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Re: New to Diabetes--please help
Re: New to Diabetes--please help -- Posted by Julie Bove on 08-13-03 20:27
"Lisa" wrote in message
news:k0C_a.86821$7O4.2024523@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> I'm writing for a co-worker friend of mine who is new to Diabetes and
> doesn't own a computer. Bear with me, since I know little about the
> disease and she seems to know even less...
>
> Today "Jane" had a breakdown at work, where she was shaking and
> nauseous, and started crying. Our boss let her go home, we got her OJ
> and stuff so she felt good enough to leave. She doesn't drive, so it
> wasn't a concern that she'd be unable or unsafe to drive. (she busses)
> She was involved with a local support group, but because she doesn't
> have a car and no computer, she feels very isolated and alone. She is
> not coping very well right now, and told me "I just don't want this--I
> don't want to deal with it."(not sounding very healthy or smart to me,
> but she is very fragile right now.)
Unfortunately, "having a breakdown" doesn't mean much. The symptoms she had
could have been a hypo (low blood sugar) or they may have been from high
blood sugar. Giving OJ isn't the best thing to do unless you know she is
having an actual hypo. She should have tested her blood at this point to
make sure. It is also very easy to overtreat a hypo. You say that you gave
her OJ and stuff. What was the "and stuff"? Standard treatment for a hypo
is 15g of fast acting carbs. That would be about 4 oz. of OJ.
As for the last part of your paragraph, that is very typical thinking, at
least in the beginning or when one can't get their BG (blood glucose/sugar)
under control. Not dealing with it is the worst thing she can do because
high BG causes all sorts of complications. But again, this is very typical.
Most diabetics simply don't deal with it other than to take a pill or
something. Those of us here are the minority. We strive hard to keep in
control.
>
> Details: she was DX a year ago, started on injectable insulin (Lamsent?
> sounded like thats what she said),
Probably Lantus.
>then went to pills to be taken with
> each meal, and within the last month or so, the Dr put her on a 1x daily
> pill (Gluberite, 2.5mg). She is 37, the diabetes is hereditary in her
> family, she is not overweight and seems in normal health otherwise.
Without knowing what the pills are that she takes with each meal, I can't
comment on that. The other pills are called Glyburide. If she is not
overweight, there is a chance that she has type 1 and not type 2. If this
is the case, all the pills in the world aren't going to help her. Only
insulin will.
>
> Obviously, the pill isn't working or she's not eating right or
> something. She is going back to her doctor on Friday. She doesn't want
> the injectable insulin, which is just awful and terrfying for her.
She may have no choice. But without having additional tests to see what she
is dealing wtih, she won't know that. Or perhaps her Dr. has already done
such tests. Pills don't work for everyone. Some type 2's must use insulin
too, at least at some point. As for what happened today, it may have been a
hypo. This is a fact of life to a diabetic and often more scary to those
around us than it is to us. A hypo can happen for many reasons. Not eating
on time, not eating enough carbs, eating too much fat, getting too much
exercise, taking too many meds, and sometimes for no apparent reason at all.
Is she seeing an Endocrinologist? If not, she probably should.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions for her? Better coping/managemnet
> skills, books, support info, dietary recommendations..anything? It's
> really hard with her not on a computer and no car, but I'd like to be
> able to help her take better control of this thing and learn to deal
> with it better. Obviously, with so many people having diabetes, there
> have to answers out there...
Is she testing her BG frequently? That is essential. Without knowing what
her BG was at the time she felt unwell, it's like shooting in the dark. As
for controlling BG, diet and exercise are vital. But there is no simple
diet. There is no one diet that works for all of us. Has she seen a
dietician? If not, that should be a first step. If so, then perhaps she
should go for another visit. But basically, it is carbs that raise our BG.
Carbs are found in many foods such as potatoes, bread, pasta, fruit, cereal,
sweets, etc. All vegetables contain carbs, but many contain so few carbs
that they aren't generally counted as such. So it is the carbs we must
watch out for the most. Fat delays the absorption of carbs. So a little
fat in a meal or snack is good. A lot of fat is not good because those
carbs will hit our system later than we want them to. This can cause a hypo
(low BG) or a spike (high BG) later than we expect it.
Unfortunately, even though diabetes is divided into type 1 and type 2, there
are many other variables. That is why there is no one diet that works for
all of us. Some people do well on a low carb diet. I do not. I find if I
don't eat enough carbs, I go hypo. Yet others would not be able to eat as
many carbs as I do.
