O/T Going in for Surgery next week - Health Warning!

Hi, folks! I'll be off the net for a while starting early next week to have some surgery. I'm not really looking for hugs or sympathy, but instead decided to post this on the HAMB in response to the passing of Bruce Lancaster's wife, Alice.

I'm having surgery to remove a diabetic ulcer on my gut that has been causing me problems for a few years now. One aspect of diabetes is that any sort of wound can be very difficult to heal. Through my doctor, I have been able to locate a plastic surgeon who has dealt with my type of wound before. That's the upside of the situation; the downside is that by the time they're done cutting on me, it'll take me out of contender status for the hang-belly competition.

I just wanted to suggest that all of you HAMBers out there that don't know what your blood sugar level readings are to go and get tested. I have been fighting diabetes for about 10 years now. My mom warned me about it years ago, but at the time, I had no idea what she was talking about.

Next time you are at your doc's office, ask about getting an A-1-C screening. This is a blood test that will tell what your blood sugar level has averaged over a 4 to 6 month period. A normal reading is around a "6" on the scale that they use.

When I asked to be tested, mine was a "13", which was high enough to have put me in a coma. My finger test blood sugar level at that time was at 460, with normal being around 100. This is sort of a snap-shot test, that changes from hour to hour.

If you don't know anything about diabetes, do a web search and get some knowledge on the subject. This is a disease that can have a wide range of symptoms and complications, most all of them undesirable. Among other things, on a personal note, its causing me to spend time and money on things other than hot rods.

So, I hope that Alice Lancaster would approve me sending out a challenge to you all to get tested, especially you guys that buy your T-shirts in the 2X and up sizes - This is a preventable disease in most cases, if you can catch it before it catches you. If you have it already, take care of yourselves, and bug your friends and family about getting screened.

PM me if you want more info. John Martin, aka Kinky6.
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I have been told Iam borderline but I have been ignoring it. Maybe it is time to stop ignoring it and control it better. I hope all goes weel for you..

 

Thanks Kinky6, I'm thinkin' about this for my wife. Good luck to you. Rick

 

I guess I better skip the Pop Tarts and Dr. Pepper for breakfast. Good luck on your surgery.

 

Good luck John..I know how serious diabetes can be as i spent 15 years with a girl who has it. You are right, it's deffinately something that should be taken serious.

Thanks for the advice.

Tony

 

Good luck john.. .. Type 2 here.. It stays under control with pills.. But it is still here.. I ended up in the hospital 18 months ago... I had no idea i was diabetic.. A-1-c was a 10.. Sugar was 390.. I was there for 16 days.. It sucked.. I still remember when i could feel my feet... The side effects are no joke..... Mark

 

When they found me laying by my desk..I had been out for awhile. I had known something was up..peeing every 15 minutes..gained a lot of weight quickly.
I had set an appointment to see the Dr. in two weeks.
My wife got me home..and I was out for a couple days..while she begged them to see me right away.

I slept for three days..but got dressed for the appointment. My fasting BS was over 600..
I was told I was lucky..and they were suprised I could actually walk in. My right foot felt like there was an iron bar for the ball of my foot. I had burning down my right leg.

I was put in hospital..tests..obviously I was and am a diabetic type II.

At the time my kids were still young. Daughter 12..son 10..
I told the doctor I would be the best diabetic patient he ever had..

I went on a severe diet..

I ate only green salads..no carbs..no beer..milk..just water..vegatables..

I dropped 50 pounds quickly..too quickly.

I started to go blind.

I was about 52 (8years ago)..I wore reading glasses but 20/20 at distance. I started to notice that I didn't need the reading glasses..! Cool..

Not cool..I was losing my vision.. BMy diet was so unbalanced my blood sugars were testing great..doctor was pleased..but I was burning the nerves in my eyes..as the eye specialist told me..

I thought I was done..

I would still ride my cycles..wearing two sets of reading glasses to be able to read signs 10 ft in front of me..I figured I was a dead man anyway..

One Saturday..I was getting on the bike..my then 11 year old son..was staring at me from the garage door...watching me tape those reading glasses together..

"Dad..be careful..please"

I said "don't worry..I'll be back" And started to back the bike out..
I could seee he was crying..

I got off the bike..and decided I needed to get this right..I neeeded to get healthy..I needed to live.
He probably saved my life..

Diabeties can effect your outlook..makes you feel there is no hope..it's a lot of work..

