diabetes (12)

I'm type 1 diabetic and I'm not sure if the advice is valid for type 2 so maybe get it backed up by a doctor.

also diabetes.org has loads of information.

Hope you feel better soon though.

lily
If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?

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I would seriously suggest you lay your hands on a copy of "The first year of type II diabetes" by Gretchen Becker, as it explains everything you need to know about diabetes and how to cope with it, the risks and dangers of not looking after it, and all the various side effects - including testing your blood sugar. You should be able to get a blood sugar testing kit and strips from your doctor (they're expensive to buy).

With regard to your specific question re: play, then I would suggest you have a protein-heavy meal, with a small amount of complex-carbs included before you play. It doesn't need to be a lot, but the protein will "last longer" in your body, as will the complex carbs. something like a tuna and boiled egg salad with some brown pasta shapes incorporated would be ideal. Eat 2-3 hours before play; take your blood testing kit with you and test before you play to see where you are in terms of blood sugar. then play, and after you've played, test again, and if necessary (i.e. if its dropped below 4) then take measures - your lucozade - but otherwise leave it.

I would suggest (and Gretchen Becker's book explains how to do this) using your blood sugar testing kit to thoroughly explore, over time, how your body responds to different kinds of food. We diabetics are not all the same: some people only have to look at a banana and their sugar goes sky high, others can quite happily munch on them and use them to give their blood sugar a boost. Same with pasta and pizza - some can eat them, some can't, and you won't know which you are until you go through the testing. learning about your body and your responses will also help you to understand your results before and after play and be healthier and safer for you (not to mention less alarming for your partner!).

Do make sure that if you play that either your partner or a friend knows what to do if you do have a hypo - the symptoms, as I'm sure you know, appear very similar to the uninitiated as drunkeness and if diabetics having a hypo are left untreated they can slip into a coma and die. This has happened in the past, tragically enough, for example, on the buses at the end of the night; someone looks as though they're sleeping off a drunken binge, especially if they've been drinking and stay on the bus all night - until the driver gets back to the depot and finds they've got a corpse on their hands.. its for this reason that paramedics carry blood testing kits on them to check that passed-out-drunks aren't actually diabetics in a hypoglycaemic coma.

I'm also sending you a memo with a link to a website/forum that has lots of support for Type IIs, including recipes to things like diabetic friendly cake!

good luck!

keth xx

Edited 18 Jun 11, 12:31 PM by kethry

Any blood glucose reading below about 3.4 or above 10 is likely to make you feel ill, and needs to be dealt with.

'To loose' means 'to let go'. 'Lose' means you can't find it. 'Discrete' means separate. 'Crescendo' means 'growing'. 'Fulsome' doesn't mean 'full'. 'Unique' doesn't mean 'very unusual'.

Edited 18 Jun 11, 12:26 PM by Prunesquallor

Another factor is if who you are playing with knows that you are diabetic and should make sure you are ok before you start playing.

Hope this helps and you continue to enjoy playing but just remember your health comes first.

Many people are lulled into a false sense of security - often by their health care professionals, sadly! - into thinking that if they aren't on medication then they only have 'mild' diabetes, and there is NO SUCH THING.

Diabetes not properly controlled will cause problems in later life, and so the best thing to do is become very aware of it, and manage it properly now.

http://www.diabetes.org.uk Diabetes UK have a careline, where you can ring up and ask any questions you like. They also have a network of self help groups across the UK - I'm treasurer for my local one - and they can be really helpful because you actually get support from others with the same issues.

As said above, although many people have type 2, it affects everyone slightly differently, and it's up to YOU to learn how your body reacts to food and situations, so you can learn to manage it. The best way to do that is to test, test and test again. For me, for instance, I'm fine with chocolate but can't tolerate French bread!

I know this sounds like an awful lot of hassle, and when you're feeling fine 6 days out of 7 it's easy to think I'm talking cobblers cos obviously there's nothing wrong... but type 2 can be very much a 'silent killer' if you let it... and one day you might well wake up with some irreversible health issues if you don't take the time to learn to manage it now.

I agree about the 'first year with diabetes' book btw, a good read.

Not meaning to be the voice of doom here btw, just a heads up, cos once you DO get a handle on how yours affects you, be grateful you have it - of all the diseases out there at least this is one that YOU can do something about keeping it under control Good luck!

Anneski
'Take my hand. We are going into a number of dark places, but I think I know the way. And if I should kiss you in the dark, it's only that you are my love.'
Stephen King

Anneski wrote: Not meaning to be the voice of doom here btw, just a heads up, cos once you DO get a handle on how yours affects you, be grateful you have it - of all the diseases out there at least this is one that YOU can do something about keeping it under control Good luck!

agreed with everything that Anneski said - in many respects, diabetes was the best thing ever to happen to me. it comes down to you, and how you choose to handle it.

its also a bit of a lifesaver: diabetes (type II anyway) is one of the syndrome X (or Metabolic syndrome - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolic_syndrome) diseases.. its often a silent killer, people have no idea they have a tendency towards these diseases (there is some evidence that T2 is caused by genes) and only find out when they're actually having a heart attack or something. Right now you're in a position where you (and everyone else who has T2, including me) know you have a problem... and you can do something about it. don't squander that. its precious.

Edited 18 Jun 11, 3:43 PM by kethry

You clearly do not understand how vital your blood sugars are. They are vital to life and you are dangerously low.

You should be seeing the diabetic nurse at your GP every week too, at the moment.

Please personal memo me about this, if you would like to. It is so important.

c xxxx

i'm not cheap, but i'm on special this week.

If I recall a blood sugar level of 3 is too low, and if you've been diagosed with type II you've been doing really well to get that level down but it's now gone a bit too far.

They didn't recommend type II's using blood sugar monitoring because we don't have the problem type I's have in as much as we do produce insulin, it just isn't enough to move that glucose out the blood into the cells, or the cells are resistant to it. Type I's mostly don't produce insulin and have to inject it which means they have to continuously monitor and balance food vs insulin, too much one way and they get hypo's and too much the other they run the risk of too much glucose damaging their systems. I'd consider one at the moment because I am curious as to how my lifestyle changes are affecting my levels and after your problem I'm even more curious about it. Long term I think I'd stick to regular sampling at the clinic.

But that's what I was told last week and other information probably depends on when it was heard, and your local medical staffs knowledge. It does seem to vary a lot. Aso for needle play, well I imagine that anything that raises heart rate is going to act like exercise and that will use up glucose. If you have really backed off on the carbs then you may well have used up most of your reserves and then a few hours sleep with no food could well have given you that low reading. That's a educated guess based on my general knowledge and what I've been told by medical folk recently.

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