OT: Diabetics, help please.

[synonymous]

Last June my H1ac went from around 5.4 to 6.3 to 7.4 or something like that. I wasn't looking at my fasting blood sugar and neither was my doctor for whatever reason.

6 months later (Last night) I thought I was having a heart attack. I was stupid not to go to the ER. I really felt like I was going to die. I've had a lot of stress (Work, family and living in Japan for almost 15 years). For the last 3 months, rather than my 'once a month' drink with a co-worker, I've been drinking almost daily (Culturally acceptable in Japan). I stopped about a week ago. However, last night I was feeling bad.

I went into my doctor (Sleep doc) because the hospital specializes in cardiovascular disease. Long story short, my heart is healthy and no damage or sign of heart attack. Likely muscle stress from the gym. I also had him check my h1ac and blood glucose levels as well as a regular blood check.

My h1ac dropped to 5.5 but my blood glucose was 175. This is a fasting glucose (I fasted for 14 hours or so...had no choice). My doctor originally thought I had eaten and so wasn't worried about the number. However, I told him I fasted and then he got all confused. My blood work is nice, although my good cholesterol could be higher. The normal range for h1ac in Japan is below 6. The average fasting blood glucose is 110 or lower. So how is it that my h1ac is normal but blood glucose high. He said the only thing he could think of was that during my scare last night, my liver dumped glycogen into my system and that's what was left over. He couldn't offer up any other explanation. He asked me to come in 2 weeks later for another test.

Anyone diabetic, or that knows about diabetes, please chime in. Look for some answers...

[ChicagoGranny]

He asked me to come in 2 weeks later for another test.

Do it. Listen to your doc. Get the tests. You need to remain under the care of a doctor until the situation is clear.

In the states you can get a blood glucose meter free with coupon or rebate. You have to buy the strips but it would be a small investment until you can get peace of mind that your levels are stable and normal.

Live responsibly: proper diet, moderate regular exercise, good sleep hygiene including sufficient time in bed. It is good that you quit drinking. Many diabetics report they can have one glass (5 ounces) of red wine with dinner without negative impact on glucose levels. But if you abstain totally you don't have to worry about it.

Be careful not to overdo it in the gym. Macho types often hurt themselves from overtraining or lifting too much. Moderate exercise is better for good health. Know your limits and stay somewhat below them.

It's your life. Good luck.

[xenablue]

I suggest you pay a visit to another great forum on the ADA forums at diabetes.org where you will learn as much as you would ever want to know about diabetes.

In short - having a great A1C doesn't mean you have great BG numbers all the time - it's a snapshot condensed into 24/7 over 90 days. This means that your 175 fasting could have been from a liver dump because you were having a low during the night.

This is in simplest terms and I'd be happy to expand on that if you'd like more detail.

Cheers,
xena

[emeraude]

Last June my H1ac went from around 5.4 to 6.3 to 7.4 or something like that. I wasn't looking at my fasting blood sugar and neither was my doctor for whatever reason.

6 months later (Last night) I thought I was having a heart attack. I was stupid not to go to the ER. I really felt like I was going to die. I've had a lot of stress (Work, family and living in Japan for almost 15 years). For the last 3 months, rather than my 'once a month' drink with a co-worker, I've been drinking almost daily (Culturally acceptable in Japan). I stopped about a week ago. However, last night I was feeling bad.

I went into my doctor (Sleep doc) because the hospital specializes in cardiovascular disease. Long story short, my heart is healthy and no damage or sign of heart attack. Likely muscle stress from the gym. I also had him check my h1ac and blood glucose levels as well as a regular blood check.

My h1ac dropped to 5.5 but my blood glucose was 175. This is a fasting glucose (I fasted for 14 hours or so...had no choice). My doctor originally thought I had eaten and so wasn't worried about the number. However, I told him I fasted and then he got all confused. My blood work is nice, although my good cholesterol could be higher. The normal range for h1ac in Japan is below 6. The average fasting blood glucose is 110 or lower. So how is it that my h1ac is normal but blood glucose high. He said the only thing he could think of was that during my scare last night, my liver dumped glycogen into my system and that's what was left over. He couldn't offer up any other explanation. He asked me to come in 2 weeks later for another test.

Anyone diabetic, or that knows about diabetes, please chime in. Look for some answers...

Hey synonymous,

I hope you are felling better now. PM me if you need any information on hospitals in the Saitama area.

I was a diabetic diagnosed more than 12 years ago and was told by my doctor then to reduce my consumption of alcohol, so I decided to give it up completely. I also watch my intake of sugary foods, mind you it's difficult here at times. I can understand how you feel with the work and life in Japan as I've been here for nearly 20 years and feel the stress everyday. I've had some chest pains in the past after working out, so I try to take it easy and not push myself too much these days.

Take it easy!

[-tim]

Heart attack pain isn't directly related to the cause in most cases and other things can cause similar pain. The more primitive organs tends to have pain in all sorts of odd places like liver pain tends to be between the shoulder blades.

