn't buy it cause its around 80 bucks. So we didn't. Now we found out that we won't be getting one at the class after all. We have to work out our budget since John has been unemployed now for 3 weeks money is tight. We'll get one as soon as possible though.

[Bren]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

Contact the testing company. They may give you one! Explain your situation. They make their $$$$ on the strips. Advantage has sent Cliff so many things for free meters.
www.accu-chek.com
1-800-858-8072 (customer care and service center).
call and explain the situation. They are honestly wonderful to deal with. I could not get the "testing solution" and they next day aired it to me no charge.

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

Wow Bren! Thanks! We'll try that, can't hurt!

[2big4mysize]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

check with your local diabetic support group too for supplies. thery know how expensive stuff is and companies are always giving them free stuff.

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

Yea, I've checked with 3 this morning 2big. All they do is offer classes and they charge a fortune for them too! No free meters included either! The one place has an all day class from 8 am til 4pm and they charge $57 per half hour! YIKES. Oh, and insurance won't cover it!

[boonie stomper]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

Pardon me for being the skeptic, but all the meters are designed for one purpose: to outdo the competition for your lifetime of purchasing the expensive test strips that are unique to a particular brand of meter.

You may not need a meter or the expensive strips. Remember ketostix? Blood sugar test strips of a similar nature can be bought for less than what you'd pay for strips after the free meter & insurance covered portion of the strips.
http://www.jn-vaccines.org/blood-glucose.htm fname=02535&title=HOW+TO+CHECK+YOUR+BLOOD+SUGAR+&c id=HTHLTH&print=yes

http://www.drugs.com/CG/HOW_TO_CHECK...OOD_SUGAR.html
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/s...=203002&page=1

[2big4mysize]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

Dang our hospital has a wellness place and they offer free diabetic classes and have some free meters too.

check with your drug store as ours is giving free meters in a rebate from the company. too bad Canuck isn't posting she had some connections for getting meters.
Boonie according to the last link you gave those stix only give a range of blood sugar not a reat number so he could be going up or down in that range and not know it. it also says in the other one that your eyes have to be able to detect slight color changes in the shades in order to read the stix. a meter would be better there too

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

OK, well P-bird suggested Walmart so we went there. We got a meter for under 5 bucks! The test strips were around 12 for 2 containers of 50 and the lances were like 4 or 5 bucks. Not bad considering Eckerd Drugs said the meters were around 80 bucks!

And yes, it seems that you can get a lot of choices of free meters when you buy the test strips, geez, some of the test strips were around 70-80 bucks! There was such a range of prices I was dumbfounded!

Anyway, we got his meter the night before last. We were at Walmart about 1 hour and 1/2 and then it took us another hour at home to figure out how to program it and use it! His level is running between 260 and 230 everytime we take it. From what we understand (please correct me if we're wrong!) it should be around 150?

We're guessing that even though its higher than it should be, its lower than it was and it doesn't spike much after meals or in the morning so maybe we're on the right track with his eating? Any ideas about how to lower it?

He's weight training everyday. He's eating pretty much like Atkins maintenance with a diabetic shake thrown in once or twice a day. He's cut as much salt and sugar as humanly possible from his diet and we're trying to go with the idea of 1/2 of his plate being fresh veggies, 1/4 whole grains and 1/4 protein.

Do you guys think we're on the right track? We can't get into the class at the hospital until Oct 5th! The only other classes offered around here are very expensive and with John being out of work we just can't swing it. I wish we could get in earlier. Its kinda frustrating trying to wing everything.

[Bren]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

Good on the meter!

Here are the goals given to "us" by Cliff's doctor.

fasting between 80- 120
Bedtime " 100-140
2 hours after a meal under 140
Never over 180

A1C - under 6.5

The goals from the ADA are listed in a stickie here someplace, I will see what I can find.

[Bren]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

Moggy, did your meter come with a "test solution"? If so, did you do the initial test? It is extremely important to make sure your meter is accurate.

[2big4mysize]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

woo hoo on the meter. yep did you initialize the meter with the solution? that is very important

the amount on the plate not the portion is important as excess protein will be turned to sugar for storage and grains have protein too. Atkins maintnenance is still high fat about 50% of the cals in fats and the toital protein stays 30%. can you adjust him with more of the other veggies. grains are not bad just remember they are a protein source too is all.

if his sugar is truely staying that high on those meds it is time to call the doc again and tell them he is 250 so they can adjust his meds too.

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

No, the meter didn't come with the solution! So we went ahead and used it anyway! Oh oh. I guess I need to pick some up today. Thanks for the tip!

OK, I've seen that AC1 a few times now, what the heck does it mean? How do we get that #? is it something that the meter reads?

They just doubled up on his meds, well actually they told him instead of taking one pill just in the morning to take 2 in the morning and 1 at night! so that's 3 times what he was taking initially. But, since we didn't test the meter first maybe the readings are all wrong anway?

Wow, John's numbers are still really high compared to what they should be! Oh btw 2big, his fat is a lot lower than Atkins maintenance, we've been sticking to lean meat, fish and chicken (boneless skinless) so far with just a little bit of fat thrown in in the form of olive oil or a tad of butter for cooking and his salad dressing.

[2big4mysize]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

MOG fat will not make blood sugar go up that is one of the reasons they recomend low carb cause with higher fays there is less dietary sugar to worry about. He should have been told about proteins too.

standardize the meter and then see if his blood sugar goes down. you can check it by checking your blood sugar if his is still that highas yours should be in the normal range and if you are way high you know it is off.

[cmcole]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

My hubby is in the same situation.
He has to monitor his blood sugar levels for another month (has done it for two weeks, and really discovered the types of things that make it peak), and then the doctor will see if he needs to have the pills.

I'm the one doing the reading and interpreting of information, and relaying it to him. He is happy about that, because he just won't read all that information.

I've been all over the place on the Web dragging together information, and one thing that's for sure . . . the Diabetes associations do not recommend LC, when they really should. It's the sugars/starches that make the blood sugar levels spike the highest/fastest. What's the deal with suggesting two slices of bread per meal - like 30 or more carbs EVERY meal? I can't believe their literature.

[Bren]

Re: I guess I'll be joining you folks!

I would have to say that after attending the training class given by the ADA, it is not that they do not reccommend LC....... they in fact do. They suggest carb servings and stress the importance of that........ limiting the servings and being very cautious of serving size. They refer to a carb serving as 15 carbs. They stress "serving size", which IMHO is very important. I would have to compare the ADA's WOE as very similiar to maintenance. There is always alot to take into consideration as with everything else YMMV.