now wondering if i will finish

[neo]

i have section hiked 1704 miles of the AT from may 2001 to oct 2005
i only have 470 miles to go,i lost 19 lbs in 12 days in oct 2005,i found out 2 weeks ago i am diabetic,i started shooting insulin last friday,i will find out more about my condition this friday,i love long distance hiking and cycling
and kayaking,giving my self a shot no big deal,taking medication not hard
eating and excercising easy for me but,my blood sugar out of danger zone
but up and down,just wonder how i can maintain on longdistance hike
all kinds of crap going thru my mind,white blaze and the trail community is my extended family,my family and friends dont understand,i really cant tell
anybody whats really on my mind if i cant get balance and maintain it
i was diagnosed with hepatitis c 3 years ago also,i hope i can see the light at the end of the tunnel neo

[smokymtnsteve]

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other foot and you'll get to where you are suppossed to go


Hang in there Neo!

[bfitz]

i have section hiked 1704 miles of the AT from may 2001 to oct 2005
i only have 470 miles to go,i lost 19 lbs in 12 days in oct 2005,i found out 2 weeks ago i am diabetic,i started shooting insulin last friday,i will find out more about my condition this friday,i love long distance hiking and cycling
and kayaking,giving my self a shot no big deal,taking medication not hard
eating and excercising easy for me but,my blood sugar out of danger zone
but up and down,just wonder how i can maintain on longdistance hike
all kinds of crap going thru my mind,white blaze and the trail community is my extended family,my family and friends dont understand,i really cant tell
anybody whats really on my mind if i cant get balance and maintain it
i was diagnosed with hepatitis c 3 years ago also,i hope i can see the light at the end of the tunnel neo

Diabetes will not stop you from hiking...it just takes practice to get used to controlling your body. Its an input/output deal. Your body will react to what you do and you will become accustomed to those reactions. Get your doctor to prescribe that you test your blood sugar 15-20 times per day (so you never run out of blood sugar strips) Then read all the books I recomended and any other stuff you can find about blood sugar control and relate issues, and then start testing and experimenting with meds, exercise (like on a treadmill with a stopwatch) and food (count carbs, calculate effects), learn to determine medication dosages based on these parameters. I take all sorts of different doses of insulin depending on what I feel like eating, my schedule, exercise for the day,whether I plan to drink alcohol or hike or a million other things. It's all about the numbers, and training your intuition, it's learning how to operate a fairly complex machine, you have to practice and become an adept. All it takes is time and practice. I swear! That's why the book is called "Stop the Rollercoaster"!

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Neo, diabetes & hep-C shouldn't stop you from finishing your hike, but the mental stuff will unless you take care of yourself. Are you working your program or coasting? If coasting is the answer - well, you know what you need to do.

You might want to take a look at this site:
http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/
I have several fiends with type 2 diabetes that have been able to completely leave insulin and oral meds behind using this. One was taking 3 shots a day so her diabetes was pretty bad. Be sure to work with your doctor if you try this as using insulin when it isn't needed is dangerous.

[LIhikers]

Neo,

From reading your posts here at Whiteblaze I'm sure you'll finish. Give yourself some time to get used to this new situation. Search posts here at WB as I'm sure hiking with diabetes has been discussed before. If nothing else, those post will give you ideas for questions to ask your doctor. You may have to adjust your hiking style, but I doubt you'll have to give it up. Good luck to you!

[dharmabum86]

Neo,
I found out I was a diabetic when I was 21. I was in nursing school at the time beginning my clinicals. I was taking care of patients with diabetes and I thought, My God that's gonna be me one day. After taking a class with a dietician and learning how to manage MY diabetes, it encouraged me to thru hike even more! I'm now taking oral meds rather than shots. Now, I'm gonna be a SOBO in 06! Not only am I gonna do it as a diabetic but, I have kidney disease as well. You'd never no it to look at me. This is totally coincidence but I work for a GI practice working on a research project for Hep C patients. I've seen a wide scope of patients with Hep C and let me tell, although you may already no this, but you can live a perfectly normal, healthy life with Hep C......As long as you take care of yourself everyday. If you ever need any info let me know and I'd love to help you out! You can absolutely do this, I know you can!!!
OJ

[Big Dawg]

I don't know a lot about diabetes, but based on posts above, it seems like you will be able to finish your dream. I wish you all the best, Neo. You also mentioned Hep C. My wife just went thru procedures to cure Hep C, & it worked!! I imagine that option is available for you too. All the best, to a wild & crazy hammock hangin whiteblazer. I have no doubt you'll finish the trail!!!!



Big Dawg

[Gray Blazer]

Hey Neo, we are with you. Keep those spirits up. You've done about 1500 more miles of the trail than I have (I would have done twice as much if I didn't hike in one way for three or four days and then turn around and hike back). Keep dreaming. You'll finish. I'm feeling kind of depressed about not hiking, also. I got the results yesterday from my MRI on my knee and its really messed up. You'll be back on the trail before me and when I do get back I want to see you out there!