Going from daily drinking to stopping can cause problems as well. Google Delirium tremens for details. That doesn't tend to happen to people who didn't drink much to drinking daily for only 6 months but the physiology is there so anything can happen. Also there are two chemicals that can power the brain and nervous system and they are sucrose and ethanol. Ethanol is only sugar where yeast has helped a quarter of the way through the Krebs Cycle that powers every cell in our body and some cells get used to the cheaper energy.

Chest pain can come from lots of things and its best that you verify its cause if its muscular or something you ate. Its better than trying to find out your heart pills don't get along with the antihistamines.

If you had chest pain, keep some aspirin close at hand at all times and take it if it happens again (and let the docs know you took it) and ask your doctor about advice for it.

[synonymous]

I suggest you pay a visit to another great forum on the ADA forums at diabetes.org where you will learn as much as you would ever want to know about diabetes.

In short - having a great A1C doesn't mean you have great BG numbers all the time - it's a snapshot condensed into 24/7 over 90 days. This means that your 175 fasting could have been from a liver dump because you were having a low during the night.

This is in simplest terms and I'd be happy to expand on that if you'd like more detail.

Cheers,
xena

Please do expand. Any information would be great. I was wondering about something like this. Because of the stress I was under that day I didn't eat my regular break/lunch/dinner. Instead I had a few cookies (Went to a kindergarten for the day to teach), no lunch, salad with bits of cheese for lunch and that was it. The lack of appetite had a lot to do with the stress at home (I take care of my aging mother-in-law that makes our life a daily drama).

I asked my doctor if my meal the day before could've affected my BG numbers when going in, but he said he didn't think so. He was not sure how to answer my question "What do I do?" So I've got an appointment for the 25th of this month and hopefully things look 'normal' by then. Also, having all that work done on my heart gave me peace of mind that nothing in the near future is going to cause me any troubles.

Hey synonymous,

I hope you are felling better now. PM me if you need any information on hospitals in the Saitama area.

I was a diabetic diagnosed more than 12 years ago and was told by my doctor then to reduce my consumption of alcohol, so I decided to give it up completely. I also watch my intake of sugary foods, mind you it's difficult here at times. I can understand how you feel with the work and life in Japan as I've been here nearly for 20 years and feel the stress everyday. I've had some chest pains in the past after working out, so I try to take it easy and not push myself too much these days.

Take it easy!

Thanks. I live in Hyogo so I'm a bit far.

I don't actually eat sugary foods. The only sugar I get (Other than yesterdays cookies) is whatever is in beer or whiskey. My diet is very basic, chicken, fish, brown rice, veggies, beef when it's cheap and water. No junk food because it makes me feel like crap the next day. I eat popcorn if I go to the movie theater, that's about it. No nigiri-sushi because of the sugar in the rice...and it's white rice. Still, the doctor said that my caloric intake must have dropped since my h1ac number is normal. I did make the effort, at least with whole foods, to drop the calories.

As far as the gym goes, I have a problem with my left arm (Mostly my forearm) but yesterday it was an 'all over my left arm' kind of pain. I have a routine that has worked for me for years. I don't over do it, at least I don't think I do. I go to the massage/chiropractor every other day (Insurance pays) and make sure that things are getting properly rested. I'm gonna take the next 2 weeks off from the gym.

Thanks everyone for chiming in!

[xenablue]

I suggest you pay a visit to another great forum on the ADA forums at diabetes.org where you will learn as much as you would ever want to know about diabetes.

In short - having a great A1C doesn't mean you have great BG numbers all the time - it's a snapshot condensed into 24/7 over 90 days. This means that your 175 fasting could have been from a liver dump because you were having a low during the night.

This is in simplest terms and I'd be happy to expand on that if you'd like more detail.

Cheers,
xena

Please do expand. Any information would be great. I was wondering about something like this. Because of the stress I was under that day I didn't eat my regular break/lunch/dinner. Instead I had a few cookies (Went to a kindergarten for the day to teach), no lunch, salad with bits of cheese for lunch and that was it. The lack of appetite had a lot to do with the stress at home (I take care of my aging mother-in-law that makes our life a daily drama).

I asked my doctor if my meal the day before could've affected my BG numbers when going in, but he said he didn't think so. He was not sure how to answer my question "What do I do?" So I've got an appointment for the 25th of this month and hopefully things look 'normal' by then. Also, having all that work done on my heart gave me peace of mind that nothing in the near future is going to cause me any troubles.


It's vital that diabetics eat regularly, and to their meter. Sugar is but one type of carb - there are many other foods that can spike us, as well as no food, and meals with no carbs at all. By you not eating, your liver tosses uncontrolled amounts of glucose into your system, and your impaired pancreas can't counter it with the correct amount/quickly enough with insulin. Hence, you start on a rollercoaster ride of BG numbers and glucose/insulin levels.

I strongly suggest you join the ADA forum for T2s - I would be totally lost if not for those great people - just like my OSA would be without the awesome help from people here.

The worst thing you can do if you haven't eaten anything is feast on something with as many carbs as those cookie would have contained, although the fat may have saved you somewhat.

