# diabetic:



## dogo (Dec 3, 2005)

yesterday I got my blood work back and my family doctor called and said I was a border line diabetic a 7.2 . Now what ever that means is beyond me. Anyway he put me on 500mg 1 time a day of this metformin. And my testto. was at a real low level and wanted me to take 1cc every week. Then come to see him in 3 months. What I need to know is there any herbs or something else I could take that would do as good or better ? Oh yeah wants me on the Atkins high pro. diet. I have 2 knee replacements a cage in the neck and my trigger finger has also been replaced. Due to me having a degenerate bone disease. I feel like a biotic man. Anyway is there someone with advice ? Thanks to all of you. You guys have really been good to me over the years. Again thanks...


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## lovinthislife (Aug 28, 2009)

I have diabetes too. My A1C is 10 is should be around 6. My doctor put me on metformin and i took it for two weeks and went blind!! Not totally blind that I couldn't see anything, but remember how the old TV's would do when you turned them off? The way these colored lines would squiggle across the screen? That's what I did. Everything was squiggly like that. I was having a severe allergic reaction to the medicine. If you have any kind of eye problems please please call your dr. immediately. Most people don't have the problems I did but you never know. Now, I can't see very well, at night I can't see at all. The dr. said that my eyes were severely damaged. I'm having trouble keeping my diet where it should be. I know I need to eat better but I think hey, I feel fine. Nothing is hurting me. I know this is wrong but I just cant seem to get it together. I hope you can. I have several debilitating diseases and I can't exercise and I can't walk very far. I hope you can do what the dr says and good luck. Gail


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## glazed (Aug 19, 2006)

dogo said:


> What I need to know is there any herbs or something else I could take that would do as good or better ? ...


I sent you a PM ... but here is some info about herbs for diabetes.

http://texasholistic.info/index.php?topic=1641.0


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## jer (Sep 2, 2003)

lovinthislife said:


> I have diabetes too. My A1C is 10 is should be around 6. My doctor put me on metformin and i took it for two weeks and went blind!! Not totally blind that I couldn't see anything, but remember how the old TV's would do when you turned them off? The way these colored lines would squiggle across the screen? That's what I did. Everything was squiggly like that. I was having a severe allergic reaction to the medicine. If you have any kind of eye problems please please call your dr. immediately. Most people don't have the problems I did but you never know. Now, I can't see very well, at night I can't see at all. The dr. said that my eyes were severely damaged. I'm having trouble keeping my diet where it should be. I know I need to eat better but I think hey, I feel fine. Nothing is hurting me. I know this is wrong but I just cant seem to get it together. I hope you can. I have several debilitating diseases and I can't exercise and I can't walk very far. I hope you can do what the dr says and good luck. Gail


Your eye sight was most likely affected because of the diabetic condition (A1C of 10)!! not because of the medicine. I hope you are on another medication for the diabetic condition and hope you will stick to a strict diet and get it under control. If you don't your eyes won't be the only thing affected. Please do this and get it under control if only for your friends and family. It is not a pleasant disease if you don't keep it under control but not any trouble at all if you stick to a diet, a new way of life, and take your meds. I don't mean to be nasty just concerned about your attitude towards your health.


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## sss3 (Jul 15, 2007)

Mama Booh or Culpeper or anyone else - If I swallow garlic cloves on a daily basis, how much would I have to take to be effective?


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Something that diabetics need to think about. You hear that you could go blind, you could lose a foot or a leg, you could have a stroke, you could have heart problems, irregular heartbeat or a heart attack, you could have blood pressure problems, COPD, you could go into respiratory acidosis...a nice pile of undesirable things that COULD happen to a diabetic.

And you think that MAYBE one or two of those things might happen to you, but mostly, they happen to "other" people. You think you MIGHT die from one of those things.

Nobody ever tells you that ALL OF IT can happen at ONE time, or cascade like water over a fall onto your body, or like some super domino setup where one domino causes another to fall, which causes another to fall, which causes another...

