Any other diabetics here? Would welcome some advice.

[stav]

Yes, I have been put on statins and I do have a blood sugar testing kit although I don't use it as often as I should. Fasting levels are down to around 7 now which is good but I can't understand why I feel woozy sometimes. Maybe I should do a blood test next time I feel like that to help understand it better. I also feel tired and lethargic most of the time which makes it difficult to get motivated enough to start an exercise regime, I'm hoping that losing weight will help with this.

I can understand the difficulty of getting in to exercise but you must it makes controlling the diabetes so much easier. Also I test at least three times a day and sometimes more if I am exercising or have a hypo. After a stressy day at work draging my body out for a run is the last thing I want to do but afterwards I feel soooo much better. For me I try to have a balanced amount of carb (minimum) and eat plenty of fruit, chicken and fish and a fillet steak on a friday. Banana sandwich for breakfast. My achilliesheal is getting stressed at work and comfort eating between meals. I think there is no easy answer.

 

[johnalison]

We used to sail with our diabetic son when he was 11 years old and had no particular problems when we went to France and the Netherlands, though he did have a bad hypo some years later on a hot day + some alcohol.

Factors specially related to sailing are mainly an increase in exercise levels and exposure to low temperatures, which can affect control with insulin and certain drugs mentioned. Even with coastal sailing you may be away from immediate help and so it is better to assume that you need to be self-reliant and keep whatever is needed for all eventualities. However, for the average type II sufferer in the early stages sailing should be doing nothing but good and I hope you all enjoy it as much as our son did - in fact he enjoyed it enough to buy an Enterprise for his children this year.

 

[pappaecho]

Type 2 diabetic for 11 years. Never let it get in the way of sailing or life in general.
If you stick to your diet and dont cheat, you will be fine. I f you have only been diagnosed you will be assailed by the DB Police regarding diet, lifestyle, and your choice of drinking companion. Let it wash over you.
On important tip is to make sure that your blood pressure is normal, as elevated blood pressures will, combined with the higher glucose levels, can result in diabetic retinopathy, which you definitely dont want. You wont be able to microcontrol the glucose levels, so it is easier to keep the blood pressure in check with drugs if necessary.
Lastly never regard yourself as being disadvantaged, so keep as active as possible, because this keeps weight down, burns off the glucose so the insulin does not have to.
Frankly your boat is too small, you need a bigger boat, which will get you out sailing all summer, and working on it all winter..

 

[Victoria Sponge]

My friend is diabetic and more or less controls things with a healthy diet.

 

[pmagowan]

Diabetes is a little tricky to understand because there are two main types, type1 and type2

Type 1 always requires insulin and usually comes on when you are young.

Type 2 is the type that normally comes on in later life and can be related to diet and weight. It can require insulin but this is the final stage after diet, exercise and tablets have failed.

The one the OP is talking about is type 2 NIDDM (non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus).

The easy way to visualise what the problem is (IMHO) is this,
Every cell in your body requires fuel in the form of glucose (sugar). Everything you eat is converted to this in order to fuel the cells. The glucose is absorbed into the blood and delivered to the cells. The problem is that in order to get into the cells the glucose has to pass through a locked door. The key is insulin (a hormone produced in your pancreas). If not enough insulin is produced you have diabetes and the sugar will build up in your blood turning it into a syrup that causes damage especially to small sensitive vessels in the eyes, kidneys and peripheries.

So now that you have diabetes you need to think how you can fix this problem.

Number 1 is changing what you eat. There is no such thing as diabetic food. All you have to do is eat healthily and avoid simple sugars such as sugar added to food, chocolates, sweets etc. The main part of the diet should be made of more complex sugars(carbohydrates) such as pasta etc which are released more slowly and avoid sudden rises in blood sugar. In type 2 diabetes you are usually still producing some insulin and so if you have a more stable sugar level in the blood it will not be overwhelmed.

Number 2 is exercise. This is very good in many ways. It generally makes all your organs fitter and thus protects them. It stimulates your pancreas and at the same time makes your cells more sensitive to insulin so a little goes further.

If you do number 1 and 2 well then sometimes you will not need medication or can stop the medication you are on (after consultation with your GP or diabetic nurse).

Number 3 is medication. There are many types. The most common one is metformin. It is very good and also helps with weight reduction. It does not lead to hypo's (those low glucose emergencies that are most associated with Type 1 diabetes due to insulin use). The later stage medication is a sulphonylurea (normally begins with GLI such as glipizide). These increase the secretion of insulin and thus can cause hypos but even so these are rare. The final line of defence is artificial insulin. This is what most people think of. It is normally injected with a very fine needle using a device called an insulin pen. Many people never need this in T2 diabetes. It can cause a hypo very easily if you take the insulin but miss the food as it will cause any sugar in your blood to be absorbed into cells. If you don't replace the sugar then your brain gets starved of energy and you will start acting funny and can go into a coma.

