Introduction --- but also someone to talk to, someone where you can get some support. Yeah, maybe counseling. Maybe you know the emotional support you need. Help with self-care practices. Getting the right education by relying on professionals. I think you can help manage some of these fears and still live a very full and long, healthy life. Hi, and welcome to the solving type two diabetes podcast. I'm Tom. And I'll be your host as I share what I'm doing in my daily life to solve my type two diabetes. Listen in, as I share the food, movement, and tools that I'm using each day. This podcast is intended for entertainment purposes only. For a full transcript or to follow the solving type two diabetes podcast on social media. Please head over to SolvingType2Diabetes.com for all those links and more now onto the show. Well, I wanna thank you very much for joining me on this episode. I'd like to ask you a favor before we get started here. I'd like to ask you to please share this podcast with somebody that you care about. The only way we really spread the word on these podcasts is if you share them. So if you could take a minute to share this episode this week with someone that you know who might benefit, I'd greatly appreciate it. My Week in Review --- So let's take a look at my week this week. It's been a fun week visiting with family in Maine. We are gathered here, most of us, two of my daughters, son-in-law and two grandsons are here with my wife and I in Maine. And it's been a fun week. We've been here now just a little bit over a week, and, we go home in a couple of days, but it's been a week full of different adventures. one day we had breakfast on the beach. another day we went on a little morning hike. We've had fun times. I got in, several good walks here in the neighborhood and it's been mostly great weather. Couple days have been quite warm for Maine. it's been in the upper eighties, I think. We had one day of showers, but not really bad at all. And I had a fun side trip. I went to a fiber mill. the name is Junction Fiber Mill in White River Junction, Vermont. It is about a two hour drive from here, but it was really fascinating to me. It's where they take in, fleece from sheep, freshly shorn. Sheep, fleeces, and I think some alpaca as well, but mostly sheep. And they process it right there in this mill. And I'm gonna say it's about, maybe 30 feet by 80 feet, so maybe 2,400 square feet total of floor space. And they have some very old but well-maintained machines that do all this processing. And it's a lot of manual labor involved from cleaning the fleeces. To, putting them through these various machines and keeping the machines well-maintained. And it was just very interesting, to meet it, to meet the people who run it and to see the mill and, had a good afternoon doing that. So that was a lot of fun for me. But yeah, it's been a great week and, we'll see everybody again in a couple weeks, at the Poconos for summer camp. But, this was a nice visit, for the July 4th week. My Numbers --- If we take a look at my numbers, I did manage to close my rings five outta seven days, and yesterday I did not, when I went and visited the mill and also the day up here for the drive up, I did not close my rings. It's about a seven hour drive and I just didn't put in the effort to get back out and get a walk-in after all that. So five outta seven days for closing the rings. My seven day average glucose was 1 0 9. Which is spot on. It's, really where I expect it to be nowadays and, operating without the farxiga and it seems to be going very well. my body fat percentage is right at 20.9%, two 0.9, and my macros this week, I've averaged. 87 grams of carbohydrates each day and 117 grams of protein each day. So between my eating, my movement and the Mounjaro, I am keeping my blood glucose right where it should be Mounjaro Update --- for my Mounjaro update. It's really the same stuff. Different day and, I'm still at the 7.5 milligram dose. I've been there for several months. It seems a little, boring to update on the Mounjaro because there really is no update. I'm still taking it once per week and, it's going very well. my hunger is controlled. Really no negative side effects at all. Blood sugar is under very good control. And it's, for the past six weeks or so, it's the only medication that I'm taking for blood sugar control, for my type two diabetes. And it's doing a great job. So it's a little boring, it's a little bit, routine, but that is my Mounjaro update. I'm very happy with it. Challenge and Win --- For my challenge in WIN this week, I have been attempting while I've been up here to not eat separately to whenever possible eat, what the family's eating, when the family's eating it. And I think I've been fairly successful at that. I'm gonna count this one as a win. I've made a few substitutions here and there. Like instead of a bread for a sandwich or instead of a regular taco shell for tacos, I'll use my, carb balance, mission brand, low carbohydrate, tortilla wraps. That's usually my main type of bread product that I go for, and it does a great job. It was easy to use that as a substitution. And on some of the meals, I did not eat everything that was offered. I stayed away from the desserts and usually, didn't have too much of the rice or other stuff, but loaded up on the meats, loaded up on the vegetables. And as you can tell by the numbers that I just reported, I've come very close to my normal targets for carbohydrates and protein this week. So that makes me happy. It was a challenge. sometimes it's easier to eat differently, eat separately. we're all here, family gathered together, so I do my best to, eat when everyone else is eating and I'm gonna