Category / Diabetes

by alternative diabetic

Low Carb is way forward for Type 1 Diabetics too …

All diabetics are different ,and not everyone’s body reacts the same to Stress or Food .So I can only say from my experience …In Dec 2011 I lost my father tragically and I believe the stress affected my body by 2012/13 after having Type 1 diabetes for 21 years my body very suddenly gained excess fluid and further diabetic related complications,.I began wearing compression tights for the fluid build up Diabetic Lymphedema and my HbA1C had risen to 10.3 the highest ever … all this time I continued to spike and have hypos . As usual the Doctors and Specialists blame your control !

I had been to Viva Mayr in Austria when I was 45 yrs old convinced I wasn’t Type1 and Pritikin in Miami for my 50th Birthday where I was introduced to raw foods but most of my earlier years with Diabetes spent all my time bringing up 3 children.

In 2014 I discovered Aloe Vera which helped regulate the fluid retention slightly and I lost my first 14lbs! I got involved as a distributor for the company Forever Living however as much as the product was amazing and had amazing health benefits for me , the stress of being a distributor wasn’t for me so instead I just buy it for myself now as I’m still a big believer in Aloe Vera.

The last straw for me was having to have injections in my eye for what they thought was Diabetic Maculopathy .This was my breaking point when I began to research food even further ,

My final push was a few months ago when I went to a juicing retreat where I juiced for a whole week without food as I know it …I took a suitcase of carbs as I have never lived on just fluids and had no idea how I would be …to my surprise I didn’t need the extra carbs I had packed …My weight has dropped off and all the fluid retention has gone !!!

I’m now on a low Carb Diet with NO…

REFINED SUGARS

PROCESSED FOODS

COWS MILK

WHEAT

I have spent 27yrs fighting brittle type 1 diabetes . I have managed to half my medication and lose the fluid build up , I’m now shouting out my message ..LOW CARBS..is the way forward ……

by alternative diabetic

Juicy Oasis Day 4 to Day 6

Everyday is similar with a daily board of activities, so won’t show you every board , as just want you to get a flavour of the retreat. Always something to do. Loved Waking up to hot water and lemon then onto yoga…

Never thought I would enjoy the shots and juices !!! Gave me perfect sugar control , I asked them to reduce the fruit content to suit my requirements , the staff were so helpful 💚

We had a talk on how to juice and were able to make our own, everyday was an adventure , we even learnt how to use the cold press juicer to make banana 🍌 and strawberry 🍓 desserts.❤️

by alternative diabetic

Juicy Oasis Day 3

Had a fun day .. Loving Yoga and jumping on a mini trampoline , never thought I would find all this energy just living on juice !!! The session on learning how to juice was fab , I can’t wait to get home and try it , my sugar readings have never been this good in 28 years !!! I really don’t want to go home .

I won’t make promises I can’t keep but I’m certainly going to try to follow a plant based diet on my return just hope my family will agree too 😳🤪…

by alternative diabetic

Juicy Oasis Day 1

Well I started my juice challenge today… !! I had my first wheatgrass shot followed by juice and had boundless energy , the fresh air and tranquility hits you straight away .. also the friendly faces who are all here for different reasons .. I knew instantly this was going to be a fun week !!!

Today I struggled with my low sugar and changing delivery of insulin on my pump also constant monitoring on my Freestyle Libre … but I survived my first day with a fab massage and yoga ending with a lovely tomato soup and movie about people who faced the same challenge 👯‍♂️😊

by alternative diabetic

Going back to my story… August 1998

I am now going back having jumped from July 1996 to August 1998..the 2 years in between were busy bringing up 2 young children and dealing with daily Hypo glycemic attacks !!!

August 1998 , I gave birth to my 3rd Child a Boy born at 36 weeks, again by caesarian. …However I may not have had him had I listened to the Doctors again !!

Three months into the pregnancy I went for a scan to be told , due to the blood tests I had, the baby hadn’t developed and I should have a termination..I was told a scan would be pointless and computers don’t get it wrong , so we sat outside the doctors room in the hospital while he saw the next patient and decided where to have the termination.  I was so sure the pregnancy felt right that when I went back in the room I insisted on a scan !!