[Jaybird]

i have section hiked 1704 miles of the AT from may 2001 to oct 2005
i only have 470 miles to go,i lost 19 lbs in 12 days in oct 2005,i found out 2 weeks ago i am diabetic,i started shooting insulin last friday,............etc,etc,etc,...............i was diagnosed with hepatitis c 3 years ago also,i hope i can see the light at the end of the tunnel neo

NEO:

Sorry to hear of your diagnosis...but, you can make it. (Didnt know you were this close to "Mt. K"!)
One boot in front of the other...you can do it!

[soulrebel]

*I'm not a nutritionist-so this is just a low-GI food product that might help you keep your nutrition high and energy levels steady w/o spiking your insulin.

First of all, go by http://www.glycemicindex.com/ and learn about how different foods effect your blood sugar and insulin levels. Learn how and when to use high-gi foods (b/d/after exercise), and how to stay on low-to mid gi foods the rest of the time...

Second, the food product I use every morning 20mins before breakfast. http://gardenoflife.com/detail_perfect.shtml I plan on taking the pills on the trail, albeit more expensive. Basically wheat/barley grass with many other green veggies. We use their super seed for EFA's and fiber. Goatein for protein supplementation.
Green defense is a cheaper version that is doable.

Stuff's nasty, but will help keep your insulin levels "level" throughout the day since it's almost all Low-GI. Salad in a glass. I recommend holding your nose and chugging or if you must add a splash of apple or pear juice...

I focus on this like a daily vitamin as it insures I'm eating a "plate" of green food daily...

[stupe]

Of course you've got worries and doubts, that's perfectly natural at this stage of the game ( both the trail game and the health game ). I bet a hundred bucks even money that you finish, and I doubt that there will be any takers.

[Footslogger]

Neo ...if golf ball sized kidney stones didn't stop me in 2003 something tells me you'll finish. Energy flows in the direction of thought. Just keep your sights on the horizon.

'Slogger

[Lilred]

Second, the food product I use every morning 20mins before breakfast. http://gardenoflife.com/detail_perfect.shtml Green defense is a cheaper version that is doable.

I focus on this like a daily vitamin as it insures I'm eating a "plate" of green food daily...

Soylent green is..................PEOPLE!!!

[betic4lyf]

type 2 diabetes shouldnt be that bad, especially with exercise, because your exercise will cut everything you need down, and you also still have your pancreas producing some. i havent had any problems hiking with type 1, and while it isnt the same thing, a a tru, it comes down to a phsycological thing, and not a being able to one

[neo]

thanks everybody
right now i am taking amaryl 4 mg 2 times daily and one 16 unit injection of slow
acting time released insulin,i can hike no problem,just dont want to drop another 19 lbs on a 12 day hike like i did this past october neo

[bfitz]

thanks everybody
right now i am taking amaryl 4 mg 2 times daily and one 16 unit injection of slow
acting time released insulin,i can hike no problem,just dont want to drop another 19 lbs on a 12 day hike like i did this past october neo

Chances are you dropped that weight because your blood sugar was unmanaged and high...that means that most of the food you were consuming wasn't being delivered to your cells due to lack of enough insulin. Your body has only your fat stores in the form of ketones to run on under those circumstances, so you burn up fat quickly. If your sugars are good then you wont lose that weight. I know type 2 is a little more difficult to manage because of the insulin resistance and stricter diet and exercise regimen needed to control it, plus the fact that you don't just hit up a little insulin every time you need to correct a high blood sugar, but it's still just a question of discipline and developing skills/tactics through experience.

.... golf ball sized kidney stones didn't stop me in 2003....

....ouch! You're more a man than I am.

[neo]

Chances are you dropped that weight because your blood sugar was unmanaged and high...that means that most of the food you were consuming wasn't being delivered to your cells due to lack of enough insulin. Your body has only your fat stores in the form of ketones to run on under those circumstances, so you burn up fat quickly. If your sugars are good then you wont lose that weight. I know type 2 is a little more difficult to manage because of the insulin resistance and stricter diet and exercise regimen needed to control it, plus the fact that you don't just hit up a little insulin every time you need to correct a high blood sugar, but it's still just a question of discipline and developing skills/tactics through experience.

....ouch! You're more a man than I am.

ketones for fuel,that makes sense,one things for sure i dont want the wieght back,i look great at 167,would love to lose 5 more lbs,and add
a little muscle ,thanks for the info neo

[peter_pan]

Neo... slow and steady wins the race...just break the remainder into manageble pieces...make a plan and work the plan...You can do it.

Pan

[lostjohn]

You can do it! Just know your limits and abilities.

Try an experiment, eat a regular meal, wait 30 minutes, test your blood, do thirty minutes on the treadmill, test again. I am prediabetic, when I did this, it was amazing how much difference exercise makes.

[neo]

i am gonna add this to my gear listto keep insulin cool.,going to just do short over night hikes
over the next few weeks,then do a 60 mile hike at land between the lakes
by early sept 2006 gonna hit the AT,cant wait neo


http://www.friouk.biz/us/results.php