call that one a win News --- for the news this week. I got some articles here that I think you might enjoy. This first article is entitled The Best Way to Exercise If you have Type two Diabetes According to science. Now any exercise you do is gonna be great. And according to this article here, they claim that most people do know that exercise is helpful for them. Movement. I talk about movement a lot, but what they came to here in this article is four basic. Points that they believe are very helpful, and I think these points are very helpful for anyone with or without type two diabetes. But it says that the best workout plan for those with type two diabetes includes these four things. First, any form of regular aerobic activity that increases the heart rate, such as walking, swimming, biking, jogging. The second point is regular resistance exercise using body weight dumbbells or resistance bands. So body weight resistance exercise can be pushups. If doing a regular pushup off the ground is difficult, you can do a push off the wall by varying the distance that your feet are from the wall. You increase the effort, the work required. Eventually you might, push up off the, of a chair seat or a coffee table, and then eventually right up off the ground, even from the ground, you can do it from your knees or all the way back on your feet with, like a plank position. So you can increase that difficulty just using your own body weight or adding dumbbells or resistant bands or another way to, do that as well. The third point it mentions is a sweat session, and they're suggesting here doing it later in the day. Now I honestly have found that any time you're willing to do it, Is a great time and, if you can do it later in the day, they say that it might allow the body to better control blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity. Now, they don't go on to say why that's better later in the day, but this article claims that's actually preferred if you have that option. Otherwise, do it whenever you can. And then finally, Little movement breaks throughout the day, especially after meals, and that can amplify the benefits of these movement sessions. So any movement you can do is good. And generally speaking, according to this article, more is even better. The next article here. Is entitled How Reading Nutritional Labels Could Reduce Diabetes Rates According to the Experts. Now this article is written by an author of the book called No Sugar in Me, and again, he's promoting, lower sugar eating. He goes on to say here that there's at least 61 different names for sugar listed on food labels. Now, we all know that any type of carbohydrate turns into glucose once it gets into your system and is digested and broken down into the simple sugar glucose. But on nutrition label, you could find 61, according to him, variations of sugar. It's important to learn those, become familiar with those, and he says that especially if sugar or one of its derivatives is listed in the first three to five ingredients, that's probably something you're gonna want to avoid. Like in sugary breakfast cereals, it's usually the second or third ingredient is some name for sugar. But he said, by reading these sugar labels, by becoming aware of all these different names for sugar, that you can help yourself out. And he claims that people can help themselves simply by doing that, with their type two diabetes. The third article here is entitled, San Diego Company's new wearable device will help diabetics eat right and lose weight. Now this is from Dexcom and I think we are familiar with the Dexcom, G seven, the various sensors they have, and those are primarily marketed, at least in the past. They've been primarily marketed to those with Type one diabetes. Because those are the people who really need to keep a very tight control on their minute to minute, hour to hour. Blood glucose levels. But this new device that they're marketing here, they think it's gonna be out to the general public in about a year, is specifically targeted to type two diabetics. Now, they haven't released the full details of how this sensor will differ, but they believe that it will not require a prescription from your doctor. will it be maybe, Intentionally less sensitive or have different types of reporting. They don't say we really don't know, but they do say that there's growing proof that people who wear a monitor not only better control their sugar. They also end up losing weight because of that better control of sugar. So what they're looking at are now pre-diabetics who would like this information, and typically your doctor won't give a pre-diabetic a prescription for a monitor. So this new device is targeted just to those people and will not require a prescription, which I think is a great thing. So let's look for that. according to this article, sometime next year. The final article here is, a very detailed scientific study, from jama. the American Medical Association Journal, it's entitled Type two Diabetes and its association with psychiatric disorders in young adults in South Korea. So they did this study, they followed on this study, I think it's a seven year study they did, and they looked at, young people who had a diagnosis of a . Psychiatric disorder, particularly schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. And they say those young adults in South Korea, 6.4 million young adults in South Korea have these diagnoses. And they're saying there's a significant association with an increased risk of developing type two diabetes. Now this study was done in South Korea, but I'm guessing, and again, I don't know, but I'm guessing that it would be true in other countries as well. So what they're saying is that as type two diabetes is becoming more and more prevalent among young adults that, uh, patient with this diagnosis of. Bipolar disorder or schizophrenia should get earlier and more intensive testing for type two diabetes in order to, prevent them from, getting, very bad type two diabetes. Hopefully they'll catch it earlier in a pre-diabetes or the very early type two diabetes stages. So that's something interesting. yet another group, with a very strong association. Not necessarily saying it's causal, but another reason for people, younger than maybe historically in the past, have been tested, to get tested and to keep an eye on their blood sugar levels. Common Fears and Anxiety with Type 2 Diabetes --- All right. Let's take a look at the main topic for this week. And I told you last week I want to talk about, fear and anxiety because I think that is something that really, drives my actions. I have, from reading and. looking things up, looking at the news and whatnot. I become very familiar with what the typical, progression of type two diabetes is for most people. I remember, oh man, this could have been 15 years ago. When I first got a, high blood sugar reading at a doctor's office, and I think it was high enough to officially be type two diabetes and, or high pre-diabetes, I. And the doctor didn't do anything other than say, I must choose between potatoes or bread with dinner. And that was really the extent of her medical help and advice. But one thing she did say that stuck with me is that this will get worse. This always gets worse. And so of course that put some fear into me, not enough to do anything about it. I, I didn't pay too much attention. She didn't seem to pay too much attention, so I sort of, I guess just figured out, well, we'll wait till it gets worse. But I do know some of the severe complications, you see these dialysis centers popping up everywhere and it's for a lot of people with advanced type two diabetes, they have kidney problems, kidney failure, they have to go in for dialysis. A lot of people with heart disease, a lot of people with amputations, a lot of people with, vision problems, blindness, and, these are some of the fears that I have now. I think I'm doing a great job of, delaying or preventing. We're avoiding these complications. I don't currently have any complications that I'm aware of. hopefully, have I caught it in time? Am I doing enough? And I think that's why one of the reasons I am very focused on the numbers and very focused on, preventing these things is because I know what they are. I really know what these things can be. And this is a real issue for a lot of people. And you might be dealing with this. Occasionally someone has written in, and expressed their, concern, that, things are going to get worse, things like that. So I thought I'd go over some of these and through doing some research here, I came across six, six things that, you can experience. As you're dealing with this diagnosis. So I'd like to go through these with you. Some of these I've had personally from time to time, and some I have not. But you might be experiencing these and I think it's important to know that you're not alone, if you're dealing with some of these things. So the first one here is fear of complications. And this is something that I think I definitely have. one of the major worries for people with the diagnosis of type two diabetes is the potential of developing complications. Like we mentioned just a minute ago here, heart disease, kidney problems, nerve damage, vision loss. the fear that these complications can lead to anxiety about the future and concerns about how the disease may progress. That's a real fear that, I think many people with this diagnosis have. The second one is just anxiety about blood sugar control. managing mere blood sugar levels. It's a crucial aspect of living with type two diabetes. The constant need, to monitor the. Glucose levels, take medication for most of us. Make dietary or lifestyle changes and adjustments that can all cause anxiety. Just like myself this week, trying to fit in, trying to eat with a family, trying to eat what the family's eating, that in itself can cause some stress. there's worries about getting the high or the low blood sugar readings. The fear of not being able to maintain adequate control. Sometimes, quite frankly, that can get a little overwhelming, and I think a few of you ex have expressed to me about feeling overwhelmed from time to time. Another one is concerns about lifestyle changes. when we get this diagnosis, it can require us to make some significant lifestyle changes if we don't want things to get worse, such as, eating. Better eating things that are helpful to us, getting in regular movement. And certainly if you smoke, quitting smoking is a big lifestyle change you can make. But all that can be very challenging. some of it overwhelmingly challenging and that can lead to anxiety about ingesting and having this whole new way of life. And then you might have a fear of not being able to sustain these changes or, maybe feeling restricted in what you can eat or what you should do, or how little you're doing, and maybe you shouldn't do more. there's a whole lot of shoulds and coulds and woulds, with this diagnosis. It seems like sometimes, it's never, whatever you're doing seems maybe never good enough. But I would encourage you not to give up. You could have social anxiety or a stigma. when you're not eating cake and ice cream and everyone else is having to explain why. your medical issues are really nobody else's business. But some of these lifestyle changes we make are right out there in public and it's hard to not. Talk about it or not, make people aware of it and that can cause anxiety or maybe a fear of stigma. there's a misconception that diabetes is solely caused by poor lifestyle choices, but yet that can lead to feelings of shame or embarrassment. if you think maybe I brought this on myself, of course genes have a tremendous amount to do with it. And, lack of knowledge. I grew up most of my life not knowing the best things to eat. I just simply ate what was good and what everybody else was eating. You could have a fear of being judged, maybe resulting in anxiety, maybe a fear about disclosing your diagnosis or having to manage your condition in public. could be taking pills, could be eating certain things, maybe an injection, whatever it requires. Also there could be financial concerns. diabetes management can be expensive. These sensors I wear, even with insurance cost $75 a month. My medication is with great insurance is still, another $25 a month. And if you're testing with strips and lancets regularly, all that adds up as well. Every doctor visit I have, comes with a copay. And I see the doctor more regularly now with his diagnosis than I normally would. Your glucose monitoring supplies, potential complications, that's really where medical bills could add up. And this financial burden can lead again to anxiety about en forting necessary treatments and the fear of, what if you don't have the money for your medications, what if you, don't have the money to deal with a chronic condition? then what do you do? Do you have to sacrifice something else? This leads to a, an emotional impact. Living with a chronic disease or illness like type two diabetes can over the long term, really take a toll on your mental health. Anxiety and depression are common among individuals with diabetes. I know that, I could feel that way sometimes about it. I feel good in that. I'm working hard to prevent it's, worsening. Still, I can feel that still. And even self-care. getting your medications, making sure you're eating right, doing all these things right. Getting in your movement every day, that can be draining. You might fear not being able to cope with it all, and it could feel overwhelming. These daily responsibilities. The bottom line is I think it's important for individuals with type two diabetes to get the help you need from professionals. And I appreciate, and I think it's great that you listen to this podcast. I certainly hope I can provide a nugget of help or information from time to time. Really, the important thing is to rely on the professionals. Now, these can be professional nutritionists, dieticians, certainly your doctor, but also someone to talk to, someone where you can get some support. Yeah, maybe counseling. Maybe you know the emotional support you need. Help with self-care practices. Getting the right education by relying on professionals. I think you can help manage some of these fears and still live a very full and long, healthy life. Even though you've received this diagnosis, this diagnosis does not have to be a death sentence. It does not have to be a lifetime that's shortened by serious and severe complications. It's one thing to live long, but it's another thing to live long in good health, and that's what we're all striving for here. So get help. When you need it to deal with anxiety or depression. If you're dealing with that, certainly don't suffer that alone. There are plenty of places out there where you can get someone who can listen to you and talk things through and learn things with, and I think that's my recommendation. Questions --- Now, let's look at your questions. So we did not get questions this week. We got some good questions last time and I'm very happy for that. If you would like to send in a question or a comment or maybe a topic for an upcoming episode, I would absolutely love to hear from you. There's two easy ways to do that. The first way is simply send me an email. My email address is Tom at solving type two diabetes.com. The second way is to pop over to the website solving type two diabetes.com and click on feedback and right, there's a little form you can fill out. You can type in your question or your comment or your suggested topic, and I will get an email from that and I'll be happy to share it on the next podcast. Well, it's been 25 minutes, not a long time, but I'd like to ask you my favor again. I'd like to ask you to please share this episode. I'd like to try and reach people who need to hear this information. You can help me immensely by just taking a minute and sharing this episode this week. What's Next? --- So what's on tap for next week? Well, next week I'd like to talk to you about some ideas for prioritizing movement in your day. Movement's important. Movements is good. Exercise is great for your overall health. Sometimes we have a hard time fitting it in, or at least maybe we think we do. So I'd like to share some ideas for prioritizing movement. In your day. Thanks! --- Well, that wraps up another episode of the solving type two diabetes podcast. I hope you found it valuable. Please follow and leave a five star review, as it helps other people find the podcast. By subscribing you ensure you won't miss the next episode. You can always get a full transcript of the episode at SolvingType2Diabetes.com there you also find the links to leave feedback and links to follow on social media. I'm very interested in hearing from you with comments and suggestions. Thanks very much for listening. Please remember that everything I share is just from my own personal experience and should not be taken as medical or health advice. Please consult your own medical professionals. This podcast is intended for entertainment purposes only.