Prayer request and advice for glucose meters

ursen

ursen

Officer SOE/LoE/Where's "here"?
Kinda a strange place for this, but I need as wide a group as possible, and fewer people frequent the prayer requests. I just received a surprise package with no warning from the VA, a glucose meter to test my blood sugar. I had no idea it was coming, I have not been diagnosed with diabetes as of yet. The prayer request is two fold, one that I keep this under control with diet, I need knowledge and will power. Second all of myself is screaming, "I ain'ta gonna stick myself everyday." For those of you who are diabetic how in the world do you get around the pain of sticking yerself?
 
I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I do not have to take insulin shots. I take a pill 2x a day and use the meter when I have gone several hours (after sleeping) without any food or drink and again 2 hours after eating. A friend was recently diagnosed also and he was put on insulin. I think it depends on how high your blood sugar ranges and various other health considerations. If you can get you blood sugar to normalize, you can go off medication completely if you have a handle on it....all you would need to do is use the meter to keep an eye on it.

You want to get your blood sugar down around the 80-100 range on the meter. It will be higher if you have recently eaten.

I met with a nutritionist/diabetes specialist and he said:

"Rule #1 - WATCH THE CARBS!"

You don't have to go off sugar or carbs completely, but you will want to speak to someone at you doctor's office and they will give you a demo of what you need to watch, and they have visual aides to show you size portions which is helpful.

The good news is, *if* you are diagnosed with diabetes, it is manageable. Complications usually occur when people's blood sugar is out of control for too long, too many years. The older a person is the more difficult it would be to normalize.

It's also recommended to go on regular walks, bike rides, etc. Think cardio.

Will pray for you!

PS: the nutritionist recommended this site for watching carbs and counting calories:
http://www.calorieking.com/
 
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ursen said:
Kinda a strange place for this, but I need as wide a group as possible, and fewer people frequent the prayer requests. I just received a surprise package with no warning from the VA, a glucose meter to test my blood sugar. I had no idea it was coming, I have not been diagnosed with diabetes as of yet. The prayer request is two fold, one that I keep this under control with diet, I need knowledge and will power. Second all of myself is screaming, "I ain'ta gonna stick myself everyday." For those of you who are diabetic how in the world do you get around the pain of sticking yerself?
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they do sell monitors that allow you to stick yourself farther up the forearm, however these monitors are not normally free from the VA, so you may have to do some research due to less nerve endings near the surface of the skin as opposed to the tips of the fingers this is one place that people use for this.

Also there are less nerve endings on the side of your finger tips so if you don't have a machine that is able to do forearm, you could use the side of your finger tip, not the pad of the finger itself to help cause less pain with the stick.

Also take note that most of the new finger stick items have a depth change dial on them that allows you to change how far it goes into the skin. This is normally able to be turned down if your using the side of the finger just between the nail and the pad of the finger.
 
tagtarsis said:
Also there are less nerve endings on the side of your finger tips so if you don't have a machine that is able to do forearm, you could use the side of your finger tip, not the pad of the finger itself to help cause less pain with the stick.

Also take note that most of the new finger stick items have a depth change dial on them that allows you to change how far it goes into the skin. This is normally able to be turned down if your using the side of the finger just between the nail and the pad of the finger.
Click to expand...

Ditto. Stick yourself on the side of your fingers not front. In older times the finger stick devices you got starting out were sadistic trebuchet like things. Hopefully they've learned by now and gave you a better one. If not look into getting a SoftClix or something like it with depth settings.

Also be thankful you aren't a type one brittle diabetic and have to test almost every two hours.
 
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I'll be praying, Ursen!

I was visiting my Doc at the VA a couple of years ago when he announced that he was sending me home with a test kit because my A1C was staying above 6. One of the nurses showed me how and what to do. Like the others have said, you want to do the side of the finger. I alternate doing my left middle finger and left ring finger. There's little to no pain if I hit it right. He has me test twice a week - first thing in the morning, then sometime before dinner on a different day. I also take a pill twice a day - Metformin.

Watching the carbs, especially sugar, and losing weight will help tremendously. You may want to contact the VA and see why they sent you one. Also, you can use My HealtheVet, if you're signed up, and check your lab results and appointments, as well renew your meds.
 
Been using Healthevet for over 5 years now, still can't steel myself up to using the kit. I have more lab work at the end of the month. I have cut down on carbs and pop, no more 2 Bubba colas a day. Right now dealing with a back lash from running out of one med and summer cold at the same time. Lousy time to learn how to deal with the meter.
 
I would have reacted the same had I gotten my meter in the mail like that. I'd give your clinic a call and ask if you can come in so they can show you. The nurse that showed me how to use mine had been insulin-dependent. She knew all the tricks to make it easy because she had to test herself several times per day. By the way, she had the stomach surgery and, after losing 150 pounds, no longer needed insulin or to test herself.
 
I will certainly pray for you... however I would ask that you agree with me in prayer for something larger. Never ever limit God.

The enemy will try to shock you and shake your faith.

