Saw a new endo, he is pretty sure I'm "pre"diabetic, anyone else?

blessed2times · 04-15-2003, 12:10 AM

Is anyone else "pre"diabetic?? What meds are you on? Do you still have to be real careful what you eat/drink?
I was supposed to see him again in 5 weeks, he was not going to know for sure, of course, until I had all the bloodwork done. Then last Wed. right after supper I barely made it from the table to the couch and fell into a deep sleep. Then the rest of the night was super dizzy and lightheaded. I thought about it and we had pasta, bread and soda! All those starch/carbs turned to sugars! I have had the instant sleepiness before, but never that much dizziness.
I am also PCOS and hypothyroid, which he says are both "prediabetic" conditions.
He said I was a textbook candidate for this and it was no wonder I have had so much other pain and problems.
Friday I will find out.

sweeterthenmost · 04-15-2003, 07:09 PM

Blessed:
I am assuming that ur Doc has diagnosed u as Insulin Resistant...since this is the only real known "pre-diabetic" condition. PCOS or hypothyroid are NOT known as pre-cursors to diabetes . Many, many women live with both conditions through most of thier lives and do not become diabetic.

IR can be treated with medications, however, many doctors prefer to try diet and exercise plans first before prescribing any meds. It depends on the degree of ur symptoms, therefore ur degree of IR. Also, if u are trying to conceive, medications maybe prescribed to help with ovulation and conception.

If u are indeed diagnosed as IR and ur doc feels meds are in order, more then likely u will be prescribed metformin (aka Glucophage) this is also a medication that is prescribed to many T2 diabetics.

For women with IR and diabetes T2, the most effective diet seems to be low carbing, since carbs are sugars and effect ur insulin sensatizing mechanism. Many women do well on Atkins, Sugar Busters, The IR Diet, etc etc. there are many LC eating plans out there. ITs sort of a trial by error to find what is best for u.

Hope that helps and good luke with ur journey

Pam

cystermoon · 04-17-2003, 01:20 PM

I have to agree with Pam.

Pre-diabetic is such an archaic word these days. It's goes right up there with borderline diabetic. They all mean the same thing--Insulin resistant.

If you are diagnosed with insulin resistance you can through diet and exercise control the condition and hopefully prevent it from turning into diabetes. If diet and exercise alone don't work then doctors usually start you out on a low dose of glucaphage.

Having PCOS can make a person's chances of becoming diabetic increase, yes, but usually only if the insulin resistance isn't properly treated, or like in my case, goes undiagnosed for too long.

I'm personally on a diabetic diet. I count the amount of carbs I can have in one day and balance it with fruits and vegetables and protein. The IR Diet seems to work for most PCOS cysters with IR. It doesn't seem to work for me though because I am already diabetic so I need something more strict.

Anyway, good luck to you.

sweeterthenmost · 04-17-2003, 04:03 PM

Good advice cyster,

I have a quick question for u.

U say u are balancing ur carbs with fruits veggies and protien...what sort of method or formula are u using.

When I was first diagnosed diabetic, 3+ years ago, I followed the basic diabetic diet, did great on it, lost about 50lbs and had great BS levels, then I let the "carb monster" take over (ugh). So here I am up 25lbs, BS levels higher then they should be and trying to find something that works...the diabetic diet doesn't seem to be working for me this time around, I think, like u, I need to go a bit stricter, but Atkins isn't really an option (headaches, depression etc.) I tried the IR diet also and really didn't help either. So I am sort of curious what other diabetic ladies are doing diet-wise.
Thanks for u input..
Pam

cystermoon · 04-20-2003, 09:47 AM

Pam: I wish I could help you out on your question but I'm pretty bad about the carb monster too! I say I'm following the diabetic diet but I'm not as strict with it as I was in the beginning. I went "off the wagon" around the time of my m/c and am still paying for it! I've gained back half of what I originally lost too

I don't like Atkins and I tried the IR diet and actually gained weight.

pleasantlyblew · 04-20-2003, 04:31 PM

Cystermoon and sweeterthenmost,

I was wondering if either of you had tried chromium supplements? I have found that these help with carb cravings.

I am low-carbing and didn't like the IR Diet or Atkins but I follow the X Factor Diet by Leslie Kenton. It is pretty strict and is more about eating home-made foods instead of processed or junk foods. I know it can be a pain to cook things from scratch but I can honestly say it has made me feel so much better. I am IR and was having many Hypos per day and I think I have only had one hypo this week! I have been following this diet for about 10 weeks or so and I have lost about 20 lbs.

In the X Factor Diet Book she has a section for different supplements which help with carb cravings.

Hope this helps and good luck to you both.

Nikki x

sweeterthenmost · 04-20-2003, 06:43 PM

Thanks for the input Nikki.

I had heard about chromium supplements, but with so many supplements, vitamins, and natural remedies on the market, I guess I pooh-poohed the chromium along with all the rest of them.

Maybe I will look more closely into them, I sure could use the help with cravings!

