really struggling Type2 on insulin and metformin

[jax14b]

hi im type 2 as well and sounds like im in the same situation as urself, my consultant at hospital put me on set units of novarapid 3 times a day 4 metformin a day and also on 18 units of levimar at nite, im still really struggling to control bs levels im at hospital to start carb counting x

 

[daddys1]

hi im type 2 as well and sounds like im in the same situation as urself, my consultant at hospital put me on set units of novarapid 3 times a day 4 metformin a day and also on 18 units of levimar at nite, im still really struggling to control bs levels im at hospital to start carb counting x

Hi Jax & Welcome, you have come in on a very old thread, I'm going to tag @daisy1 who will come along with some very useful information for new members, I will also tag @anna29 @IanD see whether you can have this moved to introductions or something.

Neil

 

[JTL]

Hello Kaylee and welcome.
Sounds to me like you have been given no information or terrible information which has left you completely in the dark.
You need to get your blood sugars under control.
That doesn't mean just avoiding sugars.
I means avoiding stuff that is converted in your body into glucose (sugar) rapidly.
These are carbs.
Look on labels at carbs.
Not just sugars but total carb content.

Carbs turn to sugar in your blood and make you ill if you're a diabetic.
Things to avoid completely or have very little of include ....
All breakfast cereal.
Bread especially plain white bread.
Anything made of refined white flour ... biscuits cakes.
Most fruit.
Pasta.
Potatoes.
Noodles.
Beer. Alcohol is ok but beer is considered liquid bread.
You need lots of oily fish tinned is good.
Lots of veg and meat is good.
Have a look at this link and see what you think.
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

 

[JTL]

It's not weight you should be concentrating on.
Your disease is driven by high glucose levels in your bloodstream.
Any reading over 8 on your meter is damaging to your nervous system.
This is how blindness and limb loss occur.
This is how serious high sugar reading are.
By concentrating on blood sugar levels the weight will start to come off.
A diet here and a diet there rarely works for anyone diabetic or not.
A change in diet for the rest of your life is what should be aimed at.
Diet probably got you where you are .... it's what will get you out not drugs.
Drugs will help not solve the problems.

 

[daddys1]

Any reading over 8 on your meter is damaging to your nervous system.
This is how blindness and limb loss occur.

Hi Jack, This is pretty frightening stuff to be putting out there, these figures have to be put into perspective they have to be sustained over years, depending how high they are. Some with high numbers will be very worried reading stuff like this. In fact NICE actually state 8.5mmol/l as a max.
Neil

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Hi Jack, This is pretty frightening stuff to be putting out there, these figures have to be put into perspective they have to be sustained over years, depending how high they are. Some with high numbers will be very worried reading stuff like this. In fact NICE actually state 8.5mmol/l as a max.
Neil

It is frightening, but it is based on some evidence:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045678.php

 

[daddys1]

It is frightening, but it is based on some evidence:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045678.php

I know the evidence, and it's correct, but it needs to be put as I said in perspective.

Some people will deal with the frightening information and sort it, some need it a bit gentler and be told not to panic, like you often tell people that's all I was saying. @JACKTHELAD was posting to Kayleigh which was Feb the 1st, Jax14b had just posted first time on here today do you really want to be scaring them straight off?

Neil

 

[catherinecherub]

This thread is now for @jax14b so that he/she has his/ her own thread.

Information overload is not something to be encouraged as newbies need time to assimilate the information provided and there are questions they need to ask.

 

[Enclave]

Hi Jax, as some one said @daisy1 will be along with your welcome pack soon,
Carb counting is quite easy once you get the hang of it and finding where the numbers are hiding, mostley in the small print on the back of food packaging.
You are in the right place to ask questions here, I have not been on insulin myself but other are, so do ask the questions.

 

[JTL]

Sorry you're right Daddys.
I'd never get a job in the Samaritans that's for sure.

 

[daddys1]

Sorry you're right Daddys.
I'd never get a job in the Samaritans that's for sure.

If difficult sometimes getting the right balance we all go typing away, click & post, we can't get it right all the time, none of us.

Cheers Neil

 

[Alisonjane10]

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045678.php

The link posted above just scared the living daylight out of me. I feel physically sick! Wish I'd never read it to be honest. Seriously unhelpful for new members....and newish ones like me too.

 

[daddys1]

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045678.php

The link posted above just scared the living daylight out of me. I feel physically sick! Wish I'd never read it to be honest. Seriously unhelpful for new members....and newish ones like me too.

That's what I was trying to say, I have read it and yes it is scary, I'm aware some people just don't want all the detail.

