newbie

[carol 1]

I am a newbie aint got a clue what I am doing

 

[jack412]

You aren't an orphan there Carol, but it's surprising how much I have learned from this and other sites in a short time. Are you over the initial shock or have you just recently found out?

 

[daisy1]

Hi Carol and welcome to the forum

I am not sure if you are a newbie to the forum or a newbie to diabetes. This is the information we give to new members which I hope you will find useful whether you have just been diagnosed or if you have had diabetes a while. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 70,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

 

[mo1905]

Welcome to the forum Carol


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Madbazoo]

Welcome Carol. After you have read the above post from Daisy you will have many questions so keep asking them on here. We have all been there and are happy to offer you help and encouragement.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[this is too difficult]

Hi carol. We all start off bewildered (I still am). My one big tip is get a blood glucose monitor. Find out which foods you can take without raising your blood glucose levels too much.

 

[carol 1]

Thanks all for the warm welcome I have had diabetis for a few years now I keep an eye on my blood level with a monitor as for the food side of things I dont eat meat fish or pasta my main diet is veg I have cut down my intake of cheese and bread I dont like the granary breads still my blood count is high never seem to get it down to 7 or under dont know where I am going wrong.
Carol1

 

[Bluetit1802]

Are you a vegetarian?

 

[carol 1]

Yes I am bluetit1802

 

[Bluetit1802]

Can you give us an idea of some typical meals?

 

[carol 1]

yeah sure veg burger mashed potatoes carrots peas gravy
salad with boursin cheese or edam
omelettes
chips normally about once a week
porridge cornflakes
toast
very few biscuits
I do drink alot of coffee no sugar

 

[Andy12345]

Hi, Welcome

yeah sure veg burger mashed potatoes carrots peas gravy
salad with boursin cheese or edam
omelettes
chips normally about once a week
porridge cornflakes
toast
very few biscuits
I do drink alot of coffee no sugar

the highlighted text is very carby, i would advise having a read of the forum, carbs are sugar

 

[Bluetit1802]

I agree with Andy. Cut out mashed potato and cornflakes completely. Maybe 2 small new or roast potatoes. Limit peas and carrots to small portions occasionally. Limit toast and confine to either low carb bread or granary/fully seeded breads such as Hovis Granary and only one or 2 slices a day, make the very few biscuits none at all. Your diet is very high carb and only by reducing these carbs will you see a drop in your blood sugar levels.

 

[Andy12345]

thankyou Bluetit my answer was too short, im in a grumpy mood lol

 

[Bluetit1802]

 

[carol 1]

thanks Andy and bluetit now I can see where I am going wrong oh boy been doing it wrong from the start

 

[Andy12345]

thanks Andy and bluetit now I can see where I am going wrong oh boy been doing it wrong from the start

Test your bg with the carbs and then without, youll be amazed the difference it makes, then its just a case of how many carbs you can tolerate and keep bgs good