Your general practitioner maybe a good Dr..but mine was NOT well versed with my type diabeties..I produce insulin but my body rejects and doesn't processs.
.
When this all started (when I noticed) my weight had gone from my normal 205-210 to 278 in a few months. Size 36/38 pants went to 46..
I was still active..coached baseball..ran a couple miles a day..rode my motorcycles..worked on my cars..but knew something was wrong..

Just thought I was getting old..gaining weight..real tired all the time..so I pushed harder..

..until I went into coma that day a work..

I met a diabetic nutrionist/nurse
I learned how to eat..

My eyes came back..my weight stabilized back to where I used to be.. My A1c went from over 14 to under 6. Fasting BS was excellent..

I got serious working on my car during this time..built one of my bikes..spent a lot of time with my wife and kids..made me realize life is short..

Not everything works out though..

You have to be YOUR DOCTOR..

I was on Advandia..worked until a couple years ago..

I read about it..losing effect after time. My symptoms came back..BS now 400 in mornings..

Endochronolgist (a real asshole) wanted me on insulin..but exercise and Metformin..Januvia..and Actos..and diet worked for me..

Got back under control again..

Until recently..

Health care..

My health care company changed..I am self employed. Went on my own..no longer with a big group. I was quoted $4200 month for a lousy plan for my family..!

Got them covered..but I couldn't afford for me..I was the expensive part.
I finally got a reasonable plan..but..meds for diabeties are not covered.

Metformin..cheap..$15 for three months. Actos..$244 a month..Januvia $256 a month..

I tried going without..and now I have a problem again.

I buy my meds from Canada..same meds..made in the same factories..Actos 6 months $325..Januvia $355

Why are our meds so much more coming from the exact same factories..?

We are allowing our health companies to kill us..don't be fooled. We need this to change..

..I never have mentioned this..

I am an Insurance broker for 25 years.
I was never primarily a health agent..but I did broker it for 25 years..

I will never sell another health policy..I will not make another cent from these frauds.
I know the profit margins..I know the gifts and trips..doctors get for "advice meetings"..which really is lavish vacations etc..for selling..perscribing drugs. It's all graft and fraud. Agents make money..companies make huge profits..
I get emails everyday..mostly lies to tell clients..to keep the health industry wealthy..
It's incredible..if you have a concience and a brain..these email "talking points" are obvious lies.

Some of us are dying..

I am trying to wean my medicines as I have two in college..it's not working all that well now.

Why do others in other countries have a better chance to survive...

Get checked..get active..but it still maybe a tough road...

I'm not going away without a fight..you too....


I try never to post political opinions..
But..I know this industry..25 years..

Sorry for the long story...

We all need to know..

 

Thanks for the replies. I don't want to turn this into a personal health blog or a political/health care debate; just to serve notice that all of us need to look after ourselves and each other.

Like docc, I went through some of the same stuff; changes in weight, peeing all the time, tired but still pushing myself at work, etc. Like high blood pressure and heart disease, you can be quite ill with this stuff, and never know whats wrong until it has already caught up to you.

I am fortunate to have a good health insurance plan where I work, and fair coverage for the specialists and presciptions that keep me alive now, but I'd just as soon none of the rest of you have to deal with all this if you can avoid it.

Later, Kinky6

 

Damn, Docc....... thats some scary stuff there. I just got tested, doing OK, but it runs in the family.

 

Type I, infantile, and type II are very different diseases, though in both the bottom line is sugar in the blood...so find out what's what and be sure you are researching the right stuff! Nearly all newspaper/magazine stuff confuses are fails to distinguish, and you are often reading advice that does not apply. Even nurses muddle their approaches sometimes.
Whatever you've got, test blood frequently! You gotta keep your level VERY close to normal 100, because the side effects come from there: High sugar level slowly and thoroughly kills off your blood delivery, destroying your eyes, your toes, your peripheral nerves, and many other of your favorite body parts. Let it run high and you will became a lump in a wheelchair, missing half your body and unable to feel most of the rest.
Get a tester, get used to being a human pincushion, find out what everything you eat does and what you need to do to keep down to 100.
Type I people inject insulin to control...with a hypo, the process is crude because you give all the insulin at once: Too much sugar, dump in too much insulin, hope it all sttles out and you are conscious and at a good level when it does.
So--if Type One, get a PUMP. This is EFI for your insulin, able to give background dosage in microscopic amounts 24/7, and when you need a big shot, it can deliver a large amount slowly over an hour or something. Much better control, only one hole in your hide per week. I maintained and installed Alice's after her vision and coordination began to fail from 50 years of diabetes.
Get a pump, get a tester, and learn. I can help anyone to locate information online...you have to know enough to protect yourself. Know your disease, type one or two, and learn about it, because half the expert advice you run into will be for the wrong damn one!