My husband was diabetic. He fell one evening (one of MANY falls due to neuropathy) and hurt his knee and couldn't walk or stand. He was taken to the hospital. Because of the pain, his blood sugar increased, then he had difficulty breathing so was given O2. Then he wnded up in ICU for respiratory acidosis. He got better for a few hours, then his blood sugar dropped too low and he went into respiratory arrest, then cardiac arrest. They managed to bring him back but he was never able to breathe on his own again, and finally his heart just gave up. This all took about two weeks....and he didn't even know who I was for the last 10 days.

lovinthislife, is this what you want for YOUR family?

Mon


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## bigfoot2you (Oct 3, 2007)

ERRRRRRRRRRR I think I need you to come live with me and straighten me out! I am type 2 diabetic and my A1C just went to 9. I take metformin as well. I am well read on the subject, I know what I should be doing but I just cannot force myself to lose the weight and cut back on the carbs. I do eat well......most of the time. I'm thinking your post might just give me the push I need! Thank you and sincere sympathy on the loss of your husband.
Kathie


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I find it much easier to stay on my diet if I am ABSOLUTLY careful about eating my scheduled snacks. No snacks = binging. Proper snacks = dietary self control.


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## culpeper (Nov 1, 2002)

Usual Dosage for garlic: Some people chew one whole clove of raw garlic per day. Or odour-controlled tablets or capsules with standardised allicin potential can be taken at 400-500mg once or twice per day. A tincture of 2-4ml can be taken three times daily. 

If your doctor has you on Metformin - take it religiously as prescribed. Diabetes isn't something you should muck around with. 

As most people on this forum know, I'm all for herbal medications, but I have provisos. You need to keep in mind that (a) finding the right dosage of herbs is problematic (b) commerical herbal products don't necessarily contain what the labels tell you (c) herbs are seldom a 'quick fix' or a 'magic wand' (d) most herbs have multiple actions, and the one you choose might affect you in a way you don't want it to! Herbs are no different from commercial medications, in that they can have both good and bad effects and they can interfere with whatever else you might be taking. They might be contraindicated in certain circumstances, even though they might have a particular 'desired' medicinal action. 

However, having said all that, here's a short list of herbs that can be useful in the treatment of diabetes. Please do not take any of these in medicinal doses without consulting a professional expert and tell your doctor BEFORE you start on any herbal-treatment regime - but many of them can be included in normal amounts as part of your normal diet:

Agrimony -The roots and whole plant are boiled in milk to be used for diabetes and any attendant incontinence problems.

Alfalfa - helps balance blood sugars in diabetes and hypoglycaemia.

Allspice -Lowers blood sugar.

Almond essence is used as a substitute for vanilla among people with diabetes. The leaves are used in the treatment of diabetes.

Astragalus - for cases of diabetes for reducing complications of poor circulation such as high blood pressure and failure to heal wounds.

Banana flowers.

Barley.

Green Beans - The green pods are mildly diuretic and contain a substance that reduces the blood sugar levels.

Blueberries - a remedy for diabetes if taken for a prolonged period.

Broccoli

Burdock root

Carrot flowers (which also means Queen Anne's Lace flowers)

Coconut flowers

Codonopsis

Asian Coriander (Eryngium foetidum)

Curry leaf (Murraya koenigii)

Dandelion leaf

Elecampane roots are a natural source of inulin.

Evening Primrose

Fenugreek

Fig leaves

Flaxseed

Garlic (but don't take medicinal doses of garlic when taking diabetes medications)

Ginkgo biloba

Panax ginseng - when patients are treated with ginseng at the early stages, conditions can return to normal. In advanced stages, the blood glucose level is significantly lowered. When combined with insulin, insulin requirements are reduced while still effectively lowering blood glucose level. _Use strictly under expert supervision._

Goat's Rue

Goji berries

Guava

Herb Robert

Juniper berries

Lotus seeds

Mistletoe

Morinda (Noni)

Mugwort

Neem

Nigella seeds

Olive leaves

Pau d'arco

Purple Loosestrife

Rice

Rue

Sage

Saw Palmetto (in the early stages of diabetes)

Scented geraniums

Self Heal (mainly as a wash for diabetic sores)

Solomon's Seal

Stevia - (as a replacement for sugar)

Sumac

Sweet Cicely - (as a sweetener instead of sugar)

Uva-Ursi

Watermelon rind

White Willow bark

Withania (Ashwagandha)

Yacon

Yerba Mate


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## Tana (Jan 13, 2010)

The following is the standard conversion table. An HbA1c lab result reflects average glucose levels over the previous two to three months.