Yes you guessed , the Doctor finally agreed to the scan and my feelings were right ..the results on the computer were wrong and our Baby was developing perfectly !!! 

Moral of the story always believe in your second sense and fight to be heard if you believe something is wrong.

I wouldn’t have given birth to my 3rd Child had I not pushed the doctor to give me a scan..after which I decided to change specialist ..hence going back to town.

by alternative diabetic

Time to reflect….Sept 2016

Sitting on a plane, gives me time to reflect on how I want to proceed with my blog !! I stopped writing my blog as I had a recent issue with my eyes…A complication of diabetes, ‘Diabetic Maculopathy ‘. which I am now having injections for .. in my eyes !!

My first reaction was to say why me ! Then I decided to turn it round and be positive..I opened up an Instagram account to fill with inspirational sayings and photographs that made me happy..I called it ‘ @alternativediabetic ‘ . Hopefully helping others going through similar situations in life.

I want to live my life to the full as you don’t  know whats round the corner, also travel more ..hence my blog stopped for a while ! ..Now after another short break  I’m ready to carry on bringing my story up to date …

by alternative diabetic

‘I will eat my Hat’ if you have a thyroid problem…July 1996

I made an appointment to revisit my diabetic specialist, he didn’t really believe in alternative therapies so when I mentioned I believed I had a thyroid problem he laughed and said I needed to come to terms with my diabetes.

As I was a private patient I insisted on some blood tests to see if the iridologist was correct,  my specialist agreed to do them but said he would eat his hat if I had a thyroid problem !!!

That evening the specialist called me at my home to say he was eating his hat as he spoke to me … I had a severe under active thyroid ‘myxoedema’ and should start Thyroxine therapy that evening and to come to the hospital to collect my prescription!!

I started on a high dose 150 micrograms straight away …

by alternative diabetic

IRIDOLOGY…how it helped me.. June 1996

I was recommended to go to an iridologist ..for those who don’t know….

Iridology  is an ancient diagnostic technique through analysis of the iris of the eye.It is painless, non -invasive,and astonishingly accurate method of health analysis. It is believed to reveal the condition of each and every organ in the body….extract from a book by Adam Jackson Iridologist.

At the time I was willing to try anything alternative , the hypos(low blood sugar) I had on a regular basis were getting me down. One of the things I learnt was that the iridologist believed I had a thyroid disorder and if I corrected it, my diabetes would settle ..he wasn’t convinced I was Type 1 !!

With this knowledge I went to pay another visit to my  diabetic specialist…

 

by alternative diabetic

Where has the year gone !! … back to April 1993

When I started this blog I was going to write about my story from first being diagnosed, however so much has happened in the past year that I was unable to go back to my blog as I was dealing with current diabetic issues!!

Therefore I have decided to bring my blog up to date quicker by saying my history in a briefer format.

APRIL 1993  had my first baby a Girl by  C-section.. A fairly good diabetic pregnancy with no real complications except for delivering the baby at 37 weeks due to Oedema.

There is no point discussing the complications re diabetic pregnancies as many guidelines have changed as it was over 20 years ago!

DECEMBER 1995 had my second baby by C- section.. A slightly harder pregnancy as the baby a Boy was nearly 10lbs by week 36 so had to deliver him on News Years Eve by Emergency Caesarian ! He was in special care unit for a week…

Having 2 young children proved very tiring with having to manage my diabetes as well,. so I employed a lovely au pair to help me. I had to change to a new ENDOCRINOLOGIST No 3  more local as hard to travel into town with the young children. I was feeling extremely tired all the time so I decided to take an Alternative health route !!!

I went to see an IRIDOLOGY Specialist !!… (To be continued….)

 

by alternative diabetic

Finally home after a month of travelling ! June 2015

It’s not that I don’t feel lucky to have had such fun …America…Middle East … Europe, however 6 security checks is challenging for an insulin independent diabetic !!! 

I wear an Omnipod (Insulin Pump) … The amount of swobs and body checks and questions makes you not want to fly !! I realise it’s important but surely they can make it more pleasant when it’s obvious you are diabetic !! Then there is the changing of the body clock and adapting your insulin round it … Not sure people realise what we go through !!🙈😎… Back into my history shortly …. 