Pam

blessed2times · 04-21-2003, 10:34 AM

Well, I got my results back, and am in fact insulin resistant, he has me on 1 glucophage a day of 500 mg and plans to eventually raise it to 4 a day! I am not sure why, unless he expects me to worsen?
Should I check my blood levels daily? I am scared of getting too LOW blood sugar w/ the glucophage!?
This is a person (me) who was following NO diet whatsoever, drank all regular pepsi a LOT, so since seeing him, I have cut to diet soda and am still in a whirlwind as to what the heck can I eat and can't I? He said to eat as though I'm diabetic, but I really don't know what that means. I know I should cut my carbs and fats anyway, diabetic or insulin resistant or not, but am still sort of wondering. I know I can't have all the sweets I used to, but can you still have some?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I am thinking of looking into that syndrome X book you were talking about.
thanks!

sweeterthenmost · 04-21-2003, 01:46 PM

Blessed:
Congrats on ur diagnosis. Consider it empowering, many women are still fighting with their doctors to take them seriously, let alone get the proper tests and diagnosis.

The dosage of met u have been put on is a pretty standard beginning dosage, and I suspect u have been placed on it with an eye to increase it to a more therapeutic dosage (at least 1500mg per day) SLOWLY.. the key word. Met can and in a majority of cases does cause digestive troubles as a side-effect. It has been found that increasing the dosage slowly, can reduce, or even eliminate, the side-effects. So do as ur doc says and go slowly. Glucophage (met) is generally not associated with causing hypoglycemic reactions (this is one of the reasons it is so popular for people who are true diabetics) If, however u did experience hypoglycemic episodes before going on met, u may indeed still have them after taking met. Just remember u have to eat smaller, more frequent meals.

As for the diet, women with IR are generally advised to do a low carb diet. This has a 2 fold effect, first of all it helps reduce the insulin generated by ur body (IR women produce too much insulin but there bodies do not utilize the insulin well) Low-carbing also will help a great deal with the digestive upset that met can cause.

The best advice I can give u now is to do lots and lots of research on the subjects of IR and low-carb dieting. As I said before its a trial and error sort of thing with the diet. What works for one woman may not neccessarily work for another.

You don't mention if u are experiencing weight issues, or any of the other symptoms associated with PCOS and IR. If u are over weight it is important to begin getting ur weight under control, and exercising. Again many women with PCOS/IR report a good deal of success losing weight with low-carb dieting, when nothing else was working for them.

Best of luck and make sure ur really search out this site, there are some great threads that may help u out.

Pam

blessed2times · 04-21-2003, 02:21 PM

Thanks so much sweeterthenmost!
Yes, I am overweight. Seems no matter what I do, even not eating any different than I used to, just packs on the pounds.
I have not tried to diet, until now. I am so proud to have made the transition to diet soda so easily!

Now, can you still have some sweets?
I love my sweets, and although I realize I will need to cut down drastically, being IR doesn't mean I have to totally shut them out, does it?
I am learning about carbs more and more and have a lot of "homework" to do on the subject.
I just went today and bought some fruits, carrots, and WHEAT bread (we always used white) and also the alphabetic multivitamins the Dr. recommended.
The glucophage was horrid! I took my first one Sat. night and couldn't stay out of the bathroom

and with Easter yesterday I didn't take one as we ate supper so darn early. But I am back on track tonight for sure.
I appreciate any and all help I can get from you all.
I always thought the PCOS was mostly a "fertility" problem and when I was able to have my 2 kids, then got my tubes tied I figured "well, no more bother with PCOS" WRONG!! I am also hypothyroid.
Thanks again everyone

sweeterthenmost · 04-21-2003, 02:56 PM

Wow, Blessed
I wish I could give u the answer u are looking for as far as sweets go. I truley don't believe in giving them up completely IF ur body is able to handle them in moderation.....BUT (and this is a big BUT lol no pun intended) Sugar and carbs are VERY addictive. If u consider urself a "carb junky" (and u will discover if u are or not the more research u do on the subject) then like any other addictive substance, u may have to eliminate the sweets ( including sugary food, fruits fruit juices, anything with white flour, in some cases ANY flour at all) completely from ur diet for a time, then sort of wean urself back on to them gradually, all the while watching to make sure u do not go over board again. There is a diet u might want to check out that has helped a lot of women "The IR diet" it is low carb, but not as restrictive as Atkins, the authors (Hart, Grossman) also give some great information concerning refined sugar and flour (the stuff sweets are made from). U need to probably start looking at sugar free candy (if candy is ur weakness) and really limit if not eliminate the white flour. Don't forget potatoes, pasta, rice are also high carb foods. Incidentally, carrots are a pretty high-glycemic food (meaning it can spike ur insulin levels pretty high which is something u really need to avoid) U might want to find a good glycemic index book (they are found at barnes and noble or amazon.com)