HbA1c Average Plasma Glucose (finger stick)
5% 100
6% 135
7% 170
8% 205
9% 240
10% 275
11% 310
12% 345

It is strongly encouraged that HbA1c be below 7%.


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## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

My advice, from the heart, is to take this very, very seriously. I lost my DW to complications from diabetes. I don't know your situation, but if there is anything you can do (lose weight, more exercise, better diet, etc.), do it to the very best of your ability. Diabetes is a terrible disease, and can cause problems you have never imagined.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to scare you, but I am. It's nothing to play with.


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## dogo (Dec 3, 2005)

Thanks to all of you. It is awful hard to at times to excercize but I do get your point. I too have friends with diabetes and it is a ugly thing. My doctor seems to think I could get away from the med. If I lose 10/15 lbs. I'm trying to stick with a lot of fruit and I'm going to try this Atkins diet. Which to me is really hard to follow. I love tea and I can drink a gallon a day 24 hours. The thing is I use a cup of sugar for each gallon. Is that bad ? Again thanks to all of you....


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## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

I'm glad you're taking this seriously. I've been told that the best diet you can be on to lose weight is the diabetic diet. Give it a try. If you don't like it, it will at least be motivation to stick with it. Try making your tea with 3/4 cup of sugar for a short while, and then cut back to 1/2. Keep working your way down with it. Stay away from artificial sweeteners if you can, they cause problems of their own. Learn to count carbs, which is the key to the diabetic diet.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

dogo said:


> Thanks to all of you. It is awful hard to at times to excercize but I do get your point. I too have friends with diabetes and it is a ugly thing. My doctor seems to think I could get away from the med. If I lose 10/15 lbs. I'm trying to stick with a lot of fruit and I'm going to try this Atkins diet. Which to me is really hard to follow. I love tea and I can drink a gallon a day 24 hours. The thing is I use a cup of sugar for each gallon. Is that bad ? Again thanks to all of you....


Fruit is very sweet: I usually only have one serving a day. If I do have more then I separate the pieces for a few hours. And, bananas are so rich that one large banana is TWO fruit servings!!!!!!!!

Tell me, have you ever tried stevia as a sweetener? They are selling powdered stevia in the grocery store right now and I just bought some. I have not yet tried it but I will. Stevia is not a chemical: stevia is powdered leaves.

YES! It is a bad thing to make tea with a cup of sugar per gallon!!! Why don't you try stevia instead? I am going to, when I have the time.

The doctor is right when he says that if you lose weight the diabetes gets better. If your body weighs 180 and your body produces enough insulin for someone who weighs 160 you have diabetes. *IF*, however, you weigh 150 and your body produces enough insulin for a body that weighs 160 then you do NOT have diabetes! This is oversimplified but fairly accurate: my MIL got rid of her diabetes this way.

Lastly, the key to being able to stay on a diabetic diet, for me, was taking ALL of the scheduled snacks. Otherwise I get hungry and if I get hungry I binge. For another, he said it was having allowable food available at all times. By allowable food I mean celery sticks, bell pepper strips, and other foods that you are allowed to eat as much as you choose. He said that he ate all the time, which made it possible to avoid overeating.


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## MelTX (Aug 25, 2009)

I was just told (a month ago) by the Doc that I am borderline diabetic. He told me to not eat any high glycemic food. The biggest offender is white potatoes. Red potatoes are ok and sweet potatoes are even better. I also don't eat sweets, and white flour of any kind. Only whole grains. Skip the bread and tortilla basket when you go out to eat. Fill up on protein and veggies. Bananas are good for you but only eat bananas that are firm and aren't "ripe". When they ripen up, they become a high glycemic food. 

Try this approach. Your body won't like you for the first couple of weeks. Cravings will be HUGE, but once you adjust, you won't miss it (much...) and your blood sugar will be A LOT better. Mine is!


