Hi I am a diabetic!!

[MontanaRebel]

Hello all!

I have been a diabetic for about 10 yrs and who knows maybe alot longer than that before I was hauled into the emergency room with a reading of 763.

I have not done well with this disease and just recently lost my job as my employer highly recommend I go on SS disability and my doctor told me I would not work again...I am in the process of waiting on a claim I have filed for the disability as I have worked 36 yrs in a lumber mill and have earned the credits to qualify and I am 57(soon to be 58 on July 3rd). I put in my last day of work on March 28th of this year.

I will see my doctor on Monday and talked this over with him with me wanting to start this program...I am reading the book now from cover to cover and on Chapter 17.

I assumed most of you continued taking insulin or meds while starting this program is this correct? I also take Lipator and beta blockers since I had a heart attack in August of last year and also Lotensein for high blood pressure. I weigh in at 376lbs on a 5' 11" frame so you can see why I am here and I know I am headed down the road to board that LONG BLACK TRAIN and just soon not have to be a passenger on it!

I take 35 units of Humulin N twice a day and Humalog on a sliding scale if need be.

I am so glad I found this forum! Thanks for reading and any help will be appreciated. Thanks, Johnny

[2big4mysize]

:wave :wave Welcome

you are going to find on Atkins you will need less and less of your Diabetic meds as you gain stability in your blood sugar readings and your cells become more sensitive to the insulin in your system since they aren't being exposes all the time to it.
Your diabetic treatment team will play a very big part in adjusting your levels as you accomplish this. whether you can get totally of your diabetic meds will depend onthe condition of your insulin producing cells.

The exercise part of Atkins will help you with your cholesterol and cardiovascular health too. Are you currently in cardiac rehab exercise program?

Happy low carbing.

[MontanaRebel]

Thanks for the welcome! I will be going to rehab on Wednesday for my first session which will probably be treadmill work. I see my doctor on Monday and will start my program with Atlkins then as well...

I hope my doctor will go along with me in my quest to do this program. Johnny ha

[canuck]

Hi and welcome, sorry I couldn’t log in earlier, something happened and had to have my password reset.

Glad you found us, have you read all the above stickies.

Beware; I had to stop my insulin within 32 hr of Atkins so monitor BG lots and test many times a day so you don’t go into diabetic reaction.

You may have a doc who supports you or you may have to venture on your own like many of us have done here.

Read my story above and read Atkins Diabetic Revolution as well. (I am on page 152).

Read Dr Bernstein’s Diabetic Solution as you may need to arm yourself in order to get assistance from the medical profession. He says same as Atkins only more restrictive.

If they don’t agree then you decide as it’s your life and I hope you are here for a long while.

For weight loss follow the book and once at goal can follow the Diabetic Revolution if BG are good, we are all different and each of us reacts differently.

You can log in meals here and BG two hr after and fasting and if want guidance just ask us.

We are not medical professionals for you to depend on but we have lived with the beast for a long time and can share our knowledge and our experiences.

Read read read, it will work, just plod along, don’t give up, just keep plodding.
Get a base level of blood work done so you can monitor it, check creatinine levels to make sure kidneys are healthy before starting.
:wave

[2big4mysize]

You will be surprized all the different things they make heart guys do now weights, ergometers ( hand bike cranks) recumbant steppers, bikes, treadmills, lap walking are used at our local cardiac rehab.

Happy low carbing.

[MontanaRebel]

So there is a good chance I may have to stop taking insulin while on this program...Seems like I read that in the book. Am I correct?

[2big4mysize]

you will discover as you monetory your Blood sugars that they are lower since you are not eating the carbs. insulin is used in the metabolism of carbs and with out the carbs the need goes down but your doc will tell you about that.

[canuck]

Montana,your last question inspired me to write a longie so grab a cuppa tea and sit down as I would like you to hear me and percolate all of these thoughts to help you be a success……hope you don’t mind my forth right ways….. I am 55 and was on a ton of insulin, I feel I know what you are saying and can comprehend your anxiety…..


**********only you will know if you need insulin *************by your blood monitoring tests you do at home, how often do you do them now and what do they run at, how many units of insulin do you use per grams of carbs???? Has your doc told you all that????.

