They DO make sugarfree chocolate.

And it's pretty good.

Hugs to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a tough choice, but better than diabetes. And it's an opportunity to explore the less sweet kinds of chocolate. :)

Oh, no! :( I'm very sorry to hear that.

Best wishes! I think you will manage without chocolate - and when you then think that it is okay to have one or two, they will be all the better.

(I think it was some fifteen years ago that I managed to get rid of my chocolate addiction. Sometimes, mostly in the time before Easter, I have drawback, but then I will be abstinent again.)

So thumbs up! You will make it.

There's a great deal of refined sugar in a whole lot of foods in the modern diet, and not really that much in a sensible amount of good chocolate. I don't know what your diet is like, but unless you're totally macrobiotic except for a pound of chocolate every day, there's a good chance you can cut the badness in your diet down to managable levels in less painful ways than giving up chocolate.

I don't really know you that well, but if chocolate is really as important to you as it is in your public image, you have to look at quality of life. We want you around for a really long time, but not at the cost of being miserable.

Oh no ... *hugs*

Take a look at information about the Glycemic Index. Dark chocolate does less damage to your blood sugar than, say, white bread.

Limiting white starches should be helpful, and will help allow that occasional chocolate without guilt. :)

I'm so sorry to hear about your tragedy.


(I have recorded five episodes of Blood Ties at a fairly good quality (EP), much better than what Tom's got. If someone's got a good way to copy DVD's, we could share them more easily. Right now marahsk has the DVDs I made. I think I can give her two more episodes this weekend.

I have a diabetic friend, so I've been learning just a bit about non-sugar options. I still take sugar in my coffee, but have discovered that the yellow stuff (splenda) is lots better to my taste than the pink stuff (saccharine, sweet & low) or the blue stuff (aspartame, equal). If chocolate is the only sweet you eat, there are a few sugar-free chocolates on the market that are pretty good. (When my metabolism changed, I pretty much cut out all sweets, except for GS Cookie time, and the occasional handful of M&Ms... and whatever is around at a con...) If you like other things, they make sugar free twizzlers, lifesavers, etc. Not always in the same section of the supermarket, but usually close. Some people react badly to the false sweeteners, though, and some say that that even if you don't react, you're killing yourself slowly by eating them... but those same people probably say the same about sugar...

Glad you can still have some occasionally.

And, ironically, carrots were an interesting choice for you to mention -- as I recall, carrots are one of those veggies (like corn) that is bad for a diabetic -- probably having too much sugar. "Will write for broccoli!".

Totally tragic news, Debbie. If the doctor had diagnosed the Black Death I could hardly have felt more sorry for you than I already do. ;-)

I have a health check coming up very soon - maybe my (chocolate eating) days are numbered too! Thanks for the warning - I'll go and polish of the children's left-over chocolate eggs in case I get told to stop! (Smart Kid Number One here warns me this could have exactly the effect I fear...curse health education!)

I'm very sorry to hear this.

I don't know too much about refines sugars but I guess looking up things that are recommended for diabetic people would be a good step. And if you like dark chocolate, that would probably also be better than normal chocolate.

Be carefull with sugar substitutes, though. A friend of mine who studies medicine told me in large amounts they're worse than real sugar because they destabilize the insulin-producing cells in the pankreas. They kind of trick the hormon metabolism and the metabolism doesn't react all too well to being tricked (longterm) which may result in diabetes.

That skullshaker is absolutely marvelous!
Now to the bad news...I have an aunt who can't eat chocolate either and she loves it, almost as much as you do, I believe. Anyway, she just substitutes it with something else. Like fruit or cheese or crackers or something. I'm sure you'll find something else that you can obsess over soon. ;)

Another thing that helps is reading labels carefully and avoiding as much "high fructose corn syrup" as you can. That's quite a reasonable swap for good dark chocolate.

