Hi all. Was diagnosed type 2 last week now on metformin twice a day. My fasting was 15.8 and my hba1c was 87. I have been trying to cut carbs and have read a lot of the posts on here but find it difficult to go under 80g per day. Anyway my glucose levels are today between 6-8. Should they be lower? Am I expecting too much? I feel quite sick still feel massively tired and thirsty. Is this normal? Also I am slim with a healthy bmi weigh 60kg and really don't want to lose weight. Does that always happen with low carb diets? Sorry if I sound a bit dumb I think I'm still in shock I never thought I would get diabetes even though it's in the family.
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Those are pretty good values, for two weeks in. You might feel a bit sick due to your body trying to adjust to lower levels after being high for a while. And eating fewer carbs than your body needs might also make you feel worse - some people can do under 20 per day, but many of us need a lot more.
AM1874
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Hi @Lally123 .. and welcome to the forum
No ... you're definitely not dumb !! .. you are just coming to terms with the shock of your diagnosis .. and that is exactly what happens to most people here. Now that you have joined this forum you will receive a wealth of advice, information and support from the many kind and knowledgeable folk here. You have taken your first steps on the journey ahead of you ...
I suggest that you look at the Food and Nutrition forums on here. What's working for me is the Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) lifestyle
Hope this helps
No ... you're definitely not dumb !! .. you are just coming to terms with the shock of your diagnosis .. and that is exactly what happens to most people here. Now that you have joined this forum you will receive a wealth of advice, information and support from the many kind and knowledgeable folk here. You have taken your first steps on the journey ahead of you ...
I suggest that you look at the Food and Nutrition forums on here. What's working for me is the Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) lifestyle
Hope this helps
chalup
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If you are slim and your numbers do not come down into the 4-7 range with low carb then you should discuss with your doctor getting tested for type 1 as well. GAD antibody and C-peptide tests. If you do not want to lose weight on low carb then eating a fair amount of nuts and cheese as well as heavy cream should help. It will take time and testing with your meter to figure out what works for you. I am going to tag @daisy1 to send you some info for new members. Good stuff and worth the time to read. Welcome to the forum, it does get easier.
daisyduck
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Hi @Lally123 Welcome to the club no-one really wants to join. It's a big shock to be diagnosed and you seem to have some good control already with the 6-8 levels. Being lower than your body has been used to can make you feel bad for a while.
Sounds like you have been supplied with a meter ? That's your new best friend and will tell you what does and doesn't work for you. Take your time, absorb all the info on here and ask any questions you like. The lovely people on here will always have an answer for you .
I must just add, and hopefully it's not the reason in your case... that Metformin made me feel really sick and I had to stop taking it after persevering for 11 weeks.
Sounds like you have been supplied with a meter ? That's your new best friend and will tell you what does and doesn't work for you. Take your time, absorb all the info on here and ask any questions you like. The lovely people on here will always have an answer for you .
I must just add, and hopefully it's not the reason in your case... that Metformin made me feel really sick and I had to stop taking it after persevering for 11 weeks.
bulkbiker
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We don't really need any at all although our bodies may be used to having loads more than we should. Therefore we may feel ill when cutting them out but it should pass as our bodies acclimatise to fewer.
In what way do you struggle to go lower? Can't find things to eat or feel odd?
Agree with @daisyduck metformin made me feel awful as well as chaining me to the toilet.
Resurgam
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I used to maintain my weight at 80 gm of carbs - but each person is different. I started back lower than that, lower than at present, as I saw that my numbers were gradually dropping whilst eating the same things. You might find that your carb limit will rise in a few weeks, and by increasing your carbs to the limit of what your response to insulin will allow you will maintain your weight whilst having reasonable blood glucose levels. I have read on this that most people can eat more carbs in the evening- I need to eat some carbs at breakfast or my BG rises quite high and then drops to under 5 by late afternoon and I feel cold and tired. If you use your meter to guide how you eat you should be able to get control quite quickly.
Some bodies may, some might not. I value my ability to stand up and walk around for about 5 minutes every hour, and to sit up for most of the day, hence I need to stay with at least 20 carbs per meal.
Just because some people can survive without carbs doesn't mean it's universal or even normal.
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I have been able to get good control so far eating 100-130g carbs a day.
On a practical level, this means cutting out cake, biscuit etc. (i.e. sugary stuff that you really don't need) and smaller portions of stuff like potato, bread, rice, pasta etc. (i.e. the starchy stuff that fills you up). If it works for you, it does mean that you can have regular meals with just a bit of care. Only monitoring your blood will tell you, but yours seems well on the way down.
