Help Chronic Pain

Question:

Gwen, Never let Diabetes frighten you.  I’ve had type 1 since 1980 and I am 48 years old.  Get a good educator and  subscribe to as many Diabetic health magazines as you can.  Follow your doctor’s advice and if you lose confidence in your doctor,search for another.  I have seen many specialists during my time with diabetes and if I lose confidence in one I search for another one.  Also, sometimes you may need to do research to find out about problems you may be having.  I have developed many complications during the last 18 years, but I always find a doctor who can help me.  I have finally retired from my teaching profession due to illness, BUT it wasn’t just the diabetic side affects.  I now have fibromyalgia, heart problems plus the autonomic neuropathy.  I don’t tell you this asking for sympathy, but to let you know I live each day to the fullest and enjoy each day that I feel good.  I decided to stop working not only because I couldn’t handle the job with all my health problems but I intend to live many more years I hope. KEEP YOUR HEAD HIGH AND TRY NOT TO GET TOO DISCOURAGED!  You’ll have some good days and some bad days but then again everyone does.  SO take care of yourself and enjoy life.  It’s really not so bad. Best Wishes to you and yours, Elaine

Response:

   of 100, 140, 200, 240, 500, etc.  The numbers my doctor quoted to    me about my levels were 17.8, 14,5,10.2.  I realize we may be using    a different system here in Canada, but what do these numbers mean    and why are they so different?  Is it anything like you use gallons    and we use litres to put gas in the car? That’s an easy one 18,  For example your 10.2 would be 184 here south of the border, and my 108 would be 6.0 on your meter.  Simple US/18 = Canada   Canada * 18 = US Note, this is not exact, However it’s close enough for bg’s under 1,000 mg/dl and if you ever get that high, the difference don’t much matter "Nothing adds excitement like something that is none of your business" Using a Java script enabled browser go to:  http://go.compuserve.com/diabetes Anyone can read, Members can post, If you join Compuserve mention 73455,43 Fatal Logic Error – Engage Brain then (R)e-start. Net-Tamer V 1.08X – Registered

Response:

You guys are great at making me feel at home. Thanks.  I am not alone.

You don’t mean you’re a bitch do you Beav

Response:

I was only diagnosed in September and I had many of the same fears and concerns that you do. Luckily I was able to spend a week at a diabetic clinic at the metabolic center of the University of Alberta hospital. It was worth the time and effort to learn about the disease, how to contro; it. The good stuff and the bad stuff. I’m sure that wherever you are in Canada that there is something similar offered. The Bg numbers that you are hearing so much about are the usually the American standard. Divide by 18 to get the standard that is used in Canada, and the rest of the world.

Just to clarify a minor but annoying error above. The U.S. and about two-thirds of the world measures blood sugar in mg/dL of blood. A minority — the rest of the English-speaking world, plus most of Europe, measure in mmol/L. It is not a "U.S. vs the rest of the world," nor is it "gallons vs liters" issue. Both are metric measurements. Luckily it doesn’t make any serious difference. The number 18 is correct — just multiply your readings by 18 to get the comparable figure in mg/dL, and divide the mg/dL by 18 to get your mmol/L. Personally, I’m so used to seeing both in here all the time that I have just become kind of bilingual about it, the same as I am about temperature. If I see "6" or "110" I don’t have to divide or multiply either one — I just know both are in the normal range. It’s the same thing as knowing that 21 and 72 are room temperature without having to bother with math. NOTICE: The e-mail address is deliberately incorrect. Make the ISP read "spiritone.com" by adding an "e."

Response:

You guys are great at making me feel at home. Thanks.  I am not alone. Gwen

Response:

You certainly are not alone, this is one time misery loves company is an accurate phrase! Welcome, and good luck, Elva – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -You guys are great at making me feel at home. Thanks.  I am not alone. Gwen

Response:

Welcome to the club, Gwen. I was only diagnosed in September and I had many of the same fears and concerns that you do. Luckily I was able to spend a week at a diabetic clinic at the metabolic center of the University of Alberta hospital. It was worth the time and effort to learn about the disease, how to contro; it. The good stuff and the bad stuff. I’m sure that wherever you are in Canada that there is something similar offered. The Bg numbers that you are hearing so much about are the usually the American standard. Divide by 18 to get the standard that is used in Canada, and the rest of the world.       This group is a great place to ask questions, get advice and sometimes to simply bitch about the inequalities of life.

And not forgetting bitching just for the SAKE of bitching Beav

Response:

Hi Gwen, I am in Ontario Canada and your doc is giving you Cdn numbers with regards to blood glucose levels.  Anything between 4 and 7 is considered normal, so my doc told me.  I started off around 18 and am now in the normal range most of the time, I have found that rice, pasta, potatoes and bread will raise my levels way too high so I am extremely careful with those foods. I was dx’d in October ‘98 and have learned a lot from this ng, plus I read anything I can find on the subject.  I take a half pill (Glyburide) in the morning and a whole pill at dinner.  My goal is to get off the meds as I am afraid of long term problems from pills. It’s ok to be afraid, I was too, and I still am, when it comes to the long haul, I am scared of ending up needing insulin injections as I have a pretty nasty case of needle-phobia.  It took all the guts I had to learn to test my blood with a glucometer kit.  It depresses me too, sometimes, I hate that there is no cure and I cant make it go away. Please try to get over the denial aspect, I didnt go thru that, I was too damn mad to get into denial.  A friend of mine who was dx’d a week after me was into denial in a big way and made himself even worse by eating worse than he had been and drinking lots of beer.  The doc gave him a lecture that smartened him up and he is doing much better. Pls read all you can, see the doc, diabetic educator and nutritionist in your area, and follow this ng.  Ask loads of questions.  Get a glucometer kit and test your blood at home. Good luck, Elva – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Now I am totally confused. My doctor just recently told me I have diabetes.  I have started reading some of the posts here, and many of you mention bg levels of 100, 140, 200, 240, 500, etc.  The numbers my doctor quoted to me about my levels were 17.8, 14,5,10.2.  I realize we may be using a different system here in Canada, but what do these numbers mean and why are they so different?  Is it anything like you use gallons and we use litres to put gas in the car? Furthermore, I hope not to offend anyone out there but I don’t want to have some of the problems I have been reading about.  The only symptom of diabetes I could identify before the dx was thirst and frequent urination.  Now that I know a bit more about it I recognize that I would have shakiness and weakness due to low blood sugar. I admit I am afraid of diabetes and  the complications that come with it.  The diagnosis frightens and depresses me, but I have it a lot better than many.  I find I am in denial about it sometimes. Gwen