Pleased to see your still around Alisonjane10

Neil

 

[jack412]

hi im type 2 as well and sounds like im in the same situation as urself, my consultant at hospital put me on set units of novarapid 3 times a day 4 metformin a day and also on 18 units of levimar at nite, im still really struggling to control bs levels im at hospital to start carb counting x

carb counting will help a lot and allow you to adjust your meal-time insulin. also as a T2, the amount of carbs you eat is very important, with low carb, some have come off insulin altogether

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045678.php

The link posted above just scared the living daylight out of me. I feel physically sick! Wish I'd never read it to be honest. Seriously unhelpful for new members....and newish ones like me too.

most find that site very helpful, various pages has a lot of information and is recommended all over the internet.. perhaps you weren't aware, that some of the potential complications of this chronic disease are serious, but it's something everyone should know. as well as ways to minimise this risk.

 

[Alisonjane10]

most find that site very helpful, and is recommended all over the internet.. perhaps you weren't aware, that some of the potential complications of this chronic disease are serious, but it's something everyone should know.

Yes you have a point jack412. And it is a good website with tons of useful information. But in my humble opinion, information for new members needs to be "gentler." As other members of the forum have said, new members who are newly diagnosed need time to assimilate the information given. We can't escape from the possible complications of our disease. But how & when I educate myself about them should be up to me. I wasn't ready to have the information I read given to me in such a frightening way. And I DID find it upsetting as well as scary. That's purely personal. Other members may be able to handle it better. I'm not dumb or naive, but I prefer to receive my facts about this subject in a way that doesn't scare me. i guess we're all different. But I respect your opinion as I hope you will mine. Best wishes.

Ali.

 

[jack412]

Yes you have a point jack412. And it is a good website with tons of useful information. But in my humble opinion, information for new members needs to be "gentler." As other members of the forum have said, new members who are newly diagnosed need time to assimilate the information given. We can't escape from the possible complications of our disease. But how & when I educate myself about them should be up to me. I wasn't ready to have the information I read given to me in such a frightening way. And I DID find it upsetting as well as scary. That's purely personal. Other members may be able to handle it better. I'm not dumb or naive, but I prefer to receive my facts about this subject in a way that doesn't scare me. i guess we're all different. But I respect your opinion as I hope you will mine. Best wishes.

Ali.

most newly diagnosed diabetics are given a brochure saying about the terrible complications on their first day, didn't you get one of these given to you?, I'm sure it would be in the brochure rack, next time you go to the dr

 

[Alisonjane10]

most newly diagnosed diabetics are given a brochure saying about the terrible complications on their first day, didn't you get one of these given to you?, I'm sure it would be in the brochure rack, next time you go to the dr

Unfortunately I received zero information for the first 2 weeks after diagnosis. Perhaps that's something I should raise when I next see my DNS. Thankfully I had the wherewithal to search online & found this site. Which I have to say has been a godsend. The new members pack from daisy1 gave me all the information I needed at that time, including info about complications. I found it all very useful. And of course being able to ask questions from members with way more knowledge than me has helped enormously. I was only diagnosed late January this year, so it's still all sinking in. Educating myself via this site has helped me move forward. There's no way my HBA1c will remain at 123 after making the lifestyle/dietary changes I would not have known about without the benefit of the forum members advice.

 

[jack412]

Unfortunately I received zero information for the first 2 weeks after diagnosis. Perhaps that's something I should raise when I next see my DNS. Thankfully I had the wherewithal to search online & found this site. Which I have to say has been a godsend. The new members pack from daisy1 gave me all the information I needed at that time, including info about complications. I found it all very useful. And of course being able to ask questions from members with way more knowledge than me has helped enormously. I was only diagnosed late January this year, so it's still all sinking in. Educating myself via this site has helped me move forward. There's no way my HBA1c will remain at 123 after making the lifestyle/dietary changes I would not have known about without the benefit of the forum members advice.

if you didn't realise how serious diabetes is, I can understand it's a shock when you first find out.You're right this site is a godsend, many have turned their lives around here, including me

 

[daisy1]

@jax14b

Hello Jax and welcome to the forum

if you didn't realise how serious diabetes is, I can understand it's a shock when you first find out.You're right this site is a godsend, many have turned their lives around here, including me

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask as many questions as you want 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 140,000 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.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. I'm sure if you get your blood sugar under sensible control you will never come across the sort of problems discussed. There are some in the diabetes community who ignore any advice but you obviously plan to manage your condition properly. Carb counting should help a lot in managing your blood sugar and if you can get or keep your BMI into a good area thru the right diet then that will also help. Note that if you do reduce your weight you may need to adjust your Levemir downwards so seek advice from the GP or come back here if you can't get that advice.