Hello and thanks

martin28

Member
Messages
7
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I was diagnosed with type 2 on christmas eve. Not what i put on my christmas list, but I am looking at it as one of life's challenges. I went to the doctors with symptoms not related to diabetes and a fear of something more sinister. I have had a lot of tests and investigations as a result and have been given the all clear apart from the diabetes. So I think this is a good result. After reading the success stories of members on the forum it seems that diabetes is a serious condition that can be controlled with a little effort.
Have found this web site full of vey useful information and have managed to shed nearly 2 stone since my diagnosis due to adopting a reduced carb diet. The carbs don't give up without a fight but i don't seem to miss them these days. Three months into my new diet and eating habits.

In December i weighed 14 stone 3 BMI of 30.3 and hb1ac of 62

Today went for hb1ac bloods weight 12 stone 4 fingers crossed.

Haven't had anything much in the way of information from the GP apart from being told to loose some weight. But I must say that my diabetic nurse did point me in the direction of this web site.

I thought it was time to say hello and thanks for the info and recipes.
 
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Pipp

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
10,622
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I was diagnosed with type 2 on christmas eve. Not what i put on my christmas list, but I am looking at it as one of life's challenges. I went to the doctors with symptoms not related to diabetes and a fear of something more sinister. I have had a lot of tests and investigations as a result and have been given the all clear apart from the diabetes. So I think this is a good result. After reading the success stories of members on the forum it seems that diabetes is a serious condition that can be controlled with a little effort.
Have found this web site full of vey useful information and have managed to shed nearly 2 stone since my diagnosis due to adopting a reduced carb diet. The carbs don't give up without a fight but i don't seem to miss them these days. Three months into my new diet and eating habits.

In December i weighed 14 stone 3 BMI of 30.3 and hb1ac of 62

Today went for hb1ac bloods weight 12 stone 4 fingers crossed.

Haven't had anything much in the way of information from the GP apart from being told to loose some weight. But I must say that my diabetic nurse did point me in the direction of this web site.

I thought it was time to say hello and thanks for the info and recipes.

Welcome and well done!
That nurse needs an award.

Hope you continue to do well.
 
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NoCrbs4Me

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,700
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Vegetables
I was diagnosed with type 2 on christmas eve. Not what i put on my christmas list, but I am looking at it as one of life's challenges. I went to the doctors with symptoms not related to diabetes and a fear of something more sinister. I have had a lot of tests and investigations as a result and have been given the all clear apart from the diabetes. So I think this is a good result. After reading the success stories of members on the forum it seems that diabetes is a serious condition that can be controlled with a little effort.
Have found this web site full of vey useful information and have managed to shed nearly 2 stone since my diagnosis due to adopting a reduced carb diet. The carbs don't give up without a fight but i don't seem to miss them these days. Three months into my new diet and eating habits.

In December i weighed 14 stone 3 BMI of 30.3 and hb1ac of 62

Today went for hb1ac bloods weight 12 stone 4 fingers crossed.

Haven't had anything much in the way of information from the GP apart from being told to loose some weight. But I must say that my diabetic nurse did point me in the direction of this web site.

I thought it was time to say hello and thanks for the info and recipes.
I wonder if the nurse meant diabetes.org.uk? Glad you found your way here anyway!
 
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julie56

Well-Known Member
Messages
256
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Angry people and liver!
Hi Martin and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your weight loss - that's pretty amazing and has got to help those pesky blood sugar levels. You will find lots of very useful information to keep you inspired on here.
 

martin28

Member
Messages
7
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I must be very lucky to have an open minded diabetic nurse. She gave me the official NHS view and a copy of the nice booklet you have all probably been given with a pile of carbs on a plate lol. Then she told me her friend was type 2 and had reduced her blood sugars by using a low carb diet. She then gave me the link to this web site and told me to have a read and see what I thought. The one thing she said that has stuck in my mind is that diabetes seems to be different for each person and you have to find what works for you. so far lowering my carbs seems to be working for me.
 
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daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@martin28

Hello Martin and welcome to the forum :)

You certainly have done a good job losing weight which will help your levels considerably. On your travels around the forum you may have seen this already but I am posting it to make sure you see it. This is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will always 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.
 

martin28

Member
Messages
7
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks daisy1 for the info. I have been a regular reader on the forum for a few weeks but only just plucked up the courage to post. It is nice to know that there are others in the same boat and with a little effort you can cope with diabetes and its not as bad as you first feared
 
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Paul59

Well-Known Member
Messages
954
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Thanks daisy1 for the info. I have been a regular reader on the forum for a few weeks but only just plucked up the courage to post. It is nice to know that there are others in the same boat and with a little effort you can cope with diabetes and its not as bad as you first feared
Welcome to the mad house.
You have a great nurse there, maybe because she knows someone that is controlling their diabetes & has realised the Nhs way is nowhere near as good as the lchf way & is passing the info on despite the Nhs guidelines. Well done to her.
As you have already been told your in the right place for help h support here so any probs just ask away.
 

Baruney

BANNED
Messages
928
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Welcome to the mad house.
You have a great nurse there, maybe because she knows someone that is controlling their diabetes & has realised the Nhs way is nowhere near as good as the lchf way & is passing the info on despite the Nhs guidelines. Well done to her.
As you have already been told your in the right place for help h support here so any probs just ask away.
We could open up a health specialists hall of fame for the enlightened ones.
 
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