There are many apps which can help you count carbs, cronometer is a good free one.
On a practical level, this means cutting out cake, biscuit etc. (i.e. sugary stuff that you really don't need) and smaller portions of stuff like potato, bread, rice, pasta etc. (i.e. the starchy stuff that fills you up). If it works for you, it does mean that you can have regular meals with just a bit of care. Only monitoring your blood will tell you, but yours seems well on the way down.
There are many apps which can help you count carbs, cronometer is a good free one.
Resurgam
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Just a thought - the last stage of Atkins is maintaining - something which is not all that well known, nor publicised. If you can find a copy of Dr Atkins 'New Diet Revolution' - they used to sell them at 1penny each on Amazon, there is a whole section on maintaining weight whilst still eating low carb foods in there which might be useful.
Bluetit1802
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My advice is eat to your meter, and see what your personal carb tolerance is. If your meter tells you you are rising more than 2mmol/l (preferably under 1.5mmol/l) a couple of hours after a meal then tweak the portion sizes or eliminate something. You can also test an hour after first bite, and 90 minutes after first bite to see how high you actually go, and testing half hourly after the 2 hour test will tell you how long you are staying up there. This may seem OTT, and it is, but it is one sure way to learn what your body can cope with. Keeping a food diary including portion sizes and recording your levels alongside will really help.
Ignore what other people aim for and how many carbs they eat. Set your own targets, then lower them, and eat to your meter.
Wow thanks guys so much helpful info. I'm used to eating healthy ie complex carbs loads of.fruit and veg of all sorts protein and good fat. My diet felt nourishing before now I'm trying to cut carbs it feels to me like I'm not nourishing my body as well? I'm sure I will get used to it and lots of help above will have a look at that info. It's just such a life changing forever kind of thing and I am struggling to believe it's all real atm. When people say eat to your meter what does that mean? Do you test before you eat then work out how many carbs you can eat? Or do you test after you eat?
I bought a meter but it's hard because I'm not really sure what's good what's bad. All seems like a minefield but going off to do some more reading now and look at the carb apps.as suggested. Thanks again you have all been so helpful
I bought a meter but it's hard because I'm not really sure what's good what's bad. All seems like a minefield but going off to do some more reading now and look at the carb apps.as suggested. Thanks again you have all been so helpful
chalup
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Test right before you eat. Test again at 1 hour after first bite and that will tell you approximately how high you go with that food. Test again at 2 hours and that will tell you how well your body is dealing with the spike. Keep a record of what you eat and the numbers you get with each food. Soon you will see what you can eat and what you should reduce or eliminate. This is what is meant by "eating to your meter".
If you cut carbs, you need more calories from another source. Usually that would be from healthy fats.
What is good or bad.... the normal range for blood glucose is 3.9-7.8 mmol/l, under 6 when fasting. The ultimate in good control of diabetes would be to reach those numbers and keep them there. But you start where you are and work on improving - to be between 6 and 8 just one week after you started is brilliant, well done.
One option - which the NHS will not pay for, you would have to fund it yourself - is the Freestyle Libre. This takes a glucose reading every 15 minutes and you can transfer the data to your computer, which automatically picks out the post-meal peaks, so long as you remember to tag when you ate. It will also produce a report which picks out the pre-meal, one hour and 2-hour values.
This has several advantages over finger pricking, quite apart from the reduced finger pricking. You can be sure you're not going to miss the peak, and some of the maths is done for you. You can also see what happens overnight, while exercising, what stress does.
Not cheap, so maybe something you only use for a short time rather than long term.
One option - which the NHS will not pay for, you would have to fund it yourself - is the Freestyle Libre. This takes a glucose reading every 15 minutes and you can transfer the data to your computer, which automatically picks out the post-meal peaks, so long as you remember to tag when you ate. It will also produce a report which picks out the pre-meal, one hour and 2-hour values.
This has several advantages over finger pricking, quite apart from the reduced finger pricking. You can be sure you're not going to miss the peak, and some of the maths is done for you. You can also see what happens overnight, while exercising, what stress does.
Not cheap, so maybe something you only use for a short time rather than long term.
daisy1
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@Lally123
Hello Lally and welcome to the Forum To help you to get started, 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 147,000 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:
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
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 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.
Hello Lally and welcome to the Forum
To help you to get started, 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 147,000 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
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
- 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 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.
