nico kadel-garcia

It sounds like the pill worked too well, and her blood sugar dropped low
and caused hypoglycemia. It can take some time and work and patience to
work out how to juggle food, exercise, medicine, and just plain life to
be healthy and happy with diabetes as well jumbling the mix.

Has she got a glucometer? Does she use it when feeling out of sorts in
any way? And if, goodness forbid, she wind up needing shots some day,
there are plenty of us out here who have successfully gotten by with
them for decades (roughly 35E 60rs now for me!), and we can offer
support and experience.

julie bove

Unfortunately, "having a breakdown" doesn't mean much. The symptoms she had
could have been a hypo (low blood sugar) or they may have been from high
blood sugar. Giving OJ isn't the best thing to do unless you know she is
having an actual hypo. She should have tested her blood at this point to
make sure. It is also very easy to overtreat a hypo. You say that you gave
her OJ and stuff. What was the "and stuff"? Standard treatment for a hypo
is 15g of fast acting carbs. That would be about 4 oz. of OJ.

As for the last part of your paragraph, that is very typical thinking, at
least in the beginning or when one can't get their BG (blood glucose/sugar)
under control. Not dealing with it is the worst thing she can do because
high BG causes all sorts of complications. But again, this is very typical.
Most diabetics simply don't deal with it other than to take a pill or
something. Those of us here are the minority. We strive hard to keep in control.


Without knowing what the pills are that she takes with each meal, I can't
comment on that. The other pills are called Glyburide. If she is not
overweight, there is a chance that she has type 1 and not type 2. If this
is the case, all the pills in the world aren't going to help her. Only insulin will.

She may have no choice. But without having additional tests to see what she
is dealing wtih, she won't know that. Or perhaps her Dr. has already done
such tests. Pills don't work for everyone. Some type 2's must use insulin
too, at least at some point. As for what happened today, it may have been a
hypo. This is a fact of life to a diabetic and often more scary to those
around us than it is to us. A hypo can happen for many reasons. Not eating
on time, not eating enough carbs, eating too much fat, getting too much
exercise, taking too many meds, and sometimes for no apparent reason at all.
Is she seeing an Endocrinologist? If not, she probably should.


Is she testing her BG frequently? That is essential. Without knowing what
her BG was at the time she felt unwell, it's like shooting in the dark. As
for controlling BG, diet and exercise are vital. But there is no simple
diet. There is no one diet that works for all of us. Has she seen a
dietician? If not, that should be a first step. If so, then perhaps she
should go for another visit. But basically, it is carbs that raise our BG.
Carbs are found in many foods such as potatoes, bread, pasta, fruit, cereal,
sweets, etc. All vegetables contain carbs, but many contain so few carbs
that they aren't generally counted as such. So it is the carbs we must
watch out for the most. Fat delays the absorption of carbs. So a little
fat in a meal or snack is good. A lot of fat is not good because those
carbs will hit our system later than we want them to. This can cause a hypo
(low BG) or a spike (high BG) later than we expect it.

Unfortunately, even though diabetes is divided into type 1 and type 2, there
are many other variables. That is why there is no one diet that works for
all of us. Some people do well on a low carb diet. I do not. I find if I
don't eat enough carbs, I go hypo. Yet others would not be able to eat as
many carbs as I do.

Some people can get by with diet and exercise alone. Some need pills and/or
insulin. And these needs change over time. I've been off and on pills and
had the type and amount of pills changed several times. There are many
things that can affect this. One is the degree of insulin resistance which
tends to increase over time. We may find that we need more and more meds to
cope with this. Or we may find that while we have a great deal of insulin
resistance, our bodies are producing less insulin so we must inject insulin
to help us along. Other things that affect our medication needs or our BG
are weight loss/gain, stress, hormones (including periods and menopause),
illness and thyroid problems.

There are many books out there about diabetes. I've found most of them to
be a waste of money. The best one I've found is the American Diabetes
Association Complete Guide To Diabetes. It's not perfect in that it is
somewhat outdated (at least the copy I have), and some of the information is
rather vauge. But it did tell me a lot of things I didn't know.

Hopefully Jane will be feeling better soon!


--
Type 2
http://users.bestweb.net/~jbove/

timkettring

She Absolutely MUST have a Blood-Glucose-Meter!!! , I got mine and 50
test-strips for about $30 . E-mail if you need details . She needs to
test AT LEAST 3 times a day !!! And Especially if she feels Like that
!!!

More experienced people will reply Pronto .

tim

alan mackenzie

This sounds like a "hypo" (hypoglycaemia = low blood sugar). We've all
had them. They're not fun. :-(

It sounds to me that her isolation could be the real problem, and the
diabetes is merely the thing which has given this problem expression.
Why doesn't she have a computer? Surely she could get one, somehow - if
money's a problem, you don't need the latest Pentium 4 monster to use
Usenet and the rest of the Internet. Pick up ANY second hand computer
which works. (I'm doing just fine with a 6 year old 166Mhz machine.)
Does she have a telephone?