A bit more: Type one catches you. It 100% destroys your insulin production, and you must take insulin for the rest of your life.

Type two is somewhat preventible--too much food and no excercise bring it on. Getting weight and excercise can very often lessen the effects of the disease or even get you into remission. Your body still makes insulin, but cannot use it properly, leading to the same actual problem as type one: The sugar kills of your blood delivery and your nerves.

 

Tech Post on medical matters, from a library handout I made:

Medical research for practical application:
Start with Medline Plus, http://medlineplus.gov/ , a site run by the National Library of Medicine.
First, search the condition/disease/therapy of interest by simply going to &#8220;Health Topics&#8221; and scrolling to it on the A to Z listing. You will find introductory articles at several levels of complexity and many other articles covering diagnosis, therapy, treatments, and so on. The site also has sections that cover medicines and drugs and a medical dictionary, as well as other tools for developing your understanding of the condition at hand, and even listings of articles on current research and organizations. Some material is classified by the type of patient, men, women, children, seniors.
Searching the condition on the search box will then lead you to many more articles in a classified list.
From here, go to Google. Do not search on regular Google&#8212;go straight to Advanced Google by simply clicking &#8220;Advanced&#8221; by the regular search line.
Put the name of the condition on the first line or on the second line if it contains more than one word. You can add in additional terms needed to focus your search on the top line or on the &#8220;or&#8221; line if there are multiple possible terms like &#8220;Flu&#8221; or &#8220;Influenza&#8221;.
You will almost certainly be able to improve your search later as you learn more about subcategories, specific therapies and drugs, or alternate names for the subject.
Now&#8230;look at the lowest search line, which allows control of the domain for your search. This has interesting possibilities for controlling your results:
&#8226; .org, organizations, may be the most useful. It will lead you to organizations of patients and their families, often with good discussion groups, organizations supporting research and funding, and organizations of specialized physicians. All of these will help you find out about available therapies and treatments. You will also often find organizations discussing what they see as bad outcomes of therapies, drugs, and procedures, which can be informative and alarming.
&#8226; .gov will lead you to Federal and State governmental agencies involved in research, treatment, funding, and information on your condition.
&#8226; .edu leads to university sites and may be a good source for current research materials and universities that may have good specialist library collections.
Book resources that are commonly available at libraries include the PDR or Physician&#8217;s Desk Reference, which gives detailed information on drug uses, side effects, and contraindications, and the Merck Manual, which gives current information on specific diseases and their common treatments.
BML2009

 

Sorry to hear that you are sick and I hope that you recover well. Although as you know diabetics don't heal as well as non diabetics. Never the less I'll be thinking about you.

 

I add sincere best wishes. Diabetes is not someting people should blow off. It runs on my wife's side of the family and may, of course, have been passed on to our 3 children, plus 2 grandkids. Just genetics at work. I'm with those who say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; get checked early in life and, if called for, adopt the diet & life style to help you do well -- 'course, I mean anybody, everybody. God bless.

 

I have myself checked at the base clinic every 6 months because my dad has type II and it runs in his family. I have to fight with the Corpsman every time but I tell them I want it and if they fight me about it I talk to the doctor about my family history. Scary and nothing to mess with.

 

Yeah, that's a good point to consider; if you have any blood relatives that have developed diabetes, that ups the probability that you could, also. Just one more reason to be aware of this nasty disease.

Thanks, Kinky6

 

I have been Type 2 diabetic fo 12 years. My A1c is 6.4 my blood sugar averages 140. I use metformin and Byetta. It is imperative that you learn what foods cause your blood sugars to spike and stay away from them or only eat them occasionally. Also walking two miles a day will help your body use the sugar up. Weight loss is also important but not as important as stopping the intake of alcoholic beverages. Also type 2 diabetes can be caused by neurological disorders as well. Guess what can trigger neurological disorders - the flu vaccines they administer to you. I personally will never take another one as it has caused me to have myasthenia gravis. I'd trade a week of flu not to have this disorder. I only wish they would inform you before they give you the shot that it can cause these problems.

 

best of luck for a speedy recovery!

 

That is nothing to mess with, my daughter has had type 1 since she was 5 years old. Real bummer. Take care and check often!

 

KinKy6, good luck and speedy recovery!

