Wednesday:
I went back to my "old" doctor today - from the clinic I've attended regularly since we moved here but I've only seen this doctor once before because they change every six months - because I wasn't impressed with the new one I tried. "Old" doctor confirmed that the blood test results are nothing to worry about because although they showed a high protein (?) count none of the other markers were there for something serious.
Instead of the other doctor's "you're fine, just lose some weight" response to my high blood sugar and hip pain, at least this one tried to give me more active advice. As well as going over the diet and exercise stuff that we all know, she is going to arrange for me to have some free dietician and hydrotherapy (gentle water-based exercise that won't hurt my hips) sessions. Apparently I am fat enough to qualify for five free professional health sessions. Hmmm. Also, if I haven't made progress in three months she recommends maybe trying medication, she mentioned Duromine which is an appetite suppressant and she said speeds up the metabolism. I'm not very keen on taking medication of any kind, but at least this doctor is laying out some options for me.
Unfortunately she will only be at the clinic for another month. Who knows who I'll get next?
I told her I won't do anything for a couple of weeks because of exams, but then will investigate dieticians etc for her to give me a referral to.
Showing posts with label medication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medication. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Staying away from medication
Thursday:
My dietician friend told me that if I do have diabetes it could be months before I am able to see an endocrinologist or whatever specialist I need to see, so the doctor could put me on medication straight away without waiting for a specialist opinion. I don't think my doctor would, but I am not seeing my regular doctor. Of course I want to avoid hopefully-unnecessary medication; so for next six days, until I see the doctor, I will be managing my diet and taking regular blood glucose tests. That way, when I see the doctor next week I can prove that I can manage diabetes without medication. Or if I can't, at least I will know. And of course if I don't have diabetes (fingers crossed), managing my diet will help me avoid getting it in the future.
A "diabetes" diet is in most ways just a basic healthy diet: a balance of protein, carbs, fibre, dairy etc, not too much fat. But I need to spread my carbs out evenly throughout the day. I am currently using the handouts I got when I had gestational diabetes, and I am going to pick up some books from the library today. I am aiming for 1-2 serves of carbohydrate for each snack and 2-3 serves at each meal. One serve is 15g of carbohydrate: one slice of bread, a small apple, half a potato. Non-starchy vegetables have very little carbohydrate; meat and cheese have none.
I am also going to exercise regularly; both to stabilise blood sugar (it helps) and to lose weight.
Getting rid of my dangerous belly fat is a long-term goal.
This kind of sounds like I think I have diabetes; I don't really. I am expecting pre-diabetes or nothing. But I am in a fairly high risk category and I need to take action now to avoid getting it in five or ten years. I am using this as a motivator.
My dietician friend told me that if I do have diabetes it could be months before I am able to see an endocrinologist or whatever specialist I need to see, so the doctor could put me on medication straight away without waiting for a specialist opinion. I don't think my doctor would, but I am not seeing my regular doctor. Of course I want to avoid hopefully-unnecessary medication; so for next six days, until I see the doctor, I will be managing my diet and taking regular blood glucose tests. That way, when I see the doctor next week I can prove that I can manage diabetes without medication. Or if I can't, at least I will know. And of course if I don't have diabetes (fingers crossed), managing my diet will help me avoid getting it in the future.
A "diabetes" diet is in most ways just a basic healthy diet: a balance of protein, carbs, fibre, dairy etc, not too much fat. But I need to spread my carbs out evenly throughout the day. I am currently using the handouts I got when I had gestational diabetes, and I am going to pick up some books from the library today. I am aiming for 1-2 serves of carbohydrate for each snack and 2-3 serves at each meal. One serve is 15g of carbohydrate: one slice of bread, a small apple, half a potato. Non-starchy vegetables have very little carbohydrate; meat and cheese have none.
I am also going to exercise regularly; both to stabilise blood sugar (it helps) and to lose weight.
Getting rid of my dangerous belly fat is a long-term goal.
This kind of sounds like I think I have diabetes; I don't really. I am expecting pre-diabetes or nothing. But I am in a fairly high risk category and I need to take action now to avoid getting it in five or ten years. I am using this as a motivator.
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