New T2 kinda diagnosed

perth

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi all, a couple of weeks ago I decided to test my blood glucose levels (I got a free meter a year ago but no strips)

Anyway I was 15.1 mmol/L and pretty freaked out. I then googled what to do to get it down (first advice I found was to eat toast and fruit - ugh) - my levels shot up to 21.8 two hours later. I was having extreme thirst and bad eyes for months prior.

So went to doctor, had blood test, came in at 13 fasting. I have yet to get my HbA1c done, doc said come back start of next year for treatment and official diagnosis.

I'm 43, both parents have type 2 (mother just diagnosed, dad diagnosed at 50yo) - so I'm an early starter.

I began eating low carb straight away after a bit more research and am now around 7.1 - 8.5 fasting without any medication after 2 weeks low carb, but does shoot up to around 11-12 some times usually around lunch.

Doctor didn't seem too concerned about waiting until next year for treatment. Should I keep going on the diet alone to see if it will go lower? I'm more than happy to stay LC for the long term, I have lost 30kg twice before on it.

My eyesight is a bit ****, it is improving, will it go back to normal? I had glasses for the first time last year, but my eyesight improved and I've only just started needing them again. Not sure if this is presbyopia or diabetes or both!?

So many questions but basically just wondering if anyone newly diagnosed has used diet alone as treatment and how low you got? Sorry for the long winded post.
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi Perth and welcome.

You are doing exactly the right thing by cutting those carbs. Just keep doing this and you will see lower numbers. Have you seen the thread http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-new-low-carb-guide-for-beginners.68695/
Have a read if not. It will help you.

There are many of us on this forum on diet only, no meds, with good levels. I'm one of them. I have never been on meds and it is now almost 12 months since diagnosis. Some people start on meds and find after a while low carbing they can reduce the dose and even come off them completely. Diet is the key, plus testing before you eat and again 2 hours after your first bite. Keeping the rise down as low as possible (under 2mmol/l, ideally under 1.5mmol/l) is a good target. If the rise is more than that, there were too many carbs in that meal for you to cope with.

God luck, keep posting, ask questions.
 
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daisy1

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26,457
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@perth

Hello perth and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to 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 over 130,000 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.
 
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perth

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks guys for the info, Bluetit1802 can I ask how long it took you to drop to acceptable levels after diagnosis? It seems to take weeks, im recording everything in a spreadsheet and graphing it and I can see a slow downward trend.

Does eating a high carb meal take weeks to recover from? I have yet to have any more than about 30-40g a day but I know the day will come where I have no choice.

Also how important is exercise? I used to be a fitness freak in my 30's but stopped with work being busy and getting sciatica (which is now gone thankfully) - I'm 197cm tall and 160kg, I should be 100kg according to BMI but the lowest I ever got was 120kg and I was quite happy with that weight. I read somewhere that even 30 minutes a day will burn glucose via the muscles? I'm going to buy an exercise bike in the new year.

Thanks again for listening to me :) There is just so much info to absorb and things I haven't tried yet. I saw my dad in hospital many times with problems with his feet and blood poisoning, eye problems etc, I can tell you I want to do everything I can to avoid that.
 
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Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi and welcome. The effects of one high carb meal should disappear after a few hours but constant high carb will increase insulin resistance making BS worse. You are doing all the right things and diet is the highest priority. I suspect if you keep at it long-term you will reach a good BMI and your BS will be near normal; may be no meds will be needed. Exercise is good as well as diet but you have to do lots to have any real effect.
 
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Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
It's great to see you being proactive. I also keep all my records on a spreadsheet, with graphs aswell. I find this a great motivator.

I'm not as hardcore as some on here. I started slowly, eating about 126g carbs a day then gradually dropped them down to under 60, using my meter to tell me where I was going wrong. My averages have dropped month by month since April when I started testing. My HbA1c has dropped from 53 to 43, and my average fasting from 7 to 6 in May, then 5's thereafter. I am more a tortoise than a hare, slow but sure. Others prefer to go cold turkey and drop their numbers faster. We are all different.

