New to Diabetes

Alibee41

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi All and I hope you all had a lovely Christmas.
Well I was diagnosed on Xmas eve with T2 and it was an awful shock to my system I can tell you . Not for one moment did I expect my blood test results to come back with that .
I spent two hours crying my heart out , not because of the illness . It was to be told I had yet another thing wrong with me , a person who takes up to 28 tablets a day a Lidocaine patch on my ankle and liquid morphine as and when required. I use a stick to help me walk on good days and on bad ones my wheelchair.
I am or was an independent person and now have to rely on people to help me with certain things . I had a triple heart bypass when I was 55 and have still on going problems from that, On the odd day yes I do feel sorry for myself ,this when I try to do something in the house and strength or stamina no longer there . Most of the time I say to myself there are others out there a lot worse than me so behave and get on with it . I know with this T2 if I am sensible and follow the diet I should be fine
I think its the unknown that bothers me . I need to find a book that tells me the correct way to eat and what to eat . If I can do this hopefully I will be okay xx
 

Bluetit1802

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

It must have been a real shocker for you, but I hope it didn't spoil your Christmas too much. It may be difficult for you to find a suitable diet with your other ailments, but you will get there, I promise you. There are plenty of others on this forum in wheelchairs, or who had heart bypasses, so you are in good company.

You don't need a good book. You have found this forum. We are all diabetics of one sort or another, with a whole wealth of experience. The forum members are wonderful people, always willing to share knowledge, so please have a good read round and ask as many questions as you wish. @daisy1 may be along soon with the general advice given to newly diagnosed.

Do you know your diagnostic blood test results? I advise you to ask for a print out of these as you will need them further down the line for comparison purposes, and also because doctors are renowned for filtering out information on a need to know basis. and often don't give the full details. Are you on medication? Do you have weight to lose? What sort of foods are you currently eating?
 
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daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Alibee41

Hello Alibee and welcome to the forum :) You have come to the best place possible to help you with your diabetes. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions 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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Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi and welcome. Do provide us with a bit more info if you can. Yes, diet is the key to this and reducing the carbs should help with both blood sugar and any excess weight. If you are on any steroids then these don't help blood sugar; some other drugs can also make it worse. Perhaps you can review your drugs with the GP or pharmacist to see if any may be adding to the T2 and whether any changes are possible. There are drugs such as Metformin that can help with T2 especially if overweight; again discuss with the GP at your next appointment. Again, diet is the key so do ask any questions about suitable foods.
 
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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, welcome :)

Have a good read around and ask any questions, we can help you to manage this.
 
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Cloudlesssky

Well-Known Member
Messages
273
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello and welcome.
I so agree with the above comments. You may feel like you want a book to get all the relevant information - but it can be too much information and seem quite overwhelming at first.
I'd go with the earlier comments.
I was diagnosed in September and have found that by asking a question that pops into my head, or writing about something that concerns me, I have always had several really useful informative replies really quickly.
And they are from people who really know about what it is like to live with diabetes.
Hope you will find this as helpful as I do.
Bee Gee
 
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Snowy12

Well-Known Member
Messages
935
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Tuna,People spitting on the floor and ironing.
image.jpg
To the forum you have come to the right place for good information and help from other members.
Take care.
 
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Patricia21

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,764
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Animal crualty
Hello and welcome.
So sorry about your problems.
We are all here for you.
 
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Reactions: 2 people
Messages
18,448
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Bullies, Liars, Trolls and dishonest cruel people
Hello and welcome to the forum

RRB :)