Discussion of diabetes management in day to day life

Today, I performed my amateur version of an OGTT, by taking two regular
12-oz cokes alone at 5am, which should equate to 78g of high-fructose
corn syrup, and not much else significant but some caffeine.  I had only
mild activity during this period.

The readings were as follows:

HR      BG
-0.3 95
0.5 131
1.0 132
1.5 121
2.0 108
2.5 107
3.0 96
3.6 101
4.0 106
4.5 103
5.0 103

So, how to interpret this?  To what degree is this comparable to 75g of
anhydrous glucose, in both quality and quantity?  I didn’t hit the IGT
threshold of 120 at the two-hour point, but I certainly did thru 1.5
hrs.  About hour 3 I did drink another soda, but this one was a
aspertame flavored drink with tea in it, so it should not have
contributed any significant carbs, but may be a stimulant.

Some people indicate that anything above 100 is abnormal (although not
unusual), while other sources seem to indicate that high spikes are not
any concern if they are of less than 2 hrs duration.  Also, I have seen
much higher numbers, which took much longer to drop with other meals and
circumstances, but they were meals containing starches rather than much
sugar, and probably more calories.

I just received a book on "kitchen cures" dealing with how certain foods
aid in curing diseases. Sushi was praised for it’s Omega-3, but it warned
against sushi and sashimi for diabetics. I can see some concern about the
high GI of rice, but sashimi does not have any rice. Does anyone know
why the author wrote this warning?

Burt
T2 since ’92

1.   Low Carb cereal.
Some good person here mentioned a low carb cereal,
so I went into a store, looked at its carb data, 15%
versus the normal 60% – 70%.  Wow!  I bought it to
try.  I tried it.  Yuk!!  (I know that is my personal
taste preferences in action.)  It was the least appetising
breakfast cereal I have tasted.  I read the list of ingredients
and they did not impress me.

Does anyone know of any nice tasting  low carb cereal, or
is that a self contradiction in itself?

I gave up smoking before I really started because it stopped
me fully enjoying the taste of my food.

(Note:  The cereal I use has a sugar content of 0.3% versus
2.5% in the low carb one.)

2.   Low Carb Milk.
I have read of a low carb milk, but have not seen any.
From what I have seen listed in the nutritional information
on the side of the ordinary milk cartons, it would seem to
me that most, if not all, of the carbs in milk will be sugar.

A chemist once told me removing sugar from milk would
not be a simple matter, so that would suggest to me that
either it may be very difficult to remove the sugar and/or
it may very difficult to produce a low carb milk that has
an appreciably lower carb content.

So can anyone who has seen or used a low carb milk
tell what the carb content and sugar content might be?

Nev.

Very plain, with articles only.. Sources posted with articles

http://www.billend.com/daily/prevart.htm

Type 2 Diabetics Should Avoid Caffeine

7/26/2004 By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, July 26 (HealthDayNews) — Consuming beverages that contain caffeine
may not be a good idea if you have type 2 diabetes, researchers report.

In a small study, Duke University scientists found a link between caffeine
at mealtime and increased glucose and insulin levels in people with type 2
diabetes. The finding suggests diabetics should reduce or eliminate caffeine
in their diets, according to the report in the August issue of Diabetes
Care.

"Caffeine seems to impair the metabolism of carbohydrates in patients who
have type 2 diabetes," said lead author James D. Lane, an associate research
professor of medical psychology at Duke University Medical Center. "So it
seems to make diabetes worse."

Levels of glucose — blood sugar — are elevated in people with diabetes
after a meal because the body isn’t able to metabolize the glucose, Lane
said.

"If your blood glucose goes higher after every meal, then your average blood
glucose level is going to be higher, and that could aggravate diabetes or
increase the risk of complications," he said.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body doesn’t produce or properly use
insulin, a hormone needed to convert glucose into energy for the body.

In their study, Lane and his team recruited 14 regular coffee drinkers who
had had type 2 diabetes for at least a six months. These subjects took
medications for their diabetes, but did not require insulin.

