A good friend

Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I am new to this world. I don't know what type I am as I have only found out this week still have not see the doctors apart from todays reading my reads range from 11 to 30.1 I have only be recording my reading for 11 days now have had one wobble.
A really good friend of mine told me to get on here as this will happy sort my feel and fears out. Can anyone help me calm my over thinking mind !!
 
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Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Your freind has it right, this is the place to be for all types of diabetes. I will tag @daisy1 who will swing by and give you lots of great advice. I suspect that until you have been given a diagnosis you will have to play things by ear. It's great that you are testing at home. Best time to test is before your first bite of food then two hours later, this will show you how your body reacts to the foods you have eaten.
And finally, welcome to the forum.
 

Juicyj

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
9,018
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Hypos, rude people, ignorance and grey days.
Hello and welcome @I_love_you_puddin_ :)

Are you in any medication yet ? Take one day at a time and try not to panic. It's all new so over whelming but will get easier in time - always someone around if you need an ear.
 

pleinster

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,631
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
ignorance
Hi. Bottom line is that you have made a great move joining this site. Type 1 or Type 2 or Type 356.5 to the power of 10...there is a wealth of experience here. I am certain that the more you learn (and that will be much quicker than you think) the more easily you will get things under control..and when you are in control through your own approach/efforts, you will feel much more positive. I am a type 2, and from my point of view with that kind of diabetes...it is definitely manageable (and many here would agree with me). I would advice that you get right back to us as soon as you know what type so we can debunk some stuff you might be told. Good luck.
 

Prem51

Expert
Messages
7,393
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
*
Hi and welcome to the forum. Have you had a blood test at your doctor's? If not you need to see your GP and arrange one.
It is worrying when you learn you might be diabetic, but it is a condition that can usually be controlled.
A lot of the Type 2s on here have lowered their blood sugar levels by adopting a Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) approach to eating. Have a read round the threads to see how it works and ask any questions you want to.
The people on here are friendly and supportive and you will get a lot of good advice.
 

AM1874

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,383
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Not much
Hi @I_love_you_puddin_ and welcome
I agree with what @pleinster has said above .. you have made a good move coming here. Since joining this forum, the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need. It can all seem uphill to start with but, in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly.

You will come across a lot of confusing and (sometimes) conflicting information but the key point to take on board is that managing and controlling your T2 diabetes (or pre-diabetes) through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..
Note: if you are diagnosed T1 there will be additional and different advice to follow .. but plenty of folk will be along to give you this as necessary

I see that @Guzzler has already tagged @daisy1 for you suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program in the information that she will soon be sending you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. together with the following Diet Doctor websites, which will give you all the info that you need on what and what not to eat ...
Low Carb Intro and Information and Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

It's good that you are testing your blood sugar levels and I recommend that you test before meals and then again two hours after you started to eat .. some folk also take a fasting blood glucose reading first thing in the morning. This testing pattern will enable you to monitor trends over time and to spot any foods that cause your blood sugar to "spike" or fall ouside the normal ranges. The ranges that you are looking for are ..
# Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
# 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
I've been testing 3-5 times a day since I was diagnosed in February, which means that I now know what my BG levels are .. and I can now manage them

Hope this helps
 

Mark_1

Well-Known Member
Messages
270
First thing to do is realise you are, 1 of hundreds of thousands on this site, millions in the UK and who knows world wide. Then start asking questions. Knowledge is power! You can beat this, just like a lot of people on this site are doing everyday.
 

daisy1

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

Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. 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 well over 250,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 

Ross.Walker

Well-Known Member
Messages
291
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
sprouts, evil things
Hello.

Great advice/info on this site. from my experiences which are limited to less than 2 years.
This is not your fault, it's the body misbehaving
You can make changes that will help you manage your control. I love my life more now than before.
Food becomes more exciting, you will learn to spice things up.
The things you think you will miss, you won't.
Bubbly water is fantastic.
Hydration is important.
Any exercise is a winner.
Ask questions, write things down.
Experiment with foods, find out what works for you. Test it more than a few times.
A kebab is not a chicken salad.

Take it slowly, do all you can each day and don't sweat the small things.

you can do this
 

Diakat

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
5,591
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
The smell of cigars
Hello @I_love_you_puddin_

Rude question, but how old are you? And do you have any way to test for ketones?

Huge hug too.
 
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leslie10152

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,110
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Ignorance
I am new to this world. I don't know what type I am as I have only found out this week still have not see the doctors apart from todays reading my reads range from 11 to 30.1 I have only be recording my reading for 11 days now have had one wobble.
A really good friend of mine told me to get on here as this will happy sort my feel and fears out. Can anyone help me calm my over thinking mind !!
This is a good place to be. All information is based on real life experience from people who have lived with diabetes for many years. Welcome to the forum.
 

sasharhianna93

Well-Known Member
Messages
52
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi there! Welcome! You have certainly come to the right place! So many kind people on here! Take a deep breath and focus on one thing at a time! I know it can be a bit confusing, and overwhelming at first. But this is the place to be!
 
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Diakat

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
5,591
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
The smell of cigars
Hi again @I_love_you_puddin_
Well you are still alive so ketones probably not a worry!
How are you doing now?
 

Freema

Expert
Messages
7,346
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
welcome here I_love_you_puddin_ :):):):):):):):):)

you have come to the right place for help and support, I assure you you´ll feel much more relaxed along the way as you find out what you can do with your specific kind of diabetes... until you know for sure you could try to not eat much carbs on a daily basis , try to go under 150 grams at least .... shared over more meals... if you end up with the type 1 diabetes diagnosis , then you´ll learns to bolus for your carbs and learn to have the puzzle fall into place food and insulin wise, if you, on the other hand, find out you are type 2 diabetic the core way to get normal levels is to eat very low amounts of carbs and to move a bit more than you maybe do now... all depending on individual differences... but you can keep asking all kinds of questions in here, people are really nice in this forum and supportive...

so stay here for good and for worse... there are people here with all kinds of levels of diabetes and what adding conditions some get along the way ..
 

derry60

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,196
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Rudeness,people being unkind
You really have come to the right place here. The people on here will give you lots of helpful advice. I have never ever posted where nobody has come back to me. These good people on here will help you enormously and probably will help you lower your numbers. I was a skeptic at first with the Low Carb eating but I have to say, it is the first time that I have lost weight in years. I was told by letter from my GP that my sugar was high and was in danger of becoming diabetic back in April of this year so I am still learning. The best thing that I ever did was to find this place. You are in very good hands with the people on here. People with higher numbers than you have got their numbers down if that make you feel more confident : )
 
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Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
19,284
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello and welcome. Give yourself time to learn and give yourself space to make mistakes. I wish you a wonderful diabetes team to help you sort things out!