Manutius's Journal, 11 September 2016

Low blood sugar is not a good feeling. It can be life-threatening if your blood sugar drops too low at night. Please be careful, and take your blood sugar before bed while you are trying to find a balance. I was diagnosed March 2015 and my A1C was 7.8%. I didn't take it seriously, and my A1C jumped up to 9.8%. Now I have diabetes complications as a result of me not taking care of myself. At 9.8%, I was supposed to be on Victoza, Glipizide, and Tradjenta, but as I controlled my carbs, I began to take less and less medicine. Before my insurance could approve my Victoza, I had my blood sugar under control with Glipizide and Tradjenta. As I lost weight and controlled my carbs, the Glipizide started causing low blood sugar. The doctor then replaced the Glipizide with Metformin. As I lost more weight and continued to count carbs, the Tradjenta began to make me feel sick. The doctor took me off Tradjenta, and told me to take less Metformin. Now I am only taking one pill a day. I found that counting carbs, and eating balanced meals around the same time each day helped me to control my sugar. I am now on 1 Metformin pill a day. I eat around 1500 calories a day. I also stay around 100 grams or less of carbs a day. Some might call that a moderately low carb diet. Most of my carbs come from the "slow carb" variety of vegetables and fruit, and a little bit of whole grain. I never eat junk foods. When you are taking medicine and/or insulin for diabetes, it is not just the timing of your meals, but the balance. If you eat too little carbs or skipping meals, and are taking meds to increase your insulin, you are going to experience low blood sugar. The catch is learning how to balance meals, the timing of your meals, and your meds. I know that you just received your diagnosis, and it can be daunting, but it does not have to be. To be very honest with you, I grieved over my diagnosis, but now I look at it as a mixed blessing. My diagnosis forced me to make a commitment to take better care of me! You can do this! 

Thanks for your information, Pattycake. This was an unplanned meal skip - 14 hours between lunch and supper! I was pleased, not so much at the diagnosis, but of the fact of one which led me to know why things like dizziness had been happening to me and why my feet had been tingling. It seems though, that now every day is a heads up day for me. Thank you for your intervention. I appreciate it tremendously. Blessings and good fortune on your journey. 

You are so welcome @Manutius My diabetic complications began with tingling in my feet and hands, and vision problems. It is paramount that you take care of yourself and get your blood sugar under control. Best wishes!