I don't agree with @Daibell about exercise. Brisk walking is as good as anything. 30 minutes a day. Personally, I have 2 walks a day, each of about 20 to 30 minutes, plus housework. Obviously, the more you do, the better it is for your general health.

You will find your weight will come off on a low carb diet. See my signature. I lost 4 stones between February and September with no effort other than low carb and increased fats. My problem was stopping it from coming off even more. It took me a long time to stabilise it.

You are doing all the right things.
 
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perth

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks for the info about exercise, appreciate all opinions, I'm no stranger to low carbing and losing weight (or gaining it sadly) - when I was healthier I was doing spin classes every day (sometimes twice, three times on occasion!) - still I found eating the wrong foods I would put weight on. I was asking more for the purposes of lowering blood glucose rather than losing weight.

Thanks Daibell re eating high carb meals. I didn't want to try it so close to being diagnosed, worst I did was eat a small piece of watermelon and it shot up to 16.7 in my first week. :( Hardest thing is going to be giving up fruit but oh well. Generally my levels only increase < 2 mmol/L so that seems to be about right. I actually find sometimes it goes down, especially when I only have protein/fat and zero carbs.
 
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Enclave

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
2,602
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
If your doing the Low Carbs .. Do remember the high fat part .. I just swapped all my low fat foods for regular fats ... It worked for me ..
 
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Patricia21

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,764
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
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Animal crualty
Welcome.Great advice here,You are doing well.
I wish I had found this forum before I went on Metformin as I had such a hard time with them at first,I continue with them as I wouldnt like to go through that again.I am only on 1x500mg per day.
 
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beatdise

Well-Known Member
Messages
445
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Gym workouts
Hi all, a couple of weeks ago I decided to test my blood glucose levels (I got a free meter a year ago but no strips)

Anyway I was 15.1 mmol/L and pretty freaked out. I then googled what to do to get it down (first advice I found was to eat toast and fruit - ugh) - my levels shot up to 21.8 two hours later. I was having extreme thirst and bad eyes for months prior.

So went to doctor, had blood test, came in at 13 fasting. I have yet to get my HbA1c done, doc said come back start of next year for treatment and official diagnosis.

I'm 43, both parents have type 2 (mother just diagnosed, dad diagnosed at 50yo) - so I'm an early starter.

I began eating low carb straight away after a bit more research and am now around 7.1 - 8.5 fasting without any medication after 2 weeks low carb, but does shoot up to around 11-12 some times usually around lunch.

Doctor didn't seem too concerned about waiting until next year for treatment. Should I keep going on the diet alone to see if it will go lower? I'm more than happy to stay LC for the long term, I have lost 30kg twice before on it.

My eyesight is a bit ****, it is improving, will it go back to normal? I had glasses for the first time last year, but my eyesight improved and I've only just started needing them again. Not sure if this is presbyopia or diabetes or both!?

So many questions but basically just wondering if anyone newly diagnosed has used diet alone as treatment and how low you got? Sorry for the long winded post.

Hi and welcome.7.1 to 8.5 is good going to start with. It took me a few weeks to work out what raised my numbers. You are in the right place and on track with your testing. I was diagnosed just 56 days ago. High Hba1c but just through diet and moderate exercise feel I have my diabetes under control. I feel better than I ever have. See details below in my signature. Everyone is different though. Certainly toast is the last thing I would use to get my BG numbers down. Enjoy the journey hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised.
 
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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 Perth, welcome :). Can't add much to what has already been said, you seem to know what you are doing!
 
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Snowy12

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935
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Tablets (oral)
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image.jpg Perth welcome to the forum.
 
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perth

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks everyone for your supportive comments I feel a lot more confident now in continuing down the path I started :)