Divide your numbers by 18 to get the other kind of numbers.

What sorts of meals have you been eating?

Your numbers do sound like you need meds as well.  Metformin is usually the
one they start with.  Most common side effect is stomach upset so they
usually give you a low dose and ramp it up.  Other meds have other side
effects.  I've yet to have any side effects from meds, except for some
hypos.

My bad - you'll have to read my answer for your first
post:-)

Cheers, Alan, T2, Australia.
d&e, metformin 1500mg, ezetrol 10mg
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.
--
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com
Psyllium, Fibre, Muesli and Nuts

In alt.support.diabetes on Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:48:38 -0800 (PST) in Msg.#
<06e086ee-19b8-4e80-89e0-4f3219b7667e@s8g2000prg.googlegroups.com>, CindyB
<ski4cindy@yahoo.com>  wrote:

Cindy, you're in the US, right? If so, you don't need to convert your
numbers unless you specifically want to compare with non-USers.

Sorry you're feelin' not so good, Cindy. Hope ya feel better tomorrow.

To convert #'s, check out:

http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/converter.htm

Take care.

Cindy, when you're diagnosed you're likely in a kind of glucose
poisoning. You've got to get your numbers low enough for long enough
to throw that off - and then you have a chance of staying under that
level, and feeling well full-time!

But I hate to say it - you're not going to get there eating pizza and
fast food. You gotta take care of yourself, gal!

Nicky.
T2 dx 05/04 + underactive thyroid
D&E, 100ug thyroxine
Last A1c 5.6%  BMI 25

Cindy, as they say, been there, done that. I had the same worrisome
doubts about dieting and measuring blood glucose levels. I had some
tremendous spikes up to 225 while trying out different kinds of food. It
really is trial and error. I tried to follow what others on this group
were doing, but it didn't always work for me. It really does take weeks
of working through the different kinds of foods. The main ones
recommended to me, with a fancy little booklet showing amounts were:
sugars, fats, and salt, dairy, starches. Carbs fitted in there
somewhere, however, I did not try to to do adapt to them them all at
once. I set carbs aside for a while.
I soon realized that breakfast was a problem, (too much brown bread) as
was the evening meal when I tended to load up and just sit instead of
exercising.
What I realized. finally, was that it was the portions that counted as
much as kinds of food. Think portions! That is what I was told and
virtually ignored the advice.
I then went on the roller-coaster of cutting back and cutting down. I
lost 15 lbs in a few months and became malnourished. I was lacking
needed protein.
Keep at it Cindy. It is very frustrating for a newbie. A lot of the help
here is useful, some isn't. Bear in mind that you are you and not
everybody's diet will work for you.
Here is the address of the Conversion Monitor from Joslin Diabetes
Centre. http://joslin.org/Beginners_ Guide_524.asp (watch out for the
underscores).
According to my chart, 70 (3.9) is far too low, no wonder you are tired
and lethargic.  140 (7.8) would be an acceptable reading for me in the
evening 2 hours after eating. My count drops fairly quickly and I need a
snack before bed.
It is a lot to absorb. Keep at it. Dieting does work. Numbers do come down.
Take care of yourself and think portions!
Lorna

This post not CC'd by email
On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:48:38 -0800 (PST), CindyB
<ski4cindy@yahoo.com> wrote:

G'day G'day Cindy,

Delighted you've come back to asd.  It seems that for the moment you
are a bit out of sorts. That makes it a good time to take stock of
your assets and believe me you have already shown quite a few.

Firstly I notice that you are measuring your blood glucose levels
frequently.  That is a very positive step.  

Secondly you show concern for others.  Why else would you be
interested in finding out how to convert the US numbers to the
International numbers?  Many people become absorbed in their own
distress and don't think of such things.

Thirdly you are taking advice from some health professional.
 

Let's deal with the two systems for measuring blood glucose levels
since it is simple to do. The US system is the one that has the larger
numbers like the 221 you mentioned.  Everyone reading ASD will
understand these numbers so there is no need to convert them to the
International system. If you did, you'd divide the US numbers by 18.

You say they want your numbers between 70 and 140.  
I'm guessing "they" refers to a diabetic nurse, your GP or other
health professional.

