I have been lurking here for self education... newly diagnosed type Type 2. I live in Canada. Diagnosis 10 weeks ago. I am trying really hard to adjust my diet and getting active. I will have my first blood test in a few weeks. I am on metformin and at 1500 mg daily plus Statins.. I am not recommended to test my blood and think, for me it might be a good thing to self invest and test my blood sugar. I have attended two diabetes classes. Best wishes all for good health and thank you again for posting your journeys.
Hi. I am new. Type 2
- Thread starter Mybesteffort
- Start Date
ButtterflyLady
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,291
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Acceptance of health treatment claims that are not adequately supported by evidence. I dislike it when people sell ineffective and even harmful alternative health products to exploit the desperation of people with chronic illness.
4ratbags
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,334
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Thank you for your replies. Apologies if I am new to the forum and don't get some technical stuff.
I went to the pharmacy and found that the meter is free and the test strips cost $90.00 for 100 strips.
For me, newly diagnosed type 2 and not on insulin, I think as you say, testing is completely helpful to my effort and I can invest my own money in my health.
Anyway, I have told myself to take it easy, remember to eat and don't stress over things.
Thank you again.
I went to the pharmacy and found that the meter is free and the test strips cost $90.00 for 100 strips.
For me, newly diagnosed type 2 and not on insulin, I think as you say, testing is completely helpful to my effort and I can invest my own money in my health.
Anyway, I have told myself to take it easy, remember to eat and don't stress over things.
Thank you again.
dont worry bout being new. went to dr and was diagnosed type 2 bout a year ago - that was all i was told. i wasnt informed bout the side effects that come with diabetes and anything i have learned i have had to research myself. just hang in there and as you say - dont overstress. chillax and take it all in your stride 
paruri
Active Member
- Messages
- 38
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Test strips might be cheaper on eBay or Amazon. Need to be sure of expiry dates though.
ButtterflyLady
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,291
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Acceptance of health treatment claims that are not adequately supported by evidence. I dislike it when people sell ineffective and even harmful alternative health products to exploit the desperation of people with chronic illness.
A free meter is false economy when the test strips cost that much.
Many of us use the SD Codefree meter, available here
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm
because they have the cheapest test strips on the market, and you may need a lot initially. There is a discount code if you buy 5 or 10 boxes, which brings the price down to about £5 for 50 strips.
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833
dont worry bout being new. went to dr and was diagnosed type 2 bout a year ago - that was all i was told. i wasnt informed bout the side effects that come with diabetes and anything i have learned i have had to research myself. just hang in there and as you say - dont overstress. chillax and take it all in your stride
Thank you so much snofleck. You said just the right thing. I was overstressing on all of this. I don't find new things easy to deal with (who does, I guess). Best wishes to you.
Thank you very much. This is helpful to me, but I am Canadian and having a little bit of cross cultural difficulties. Maybe I should try to read your link more closely, but I am up to here with it all and not focusing that well.
I am giving this task to my online savvy adult kids. Just made this plan. They can help me with this..
Anyway thank you again. I appreciate your sharing of experience.
Last edited by a moderator:
OK thanks very much. I get the buyer beware part now that you've shown me that pitfall. I think I am making a plan to assign this task of looking for economical test strips to my online savvy kids. I think that is a good plan for me.
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@Mybesteffort
Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope it will help you with your diabetes management. It contains much information about diet which is very important to keep your levels down. 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 150,000 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.
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope it will help you with your diabetes management. It contains much information about diet which is very important to keep your levels down. 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 150,000 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.