Do not simply ask God to help you control this, believe Him for complete healing.
I can say this with confidence, because I have seen people healed of diabetes, and things much worse also.

Complete healing from sickness and disease was paid for on the cross, and that is what I am believing for you.
 
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Ok update. I called the 800 number from the manufacturer Accu-Chek to do the set up right and register the critter, then made a nurses appt at the clinic. Monday the 2nd went in for a complete rundown on it. First fasting reading there was 114, found out I only have to do a reading every other day first thing in the AM fasting. The first stick the nurse grabbed my hand and popped the trigger before I could flinch, POW. Today the 4th I had to stick myself twice because I got an error reading on the first round, and my better half was quit surprised I never flinched or whined, etc while sticking myself. The reading was higher at 126. According to the nurse both readings would be in the range for border line diabetics. *sigh*Bye bye burgers and fries.
edit: I do feel it for a long time afterwards. As in hours.
 
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An update and question. Averaging 124-145, boo, which will make that two questions. Once I started off sticking myself just fine but as time went on things got difficult. I had to quit with one finger because of increased sensitivity, and the one that is left is starting to get there too. How do you avoid increased sensitivity? And if your are basically a "down home" foods type person, what's the best and easiest way to start changing diet to something more healthy. Today's lunch will be yogurt (love the stuff) and sauteed 'shrooms on the side. The fresh 'shrooms need et before they go bad, and I will sautee them in light margarine. I need recipe help, and the first one who mentions vegan will lose their brand new, shiny copy of GW2, that means you Abba.
 
Eliminate or greatly reduce your intake of red meat.

Eat balanced meals. It's a very recent American phenomenon to make the meat the main feature of any and every meal. I'm not saying to remove meat entirely, but be sure to eat vegetables, grains, and fruits as well, all in their proper balance.

Research recipes that use healthier ingredients like lentils and quinoa. Lentils are a great substitute for meat as my wife's Lentil Spaghetti and Lentil Tacos attest. :)

Replace regular pasta with wheat pasta. (It will take some time to get used to it, but give it time and you'll adapt.)

Greatly reduce your sugar intake. No soda and no junk food. It may sound difficult (and at first, it is), but over time, your tastebuds will adapt and you may come to discover one day that Pepsi and Coke taste disgusting.

Don't eat or drink anything with high fructose corn syrup or corn syrup.

Eat more frequently but eat smaller portions.

Keep healthy snacks like fruits, vegetables, and nuts (almonds and cashews are ideal) on hand.

If you, like me, can't let go of chocolate, buy good quality dark chocolate (minimum 70% cacao, but more than 75% gets too bitter IMO) and ditch cheap milk chocolate. This chocolate is awesome, but Walmart doesn't carry it any more and it hasn't been in stock at Amazon for months. They may have some stock available after the US heat wave subsides, though.

I dropped about 20 pounds after cutting my sugar intake without any other changes or exercise.

And I don't know how this affects diet, but I'd recommend quitting coffee or switching from coffee to tea.

And no, I'm not a hippy. I just eat like one sometimes.
 
Coffee helps prevent cancer.
As for the rest, listen to God first, but I would recommend eating whole foods, unprocessed, and following the OT dietary laws, not for salvation; but because they are a proven, God given, healthy way to eat. Alot of the problems that we get come because we eat so much processed food. Almost all of it has HFCS in it. I would also agree with previous posters to get rid of soda.
I quote,
"First, there’s no evidence that a high-fat diet plays any role in causing type 2 diabetes. The best demonstration of this is provided by an eight-year-long, randomized, controlled dietary modification trial involving nearly 50,000 American women, which cost $415 million, making it one of the most rigorously designed (and most expensive) health studies ever conducted. Nearly 20,000 of these women followed a strictly monitored low-fat diet, while the rest continued to eat the typical diet they were consuming before entering the study. The former group ended up consuming about 30 percent less fat, 40 percent less saturated fat, and 25 percent more fruits and vegetables than the women in the latter group. They also ate an average of 364 fewer calories a day than they had been eating prior to the study.After eight years, there was no statistically significant difference in the rate at which type 2 diabetes occurred among women in the two groups. (The women who reduced their caloric intake weighed an average of four pounds less than they did at the beginning of the trial.) This study is the most powerful evidence yet that there simply is no causal relationship between dietary fat intake and developing type 2 diabetes. " End quote
Not saying you shouldn't try to eat healthy, but I wouldn't worry about fatty foods too much unless your already overweight and that's what is causing your condition.
Here's a couple of websites that have some pretty tasty recipes so you don't have to change radically, http://www.eatingwell.com/ , http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/Regional_and_Ethnic_Cuisine/Southern_Style/
Sorry for the wall of text, Praying for ya Ursen
 
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It seems there's a new study and new conclusion regarding the health benefits or detriments of coffee every other week. Just like eggs. :p

But yes, I agree that fats are a lesser concern than sugar in most cases. I'm far less careful about fat intake than I am sugar and my weight's stayed steady for several months (if not years) now.
 
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