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I think I was doing well with 500 mg Metformin twice daily and 25 mg Alogliptin in the morning. At least I am not having to shoot insulin.
As I wrote in one of my few early posts here I attribute the diabetes to Agent Orange from the year I served in Vietnam 1968 to 1969. Nobody else in my extended family tree has ever had diabetes and the six people I served with that I still keep in contact with all have Type 2 diabetes. Seven out of seven, what were the odds?
I was with the First Infantry Division in two provinces which were Binh Duong and Dong Nai just north of Saigon. It is my understanding just these two provinces got more than half of all the Agent Orange sprayed in Vietnam and the jungle wasn't green.
Reason I am writing about this is if you know of any Vietnam veterans who have Type 2 diabetes they really need to contact the Veterans Administration for compensation which they will get. Compensation for me (50%) is just under $1,000 per month for life and all my medications from the VA are completely free because they are service connected.
That and if complications get worse, I hope they don't, the compensation goes up.
For some that can be a big deal.
OK, back to me.
My last A1c was 7.1 and since diagnosed it's run from 6.8 to 7.3. I have not had an A1c since the Covid thing but I am due to have it taken in January.
I do not stick myself every day as I hate that but I go in.... well... spurts if you would. About every three months I stick myself 3 to 4 times a day for 10 days just keeping track and it's seems the readings are always the same.
The highest I have ever seen my blood sugar was 202 in June. When I went to bed the night before it was 101 and then 125 first thing in the morning before eating or drinking. I had orange juice, I know I am not supposed to have that, coffee and bacon that I love. 20 minutes later I pricked my finger, got the 202 and that is the highest reading I ever saw in eight years.
Three days ago it was 108 first thing in the morning before eating. The highest it was that day was 142 and that was after eating dinner. Yesterday it was 119 when I first got up, 115 three hours after lunch and then 120 this morning.
The highest reading in the past week was 172 after coffee, toast and orange juice. Yes, I love my orange juice just a few ounces.
And coffee... my coffee does not have sugar but about three times the normal amount of creamer. I can give up my orange juice and not the coffee.
Before Covid I worked out at Anytime Fitness nearly every day and sometimes twice. I discovered 20 minutes on a tread mill twice a day can really do wonders with the A1c.
So once in my lifetime I saw my blood sugar spike above 200 and that scared me.
In eight years I haven't noticed any changes in the way I feel. My circulation appears good, feeling in my feet is definitely there and I am 72 years old.
So how does my blood sugar compare to someone that does not have diabetes? In your opinion how am I doing because you are the experts.
Your coffee creamer is all corn syrup and therefore sugar. Stop it. You would be much better off creaming it with a tablespoon of 1/2 and 1/2. Attributing it to agent orange is not gonna get you anywhere. Type 2 just happens, usually to people not taking care of themselves, but to those that do exercise and eat right, too.
Bottled and frozen OJ are both loaded with yeast,I WILL eat an orange instead,better a grapefruit to start the day to help you digest what comes next/
glad to hear exercise helps,never hear Agent Orange causes Diabetis,someone I know who serve around the same time In Vietnam in infantry died of PSP complication-PSP is Progressive Supranuclei Palsy which is a neurodegeneative disease,however I have met some vets who ended up diabetic and collect benefits,but not sure if it is the war as he likes to eat.
Location: Was Midvalley Oregon; Now Eastside Seattle area
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JMO, you're doing better than me.
Never served. Used chems in farming but don't attribute pre-D2 to chems.
BMI 27; A1C 6.0; fasting BGS 120; Anything more than a 2 ounces of OJ would put me into a coma. Anything less than 100 BGS will also cause me to faint from the lack of sugar.
Staying off the glutens and foods certain foods has helped.
Basically if I like it it's bad for me. That seems like the rule.
I'm 5'-10" tall with weight between 210 to 215. Could be better but I to lose weight it seems like I have to stop eating.
How is grapefruit juice compared to orange juice?
Not trying to be mean but unless you are a bodybuilder your are over weight for your height.
OJ isn't going to kill you but the Carbs will.
Get rid of all refined products such as white bread & pasta.
Switching your diet is difficult since as we get older we get set in our ways.
As for the Gym workouts? Go for it.
Best of luck and wishing you the best!
A1C of 6.8 converts to 148 and that's an average over 90 days, weighted higher in the last 30 days. Most doctors want you to keep it under 7.
So assuming you are still taking meds and they are at least somewhat effective, that leaves your diet.
You only mention OJ, Coffee, creamer etc but that leaves a whole lot out. What do you eat the rest of the time?
The medications do not work miracles, you have to help them with a proper diet. By proper I mean a diet suitable for diabetics. Exercise also helps.
I am full diabetic, I take medications and last A1C was 5.6, the lowest it's been is 5.1. My highest since I actually paid attention to it was 7.3. That's when I decided to make the changes to my diet and actually get serious about it.
At your age, that is fine. My doctor told me, back when I turned 70, that she wouldn't mind if my A1c was 8, which seems outrageous to me. I tried to up my carbs because she said it would be fine at my age, but I can't stand the thought of having an A1c that high. I've always preferred to keep it in the 5-6s range, and that's where I'm still aiming. I don't care that doctors say elderly don't need to monitor their diabetes that much anymore, I'm doing it anyway.
As for your OJ, have you tried Crystal Light orange flavor instead, no carbs, if you don't mind artificial sweetener, and it tastes fine to me. I don't care for artificial sweeteners, so I don't drink it regularly but if I wanted a replacement for OJ that didn't spike me, that's what I'd drink.
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