Some people can get by with diet and exercise alone. Some need pills and/or
insulin. And these needs change over time. I've been off and on pills and
had the type and amount of pills changed several times. There are many
things that can affect this. One is the degree of insulin resistance which
tends to increase over time. We may find that we need more and more meds to
cope with this. Or we may find that while we have a great deal of insulin
resistance, our bodies are producing less insulin so we must inject insulin
to help us along. Other things that affect our medication needs or our BG
are weight loss/gain, stress, hormones (including periods and menopause),
illness and thyroid problems.
There are many books out there about diabetes. I've found most of them to
be a waste of money. The best one I've found is the American Diabetes
Association Complete Guide To Diabetes. It's not perfect in that it is
somewhat outdated (at least the copy I have), and some of the information is
rather vauge. But it did tell me a lot of things I didn't know.
>
> Thanks SO MUCH for your time,
>
Hopefully Jane will be feeling better soon!
> Lisa (and Jane.)
--
Type 2
http://users.bestweb.net/~jbove/
Re: New to Diabetes--please help -- Posted by Beav on 08-14-03 15:07
"Julie Bove" wrote in message
news:vjm0fcmh3g9b8b@corp.supernews.com...
>
>
>
>
> "Lisa" wrote in message
> news:k0C_a.86821$7O4.2024523@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> > I'm writing for a co-worker friend of mine who is new to Diabetes and
> > doesn't own a computer. Bear with me, since I know little about the
> > disease and she seems to know even less...
> >
> > Today "Jane" had a breakdown at work, where she was shaking and
> > nauseous, and started crying. Our boss let her go home, we got her OJ
> > and stuff so she felt good enough to leave. She doesn't drive, so it
> > wasn't a concern that she'd be unable or unsafe to drive. (she busses)
> > She was involved with a local support group, but because she doesn't
> > have a car and no computer, she feels very isolated and alone. She is
> > not coping very well right now, and told me "I just don't want this--I
> > don't want to deal with it."(not sounding very healthy or smart to me,
> > but she is very fragile right now.)
>
> Unfortunately, "having a breakdown" doesn't mean much. The symptoms she
had
> could have been a hypo (low blood sugar) or they may have been from high
> blood sugar. Giving OJ isn't the best thing to do unless you know she is
> having an actual hypo.
Actually Julie, giving OJ is exactly the RIGHT thing to do in this
situation. If she's low, it'll have an almost instant result in bringing her
back to near normal levels, but if she's high, she'll only go a bit higher.
it's what ANY paramed would do if he was faced with the situation and wasn't
able to take a blood sample of a BG test.
She should have tested her blood at this point to
> make sure.
IF she had a meter.
It is also very easy to overtreat a hypo. You say that you gave
> her OJ and stuff. What was the "and stuff"? Standard treatment for a
hypo
> is 15g of fast acting carbs. That would be about 4 oz. of OJ.
Overtreating a hypo isn't much of a big deal in the greater scheme of
things, and as she's not been diabetic very long and apparently only had
this one (what we suspect to be) hypo, overtreating it isn't even a LITTLE
bit of a big deal and it's a far better option than her ending up having a
siezure.
>
> As for the last part of your paragraph, that is very typical thinking, at
> least in the beginning or when one can't get their BG (blood
glucose/sugar)
> under control. Not dealing with it is the worst thing she can do because
> high BG causes all sorts of complications.
Absolutely.
But again, this is very typical.
> Most diabetics simply don't deal with it other than to take a pill or
> something.
And leave all the responsibility in the hands of someone who won't suffer
the consequences in later years.
Those of us here are the minority. We strive hard to keep in
> control.
> >
> > Details: she was DX a year ago, started on injectable insulin (Lamsent?
> > sounded like thats what she said),
>
> Probably Lantus.
I'd agree with that.
>
> >then went to pills to be taken with
> > each meal, and within the last month or so, the Dr put her on a 1x daily
> > pill (Gluberite, 2.5mg). She is 37, the diabetes is hereditary in her
> > family, she is not overweight and seems in normal health otherwise.
>
> Without knowing what the pills are that she takes with each meal, I can't
> comment on that.
I'm wondering if she's still taking the Lantus as well as the Glyburide. The
two together may prove to be (seem to be) too much.
The other pills are called Glyburide. If she is not
> overweight, there is a chance that she has type 1 and not type 2. If this
> is the case, all the pills in the world aren't going to help her. Only
> insulin will.
It seems though that the Glyburide is having an effect. Lantus alone would
have a problem dropping her BG's to the point of hypo unless she was
injected a substantial amount.
> >
> > Obviously, the pill isn't working or she's not eating right or
> > something. She is going back to her doctor on Friday. She doesn't want
> > the injectable insulin, which is just awful and terrfying for her.
It is for all non injecters. Once she's got used to the idea and the
activity, it won't seem bad at all. And remember, there ARE millions f
diabetics injecting multiple times each day and not giving it a 2nd thought.
Beav
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