I know this won't help much, but injections as such really aren't that
big a deal. They don't hurt. Really. (I'm speaking from 38 years
experience here). Probably the bodily invasion, volations of boundaries
and so on is more the dynamic. Maybe a psychologist, or some sort of
therapist, could sort this out. But it sounds like she doesn't really
need insulin, at least not yet.

Print out the articles in this thread, and give her them to read. In
fact, skim through recent threads and print out a few other relevant
articles too. See if there's any way you can help her get fixed up with
a computer, then teach her how to get into this newsgroup.

Depending on how close the two of you are, maybe you could invite her
round for a meal every now and then, or even let her stay overnight once in a while.

--
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany)
Email: aacm@muuc.dee; to decode, wherever there is a repeated letter
(like "aa"), remove half of them (leaving, say, "a").

annette

Hi there Lisa,

You are a good friend and a caring person to this co-worker, to go
to the trouble of contacting us.

Right now she needs information and support - knowing what is going
on can relieve a lot of her fear and anxiety, for starters.

I think you are on the right track when you ask about books on the
subject. The best place to look for suitable books, initially, is
her local library.

In the health care section there's bound to be books about diabetes.
The librarian can not only help her find them, but tell her which
ones are the most up-to-date. One that many people recommend for
the newly (and not so newly) diagnosed is "Diabetes for Dummies". I
personally haven't read it, but it's said to be one of the best,
easy to understand, yet have all the necessary facts she needs to
get started on understanding diabetes and it's management. Anyway,
if she reads a few of them, she can then decide if she wants to buy
one of them at a book store for reference for herself. A book sure
can be handy for looking something up, and understanding about what
is going on, meters and how to use them, various medications and how
they work, and what to do when there is a problem.

Right now she is probably feeling anxious, ignorant and "guilty". A
horrible way to feel emotionally on top of the physical symptoms she
is suffering.

Another resource is her local hospital or community health service.
Many of them run classes for diabetics, and she will not only get
information and help but will be meeting others in the same boat.
They may also provide diabetic counsellors (usually nurses), who can
provide individual counselling, teach about using and injecting
insulin, and give advice and encouragement. Some places have
self-help, face to face diabetic groups in their local communities.

With these kind of services, I'm not clear on exactly where to find
such things or what they are called, since I live in Australia, and
our system is organised differently to what is available in other
countries, but I have read other people here in this group talking
about them. The ADA may have lists or references on where to locate
this help.

I've used all of these kinds of helps in the past. I only got a
computer 2 yrs ago, and then found this group. It's been great, but
not everyone has that option. Sometimes a local pharmacist was a
good source for information about what was available and accessable
near me, expecially when I moved to a new location. Some doctors
can advise where she can get assistance, others may not.

So look around, and I bet you and she will soon find the help she
needs RIGHT NOW. First step, though, would be the library. Some
of them have lists of local services as well.

All the best, to a person with a big heart,

Annette
T2 diabetes for over 27yrs, 63 yo.

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.507 / Virus Database: 304 - Release Date: 4/08/03

fwhite*nospam*

In article <k0C_a.86821$7O4.2024523@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com>,
fake@nospamplease.org says...

Certainly! We'll be happy to help!


Sounds like either a low/high blood sugar episode, or a moment
of emotionally losing it, or both.

Did she have a blood glucose meter with her? Did she take a
reading to see what was happening? For a diabetic, finding
out what your bg is doing should be the first act whenever
you start feeling off in any way.


'was'? She's not anymore?

If mobility is a problem, perhaps she could have the group come
to her. Offer to feed them if they meet at her place; that
should bring some of them.

And why no computer? It's not as if they cost an arm and a
leg, second hand... And the information and support a diabetic
can get on line is invaluable...


Well, heck; NONE of us want this, or want to deal with this.
It's a major pain of a disease.

But you don't get a choice...

Hm. Since she was on insulin before, this rules out fear of the
unknown. I would assume she's got a needle phobia or some other
problem that makes this difficult for her.

She needs to talk to her physician about her problems.

If he doesn't help her, she needs a new doctor.


There are answers. The problem is, they're different for everyone...

If she doesn't have a meter, get one immediately and start testing.
Eat to the meter, breath to the meter, live to the meter until she
figures out how her body responses to food, stress, and life. Once
she's got that knowledge she'll be in better shape.

There are three legs to diabetic control: Diet, exercise, and
medication. Some people can get along with just diet and
exercise; but even if you're on medication, you don't dare
neglect the other two. In shape, correctly fed people are in
control of their diabetes, not under its control.

A computer would help her immensely. If she can't buy one,
maybe she can make use of one at a local library or cyber-cafe...

Our pleasure.

Tell her to hang in there, we're all pulling for her.

You, too. Good friends are good to have.

FW

timkettring

It is Far Cheaper and Better to just buy a used Web-Tv ( Immune to
Viruses )

They want 2/3 the price of a new comp ( discontinued-closeout ) for a
piece of Somebody-Elses-Problem .

I wish I had a Web-TV for me or mom , but you can not buy them new
LocaLLy Anymore !!!