The upper figure of 140 is quite ambitious.  

It is usually obtainable for T2 diabetics though not immediately and
not always without taking some medication.  

At the moment you could be suffering from what is called "glucose
intoxication."   What this means is you've had high levels of blood
glucose for a while and it takes a while before they behave normally
again.  

Or it could be that your choices of food contains too much
carbohydrate.  The problem isn't you. Its the choice of food and
knowing how to use the blood glucose readings constructively.

For this there is IMHO nothing better than Jennifer's guidance to the
newly diagnosed.  It worked for many, many people.  I have used it and
it worked for me.  

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm

The lower figure of 70 is basically a lower warning level.  
It is for most people a level they would wish to avoid.

This is a sensible strategy adopted by many doctors today. At one time
there was a tendency to put patients on medication immediately and
give some advice on nutrition.  What they found happened was the
patients were lulled into a false sense of security by the
improvements obtained by the medication and did nothing to change
their lifestyle which was often the major contributor to T2 diabetes
in the first place.

Put simply, it is important to bring about improvements with a
lifestyle change whether you're on oral medication or not.  

This should involve exercise.  
That is the most important starting point.

And a change in diet to one that places less demand on the pancreas.
That means some restriction in carbohydrate.

Other aspects such as smoking cessation are also important if
relevant.

OK, when we eat, blood glucose will go up almost regardless of what we
eat. Some things though will make it go up more than others.  That's
the sort of thing to notice.  Jennifer does it so well I'd like to
leave the initial discussion to her.

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm

However, I'll a make a comments that you might find helpful.

Vegetables have a high water content.  Water is absolutely calorie
free. Water is carbohydrate free.  Water will not bump  up your blood
glucose.  So if one eats those parts of vegetables that aren't used by
the plant for storage then you'll find it easier to control blood
glucose.  As a simple example the part of a cauliflower that we eat is
a part of a plant that is not used for energy storage.  The potato
that we eat is the part that the potato plant uses for energy storage.
By replacing potato with cauliflower one greatly reduces the risk of
high blood glucose levels.  

Put simply, one cup of potato is equal to five cups of cauliflower.

Or, cauliflower is five time safer than potato when it comes to
choosing a safe portion.

Some plant use grain as seed with an energy store for the next
generation.  Food made from flour is always a tricky choice when it
comes to controlling blood glucose.  

Bread for instance has 35% carbohydrate.  
A strawberry has something like 7%  

It is much, much safer to eat strawberries than to eat bread.
In fact strawberries are five times safer when it comes to getting the
portions correct.  

Some bread is safer than others.  It is called low GI bread.  In New
Zealand Burgen bread is of this type. When you get your blood glucose
under reasonable control then you might consider this. IMHO though it
is worth putting first things first and holding off the bread for the
moment if you can.  Test and find out what is true for you.  For some
people bread is never safe.  For me, sensible choices make it possible
in restricted amounts.

You might like to read the following and answer some the questions for
yourself.  Yes, I wrote it.

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/D&E.htm

Divide the US numbers by 18.

You doctor will have to make that decision.  Mine put me onto oral
medication immediately.  I don't know why he made that particular
decision.  For some people it is only a temporary thing to get them
past the "glucose intoxication" phase.  I was never that bad.  I've
been happy with his decision and have never had side affects
attributable to it.  

FWIIW, some medications such at metformin are reputed to have other
POSITIVE side effects such as lowering the risk of heart attacks.

Each oral medication has its own affects.  Some that are used in New
Zealand where I live aren't used in the USA.  If your doctor puts you
on an oral medication I'm sure you'll find some folks here on the same
meds who can back up the information you receive from your doctor and
particularly the pharmacist with their own experience.  

Way to go.  I like the proactive attitude.

Cindy, from a zillion miles away I'm impressed.  You might well be
scared but you're not so scared that you can't admit it.  You have
come out here and told it to us like it is.  To me that is an
invitation for admiration not harsh words.

Hoping you'll continue to post and ask questions.  As you learn you
support others who also want to learn but as yet are too shy to post.

Best wishes,