The researchers looked at how much caffeine the people consumed over a week.
The subjects were also given two 125-milligram caffeine capsules or a dummy
drug, which were taken with a commercial liquid meal (BoostR) that has 75
grams of carbohydrates.

Lane’s team measured the patient’s blood glucose levels before and after
eating and taking the caffeine pills.

The researchers found caffeine did not affect glucose and insulin levels
after fasting. However, the study participants who drank the liquid and then
took a caffeine pill experienced a 21 percent increase in glucose and a 48
percent rise in insulin levels, compared to the other study subjects getting
the placebo.

Lane’s group also compared the effect of caffeine with the medications
diabetics take to lower glucose after a meal. "We found that the size of the
increase in glucose due to the caffeine is as large as the decrease that
occurs when people take medications to lower glucose," he said.

Based on the findings of this small study, Lane believes that "people who
have type 2 diabetes may be better off if they avoid caffeine."

Curiously, a study released earlier this year found that coffee can help to
prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, reducing the risk by almost 50
percent. However, the protective effects didn’t become significant until
people drank at least four cups a day.

Tomas de Paulis, a research assistant professor from the Vanderbilt
Institute for Coffee Studies at Vanderbilt University, said, "It is well
known that caffeine has a detrimental effect on glucose tolerance."

"What is less known is that coffee also contains compounds with the opposite
effect. It is not coffee but the caffeine that should be avoided by diabetes
patients," he added.

More information

The American Diabetes Association has plenty of information about the
disease.

SOURCES: James D. Lane, Ph.D., associate research professor, medical
psychology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.; Tomas de Paulis,
Ph.D., research assistant professor, Vanderbilt Institute for Coffee
Studies, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.; August 2004 Diabetes Care

Copyright © 2004 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.

HI all,
Does anyone have any advice on the BD Logic (link) meter in regards to it`s
accuracy. I recieved mine a few weeks ago and have had it replaced once
because I didn`t feel the readings were accurate in comparison to my
Freestyle mini  (flash in the US) Though control soulution tests on both
meters were in the correct range.
Any stories bad or good?  thanks mike in Canada

I know that the last time I was pregnant and had to be in the hospital my
endocrinologist did tests that proved grazing, at least in my situation,
made my blood glucose levels about twice what they are when I eat just three
meals and a bed-time snack. Also, using preventative insulin, and not
sliding scale which is reactive, has made my HBA1C numbers drop
significantly over a year. I cannot fathom how eating frequently could help
lower glucose levels.

MJL

I take my insulin in the morning 66 units. The morning reading is always 235 to
247. I have change to eating  a light dinner by 7 pm. In the morning the
readings have been high in the above range.    The reading before my dinner
meal has been around 107 -120

Thomas

Very dramatic. You play as a different character in Halo 2.
I’m not going to say what the new character’s name is,  you’ll have to
play it to find out.

–
Magnificent Bastard Productions 2004 ©

http://www.magnificentbastardproductions.com

Archive-name: diabetes/software
Posting-Frequency: biweekly
Last-modified: October 5, 2003

On-line Diabetes Resources

Part 13: Software
By Rick Mendosa

Tracking Diabetes on the Web Since 1995
Most Recent Update: October 5, 2003

This Web page brings together in one place descriptions of and links to only
those Web pages dealing with software for diabetes management, but is linked
to the 15 other On-line Diabetes Resources pages dealing with other Web
pages, other parts of the Internet, and other on-line services. Since
February 9, 2003, this page has been mirrored as the misc.health.diabetes
newsgroup’s FAQ at http://isc.faqs.org/faqs/diabetes/software/.

Log Sheet or Spreadsheet
A log sheet is an alternative or adjunct to software. There are a lot of
different log sheets out there, but the best, in my opinion, is one
developed by Jean-Fran+AOc-ois Yale, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine,
Crabtree Nutrition Laboratories, McGill Nutrition and Food Science Centre,
Royal Victoria Hospital, and Director, Metabolic Day Centre. I met with him
in Montreal in August 2002, and at that time he authorized me to make his
log sheet available on my Web site. Dr. Yale’s log sheet lets you enter
blood glucose readings, insulin dosages, carbohydrate grams, and exercise
(which you can put on a scale of 1 to 5) for any hour of the day. Before
printing the log sheets remember to change the page layout to landscape and
when you are finished to change it back to the usual portrait layout. Two
pages of the log sheet cover the seven days of the week. It is an Adobe
Acrobat PDF file, which requires the free Acrobat Reader, available at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html, if you don’t have it
already. Download the log sheet at http://www.mendosa.com/logsheet.pdf.

