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Welcome to the blog! I’m sorry that you had to be here but happy that you found me.
Are you new? Right now you’re probably going through a lot of different emotions: shock, anger, fear, uncertainty………. That’s natural, most of us experience that when first diagnosed. Please know that it does get better. The more you know about this disease and the steps you need to take to control it the more confidence you’ll have in your ability and the future. Many of you were not given a lot of information to start with, this happens quite often.
It’s really going to be up to you to learn as much as you can. This journey that you’re beginning is an individual journey. Why do I say that? Because diabetes is a very individual disease. What affects one person may have a totally different affect on another. You have to find out how it affects you, look at it as embarking on your own personal science experiment. To that end we have a saying that you’ll see very often here: YMMV – Your Mileage May Vary.
If you’ve been searching the web for information you’ve probably found that there’s a LOT of it out there. How do you know what to believe when you see so many conflicting views? You’ve heard the saying “If it sounds too good to be true……”, well that applies to diabetes big time.
At this point in time there is no cure! Whoever says that there is also probably has something to sell you. You’ll also see a lot about “Reversing” diabetes, sometimes from people with M.D.’s behind their name. Currently there is no reversal, there is, however, control. And that’s what we aim for. Once you’re a diabetic, your a diabetic. You can be a diabetic who achieves non-diabetic numbers (many of us have) but you’re one always one high-carb meal away from high numbers. The truth will set you free.
The tools many of us use are carb-control, testing and exercise. Some people take medication, some are controlling on lifestyle alone. You’ll also see different “goals” or numbers that are considered good by different agencies. Know that it’s up to you and your doctor to set a goal for you. The goals charts are ranges that take into account many different people and many different situations. Once again, you have to “individualize” that information to fit your body and goals.
Some symptoms that many people experience when they’re numbers start to get lower and normalize can be very alarming, doctors don’t usually tell you about this. Here’s a partial list:
- Blurred vision -
This is quite common. Fluid in the eyes builds when the BS numbers are high and this causes pressure to build also. The body has adapted to the high numbers, but when they start to lower the body must once again adapt. Many of us have experienced this and it can be very frightening. In most cases the eyes will go back to normal in a few weeks after gaining good control and lower numbers. Always have an eye exam as soon as possible after diagnosis. This should be a dilated exam done by a doctor who can determine if there has been any damage to the eyes. Diabetes can cause blindness, so always keeping check of your eyes is important. If there is damage found, check with your MD to determine how quickly you should reduce your numbers. There have been very rare instances where reducing the numbers too fast has caused the eye damage to escalate, but I repeat this is rare and only in individuals that already have existing eye damage.
I advise people to wait a while before getting new glasses because your prescription will change back and forth until you gain control. I wish someone had told me that when I spent $300.00 for new glasses that were worthless in 6 months! Try to get by with the drug store glasses for a while until your eyes adjust.
-Strange Feelings and “False” Lows -
This is another very scary thing that happens to many of us. Remember that your body has adjusted to the high numbers, you might have felt really fine before and didn’t know anything was wrong. When the numbers start to come down your body once again must adjust.
Always test when you feel “funny” or have symptoms. These symptoms could include:
Feeling Dizzy Sweating Heart Pounding Numbness in arms or face/lips
For other hypoglycemic symptoms
If you test and the numbers are within a good range 80 -120, or if they’re higher than that range but not higher than 250 you could be having a “false low”. If you have other conditions that might include these symptoms make sure you check for that too. If they’re higher than 250 – 350 continue to check every half hour. If they don’t start to come down within an hour contact your doctor.
If it’s been less than 3 hours (give or take) since you’ve eaten and you don’t take insulin or medication that stimulates insulin, try to ride it out. The sooner your body gets used to the lower numbers the less often this will happen.
If you take insulin or a medication that stimulates insulin production and the numbers are less than about 100 try the 15/15 rule:
Sounds complicated but many people experience this when their numbers have been high for an extended period of time.
- Aches and Pains -
Another adjustment that your body has to make when you return to normal numbers involves the nerves and nerve endings. High glucose can damage the nerves in many parts of the body. Sometimes this is experienced as numbness, especially in the legs and feet although it can occur in other areas.
When glucose numbers start to go down these nerves can “wake up” so to speak and start healing from the high glucose levels. Although this is a good thing, it can cause a great deal of pain. This doesn’t happen to everyone, usually the longer you’ve had high numbers the more likely it is to happen. Many people have stated that they feel worse since they started getting better. Believe me, it’s better to get better! Usually the pains start to subside after glucose has been in range for 4-6 months. For more information on neuropathy
These are things that might occur, that doesn’t mean that they will occur to you. Usually the longer you had high numbers before being diagnosed, and the higher your numbers are at diagnosis the more chance that you may experience some or all of these things.
But the good news is that they do improve. And as long as you keep your numbers in good range they will continue to improve. So that gives you a lot of incentive to “get with the program.”
That’s some important newbie info. So let’s get started!
Lizzy
Knowledge is Power
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