First off,Happy Easter to you all...I was told two weeks ago that I have Type 2...I am eating a low carb diet and I am really enjoying the new foods...I don't need to lose weight as I have lost 3stone before I was told about my Diebetes...I have an appointment on the 17th June with a clinic...I bought a new bike and ride it most days and really enjoy that to...I am not sure if I am entitled to a blood meter and strips from my doctor,but I shall ring them on Tuesday to find out,if not then I will buy from eBay...My doctor just said that I need to keep on my diet,and I don't have to cut out all sugar,I don't know what my readings were when the doctor got back my results,so I can't post about this...I have been reading through this wonderful site and have learnt so much...Alot of my concerns have been put to rest,so I just want to say a Huge thank you to everyone on this beautiful Easter morning...xox
Glad to be here.
- Thread starter Rosemaryx
- Start Date
Gudrun
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- Type of diabetes
- Parent
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- Diet only
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- Hmmm.. probably a lot less than stuff I like
Welcome to the forum, Rosemary.
For any of the 'old hands' on this forum reading this... don't you all despair at the doctor's comments that you do not have to cut out all sugar????
As you read through the various posts on this forum, the advise given is generally, yes, if possible, cut out sugar as much as you can. Eating low carb should bring your blood sugar down as well and the exercise helps. You're doing great, Rosemary.
The next step is to get a meter and check your blood before you eat and 2 hours afterwards to see what impact certain foods have. I would recommend the codefree (Amazon sells them), as the test strips are less than a third the cost for those on other meters (e.g. AccuChek).
Good luck and let us know what your results are. Give the surgery a ring and ask them. You need to know.
bernie.freeman
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- Tablets (oral)
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Happy Easter to you too Rosemary, you are certainly in the right place here. Daisy ( one of the moderators) will be along soon to give you some really good advice on controlling your diabetes. We are all very different, where carbs are concerned some can tolerate carbs where others can't. The only way to tell is to test just before eating and again 2 hours after, the numbers should be about the same. Hope all goes well for you .
Thank you so much...I really don't know where I would be without you all...I have just down loaded the cook book,the food looks yummy...On Tuesday I will look on Amazon for the meter...Just had a nice bike ride,now for a read of me Sunday papers...xox
daisy1
Legend
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- Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Rosemary and welcome to the forum
Here is the information, mentioned above, that we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will try and help - as you have already seen.
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 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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Here is the information, mentioned above, that we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will try and help - as you have already seen.
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
Bluetit1802
Legend
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- 25,216
- Type of diabetes
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Happy Easter to you Rosemary. You are in the right place for excellent advice and tips. I agree you need to ring your surgery and ask for a breakdown of your test results. It is important to know them.
The numbers should be about the same? This can't be right as everyone, even non-diabetics spike after food. The aim is to keep the spike as low as possible, but there will be a spike, and the time scale of the spike will depend on the glycemic load of the meal just eaten. Surely?
The numbers should be about the same? This can't be right as everyone, even non-diabetics spike after food. The aim is to keep the spike as low as possible, but there will be a spike, and the time scale of the spike will depend on the glycemic load of the meal just eaten. Surely?
Hi Rosemary and welcome.
It is normal to feel down at times as it is a bit overwhelming at first. I am just over 1 month down the road and still some days find it hard to accept. But you have come to the right place as the people here are helpful, kind and know just how you feel as most have been there themselves at some point.
I hope you feel better soon x
It is normal to feel down at times as it is a bit overwhelming at first. I am just over 1 month down the road and still some days find it hard to accept. But you have come to the right place as the people here are helpful, kind and know just how you feel as most have been there themselves at some point.
I hope you feel better soon x
Thank you Lizzy...I am buying a meter tomorrow and was wondering which one is the best to buy and strips...I really don't have a clue,I don't have lots of money so am looking for a cheap one...Any ideas...xox
jack412
Expert
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- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
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- Tablets (oral)
ebay or amazon for the code free meter, with about 7 quid per 50 strips is what a lot here have said is value for money
first I'd probably try this if I was in the UK, it's a visual blood strip and it works out to 2 quid per 50 when they are cut length ways to make more
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/thr...itor-possible-breakthrough.54755/#post-504070
http://www.betachek.com/uk/bv
first I'd probably try this if I was in the UK, it's a visual blood strip and it works out to 2 quid per 50 when they are cut length ways to make more
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/thr...itor-possible-breakthrough.54755/#post-504070
http://www.betachek.com/uk/bv
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you both...I will look into this...Do the lancets have to be the same make as the meter,or can I get any...I have no idea...xox
jack412
Expert
- Messages
- 5,618
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
you get the lancet pen with the meter and 10 strips too, but you would order a couple of 50 containers and 100 lancets too
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Codefree-Glucose-Monitor-Monitoring-Testing/dp/B0068JAJFS
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Codefree-Glucose-Monitor-Monitoring-Testing/dp/B0068JAJFS
Mazzer
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 282
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Hi Rosemary, to start with I felt awful, I had blurred vision and felt sooo tired I would sleep for about 4 hours in the afternoon. Now I have better control of my bg I feel better than I have done for ages, but still get the odd down day when I feel that the slightest thing will get to me and I'll end up in tears and feel very sensitive, which is not surprising bearing in mind it is a whole new lifestyle. I am now almost 3 months down the road and feel much more confident and positive, and those days are becoming less frequent, so it does get better. I am glad to be here too it is the best thing I could have done, it is nice to be able to share your feelings with other people who totally understand, that in itself makes you feel better and that you are not alone. Keep your chin up.
Marilyn x
Marilyn x
Hi Marilyn...Just back from a nice walk...I am ordering my meter tomorrow from amazon,bit nervous of doing it,but I know it's a must,I just don't want to become obsessive with it,I know I have to do it quite a lot at first to find out what food spikes me...Do you test and how often...Am happy your getting into the swing of things,am sure I will feel like this to...I used to be a Facebook addict,now I spend my time on here,and my friends on Facebook are asking why am not on there no more lol,I kind of feel my Diebetes is a blessing in disguise...xox
