totally confused

[clight]

I was just diagnosed with type 2. Have lousy insurance and lack of communication with Dr.s and tired of switching Dr.s. Was wondering if you could explain some things and give me some helpful hints.
First off, I do not even know what a healthy blood sugar reading is supposed to be. I took a test 2 hrs after eating yesterday and it was 121. Is this good or bad?
My greatest concern is to figure out what is causing what. Not only have I been diagnosed with type 2 ( had a 7.3 reading on that 3 month avg test) but at the same time I am told I have high blood pressure which is fluctuating all over the place (one day 120/100 next 148/72) and they say my heart is enlarged on one side.
I am 41 and have always suffered from low blood pressure ie: would be kept in recovery longer after surgeries, light headedness et... now all the sudden it is doing this. I have heard so many things first that an enlarged heart can be caused by high blood pressure and visa versa; diabetas can cause the blood pressure to bounce around et...
This past year has been heck on my health. I was misdiagnosed with supposed "trigger" points and given several steroid injections. Turned out I had a huge kidney stone causing the problems and once it was out felt lots better. But I have had high white cells since January--maybe longer. New Dr. says it is proably from the steroids. I am thinking infection of some sort as I have had fevers and chills off and on. Lord I am carrying on sorry. Just real confused and would like some answers or ideas of how to figure out which thing is causing all these troubles. TYVM

[JDRF-Team-maw]

Totally confused,

I am terribly sorry to hear of all the trouble you have been having with your health.  I can only imagine the stress that you are dealing with.  You have been given good information already so the only thing I can do is reiterate the importance of getting with a good doctor who will listen and provide the help you need to get healthy.  Good luck and keep us posted.

[TonyAlmeida]

As far as "Good" sugar readings go .... 80 through 120 (though some doctors now say 70-110 are better) is good. 100 is perfect.

121 - is not bad at all, whatever you are doing is working.

Anything over 150 after 2/3 hours following a meal, is not good.

Diabetes can trigger all sorts of issues if not taken care of - Heart Disease and Kidney Failure are two of them.

Most of us eat low sodium things - cut back on the bacon, cut back on Atkins products (Atkins products may be low in carbs - but they use lots of Sodium to hold the product together in place of sugar - I wonder how many Atkins Dieters will in future develop heart disease ....), pass up on Diet Sodas that are not sodium free.

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Clight,
Tony's shared good information with you.  The recent stresses on your body could also have triggered your diabetes symptoms.  Many folks who take steroids experience high blood sugar at least for a while.

I understand how frustrating and exhausting it can be to not trust your doctor(s).  It's hard to move forward when we have a nagging feeling that a doc isn't listening completely or isn't responding completely.

For good help on Type 2 diabetes, you might contact the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org) and see if the local chapter can recommend some endocrinologists/diabetologists for you.  They may have a list of folks who specialized in Type 2s near you.  

To help you discover your own patterns, test as often as you can afford to.  Fasting, pre-meals, 2 hours after meals.  While you may not be able to afford to do all those tests everyday, a fellow I know stretches his budget by testing "intensively" like that for 1-2 days a week so he can focus on discovering the patterns and then -- try to repeat what works on the days he can't test.  

Good luck with everything that's on your plate.  I hope you find good medical care soon, too.