This is a very complex disease, and a very individual one - what willl spike me, may not affect you as much. Remember it's the Total Carbs you need to watch - that includes the sugar, starches etc.

Oh, and 6.0% A1C is also the threshhold for diabetic/non-diabetic, so anything under 6.0% is a good thing, but it needs to be achieved slowly.

Cheers, and hope to see you on the ADA forum as well as here - I use the same name

Xenablue

[avi123]

Last June my H1ac went from around 5.4 to 6.3 to 7.4 or something like that. I wasn't looking at my fasting blood sugar and neither was my doctor for whatever reason.


The above numbers show that you're closer to being Diabetec than not.

For A1c test you don't need to fast.

"For people without diabetes, the normal range for the hemoglobin A1c test is between 4% and 5.6%. Hemoglobin A1c levels between 5.7% and 6.4% indicate increased risk of diabetes, and levels of 6.5% or higher indicate diabetes. Because studies have repeatedly shown that out-of-control diabetes results in complications from the disease, the goal for people with diabetes is a hemoglobin A1c less than 7%. The higher the hemoglobin A1c, the higher the risks of developing complications related to diabetes.

People with diabetes should have this test every three months to determine whether their blood sugars have reached the target level of control. Those who have their diabetes under good control may be able to wait longer between the blood tests, but experts recommend checking at least 2 times a year."


Stop eating cookies and other sweets and stop drinking!

[xenablue]

avi - diabetics don't need to stop eating ANYTHING - we can eat everything in moderation if our glucose meters say it's OK.

And it's not just sugar/sweets - it's bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, fruit.......... in fact any food which causes a BG spike.

Alcohol is fine in moderation and depending on what it is, and whether you have good control of your BG. A small glass of dry red wine is actually beneficial for BG numbers. In summer I enjoy a gin and diet tonic, or vodka and 7-Up.

Personally, I avoided all alcohol, sweets/desserts and starchy/high-carb foods until I was consistently seeing great BG numbers, and now that the control is there it's like my body is 'allowing' me small transgressions because it isn't in rollercoaster mode 24/7.

Cheers,
xena

[synonymous]

Last June my H1ac went from around 5.4 to 6.3 to 7.4 or something like that. I wasn't looking at my fasting blood sugar and neither was my doctor for whatever reason.


The above numbers show that you're closer to being Diabetec than not.

For A1c test you don't need to fast.

"For people without diabetes, the normal range for the hemoglobin A1c test is between 4% and 5.6%. Hemoglobin A1c levels between 5.7% and 6.4% indicate increased risk of diabetes, and levels of 6.5% or higher indicate diabetes. Because studies have repeatedly shown that out-of-control diabetes results in complications from the disease, the goal for people with diabetes is a hemoglobin A1c less than 7%. The higher the hemoglobin A1c, the higher the risks of developing complications related to diabetes.

People with diabetes should have this test every three months to determine whether their blood sugars have reached the target level of control. Those who have their diabetes under good control may be able to wait longer between the blood tests, but experts recommend checking at least 2 times a year."


Stop eating cookies and other sweets and stop drinking!

Yes, but now it's 5.5. In Japan the standards are anything under 6. I still have the high BG though.

I wish i could get a meter and figure out my BG before/after meals, when I wake up etc. I can't find a place that sells them.

[xenablue]

As I mentioned, an A1C of 5.5 (or any number really) is only an average. You could be having lows and highs, which average out to a good A1C. That fasting of 175 is singularly enough to determine you as a prime candidate for T2 - anything over 126 for a fasting is enough.

I would suggest you purchase a generic glucose meter, or at least one with the cheapest strips, as the strips are the most expensive part of testing. I don't know what the pharmacy situation is in Japan, but that's where I'd start.

Again, go to the ADA site, there may well be people on the forums who have been in your situation and know how to get hold of testing equipment - you don't need a prescription for a meter and strips - not in Australia or the U.S. at least.

Cheers,
xena

[2flamingos]

I was dx with Type 2 a year ago. I have found that the food that effects my BG the most is white rice. If I have it for dinner by BG the next morning is 130-145. Normally my morning reading is 104-115. My A1C (has only been checked twice) has been 5.9 and 5.6. I did have some recent spikes, but they were due to steriod shots (Cortisone in my shoulders and elbow, and kenalog for upper respiratory infection). Even then, the highest I measured was 187 - one time - the day after cortisone shots in both shoulders.

[avi123]

synonymous, may I suggest that you follow the instructions of your pysician MD and disregard advice that you get on the Internet.

[xenablue]

......and may I suggest, that just like OSA, most doctors know squat about diabetes, particularly T2 and you will get the most benefit from discussing your T2 issues with others who also live with this 24/7 - many of whom have spent many years going there - doing that.

Certainly you should discuss any changes with your doctors, but it's your body, your health - find a glucose meter and take control.

Cheers,
xena

[Lizistired]

Another great resource. I didn't pick the particular page, but you can explore from there. She provides great explanations of how we got to the current numbers game from the ADA.

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/16422495.php