Response:

Welcome to the club, Gwen. I was only diagnosed in September and I had many of the same fears and concerns that you do. Luckily I was able to spend a week at a diabetic clinic at the metabolic center of the University of Alberta hospital. It was worth the time and effort to learn about the disease, how to contro; it. The good stuff and the bad stuff. I’m sure that wherever you are in Canada that there is something similar offered. The Bg numbers that you are hearing so much about are the usually the American standard. Divide by 18 to get the standard that is used in Canada, and the rest of the world.         This group is a great place to ask questions, get advice and sometimes to simply bitch about the inequalities of life.         Good luck,                                 Gary ……. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Now I am totally confused. My doctor just recently told me I have diabetes.  I have started reading some of the posts here, and many of you mention bg levels of 100, 140, 200, 240, 500, etc.  The numbers my doctor quoted to me about my levels were 17.8, 14,5,10.2.  I realize we may be using a different system here in Canada, but what do these numbers mean and why are they so different?  Is it anything like you use gallons and we use litres to put gas in the car? Furthermore, I hope not to offend anyone out there but I don’t want to have some of the problems I have been reading about.  The only symptom of diabetes I could identify before the dx was thirst and frequent urination.  Now that I know a bit more about it I recognize that I would have shakiness and weakness due to low blood sugar. I admit I am afraid of diabetes and  the complications that come with it.  The diagnosis frightens and depresses me, but I have it a lot better than many.  I find I am in denial about it sometimes. Gwen

Response:

Now I am totally confused. My doctor just recently told me I have diabetes.  I have started reading some of the posts here, and many of you mention bg levels of 100, 140, 200, 240, 500, etc.  The numbers my doctor quoted to me about my levels were 17.8, 14,5,10.2.  I realize we may be using a different system here in Canada, but what do these numbers mean and why are they so different?  Is it anything like you use gallons and we use litres to put gas in the car?

Welcome to the club, and sorry you had to join. You’re right, first of all, that the US and Canada use two different systems for measuring blood glucose concentration. One is mmol/dl and the other is mg/l. (You’ll find, by the way, that most non-USAan posters to this newsgroup use the Canadian numbers.) To convert from Canadian to USAan numbers, simply multiply by 18. And, to convert from USAan to Canadian numbers, divide by 18. Furthermore, I hope not to offend anyone out there but I don’t want to have some of the problems I have been reading about.  The only symptom of diabetes I could identify before the dx was thirst and frequent urination.  Now that I know a bit more about it I recognize that I would have shakiness and weakness due to low blood sugar.

No-one *wants* to have complications from diabetes, so don’t worry about offending people  by saying that you don’t want them. Use that fear to motivate yourself to get the blood glucose numbers down, whatever you have to do. You should understand, though, that doing so won’t guarantee that you won’t have complications, but it will decrease the likelihood that you will and probably decrease the severity of any complications that you do end up with. I admit I am afraid of diabetes and  the complications that come with it.  The diagnosis frightens and depresses me, but I have it a lot better than many.  I find I am in denial about it sometimes.

Read the FAQ for this group; it’s posted approximately every two weeks and it has a lot of good information in it. It’s on a web site also, but I don’t remember the url offhand. Do as much reading as you can, on line and in bookstores, but don’t buy any books that you don’t think you’d read more than once. The American Diabetes Association and Canadian Diabetes Association have good web sites. The ADA is at http://www.diabetes.org, and the CDA at http://www.diabetes.ca. The magazine Diabetes Self Management has a page of links to many other good sites at: http://www.diabetes-self-mgmt.com/diabetes_directory.html. Above all, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Diabetes, even Type2 diabetes, isn’t a one-size-fits-all condition, so what works for one person might not work for another. Alice F

Response:

Now I am totally confused. My doctor just recently told me I have diabetes.  I have started reading some of the posts here, and many of you mention bg levels of 100, 140, 200, 240, 500, etc.  The numbers my doctor quoted to me about my levels were 17.8, 14,5,10.2.  I realize we may be using a different system here in Canada, but what do these numbers mean and why are they so different?  Is it anything like you use gallons and we use litres to put gas in the car? Furthermore, I hope not to offend anyone out there but I don’t want to have some of the problems I have been reading about.  The only symptom of diabetes I could identify before the dx was thirst and frequent urination.  Now that I know a bit more about it I recognize that I would have shakiness and weakness due to low blood sugar. I admit I am afraid of diabetes and  the complications that come with it.  The diagnosis frightens and depresses me, but I have it a lot better than many.  I find I am in denial about it sometimes. Gwen

Response: