Forums: April 2011 Kickstart Forum: Cigarette smoking.....
Created on: 04/02/11 03:06 PM Views: 1722 Replies: 9
Checochinican Joined: 01/04/11 Posts: 148	Cigarette smoking..... Posted Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 3:06 PM Does anyone else have experience/knowledge of this - how smoking or stopping smoking affects our blood glucose? After a 50-year habit of smoking 2 packs a day, I quit four days ago. It's rough but necessary for me, as I have a pretty serious case of COPD. Nicotine is a stimulant and might elevate glucose. Stopping smoking is stressful in the extreme and that might elevate glucose. I'll use myself for an experiment in the matter.
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Oceandog Joined: 01/10/10 Location: California, USA Posts: 642	RE: Cigarette smoking..... Posted Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 4:23 PM Though I have zero experience with smoking (in myself) I can empathize with your struggle. It seems to me that you also struggle with your weight being low? If this is the case, I can only imagine that as you stop smoking, your body will have a chance to heal and find a better balance. I read in a book that our liver replaces itself completely every 7 months (I think that is accurate, I can look it up if needed, unless you have liver disease) so by eating vegan, cigarette cessation, a bit of exercise, I would say by fall you will be a whole new being! Awesome for you. Here is a HUG to encourage you along your way. In times of stress, we all need one! Always offer kindness and a soft word to the beings around you; You do not know their journey. Your words can be the hug they need or the shove that breaks them.
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Cigarette smoking..... Posted Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 6:46 PM There's pretty good evidence that smoking is just flat bad for diabetics. It plays games with the metabolism (some young women start/continue smoking because they aren't as hungry when they smoke for example). And, it's basically adding an overload of risk for cardiovascular problems. Smoking is a huge risk factor; diabetes is a huge risk factor. Quitting smoking is a *temporary* stress - and you can get help with both quitting and managing your blood sugar while doing so. Cardiovascular damage is long term. --Deb R
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Wild4Stars Joined: 12/27/09 Location: Florida Posts: 832	RE: Cigarette smoking..... Posted Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 7:53 PM Quitting smoking is good for so many things I can't imagine that it wouldn't help any health problems in the long run. If stress is an issue, learn to meditate. I'm betting Susan will chime in on this subject in short order !! Vikki ~ Wild4Stars@gmail.com
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Checochinican Joined: 01/04/11 Posts: 148	RE: Cigarette smoking..... Posted Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 12:24 PM Thank you! I found an answer on the net, and then I became an answer. I'll explain later. Research has demonstrated that nicotine raises blood sugar. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=141284 Yesterday, I poisoned myself with nicotine, using a "patch." Terrible symptoms - nausea, vomiting, tremors, fever, near collapse. I had earlier had a much milder version while wearing a patch (weeks ago) so recognized the problem's source. Ripped off the patch, washed my skin, took to my bed for two hours. The vomiting finally subsided. Much later I ate a small meal of soup and crackers and did my usual before dinner and after dinner glucose tests. Astonishing! Obviously, these results were not from my meal but from the continuing effects of the poisoning. 8:50 p.m. 124 11:15 p.m. 177 11:20 p.m. 254 11:30 p.m. 188 12:20 a.m. 119 So........... can we say nicotine raises blood sugar? I guess I understand those scores given a toxic level of nicotine in my system, except for this - what brought those scores down? Not drugs; I don't take any. Not exercise; I did none. Perhaps my own glucose metabolism is not as disordered as I thought. Now that I am a non-smoker, I'll keep this thread going.
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Cigarette smoking..... Posted Monday, April 4, 2011 at 9:37 AM Checochinican wrote: I guess I understand those scores given a toxic level of nicotine in my system, except for this - what brought those scores down? Not drugs; I don't take any. Not exercise; I did none. Perhaps my own glucose metabolism is not as disordered as I thought. Now that I am a non-smoker, I'll keep this thread going. Or maybe not - it is not uncommon for a 'rebound' reaction to occur. That is, a really high "high" will be followed by a really low "low". Also, I noticed you mentioned you 'diagnosed yourself' as diabetic. Are you having A1C testing done at all? That is the key to managing diabetes if you are indeed diabetic. The finger stick tests are Polaroids of that moment in time; the A1C is a videotape of the last 3 months. You can have a really high "high" after lunch (for example) and think "oh my" but the rest of the day, times you weren't testing, you were in the low-to-good range. Likewise, you might have a really good test result before dinner, but the rest of the day was high - and again, you wouldn't know it. But an A1C test would show you a 3 month weighted average of how you've been doing. --Deb R
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Checochinican Joined: 01/04/11 Posts: 148	RE: Cigarette smoking..... Posted Monday, April 4, 2011 at 11:01 AM Bugsmom wrote: Or maybe not - it is not uncommon for a 'rebound' reaction to occur. That is, a really high "high" will be followed by a really low "low". Also, I noticed you mentioned you 'diagnosed yourself' as diabetic. Are you having A1C testing done at all? That is the key to managing diabetes if you are indeed diabetic. --Deb R Thanks, Deb. Two things 1. What is the mechanism for that rebound reaction? What brings the glucose level down? 2. I'm having problems finding a physician of the quality I want but I'm gaining on it. Then I'll have all the tests I need.
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Cigarette smoking..... Posted Monday, April 4, 2011 at 11:05 AM Checochinican wrote: Two things 1. What is the mechanism for that rebound reaction? What brings the glucose level down? 2. I'm having problems finding a physician of the quality I want but I'm gaining on it. Then I'll have all the tests I need. 1 - I'm not a medical person at all, but the best "guess" I can make is that when your blood sugar goes up really high, your system goes into "panic" mode and kicks out way more insulin than needed so it drops the blood sugar level really hard. 2 - how are you getting test strips without a prescription? That's gotta run expensive - it's bad enough with a Rx and insurance. --Deb R
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Checochinican Joined: 01/04/11 Posts: 148	RE: Cigarette smoking..... Posted Monday, April 4, 2011 at 11:05 AM I'm over the poisoning but really craving cigarettes. Without my crutch of the patch, I'm feeling very sorry for myself and whining, whining, whining! Tested my blood sugar and my weight this morning. Blood sugar was 95; weight was 94. I think I'm in a rut. And one further source of peevishness: the food to control my blood sugar will do nothing for my weight. A diet to add some pounds would worsen my glucose situation. If I think of anything else to whine about, I'll trot right back here. Oh, yes. It is pouring today.
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Cigarette smoking..... Posted Monday, April 4, 2011 at 11:07 AM Checochinican wrote: I'm over the poisoning but really craving cigarettes. Without my crutch of the patch, I'm feeling very sorry for myself and whining, whining, whining! Tested my blood sugar and my weight this morning. Blood sugar was 95; weight was 94. I think I'm in a rut. And one further source of peevishness: the food to control my blood sugar will do nothing for my weight. A diet to add some pounds would worsen my glucose situation. If I think of anything else to whine about, I'll trot right back here. Oh, yes. It is pouring today. Often, simply quitting smoking will add a few pounds to people - that's one reason some people go right back to smoking, so they can lose the weight they gained. So, maybe that will help with the weight aspect. --Deb R
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