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## culpeper (Nov 1, 2002)

I'm Type 2 diabetic. My condition is partly genetic, partly brought on by a more serious condition that causes various organ malfunctions. I take Metformin.

I eat whatever I like. Anything and everything. And I've found that it's the saturated FATS that send my BSLs through the roof. When I cut down on those (fried foods, pizza, chocolate and such), my BSLs are in the normal range. 

It's as simple as that.


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## Staceyy (Jun 16, 2007)

If you are diabetic or prediabetic and like to eat desserts, please visit my website at www.diabeticpastrychef.com.


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## Fae (Mar 9, 2005)

My DH is diabetic and takes metformin. It keeps his diabetes well controlled. If it didn't he would be in trouble because he is overweight and the only one who watches what he eats is me. It is a good thing I am responsible for most of what he eats. When he was first diagnosed several years ago we went to a week of classes to learn how to cook and what was ok to eat. The woman leading the class was type 1 diabetic from a small child. She said there is nothing you cannot eat you just have to worry about the carbs. Having said that it is better to eat healthy carbs than empty ones. We pretty much follow the diabetes diet and I bought the Corelle divided plates because they are they are divided in three sections like the diet recommends.


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## IronSight (Dec 30, 2009)

From a type 1, let me just say you type 2s have my respect for the difficult road you walk. Seems to me the insulin resistance factor makes your condition way more difficult to manage than the carb count / quick stab tune I have to dance to. 

Keep the faith and best of luck. You can train yourself to eat differently and it really is important to keep the H1C down, I've seen too many older, heavyset folks with "shiny legs", blindness and damaged feet at the clinic over the years.


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

dogo said:


> yesterday I got my blood work back and my family doctor called and said I was a border line diabetic a 7.2 . Now what ever that means is beyond me. Anyway he put me on 500mg 1 time a day of this metformin. And my testto. was at a real low level and wanted me to take 1cc every week. Then come to see him in 3 months. What I need to know is there any herbs or something else I could take that would do as good or better ? Oh yeah wants me on the Atkins high pro. diet. I have 2 knee replacements a cage in the neck and my trigger finger has also been replaced. Due to me having a degenerate bone disease. I feel like a biotic man. Anyway is there someone with advice ? Thanks to all of you. You guys have really been good to me over the years. Again thanks...



I have been flirting with higher A1cs the last year or so. In October mine was 6.4 up from 6.1, and I realized it was time to stop being a baby and hit the low carb eating again. (I did it for three straight years about ten years ago before I fell off of the wagon.)

I hate to see people characterize low carb diets as "high protein". It's actually better if they are considered "high fat" diets, instead. You want to drive insulin down and keep it under control and if you drop the carbs but then eat tremendous amounts of protein, you'll get fairly decent amounts of insulin released just from the excessive protein. Fat is relatively neutral towards insulin, and if carbs are kept low (which means insulin is kept low), then the fat you eat is not deposited in your fat cells, it's just used to fuel your daily activities. The absolutely WORST way you can eat is high carb and high fat, as that will pile on the weight like nothing else will, and your insulin will be having a hay day.

I shoot for between 75 and 100 grams of protein a day, carbs as close to 20 grams for the day as I can keep them, but definitely under 50, and fat takes up the rest of the 1800-2000 calories I allow myself. 

That effectively means a decent sized serving of meat or eggs, green salads made with lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, avocados and other sides of low carb vegetables (green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, mushrooms) and limited amounts of other vegetables that are higher in carbs. A medium onion, for example, is 10 grams of carbs and only 2 grams of fiber, so you have a net of 8 grams of carb from it. I can easily make a large green salad with a lot of onion in it, and those carbs add up fast that way. Sweet potatoes have half the carbs of white potatoes, but that's still relatively high. 13 grams of carb vs. 24 grams in the white, with each having 2 grams of fiber. Things like carrot, rutabaga, turnips, any of the root crops that store sugar, they are like onion and need to be watched. You can eat them, but you can't shovel them in like you can the green vegetables.