Now as far as my personal experience (and remember everyone is different) I have had to totally give up the white stuff (refined sugar, white flour) I find that if I have even a little bit of the stuff my cravings come back horribly. My diet consists of high protien lean meats, nuts, and my carbs come from green leafy veggies) I don't buy low-fat anymore and the reason for this is that when a maker converts his product to low-fat, in most cases sugar is added to make up for the lack of taste from the absence or decrease in fat. I eat real butter, real cream, full-fat cream cheese. Occassionally I indulge in one piece of WHOLE wheat bread and low glycemic fruits (cherries, apples, grapefruit) and those have become my "deserts" since I cannot have sugar anymore. I am a milk-aholic, and that has been my most difficult area. Occassionlly I will have a glass of milk...but anymore then that and my cravings (and consequently my weight) get out of control. I also take a few supplements along with a good multi vitamin. I eat 6 times a day (Small meals) watch my portion control (I was shocked at how much I thought a portion of anything was, and how little it really is)

It really all comes down to how severe ur IR and PCOS is, and ur committment to eating properly with these syndromes.

Met can only go so far, if u don't take care of urself weight-wise and exercise, then remember what ur doc said.....u are considered "Pre-diabetic" ( as archaeic as that is) and if u don't get ur IR under control then u may very well develope full-blown diabetes. Trust me, diabetes is no fun....

As far as the met and ur digestive problems, I am sorry it hit u so fast, but it may be that u are eating too high-carb at this stage. Low-carbing will help with the digestive problems.....if u still can't tolerate the 500mg dosage after u are really low-carbing then u might have to divide ur 500mg dosage in half for a few days and see if that works... but as my own personal expereince and many other womens, strict low-carbing really does help in this case.

One of the major symptoms of IR and PCOS - weight increase and resistance to weight-loss. Low-carbing is usually the answer for those ladies. Knowledge is power, read all u can.

pleasantlyblew · 04-21-2003, 09:03 PM

I second all that Pam says. Especially about low-fat foods being usually full of carbs. We have had it drummed into us for so long that low fat is the way to eat for health, that anything opposing this seems scary and unconventional. When you low-carb, you really don't need to worry so much about the amount of fat you are consuming. It's more about the type of fat i.e. no junk fats or anything with hydrogenated fats. I only have extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil.

What really convinced me was the X Factor Diet by Leslie Kenton. Her comment about how cattle are grain-fed (high carb diet) these days because it is the cheapest, quickest way to fatten them up and it makes sense that eating this way ourselves would have the same effect, really struck a chord with me. Years ago a new cattle feed containing coconut oil was tried, as a cheap way to fatten cattle, and resulted in them all losing weight! This has been proven to have a fat reducing effect on both animals and humans and obviously this type of cattle feed was quickly abandoned!

As to the sweets/candy issue. Sugar to an IR person is really a poison and you will soon begin to realise how lousy it makes you feel once you begin low-carbing. After a while your cravings will diminish and you won't even want them very often. At the moment you 'rely' on them for an energy surge but this is nearly always followed by a hypo (for me) so I rarely touch anything like this. It's an addiction and most addicts will agree that to stay on the wagon, you need to avoid the temptation. I promise you it does get easier in time.

I recommend that you buy yourself a couple of really good books on the subject before you go crazy with all the advice we cysters will bombard you with!

I've been low-carbing for about 10 weeks now and have lost 20lbs quite easily - I certainly never feel hungry (as I did when high-carbing) and my hypos are so much more under control. Btw, I am Hypothyroid too

Good luck blessed,

Nikki x

sweeterthenmost · 04-21-2003, 09:34 PM

Nikki
VERY interesting fact about the cows and high carb diet...I had not heard that before.....sure does make sense....

I am like u as well, only extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil

Take care
Pam

blessed2times · 04-21-2003, 10:42 PM

Ok cysters, a few of you have used the term, and I am not sure what it means so here goes--
What is a hypo? I have probably had them and just not known what it is called!
Thanks
Oh, and thank you pleasantlyblew for your input! I appreciate it all, I really do.
I am thinking on getting that book X Factor by Leslie Kenton.
Thanks again!

pdxcyster · 04-22-2003, 07:28 PM

I just wanted to throw in a note about some sweets...

Diet drinks...I'd say be careful. When aspartame is warmed or heated, it turns into phermaldahyde (sp) and other ucky stuff...my mother started having ms-type episodes and was very scary for her. It turned out to be the diet coke.

Sweets: Trader Joes has a candy section all for the low-carbers called "CARBOLITE FOODS". I think they're great - the chocolate and the gummy bears I thought tasted great. Only problem.....I have never blown so many monster farts, ever! They use sugar alcohol instead of real sugar to make it sweet, and the body doesn't really digest the sugar alcohol. I was warned that I may have quick 'movements' but I didn't foresee what happened. I will find it worth it in the future when I have a killer chocolate craving.

Another chocolate thing...I heard that if you get REAL chocolate, that it is low in sugars. So like the Godiva and Moonstruck chocolate? Is this true?