I have been fighting cholestrel problems for years now. I didn't think much of it at first. Then the shocker, IT CAN lead to diabetes. My LDL (bad) levels are way to high, my HDL is way too low. I have been with my wife for 7 years now, her first husband died because of diabetes related problems. She really keeps on my ass about it.

The last time she went with me to the Dr. he told her he was waging nuclear warfare on me. I have a difficult to deal with system.

Hopefully with these warnings, more of us will live better, healthier lives. I know they are a shocker for me. I didn't know the cholestrol/diabetes connection for years, which is why I sort of ignord it. We just don't get told enough by the Doc's, or like Bruce said, mis-information.

 

good luck and good warnings, too late for me i think, lost my health insurance when i got laid off, been coughing up blood and such, never smoked a day in my life, but all those chemicals are killing me, can't go to the doctor so lots of praying.

 

For those of you who still think Diabetes is a non-issue, let me tell you what changed my mind. My uncle went to the doctor about a sore toe. Guess what? It was infected, and diabetics have a problem fighting infection. The toe was cut off, then the foot, then the leg. They gave up, the infection was too much. In less then two months, he went from sore toe to dead. I decided it was time to take my health issues (Diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol) seriously. You should, too.

 

Best of luck with your surgery..I know what you are going through..type II for 20 yrs..now ok..went from 270 lb to 210..A1C down to 6...fasting count 105...all other blood work is super...every one is right,don't dick around with this...your life could depend on it....watch what ya eat,do what the docs say and you should be around for a long time..

Mench

 

Prayers for all of you. My mother died from a diabetic coma. My doc keeps track o f

my blood work, and keps me informed.

 

I found out I had diabetes in 2007. I knew I had it because it runs in my family. I was getting up to pee all the time, craved soda, and I just knew. I made an appointment to see the doctor and the day I was supposed to see him, I ended up in the hospital. BS was at 269 which is nothing compared to what you guys are saying. But at that level, my head was spinning. I take actos now and it seems to be keeping it under control. I still eat what I want, I just am sensible about it. Don't go overboard on anything. I used to check my BS all the time and it was running around 100-130 depending on what I ate and my doctor says that was fine. All the blood tests I have done through him though, they tell my are really good so I really don't check it anymore. I probably should check it more often, but I kind of know what the symptoms are if my BS is low or high and thankfully, I have not had any trouble with it going high anymore. Just make sure you take the meds and be sensible about it and it should stay under control.

 

Good luck John, hope you recover quickly.

 

Good luck sir! I wish you a speedy recovery!

 

My wife has been a diabetic since 1965. Several years ago she almost lost her foot to an ulcer. These things, anywhere on the body, can get really serious and should bu taken care of as soon as possible. Don't put off anything like this

 

Kimky6 ...good luck man,I found out in april that I was a diabetic,and like some others have stated same things were happening to me and a A1C of 10.8 during the laughlin river run,made for a long ride home aftera call from my doctors during what was to be a fun weekend.Listen guys this is no bulshit,ya gotta keep a eye on this because it can be very serious.My folks used to test me from the timee I was a kid until I was out of the house at 17.I kinda dodged the bullet for a long time but at a hair over 50 it nailed my ass and it might have been some of my own fault,I was gaining weight like nobodys biz.well now 6 months later Im down to a A1C of 5.2 dumped 50 pounds and work out 3 times a week...........in short Ive got a little monkey on my back but its no big deal and I am able to deal with it,but PLEASE listen to what is being said on here it can be fatal,next time have your doc check you out ..........good luck Kinky6 and again my respects to Bruce

 

Kinky 6, My prayers are with you for a speedy recovery and a long time with us.
Ok boys. That does it. I'm 53 and mom had it. I gotta go to the Doc next month and along with all the other unpleasentries of the "yearly" I'll get er done.
Dad died of prostate cancer that was diagnosed too late and I just hope the doc dosent have 5 students like last time.

 

Interesting about the ulcer. I've had a stomach ulcer half my life, it never seems to heal. I've been dealing with sugar issues for 20yrs now, I just got diagnosed earlier this year, not a surprise. Less and less energy over the past 5yrs. Can't even hardly work on my car anymore. I tried the meds, but they made me sick, and my blood sugar can get down to normal easy. I average around 140 BS. Problem is, the closer I get to normal, the sicker I get, even down to muscle cramps (lactic acidosis). Doc has no idea what's going on, hopefully an endocrinologist can sort it out.

Anyhow, it's serious business! Runs in my family, have a few aunts that lost toes, then feet, then legs, then their life. Take care of it!