If you don't like the thought of eating the vegetables, revel in the thought that you can have all the butter you want on them. And if you go easy on the milk (relatively high in carbs, use cream instead) you can do cheese sauces on them. Cheese is great on the low carb diets. If you like the idea of a breakfast of eggs and bacon and a dinner of steak or hamburger with mushrooms and a big green salad with a serving of broccoli in cheese sauce or green beans with lots of butter, then you are good to go on a low carb diet.

What you can't eat are the starches. That means no bread, even if it's whole wheat, because it's all sugar, it's all going to keep insulin being secreted in higher amounts. No corn, no wheat, no sugar, obviously. A complex carb is still a carb, and it's a sugar and is going to cause an insulin increase. Most fruit is higher carb as well, so you have to be very careful of them. Berries are generally better than tree fruits, especially the citrus like oranges. Share one with someone else rather than eat a whole one yourself if you really want one. Ask yourself would you rather have the sugar or would you rather have your feet cut off because of gangrene in ten years?

I don't use artificial sweetners at all, and not nuts about things like stevia either, as to my mind it's just further training to your taste buds to like things sweet, but if you do want to use those sweetners, you can make killer cheesecake desserts with cream cheese, eggs, cream, etc. 

This is kind of a nice website for more information.
http://www.bloodsugar101.com/

And remember, Bacon is a Superfood! :bow:

Good luck.

Jennifer


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## PonderosaQ (Jan 12, 2004)

Dogo if you have health ins it will pay for you to get diabetic education at your local hospital. Everyone in our area gets sentand many ins co's require or now or soon will do. It is very worthwhile and not in any way slanted towards meds for life or anything. In fact they would prefer you handle it without meds if you can. They probably have both a diabetic educator and nutritionist you can see. If you have no ins they may see you under charity care or contact the American Diabetic Assoc for help. It's your life and your body and you are worth it!

PQ


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## Jay27 (Jan 11, 2010)

Your doctor was right to tell you to do an atkins like diet... carbohydrates ARE sugar and that is not what you need. Dr Mercola is a little extreme on many things, but check out Mercola.com and search diabetes. My dad switched to a very limited grain diet and it has made all the difference in his blood sugar... he is no longer borderline diabetic. It takes dedication, but when you eat right you feel great. Good luck.


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## Ray (Dec 5, 2002)

I read recently on a link that the oils used in commercial food and the cooking oil like canola oil are responsible for many diabetes cases. I do not know, but they said you could be rid of Type 2 diabetes within 8 months if you started taking doses of virgin flax seed oil, aand quit 100% eating anything with the commercial oils. It explained that the canola type oil has molecules that interact with our bodies and fill receptors that prevent our body to use its natural insulin production until it has so many receptors plugged by the oils molecules that the body has nothing it can do naturally. again I don't know. but it said the flax oil will replace the other oils place and slowly reverse the process naturally, but to never eat the bad oil again or anything prepared with it, like eating out. Hell canola oil ( Canada Oil co.) is the old outlawed oil. the one that the USA outlawed to the point that it was illegal to sell an animal for human consumption that had eaten the rape seed plant. But when the big corp. found they could easily grow it, they changed the name added a refining process and said its legal for you to eat.The article said it had nothing to do with your weight, that the process would reverse by using flax oil and stop eating the other commercial oils. even tho being overweight is bad for you, and you should try to get your weight to a smaller you. I can't find the article but will keep looking and post it if I can find it. maybe if you do a few searches on flax oil cure type 2 diabetes you might come across it? ray


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## Dwayne Barry (Jan 9, 2009)

While clearly this would be difficult if not impossible for some who have posted here for others it's almost certainly not; 

EXERCISE (like diet modification) is critical to avoid the consequences of diabetes. Using your muscles causes them to consume the blood sugar which they are not consuming due to your body's impaired response to insulin. It also causes them to respond better to insulin for some time after you exercise. Exercise daily! 

Diet & Exercise (i.e. Lifestyle changes) are more effective than Metformin for treating the disease. If you end up being one of the rare ones who between diet & exercise actually loses a significant amount of weight, you might even reverse the disease to some extent.


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