Hi my name is Sam and I was told I am diabetic the beginning of January...I am still in the denial stage although my blood tests say differently. It started as 18 after fasting and has reduced to 9.1 on metformin. It seems to be stabalising at between5 and 9 but I am not sure whether this is acceptable??? The doctor has made an emergency appointment with a specialist but that was 6 weeks ago and apparently I am on a waiting list and it may be some time before I get to see someone so basically I feel like I have been left to my own devices. I have bought several books to try and get my head around this and have also decided to try a vegan diet to see if this will help I was also told by a friend to join this forum as it is fab so here I am...hello
Welcome We'll try to help with any questions I am very cynical, so I'll say don't expect anything wonderfully helpful from a consultant. If you do, be glad that you'v found a rarity.
Hanadr Grandmother of Amelie and Joshua.
T2 since July 2003 Stroke survivor using 2 x 500mg Metformin and reduced carbs last HbA1c 5.4% August 2009 Feb 2010 5.1% Way hey!!
Hope you enjoy your visits here, this a friendly place and we're all willing to listen and offer advice when needed.
Regards, Tubs.
The food choice of others is becoming more and more heatedly exclusive until it may well turn into one of those forms of bigotry against which gallant little committees are constantly planning campaigns in the cause of justice and decency. (C O Skinner)
Hi Sam, I have also just been diagonised, and have been an almost vegan ( I have a little milk and cheese) for over 70 years. It has come as a shock to me as I have regular exercise and weigh under 15 stone. I have been prescribed Metformin but I already take Perindopril for high blood pressure I hope that by cutting out sugar I can beat this by diet alone!!
hanadr wrote:Welcome We'll try to help with any questions I am very cynical, so I'll say don't expect anything wonderfully helpful from a consultant. If you do, be glad that you'v found a rarity.
Thank you for the welcomes...you all come highly recommended. I have to admit I am old and cynical and am totally unsuprised by my treatment so far. It's scary but I am sure I will manage... I like a good challenge
Have a good look round the forum - there's a huge amount of information here that can help you. One thing that you will see straight away is that, while cutting out sugar is a good idea, sugar is not the main problem for a diabetic - it is carbohydrates. 10g of sugar will convert into 5g of blood sugar almost immediately. 10g of carbohydrate will convert to 10g of blood sugar - it just takes a bit longer to do it.
Type 2 on Glucophage and Byetta. Reduced carb diet. Last HBA1C 6.0. To the pessimist the glass is half empty, to the optimist it's half full, but to an engineer it's the wrong size glass.
an Asian vegetarian I knew ate a lot of sprouted grains, the sprouting process changes a lot of the starches into proteins which makes them more BG-friendly
Trinkwasser wrote:Vegan diet is going to be VERY hard to handle, most of us cut carbs to some degree and eat more fats and protein and relatively low-carb veggies.
an Asian vegetarian I knew ate a lot of sprouted grains, the sprouting process changes a lot of the starches into proteins which makes them more BG-friendly
Ah right, thanks for that. It is a book I got called the reverse diabetes diet and the author says it is not the carbs that are the problem its the animal fats, which I thought was weird. His argument is that Chinese etc have a high carb diet but hardly any incidence of diabetes! Woa it's a minefield out there
samcogle wrote: Ah right, thanks for that. It is a book I got called the reverse diabetes diet and the author says it is not the carbs that are the problem its the animal fats, which I thought was weird. His argument is that Chinese etc have a high carb diet but hardly any incidence of diabetes!
Hi Sam,
It's amazing the lies that some authors will tell in order to sell their books. His view on animal fats causing blood sugar puts him in a minority of one! The fact that blood sugar is created from carbohydrate and not fat is a very long established scientific principle, proven thousands of times, as is the fact that fat has absolutely no affect on blood sugar, other than to slow down the rate at which the small intestine converts carbohydrate into glucose.
His claim about China having hardly any diabetes couldn't be further from the truth. China has one of the highest incidences in the world! Have a look at this link from the information pages of this website: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/global-diabet ... china.html
This is a book that ought to carry a public health warning because anyone who follows the author's suggestions will be killing themselves.
Type 2 on Glucophage and Byetta. Reduced carb diet. Last HBA1C 6.0. To the pessimist the glass is half empty, to the optimist it's half full, but to an engineer it's the wrong size glass.
Trinkwasser wrote:Vegan diet is going to be VERY hard to handle, most of us cut carbs to some degree and eat more fats and protein and relatively low-carb veggies.
an Asian vegetarian I knew ate a lot of sprouted grains, the sprouting process changes a lot of the starches into proteins which makes them more BG-friendly
Eat more fats? What about colestrol levels and damage to arteries/veins?
Isn't that like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire?
T2, Dx: Feb.09: HbA1c: 6.6, current 6.4 1.65m; was: 82kg; current: 77.4kg 1x500 Metformin SR No special diet, just eat sensible portions.
That's a common misconception I'm afraid. The important issue with cholesterol and heart disease is that HDL cholesterol levels are high, and triglycerides are low. That leads to the lowest heart disease risk. Both of the outcomes result from low insulin levels, in other words a diet low in sugars and refined carbohydrates and higher in fats.
Thanks for the help on this. The guy says he has done extensive research with positive results but maybe I need to rethink this! He does say it has to be complex carbs and that the reason I have diabetes is because my cells are full of animal fat and once I take that out of my diet the cells will get rid of this and let the glucose in...seems I have a lot more research to do...thanks again
That's a common misconception I'm afraid. The important issue with cholesterol and heart disease is that HDL cholesterol levels are high, and triglycerides are low. That leads to the lowest heart disease risk. Both of the outcomes result from low insulin levels, in other words a diet low in sugars and refined carbohydrates and higher in fats.
fergus
Hi fegus,
I have angina which was caused by high colesterol. I was put on Rosuvastatin and low fat diet, my levels went down to "normal" until recently when I started eating some fatty foods, not a lot really but enough for the colestrol level to shoot up.
Before my diabetic diagnosis I drunk around 8-10 cups of tea with 2-3 spoon of sugar but was on low-fat diet, my levels, both BS and Colestrol were "normal". After about a week of cutting out the sugar I started eating more fatty foods and about 2 months after that I was dianosed as a diabetic and my colestrol shot up. I have now cut out the sugar altogether and reduced fat considerably, my levels are again "normal".
My average BG is 6.3, colestrol is 3.5. HBA1c is 6.6.
So "higher in fats" don't seem to agree with me or I am not "normal".
T2, Dx: Feb.09: HbA1c: 6.6, current 6.4 1.65m; was: 82kg; current: 77.4kg 1x500 Metformin SR No special diet, just eat sensible portions.