You will notice right away as you drop your total number of grams of carbs eaten your blood sugars will drop thus you will have to drop the amts of insulin you are taking accordingly. A sliding scale, have they taught you that????

Hopefully your Dr or diabetic team will assist you ……….hopefully……but that has only happened for very few people here. Most here did not get support from their docs to do this, although a few did so maybe yours will be one of them. Most felt scared and worried and just like you accidentally found us and have succeeded on their own, read about David and John, since they are males it might inspire you too.

You must know your blood measurements of glucose all the time, as I was starting I tested sometimes 18 times a day as wanted to never go into a low( as they are so bloody wicked!!) but didn’t want to turn high how I used too either, so yes that was $18 a day in stix to test blood but it was worth it to me.
It literally saved my life!!!

Just monitor self really carefully, your doc will not be with you 24.7 and will not be inside your body to know how bloody awful going into a diabetic reaction feels and how scary it feels to have your body changing when you are not doing much different other than eating nutrient dense foods with less carbs so learn it yourself, test test test and do what the book says for foods etc.

If you don’t measure and drops carbs and leave insulin up there you will have a low then feeding the low takes you out of ketosis and you wont start burning fat so you must know the BG and must know how much to drop your insulin.

However, no one, including your doctor will be able to tell if you need insulin and how much unless they see the meter reads of your regular blood test so keep a journal so you know when the peaks and valleys are and when you need to work harder to stabilize them. Tell someone in your home you are changing your diet and to watch for you incase you have a low,I almost fainted and fell down the stairs. For some it is a dramatic change!

Because you have had a heart attack, I would hope your medical team will encourage you and the weight is a biggie, but if they do not then you must decide what is best for your health.

It’s a tuffie and no easy way but after today you will know what their attitude is.

My doc didn’t initially encourage me but I did it anyhow, most of us here did it without the support of our doctors as we felt better and knew our bodies and tested allot and within a few weeks we proved to our docs it was good for us. A few here started as their docs told them too so you keep reading and you decide what is best for you.

But if I had a heart attack and was told to take a ton of insulin and eat allot of carbs I know how bloody awful I felt yet they rammed it down my throat and when I said no more the metabolic center took it upon themselves to phone me, email me and mail me garbage about why I should stay on the diabetic diet of 300 plus carbs a day and why Atkins is bad for me. Now 20 months later I am a hero to them but they quietly tell me that as they say it is not politically correct to support Atkins without the science. DUH!!!

You are in a life and death situation in my opinion and if you don’t do something for yourself soon and something that will lower blood sugars and the amounts of drugs you take your poor ole body will give out sooner rather than later.

You are worth more and you will find you don’t need to be hungry on this program and probably for the first time in your life you will feel a sense of control and begin to feel you can handle this way of eating for a lifetime.

You cannot compare yourself to other members as if they are not diabetic they don’t know the constant hunger you feel even right after you have eaten a house and you cant compare yourself to other diabetics.

All of us have our own unique body

but we all have one common thing…..


we are all worth it
and
we deserve to have a good long healthy life….


so goodonya bud and you just plod along.

Ask away as things come up!!!

And…..DON’T GIVE YOUR PERSONAL POWER OVER TO ANYONE…educate yourself and make your own decisions.

[tabekat]

positive changes

Rebel, I'm so glad you found this forum too! The ADBB is an incredible resource with support and useful advice from people who have experienced similar health issues.

Canuck and 2bigformysize are wise, witty and wonderful.
Don't they give amazing advice? :nod

There are so many educated and friendly volunteers here.

It sounds like you have been dealing with extremely difficult health issues for such a long time. That can't have been easy to be told you don't have your job anymore. And very scary to have a stroke.

How brave you have been. I think you have found Atkins in the nick of time! And it seems to me that people who start this program with extreme health problems seem to make extreme progress.

Some doctors do turn out to be supportive. My doctor told me she knew 3 diabetics who were able to get off medication by being on Atkins.

It certainly was a fast and effective solution for me. I feel so much better now. :joy

I'm wishing you many positive changes and great success on your Atkins journey.

[canuck]

Thnx for nice compliments tab, sometimes you don’t know how people are taking it all in or listening so appreciate hearing feedback. I know this is what is gonna keep me alive for a long time so I am a total convert!!!! :hug