Don't fret, Debbie; you can have your chocolate and eat it too....Godiva makes sugar-free chocolates! http://www.godiva.com/catalog/product.aspx?id=1045

*hugs* Rotten news! - but I'm sure you'll find a way of making it work for you, whether that's less chocolate, or more of the posh, dark stuff, or switching some other things in the diet and substituting some diabetic chocolate etc etc. You'll find a way, and I'm sending you some sugar-free hugs.

Yes, you can still have your chocolate - it's all about portions...

What kills me is rice - your regular Japanese short/medium grain rice - the serving that is recommended per meal is very, very small =(

I've been living with IGT (sometimes called pre-diabetes) for quite some time and can give you tips and such - but it would help to know just what the bloodsugar readings actually were and if they were specifically fasting blood glucose levels, post-prandial levels (an hour or two hours after eating), a random test or just what was involved.

Since you don't mention being scheduled for an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) or getting your own blood glucose test meter it sounds to me like you probably are still in pretty good shape. Most likely you only need to moderate a few things at this stage.

But sometimes doctors are a bit behind the times and diagnostic criteria have changed several times in the last 10 years.

We can discuss things in your blog or privately via email, whichever you'd prefer.

ugh. So sorry you have to deal with any of this at all. :-(

I second the motion on reading labels to avoid high fructose corn syrup, which gets put into *everything.*
There's several different diabetic management systems--one, calorie counting, tends to make you cut back on fats and proteins and may not control any but the highest levels of carbs and sugars. This one is better fo those folks who are bacon-hounds and fried-food nuts.
Another system is carb counting, which is more useful for those folks who love their sugar high. *Not* the same thing as a choc high, I'm glad to report, although many confuse the two. Some diabetic folks I know have had good luck using the carbohydrate counts, which means eating lots of fresh veggies and fruit and proteins, but small potions of things like potatoes and rice and bread. So, if you're careful enough, you can have decent portions of dark chocolate with very low sugar.
In either case, you also want to eat smaller portions more often during the day to keep your blood levels more stable, instead of eating rarely but a lot at once.
In addition, some folks I know find it helpful to take high-concentrate health-food-store style ginger pills 500 mg each, once a day(which helps reduce blood sugar spikes) and cinnamon pills 500 mg twice a day to keep it stabilized at a reasonable level. Some folks also take garlic pills to help reduce cholesterol, which tends to be an issue for a lot of diabetics since the doctors tightened those standards for diabetics even more strictly than for normals!!

OMG - am I out of business? What about our ST. Nic tradition? What do I do now with all the "Ritter Sport" I have?

Your really concerned
official german chocolate dealer

(Actually I have bought chocolate after easter, cause it's pretty cheap then, planed to send you one of my infamous parcels... what to do now?)

I got gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with Ellie. It made me face up to the fact that chocolate *is* an addiction. And like an addiction, it does get better. Giving up is hell, but once you've been off it about a week, the cravings drop off significantly.

It is entirely do-able :-)

>>You're so sweet, Franklin!!!<<

Does that mean, you have to avoid ME too? (Breaks out in tears)

Ive been living with low blood sugar since I was 16 (im not that far behind my brother for a age reference) and it isnt that bad.
First off, get your blood sugar to what ever is normal levels and expect your body to react to the new diet.
Read lables to see what types of sugars you are consuming and then pay attention to how your body reacts to the diffrent types of sugars. This will also help you figure out what you can eat and what you should shy away from.
You dont seem like a picky eater so shouldnt have any trouble adjusting your diet. After a while it will become second nature and you will just aviod certain foods that make you feel bad.
We all have cravings and we all give into them. Just keep those times in moderation and you will do fine.

Hopeing for the best and knowing you will do fine.

I can see how this would be devastating news to you, buddy. I have cut back a lot on the decadent desserts from my youth, too. My dad is type 2 diabetes now and I'm considering that my first warning. But listen to your doctor! And, hey, the upside is you can find new ways to indulge your sweet tooth. There are some nice sugar-free chocolates available, and there is a whole world of fresh fruit out there. I am particularly fond of Del Monte Gold extra sweet pineapples from Costa Rica. You don't have to cut it out completely. you can treat yourself occasionally but do everything you can to dodge the diabetes bullet.