I just had a friend quit-E-mail contact Blaiming for Not Doing
something about a Virus-Worm that I HAD ABSOULTELY NO - WAY OF
KNOWING ABOUT AT ALL AT THE TIME !!!
( ESPECIALLY BY HER !!!( OH YEAH , she told me and blamed-me WELL
AFTER THE FACT!!!) :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-(

Sorry Venting .

Tim

eldritch

Book:
THe First Year: Type 2 Diabetes
by Gretchen Becker.

great book.

E

rk

: I'm writing for a co-worker friend of mine who is new to Diabetes and
: doesn't own a computer. Bear with me, since I know little about the
: disease and she seems to know even less...

Diabetes is a disease you must learn about. Not so much about the
disease but how it effects the person. DM will not effect two people
the same way. Meaning, we all have high/low glucose, that is about
the extent of how we are simular. I can eat one food, whereas someone
else might not be able to, or vise versa. Stress might make me go high
whereas gives another a low. It's quite complex. It's all about
experimenting
with your own body, to test _your_ limits.

:
: Today "Jane" had a breakdown at work, where she was shaking and
: nauseous, and started crying. Our boss let her go home, we got her OJ
: and stuff so she felt good enough to leave. She doesn't drive, so it
: wasn't a concern that she'd be unable or unsafe to drive. (she busses)

Sounds like "Jane" has a nice low. NOT a high. Shaking doesn't happen
when you're high, and you claim the OJ helped. If she was high, she'd
wanted to take a nappy. Thats good she didn't drive.

: She was involved with a local support group, but because she doesn't
: have a car and no computer, she feels very isolated and alone. She is
: not coping very well right now, and told me "I just don't want this--I
: don't want to deal with it."(not sounding very healthy or smart to me,
: but she is very fragile right now.)

LOL.. like any of us wished to be diabetic? It's something that happens
none of us want it, we have been dealt the cards, now we must play the
hand. We are all fragile at some point in our diagnosis. To expand your
life you must learn to deal with it. Learn about yourself. Don't let it run
you, you must learn to run it.

I suggest she seeks professional help, to help her learn to deal with this.
It's certainly not going to go away overnight.
:
: Details: she was DX a year ago, started on injectable insulin (Lamsent?
: sounded like thats what she said), then went to pills to be taken with
: each meal, and within the last month or so, the Dr put her on a 1x daily
: pill (Gluberite, 2.5mg). She is 37, the diabetes is hereditary in her
: family, she is not overweight and seems in normal health otherwise.
:
I would say the "Lamsent" was "Lantus" which is a very flat basal (long
acting)
insulin. It more then likely only kept her glucose stable. It doesn't peak
for most.

Sounds like she's still got plenty of her own insulin working and producing.
the
oral she's on, helps stimulate the pancreas (if i recall) which is more then
likely
why she had the low.

What do her bg's normally run?
what was her last A1C?
What are her meals like?
How often does she test?

These are all things that need to be addressed, if her doctor isn't helping
her
she needs to fire um and find one that will. It's not easy sometimes, like
buying
a car.. gotta shop around. Don't forget this is _YOUR LIFE_.

: Obviously, the pill isn't working or she's not eating right or
: something. She is going back to her doctor on Friday. She doesn't want
: the injectable insulin, which is just awful and terrfying for her.

see above; pill works _too_ good!

Insulin wouldn't be the course of action, more then likely. She prolly could
get away with diet and exercise to gain good control. Ofcourse depending
upon what her bg's run. (which you haven't stated)

:
: Does anyone have any suggestions for her? Better coping/managemnet
: skills, books, support info, dietary recommendations..anything? It's
: really hard with her not on a computer and no car, but I'd like to be
: able to help her take better control of this thing and learn to deal
: with it better. Obviously, with so many people having diabetes, there
: have to answers out there...

Dietary? she needs a referal to a dietician, pronto.

Have her call the local ADA office and ask where there is a support group
perhaps the coordinator of it, can transport her to/from the meetings or
someone
in the group.

books? theres a few good ones out there, I do NOT recommend Bernstein
though.
if she's not overweight she doesn't need to low carb to an extreme and
that's what
he recommends.

If you have a local library with internet access, she could use that to
access the
info online/web/newsgroups.

Have her ask her doctor for a referal to a CDE (Certified Diabetic
Educator).

There are lots of answers out here, but each person is so unique, not one
answer will
fit all.

Good Luck.

--
RK
T1 - 5/00

:
: Thanks SO MUCH for your time,
:
: Lisa (and Jane.)

tiger_lily

i'm concerned if this was a low blood glucose episode..... the OJ will get
her out of the low, but doesn't have staying power

she was still in danger of going low again while heading to the bus, and
then she would have no one who knew what the problem was with her

perhaps next time, she be allowed to remain at work until she's had a meal
as well to ensure that she isn't going to pass out on the way to the bus,
and by time she's had a meal, she'll be feeling a lot better too...... able
to work

just another thought on this matter.....the best course of action is for her
to have a meter at work to be able to test her bg and find out exactly what
is happening

the diagnosis of diabetes is a tough one for people, and she may also be
experiencing depression (reactive) as a result of the diagnosis

{{{{{HUGS TO HER}}}}}}

kate