A spreadsheet is yet another way to track your blood glucose readings,
insulin dosages and ratio, carbohydrates grams, and exercise. Sally Hines
developed this spreadsheet template and kindly authorized me to make it
available here. To view it you need to have Microsoft Excel. The URL of
Sally’s spreadsheet template is http://www.mendosa.com/BGspreadsheet.xls.
You can also download it as a PDF (Adobe Acrobat file) as
http://www.mendosa.com/BGspreadsheet.pdf

If you have OpenOffice 1.0 or StarOffice 6.0, Rick Strickland has converted
the Excel spreadsheet and has made it available free of charge. The URL is
http://www.mendosa.com/BGspreadsheet.sxc

Web-Based Software
AIDA On-Line
AIDA On-line offers the opportunity to simulate the effects of changes in
insulin and diet on the blood glucose profile of a +ACI-virtual diabetic
patient.+ACI- You can run simulations without charge in your Web browser window.
The simulator allows you to see the effect of changes in insulin and diet on
the blood glucose profile of example patients with diabetes. AIDA On-line
provides 40 case scenarios with different problems to be solved by
interactively simulating the +ACI-virtual diabetic patient.+ACI- Users can add more
cases. The approach is not intended for individual patient glycemic
prediction or therapy planning, but is offered as an interactive
educational/self-learning tool. A downloadable version of the simulator is
also available and is linked above in the +ACI-Shareware and Freeware Windows
Software+ACI- and +ACI-MS-DOS Software+ACI- sections. The URL for AIDA On-line is
http://www.2aida.org/online. The AIDA U.S. mirror site can be accessed at
http://www.2aida.net/online.

Bayer Care: Blood Sugar Log
The Online Blood Sugar Log lets you keep track of all your blood sugar test
results on the Web. The URL is
http://www.bayercarediabetes.com/diabcare/aboutdiab/index.asp

CBSHealthWatch
CBSHealthWatch by Medscape has a bare bones and hard-to-find blood glucose
tracker on its Web site. To get to it you need first to register then click
on +ACI-Daily Diary+ACI- and then on +ACI-Blood Glucose.+ACI- The URL is
http://healthwatch.medscape.com/medscape/p/gcommunity/ghome.asp

CWD Co-Pilot
CWD CoPilot allows patients to upload meter and insulin dosing data to an
online database. CWD CoPilot can generate graphs and charts from the data to
help patients identify patterns. The data can also be shared with a
patient’s health care team. (There’s a separate HCP registration area.)
While CWD CoPilot is sponsored by TheraSense, it supports the use of any
blood glucose monitor. Owners of TheraSense products can upload their data
automatically right now. The URL is
http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/copilot/

DailyRating
DailyRating.com offers a question for you to answer on +ACI-What was your Blood
Sugar level today?+ACI- All readings are in mmol/L, which we don’t use in the
U.S. and allow for only one reading a day. You can keep your ratings and
journal private (the default) or make them public. The site produces line or
bar charts from your readings. The neatest feature of this site is that you
can update your daily reading by replying to a daily e-mail from the site.
+ACI-You have the ability to create your own questions,+ACI- CEO Calvin Tarlton
points out to me. +ACI-So, for example, if the current diabetes question is not
tracking what you need, then you can easily create another one that tracks
exactly what you want. In addition, you could set up multiple questions for
different reading times.+ACI- The URL is
http://www.dailyrating.com/home/bloodsugarrating