So, in short, sailing is a very good thing to do if you have type 2 diabetes as it gets you exercise. You need to take no other precautions unless you are on medications which can cause hypos.

An important thing to remember is that if you ignore your diabetes you can get very high blood sugars which can also induce a coma and death. This only happens if you have ignored it for a long time and allowed your sugars to get very high.

Remember that options 1 and 2 are the most important by far and you should keep them up even if you are on medication.

Hope this wasn't too long. I have known sailors in their 80's with diabetes

 

[fontmell]

Diabetics sailing

Hi sailed 10 years plus with type 2 and take Metformin - I have sailed long distances and covered probably 25k miles in that time no problem. However i recently started to get high readings and was scarred they would put me on insulin so read everything i could. the Internet suggested Cinnamon was being taken seriously in a trial! what the heck I tried it and

My readings are 10 - 15% better with a sprinkle of cinnamon powder on my cereal in the morning! Is it placebo effect - i dont know but try it it may work for you!!!

 

[rob2]

Just a few extra thought, having read all the other comments. I find metformin can make me unwilling to stray too far from the loo - make sure you have a manual for the heads! Don't bother with "diabetic" foods - jams, marmalade, chocolates - they use a laxative as sweetener and only make matters worse. Likewise my well meaning pharmacist sold me some diabetic cough mixture - believe me you dan;t want to be taking a laxative when you have a cough!

Sailing is good exercise if you're racing, but I have to force myself to be active whilst cruising or else the sudden explosive activities, like winching in the genoa can leave me exhausted - whilst relaxing, I have ley myself run down a bit...

Rob.

 

[johnalison]

Hi sailed 10 years plus with type 2 and take Metformin - I have sailed long distances and covered probably 25k miles in that time no problem. However i recently started to get high readings and was scarred they would put me on insulin so read everything i could.
QUOTE]

In time you will need to get used to the idea that you will probably end up taking insulin. It used to be thought that type II was "mild diabetes" and once on a suitable regine that wouldn't change but that has turned out to be untrue and it needs to be taken as seriously as type II, if not more so and people should aim to keep the Hbaic levels at appropriate levels and not just the day to day readings. One cause of the problem is that most sufferers will have already suffered damage during a long period of pre-diabetic status before diagnosis.

There is no need to be scared of insulin and most people feel much better after starting, as well as having more flexibility in daily routine.

 

[MrB]

I have just found out i am type 2 (an hour ago) and its all quite daunting. How many times a day do i have to test myself, i have no idea? Will i be contacted by a Diabetes nurse???

 

[blackbeard]

I have just found out i am type 2 (an hour ago)

I was in just that position a few months ago.
No need to worry, you are not alone! but yes, it's a bit disconcerting.
There's some very good advice on this thread.
Meanwhile, speak to your GP. If my experience is anything to go by, you will find yourself booked in for all sorts of tests.
It's likely that you won't have to do any tests on yourself, certainly not several times a day. But your GP should advise.

 

[pmagowan]

The only benefit of blood sugar testing in type 2 is for educational purposes. Essentially it shows that when you eat buns your sugar is high, but you already know that! The diabetic nurse will test your long term blood sugar (hba1c) every so often to make sure you are doing well. Other than that the only difference between you now and an hour before is that now you have an even bigger reason to have a healthy lifestyle than you had before.

 

[MrB]

Thanks for my replies and the advice on the whole thread, very informative stuff.

 

[nigelmercier]

I have just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes which hopefully will be controlled with meds and diet and was wondering how this would impact on my sailing in future.

Bummer!

I worked with a guy who had diabetes, the only thing we had to be sure of was that we never used the last of the sugar. Other than that, he led a perfectly normal life.

 

[stav]

The only benefit of blood sugar testing in type 2 is for educational purposes. Essentially it shows that when you eat buns your sugar is high, but you already know that! The diabetic nurse will test your long term blood sugar (hba1c) every so often to make sure you are doing well. Other than that the only difference between you now and an hour before is that now you have an even bigger reason to have a healthy lifestyle than you had before.

I guess if you are on meds and diet this holds some water, but as a type2 on insulin testing in the morning or before exercise testing is essential. Hope you are not one of the hospital accountants who tried to make us diabetics on Jersey pay for our supplies!

