Thursday, May 04, 2006 - 09:33 am, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
Great post Roger. Good to hear you are staying on top of such a life changing thing.
There is no history of diabetes in my family, but about 8 years ago I was 137 kilos at 181cm height, and my doctor was convinced from my blood work etc that I was heading for diabetes and heart disease territory (this was at 23 years old) - I finally got my •••• together at 24 and lost 60 kilos, got pretty fit and active, and have managed to keep the fat off for 7 years now, and my blood results are excellent.
Personally I would always advocate a healthy life style of moderation and exercise as the best way to stay healthy.
Thursday, May 04, 2006 - 11:34 am, by: Dave Hart(Davyboy)
Excellent post Roger, I feel overwhelmed. Peter, good idea and Matthew you took a big decision and succeeded. Roger, what I would like to stress and this goes to everyone else, don't think this site should just be about Soarers because there's the 'Off-Topic' section where ideas can be shared for the benefit of all, that's one of the great things about the Web, people don't need to live in ignorance for long. Yes, there's no way false information can't end up there but there's always someone who'll speak out. My son has had type 1 diabetes since before he was 2, he's now nearly 30 and I've never heard of the Cinnamon thing so I wonder if it will be good for type 1 suffers. Roger, you never mentioned why injections weren't tried as a means to regulate your blood sugar, I presume you just went with your MD's advice, or if you belong to your local diabetic group. One other thing that hasn't been talked about is the diabetics ability to get/keep a drivers licence considering the number of diabetics that have come out, so to speak, since Don initiated all this.
Real good read Roger. I'm taking morning and night 1 of Diabex 1000 and at lunch and dinner 1 Diabex 850 and 1 Avandia in the morning plus all other medications. I saw in an health booklet for just two days ago that cinnamon will bring down the sugar level.
Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 02:15 pm, by: Don Bagnall(Baggs)
My Diabetes story is a bit different to Rogers.
When I turned 40, I thought oh well, I'm about the middle of my life, so I might as well go for a complete check-up. As prevention is better than cure.
I passed everything with flying colours, then the quack said that the only thing he hadn't tested for was Diabetes, the test for which, in 1993 was $6. I very nearly didn't bother. In retrospect I'm glad I did. A day later I got the call from el-quacko telling me that I'd JUST got it (Diabetes). He immediately prescribed Diamicron, which brought my blood sugar levels down with a rush and a roar.............ok, neato I thought, now I'll be a box of fluffy ducks for the foreseeable future..........WRONG!!!!.
About a week later I started getting this hideous scabby rash all over my body (psoriasis), which itched like mad, and made me squirm & squiggle like a worm on a hot-plate!.
Back to the quack. He said that it was a reaction to the Diamicron, and not to worry it'l clear up after a while (yeah, right!, friggin Snake-oil merchant!). He gave me some stuff called Pinetarsol, which is applied to the scabby, itchy areas (pretty much the whole torso in my case!), and makes you smell like "Eau du Pine Forest".
Did this stop the itching?, yes to a degree. Did the psoriasis go?.......not on your life!!!!.
I looked like a walking "Chips n' Dip" advertisement .
I finally couldn't stand it any more, and on a Saturday morning went to the local Hospital and told them what my condition was, and what the doctor had prescribed for the Diabetes............WELL Possums, talk about a flap. The head Nurse took blood tests and went spazzo when the results came back. I was DANGEROUSLY low in my blood sugar readings, and she basicaly said that my GP needed rooting with the rough end of a pineapple!.
She IMMEDIATELY took me off the Diamicron which was causing all the scabby, psoriasis, and said that NO WAY should I have been put on ANY medication what so ever!. OooooK, what should I be doing then....Hmmmmm?.
Diet my boy, diet ........I said wot?, ya mean like Cottage cheese n' crackers, green leafy crap, like vegetables (I'd seen pictures of em, so was vaguely familiar ). She said, no, although that would be beneficial , all you have to do is eat in moderation, exercise and don't be a fat little piggy . Ah, ok, that sounds better , I can still have a side of beef, pork crackling, chooky skin, the yummy crunchy bits from the bottom of the roasting dish (heaven ) as long as I have it with Diet Coke?.
She said, err....NO!, which of course, MY ears received as a resounding YES!.
So I paddled off home to tell Karen the good news re the scabby stuff, and the bad news re food n' stuff .
To make a long post longer (a tree?), I have survived quite famously since 1993 on zilch medication until one year ago, when my blood sugars were getting up a bit too much, despite (semi)carefull monitoring of what I ate .
The quacks put me on Metformin (2 x 500mg tablets, 3 times per day), and I take 3 x Omega 3 Salmon Oil capsules twice daily, which is brilliant stuff for controlling cholesterol (mine is 3.4), and also promotes healthy joints (Like....wow man, everything's so GREEN ), healthy circulation and a sense of wellbeing.......Noice!.
After reading and absorbing Roger's excellent post , I said to Karen "I'm going to buy Avandia".
She said, "Like bloody hell you are, we've got 2 cars already, what do you want a van for"?.
To which I somewhat testily replied. "Look you cloth eared Bint, I did NOT say I'm going to buy a van dear, I was referring to Diabetes medication..........are your ears painted on, or WHAT?".
"Oh", was the somewhat muted response.
So to sum up: I would like to thank the Linesmen, ball boys & umpire for a......oops wrong forum .
I would SINCERELY like to thank ME for sort of indirectly bringing up the Diabetes subject.
Roger Costello for his excellent words and personal experiences living with Diabetes.
The many members who offered their kind words of support.
My darling Wife, Karen (aka: Old Biddy, Wifey-Gadget), without whose constant love & support, I would be so much the lesser.
And finally, the Toyota Motor Company for making this all possible by creating the SOARER
Yours in Kangaroo doo and Reticulated Python wrangling.
Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 02:37 pm, by: Dave Hart(Davyboy)
Very funny story, Don, on such a serious subject. Well done again. Do you need to state on you licence that you're diabetic and/or need a letter from your doctor. I presume you ditched the diamicron doctor and that the skin rash was a reaction to the medication and not due to low blood sugar. Also, do you get your eyes tested regular?
Don Bagnall Moderator New Zealand I have LESS Soarers than Hayden :-(
Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 03:09 pm, by: Don Bagnall(Baggs)
Dave,
No, it is not a requirement if you're only on Metformin, but IS if you're an Insulin dependant (Type I).
The Diamicron quack was in Auckland, so haven't seen him for 12 years, which is kinda a shame really, as he was a MAJOR car nut, and we spent more appointment time yakking about cars then worrying about medical matters And yes the psoriasis (for unfamiliar readers, it's pronounced Sor-i-a-sis) was caused solely by the Diamicron.
Every 3 years or so, I go to the Retinopathy Clinic at NP Hospital, where they put dilation drops in your eyes, and take a picy of your eye balls to see if everything's still peachy.........thus far, mine are in the perfect category.
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, all you have to do is eat in moderation, exercise and don't be a fat little piggy 
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, I said to Karen "I'm going to buy Avandia". 
