hi
- Thread starter gavingfc
- Start Date
paulins
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 349
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Feeling I can never eat anything sweet again or anything with carbs. But thought of diabetes complications scares me more so it is a no brainer!
Hi Gavin, welcome to the forum. You will find lots of help and advice and support here from the many great people who contribute. What do you plan to do about this diagnosis? Have you been given medication? Diet and exercise? There are threads here to help you.
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paulins
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 349
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Feeling I can never eat anything sweet again or anything with carbs. But thought of diabetes complications scares me more so it is a no brainer!
It is hard - you are right - but look at the threads which discuss food we can eat and there are lots of good ideas and recipes. The most important thing is to really educate yourself over the next few weeks and see how you can get your BS readings under control.This journey has been different for all of us, but most of us here are trying hard!
What were your readings on diagnosis? My GP said there is no thing as pre-diabetes. You either are or aren't.
sanguine
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,340
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Intolerance, career politicians, reality TV and so-called celebrity culture, mobile phones in the quiet carriage.
Hi Gavin, welcome.
Many T2s on here get good results from the LCHF diet (see www.dietdoctor.com/lchf). Diabetics need to cut right down on carbs, especially bread, potatoes, pasta and rice. Carbs are like sugar to a diabetic. This may be different from the diet advice you get from your GP/DN - if they recommend eating carbs with every meal that is simply wrong.
It is hard at first, but believe me it's much easier once you start because you lose the cravings for carbs quite quickly.
Good luck and ask whatever questions you have.
Many T2s on here get good results from the LCHF diet (see www.dietdoctor.com/lchf). Diabetics need to cut right down on carbs, especially bread, potatoes, pasta and rice. Carbs are like sugar to a diabetic. This may be different from the diet advice you get from your GP/DN - if they recommend eating carbs with every meal that is simply wrong.
It is hard at first, but believe me it's much easier once you start because you lose the cravings for carbs quite quickly.
Good luck and ask whatever questions you have.
Countrykins
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 52
- Type of diabetes
- Prediabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi Gavin I too was given a borderline type 2 diagnosis but just told to lose weight to get my BMI in the right bracket . That's all apparently to reverse the diagnosis . No medication - which I'm not sorry about - and no suggestion from the doc as to whether or not I should be checked again in any given period of time.
So .... I have bought the glucose monitor - sticks and lancets and with lots of guidance on here I'm trying to find a regime that seems to achieve the objective. Very very slowly losing a bit if weight - only another 10 -12 kgms to go - managed about 5lbs so far !!!! Good luck - I am finding it easier to abandon carbs now so it can be done - honestly. !!!!
So .... I have bought the glucose monitor - sticks and lancets and with lots of guidance on here I'm trying to find a regime that seems to achieve the objective. Very very slowly losing a bit if weight - only another 10 -12 kgms to go - managed about 5lbs so far !!!! Good luck - I am finding it easier to abandon carbs now so it can be done - honestly. !!!!
trevoroq
Member
- Messages
- 20
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Hi Gavin,I was pre diabetic a year ago and now am type 2, don't do what I did and ignore the warning , it will come for certain if you do ,now on meds , but am determined ed to get off them , been on strict low carb diet for 3 weeks now with exercise and have lost a stone, my blood sugar is also coming down. If I had dome this last year , the diet wouldn't have had to be so drastic and no meds , it is really a change of life style ,I was so angry with myself for not doing it , thought I knew best , best of luck.
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Bluetit1802
Legend
- Messages
- 25,216
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi Gavin and welcome. Some excellent advice from those above. Keep posting, and keep reading on these forums. Ask any questions you like.
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Gavin and welcome to the forum 
Here is some information which I hope you will find useful and maybe help prevent your progression to full diabetes. Lots of good information above too and more to come I am sure.
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 over 100,000 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 some information which I hope you will find useful and maybe help prevent your progression to full diabetes. Lots of good information above too and more to come I am sure.
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 over 100,000 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.