 

[pappaecho]

Dont worry about "having to take insulin later on" Type 2 diabetics need more insulin than type 1, probably because their bodies destroy it
After 11 years I was at that point, when my long term glucose levels were slowly rising.
I was prescribed a new drug called sitaglyptin, which frankly have transformed my glucose levels/
When I investigated the drug this "new drug" was put on schedule in 1999, and has been used in most countries for years. In the UK, the NHS said it was too expensive. However the powers that be lowered the levels of acceptable long term levels and in order to meet them this drug has to be used... err they have since backtracked on the levels.

Recent advances in treatment for Type 2s, has been a twice daily injection, Exenatide, which causes the pancreas to produce more insulin. And the very good news is that there is a long term version which means but 1 jab a week, which hopefully will be available in a year or two, long before you will need it.
Dont worry about the scare stories, stick to the diet, take exercise and sail, sail sail

 

[rhumlady]

I have been type 2 for about 15 years and at first was diet controlled. I had to have a high dose steroid which totaly blew my control for years. I have recently turned 60 and wanting to make it to 70 at least I was dragged to the gym kicking and screaming. What a difference loosing 18kg has made. I am down from 4 tablets a day to 1 and feel so much better and have much more enegy. I am 5'10" and down to 101.2kg. My target is 85kg and by then I hope to be off the tablets again. I didn't want to have to to have to go on to insulin as that destroys the natural insulin producing cells in the pancreas and so there is no way back.
The medics are now realisingthat the fat around the waist is the main cause of a number of problems including type 2. Unfortunalely it is also the last to go when loosing weight so that is what I am trying to do just now.

 

[alant]

Good morning everyone and apologies if I have posted this on the wrong forum. I have just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes which hopefully will be controlled with meds and diet and was wondering how this would impact on my sailing in future. How do other diabetics manage to control their diet whilst sailing, any tips? I should add that we only day sail in and around Portsmouth harbour although we do stay onboard overnight at the mooring quite often, also we only have 1 gas ring so cooking a balanced meal will be quite challenging.

Since your in Gosport, call in & talk to Clipper Ventures.
Their current race crews, include a number of diabetics. Don't know details of how they control it, but sailing their long hard legs, is it bit more arduous than Day Sailing out of Portsmouth, so they must be doing something right.

 

[Mirror Painter]

It's a pain but not the end of the world.

My son is 3 and 3/4 and was diagnosed with type 1 when two years old. I'd be lieing if I said it was easy to manage but a routine is found, although I must note that my wife does much more 'managing' than me.

He has a number of insulin injections each day, plus finger prick blood sugar tests. Some times there are scary moments with 'hypos' and 'hypers'. Perhaps it is obvious that he cannot have sweets or even food and some drinks just when he fancies it. That meant I had to conduct a secret 'no sweets please' instructional tour of the barbers, butchers and other places where people had previously given him lolly pops. He takes all of this in his stride and is a beautiful, brilliant boy, (although I shall admit to being biased).

My point is that, although I don't have diabetes I feel able to say that if a three year old can happily live with type one, the rest of us should be able to cope with it - whether type one or two. The big requirement is for greater public understand of this illness, it's causes and consequesnces. If you want a good read Google for the J.D.R.F.

Oh and about boating - well we have over-nighted on the Thames on our tiny boat!

Stephen.

 

[huldah]

Type 2 diabetes.

I have seen two type 2 diabetics make remarkable recoveries with exercise and diet changes.

The first, after 18 years, was house bound. He improved so much that he was declared by a specialist to be no longer a diabetic. Unfortunately a massive reaction to a drug ended his hopes.

The second was suffering from PCOS. She exercised hard, including four swimming sessions per week. Each involved a mile at top speed. As a result, she now has a young son.

There are reports of statins increasing the risk of type two diabetes. As a result there is one statin that includes a diabetic drug.

I believe there was a uk trial that showed that exercise reversed diabetes.

It may be wise to avoid mono sodium glutamate.

 

[pmagowan]

I guess if you are on meds and diet this holds some water, but as a type2 on insulin testing in the morning or before exercise testing is essential. Hope you are not one of the hospital accountants who tried to make us diabetics on Jersey pay for our supplies!

You are right I should have said NIDDM rather than type 2 as some type 2's are on insulin but I was referring specifically to the OP and those in his situation. Many people with T2NIDDM can get themselves off medicine altogether and get their blood sugars into the normal range through exercise and sensible eating essentially giving them a few extra years of not being 'a diabetic'.