 

by alternative diabetic

Oct 1992….My 2nd Endocrinologist !!

Just in case someone doesn’t know what an Endocrinologist is …

Endocrinologists have the training to diagnose and treat hormone imbalances and problems by helping to restore the normal balance of hormones in the body. The common diseases and disorders of the endocrine system that endocrinologists deal with include diabetes mellitus and thyroid disorders. (8 Sep 2014 Google)

I hadn’t had diabetes for long so transferring to a new Endocrinologist was easy… my diabetes continued to be difficult to control especially as I was pregnant! Due to my age and the fact I was  diabetic,  I had to have an Amniocentesis test. They also referred to it as a Grays test! All I can say is I’m glad I had got over my needle phobia!!

Amniocentesis (also referred to as amniotic fluid test or AFT) is a medical procedure used in prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities and fetal infections….(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amniocentesis)

The Endocrinologists wife was a nutritionist, and helped me change my diet , in those days you had to count your carbs i.e. an apple was 10 carbs… I was too scared to cheat as I was worried about the development of the baby!…

Apple =10 Carbs

Apple =10 Carbs

by alternative diabetic

Sept 1992…Given the green light to start a family..but I was already Pregnant !!

I followed all the guidelines, I was on an insulin called Actrapid injected 3 times a day before meals and Ultratard injected before bed ..I avoided anything with sugar and became obsessed with recording my sugars as I was determined to bring my HB1C down ! (I have kept diaries for the past 23yrs of injection sites and sugar readings and hypos ..which occurred most days !!) We decided to go for a holiday in Europe , where most of the food was self service so I didn’t worry about portions and could eat at the times I wanted.

I went back to work soon after being diagnosed , September 1992 I was given the green light to try for a family, my HB1C was 6.8%. Little did I know I had already conceived and was 1 month pregnant !!

I conceived in August 1992, due date being April 1993. The monitoring began! My 1st Endocrinologist.. wanted me to have the baby in a local hospital but my Gynaecologist (whom I had known for a few years) lived in central London and I had to choose ..hence bye bye number 1 hello my 2nd Endocrinologist!!

IMG_5164

by alternative diabetic

July 1992… Reality began to sink in , things I didn’t know !

Even though it was many years ago certain things don’t change, I had to surrender my full driving licence ! I then had to be assessed by a doctor and a form completed to re-apply for a driving licence for 3 years and then to continually apply every 3 yrs onwards !!

I  subscribed to  Diabetes UK  to receive a magazine called Balance showing the latest changes to medication and problems I may encounter..I actually paid to be a life member .. I figured once a diabetic always a diabetic !

I also subscribed to Medic Alert for a bracelet highlighting the medication I was on! I hated the feeling that I had an illness and everyone had to be aware , so I purposely bought trendy versions of everything to hide the fact. I didn’t join any forums or clubs as I didn’t want to see what happened to diabetics further down the line ! The whole thing scared me !!

I had to see a dietician, I was taught to carb count ,  although over the years the guidelines have changed! I had to keep a diary of my injections & sites (4 a day) also food diary !  I really thought my life would never be the same again!!

I began to suffer drops in blood sugars every day , Hypoglycemia otherwise known as Hypos ! I was told until I was stable this would happen, so I began my regime of pricking my finger at least 7 times a day …

IMG_5198

by alternative diabetic

31st March 2015 .. Preview of what’s to come ….

Just to clarify, I am writing a blog on the past 23 years of my life since discovering I had Type 1 Diabetes gradually bringing it up to 2015 ..I am now 56 yrs old .. Happily married with 3 Children now 22, 19 & 16 and a successful business…My journey has had its ups and downs dealing with diabetes, diabetes during pregnancy and other autoimmune disorders.. I realise there has been many advancements in diabetes along the way .. So some of my story will be out of date but will still show you the journey I have taken .. the rest you will discover in my blog !
I hope to help people who are on a similar path to see there is light at the end of the tunnel and life is what you make of it …..