Blood Sugar 101

I’ve known that I had type 2 diabetes for 2.5 years now. I’ve gone from taking 2 medications (Metformin and an ACE inhibitor) to taking 6 different medications  for sugar control, insulin resistance, cholesterol, and blood pressure. Every time the doctor wants to add a new medication to the mix, it’s always the latest and greatest patented brand name-only drug that isn’t covered by my prescription plan. Odd coincidence, huh?

The doctors will send you to the Diabetes education class where you receive very generic and watered down  information. I think I knew more about the causes and treatment of Erectile Dysfunction from watching commercials on TV than I did about Diabetes when I finished the class. The class I went to at the hospital was sponsored by manufacturers of diabetic food products. Guess what their advice was? Yeah, eat expensive special foods for diabetics.

In 2007, I started with a fasting blood sugar of over 330mg/dl when diagnosed then experienced a brief drop to 169mg/dl (7.5% A1c) for a short period. However, for the past year I’ve been extremely frustrated with daily fasting readingss of 220-230mg/dl and my A1c shot back up to 8.8% for my last test in December. All of this despite my efforts to follow a “diabetic diet” and exercise. It’s hard to stay motivated when all of your efforts show absolutely no results!

I came across this website, bloodsugar101.com, a few weeks ago via the discussion forums at Sugarstats (the tool I use to track my blood sugar, doctor visits, etc). As I was reading the site, it was like I was learning about my disease for the first time. Why wasn’t it explained this way in the diabetes education class? Why have I spent the last 2 years feeling like I did this to myself, despite knowing there’s a family history (obesity is a symptom, not a cause)?

I’m happy to report that after following some of the advice on the site and making just a few minor tweaks to my diet, exercise, and medication regimen that  my fasting blood sugar has dropped over 50 mg/dl in just a few weeks. I have not finished absorbing all of the information available on the site or implementing all of the suggestionss, but for the first time in a long while I’m optimistic that I can get control instead of being controlled by it. Yes, I’m motivated again!

I know I have a long way to go. I have get my blood sugar down further and keep it from from spiking over 140 mg/dl at any time in order to avoid doing more damage. I have to break the insulin resistance cycle that is causing my beta cells to work so hard. In other words, I’m shooting for the 5% club.

If you know anyone that is concerned about their blood sugar then tell them about this. If they are diabetic, pre-diabetic, or just have a family history, tell them to read bloodsugar101.com or buy the book.