DiabetEASE
DiabetEASE Inc. in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is the first site to provide
free on-line software that allows you to automatically upload data from any
one of several meters to track your blood glucose levels. Just connect your
meter to one of your computer’s serial port with the meter’s cable, click a
couple of times, and your data is displayed in easy-to-read graphs that can
be customized to show your blood glucose levels according to day, week,
month, or by events such as exercise or meals. The program also graphs
insulin.
Currently, the program works with these meters: LifeScan One Touch Basic
Meter (with data port)+ADs- LifeScan One Touch II Meter+ADs- LifeScan One Touch
Profile Meter+ADs- LifeScan FastTake Meter (with FastTake Adapter), the LifeScan
SureStep Meter (with data port), and the LifeScan One Touch Ultra+ADs- Bayer
Glucometer Dex+ADs- Bayer Glucometer Elite XL+ADs- and the TheraSense FreeStyle.

The program now works with with both Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and
version 4 of the Netscape browser.

The URL is
http://www.diabetease.com/

Diabetes Assistant
Roche Diagnostics, the manufacturer of Accu-chek meters, provides the
Diabetes Assistant, a free online tool allowing you to transfer Accu-Chek
blood sugar results electronically or enter by hand. It works with the
Windows operating system. You can transfer the results by hand or, if you
have Accu-Chek Active, Accu-Chek Advantage, Accu-Chek Compact, Accu-Chek
Complete, or Accu-Chek Instant DM meter, you can transfer them
electronically. The URL is
https://www.accu-chek.com/dastart/index.cfm

Diabetes HomeCare Center
Rose Technologies Inc. in Bellevue, Washington, a developer of children’s
software, sponsors the Diabetes HomeCare Center. The site provides an
electronic logbook as well as statistical and graphical analyses of the
user’s blood glucose levels. The site has software that will download the
data from several blood glucose meters and transmit it directly to the Web
site. Currently, the program works with five meters: the Glucometer Dex,
Glucometer Elite XL, MediSense Precision Xtra, LifeScan One Touch II, and
LifeScan One Touch Profile. The URL is
http://www.homecarecenter.com/

DiabetesResearch
The DiabetesResearch online glucometer project is a free resource designed
to assist in the self-management of diabetes. It’s an interesting Java-based
approach. The just-released beta version 2 makes it easier to navigate. The
URL is
http://www.diabetesresearch.com/

Dia-Log.com
Dia-Log.com, your On-Line Diabetes LogBook, lets you track your blood
glucose, regular and long-lasting insulin, carbohydrates, and other foods.
Entry is manual. It’s now totally free. The URL is
http://www.dia-log.com/

DiaTrak
DiaTrak helps you track your blood glucose levels, dosages, weight, meals,
and more. The URL is
https://www.diatrak.com/diatrak/default.aspx

Ecivon
Ecivon in Bluffton, Ohio, includes an on-line blood glucose monitoring tool
where you can enter glucose values manually that you and your health care
providers can view. It shows graph and list data, for before breakfast,
after breakfast, before lunch, after lunch, before dinner, after dinner, and
other. The site recently added numerous data graphing and tabular options
and soon we will have automated upload of the Ascensia Dex2, Ascensia Elite
XL, the Therasense Freestyle, and the OneTouch Ultra, with more later. The
URL is
http://www.ecivon.info

FreeStyle CoPilot
TheraSense Inc. has launched FreeStyleCoPilot. It is a free, Web-based
diabetes management tool that lets you upload blood glucose data and share
it with your diabetes team. The URL is
http://www.therasense.com/freestylecopilot/

Glucovance Daily Type 2 Diabetes Log
This online Daily Type 2 Diabetes Log lets you record all of your results on
a daily basis, helping you see what does and does not work in your diet,
exercise, and medication plan. The log calculates your daily and weekly
averages and lets you know if you’re within your target range. What this
site does that I have never seen before is allowing you to return to update
your numbers without logging in with a password, etc., as long and you use
the same computer and browser. The URL is
http://www.glucovance.com/glucovance/channels/channels.jsp?BV+AF8-Use…

GlucoWeb Ron Swain offers these pages to provide people with diabetes with a
place on-line to keep their electronic log books and analyze their readings.
Instructions are provided along the
…

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