Newly diagnosed *Help*

[phil2001]

hi all,
i've just joined your community and looking for help and dvice, i dont understand these blood readings i am getting/doing, i'm getting readings of between 11.4 & 13.7, i have stopped all sugar intake since i was diagnosed only a week ago. i'm not on any medication as yet as i have a full assesment at the doctors next week (thursday).
i do have constant blurred vision, and other Symptoms wich i will reply with if anyone needs to know to help me, Basically i just dont know what is high or low readings at this stage,
thank you in advance for any help and advice..

 

[hanadr]

A non-diabetic will get a "finger-stab" BG reading of about 5. Just below or just above. ( you might even get a brave volunteer to try for you( make sure you use a fresh lancet). So you see that yours is high. Excess circulating sugar is toxic to much of your system, particularly the blood vessels. So you need to get it down. It's good you've cut back on sugar. However only half of each table sugar molecule becomes blood glucose. Starch however converts 100% to glucose. So it's not just sugars you need to watch, but starches.
It' quite likely that you will eventually be told to "eat lots of starch foods" to keep your blood sugar level. They will do just that HIgh level!
You don't need starchy foods at all they are empty calories.( some healthcare professionals will try to tell you you must have them). the answer to that is"RUBBISH" some may even warn you off us :evil: . Think about that one. We live with this and it's in our interest to get it right. All they have to worry about is sending in statistics to the NHS and they can blame uncompliant patients. Your doctor may be one of the enlightened ones. I hope so for your sake, It makes life easier.
Good books to help you are:-
Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, ( the bible)
Collins Gem Calorie Counter ( for counting carbs)
The Diet Deception, for what is really known about Healthy Balanced diet.
The Atkins diet. Geat diet for T2 Diabetes, especially if weight is at issue.

 

[hanadr]

PS
you have reduced your sugar intake, which is probably getting your BG down a bit. your eyes will blur until you get steady on a proper BG. they adjust according to your BG. You have been high for some time, so they are still changing as you go down( this would not be the best time for new glasses). You have more than enough new stuff to contend with, so I won't explain the mechanism, anyway that's probably best left to Fergus or the Diabeticgeek

 

[phil2001]

thank you for your help & reply, i've only been cutting out many foods and drink for a week, i'm finding it very hard to do, i know most of you find it hard too, i used to eat quite alot of sweet stuff too chocolates, cakes ect but have stopped them all completely since i've been diagnosed, so is the readings i'm getting high / quite high? i dont really know what number i should be aiming for?. i dont mean to sound stupid but i'm trying to get as much info as possible.. thanks in advance..Phil,

 

[fergus]

Hi Phil,

And thanks hanadr for an excellent post. There is only one way to get your blood sugar levels down without medication (and yes, they are firmly in diabetic territory right now). You've cut out the sugars, now do the same thing with starchy foods. That means pasta, rice, potatoes, and anything made with refined flour. That will sound really restrictive if you've eaten a lot of these things in the past. Don't worry, there are lots of delicious things you can eat instead and watch your blood sugars fall to healthy levels while you're doing it. Hard at first, yes, but the benefits are well worth it.
A healthy non-diabetic blood sugar will be somewhere between 4 and 8, depending on what and when you have eaten.

All the best,

fergus

 

[phil2001]

Thank you very much much hanadr & furgus for your help, this has helped me to look in other directions, i'll read and take advice on the posts ect, thank you again. Phil

 

[hanadr]

You'll eventually need to get to readings of 4 - 7 before meals and up to a maximum of 10, 1 to 2 hours after eating. It may be that you'll be able to do that by diet alone, your numbers aren't sky high now.
Cut the sugar and reduce the starches. Try for a few days and see how you get on. It's perfectly possible to get used to it, even though those of us with a sweet tooth, probably never lose it completely.
I haven't had bread for about 15 months ( diabetes diagnosed 5 years. low carb diet 15 months), but if I thought I could do it without it having repercussions, I could murder a slice of hot buttered toast.
If you start by eliminating all possible problem foods,then when you're under control, you can try adding in stuff to see what and how much your system can handle. the priority is to get those numbers in the Non-diabetic range.
Some healthcare professionals will suggest you don't need to be so tight with control, but the longer you run high sugars, the greater your risk of complications. Most of which can be NASTY!, but can generally be avoided by good control.
The main starchy foods by the way are: bread and any other baked goods, potatoes, rice( and all grains) pasta, some root vegetables.
What you can eat is meat, fish, eggs, cheese ( and cream!)
green leafy veggies
Fat is not a problem. eat it if you like, read food labels and look out for sneaky sugars. ready foods are a minefield

 

[Trinkwasser]

thank you for your help & reply, i've only been cutting out many foods and drink for a week, i'm finding it very hard to do, i know most of you find it hard too, i used to eat quite alot of sweet stuff too chocolates, cakes ect but have stopped them all completely since i've been diagnosed, so is the readings i'm getting high / quite high? i dont really know what number i should be aiming for?. i dont mean to sound stupid but i'm trying to get as much info as possible.. thanks in advance..Phil,

Gold standard for gaining control

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm

Two other useful sites

http://www.loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/

http://www.bloodsugar101.com/

 

[jacquirs]

Phil

i had really bad probs with my eyes before diagnosis and went for new specs, not a new prescription as i thought i just could not get on with the coating on the lenses

anyway about 6 weeks in my eyes are loads better

still working hard on the low carbs, this week have been very committed and am seeing a slow fall in BG but it is not instant, definitely test yourself and do it all times when you feel a bit odd or i do it before meals to check how i am doing, i am also using the chart i got a link to via this site so i can see how it is going

good luck and keep us posted
jacqui

 

[phil2001]

Hi all, just an update, i have been to see the nurse and doctor who say i have to go about 3 months monitoring my own sugar levells ( they gave me a meter). they said i will be definately on tablets at *least* when i go back to see them,
i have Crohn's Disease and Cirrhosis of the liver, which by the way is not alcahol related as i do not and have never drunk alcahol, they say its with the high dose of medication i am on, i'm having loads of problems at the moment trying to regulate my sugar levels, it can be around 6.5 to 7.5 in the mornings but as soon as i eat a meal it shoots upto 13 to 18.9 around an hour or so later.
still having problems with continuous blurred vision..
i have to see the liver specialis in 2 weeks time who said over the phone Cirrhosis causes diabetes problems.. thank you all in Advance..Phil

 

[rudini]

Hi all, just an update, i have been to see the nurse and doctor who say i have to go about 3 months monitoring my own sugar levells ( they gave me a meter). they said i will be definately on tablets at *least* when i go back to see them,
i have Crohn's Disease and Cirrhosis of the liver, which by the way is not alcahol related as i do not and have never drunk alcahol, they say its with the high dose of medication i am on, i'm having loads of problems at the moment trying to regulate my sugar levels, it can be around 6.5 to 7.5 in the mornings but as soon as i eat a meal it shoots upto 13 to 18.9 around an hour or so later.
still having problems with continuous blurred vision..
i have to see the liver specialis in 2 weeks time who said over the phone Cirrhosis causes diabetes problems.. thank you all in Advance..Phil

Hi Phil,
I have cirrhosis too (also non alcohol related), so I totally sympathise. It's really difficult trying to find a balance between the 2 conditions without making one or other worse. I was diagnosed diabetic early September this year, so I'm fairly new to the diabetic stuff too. Unfortunately mine had gotten so bad pretty much suddenly i was hospitalized with a bg of 36, and so although I am a T2, dietary managment alone isn't an option. I'm on lantus and byetta now for the diabates. My bg is way down now, mostly in the 5-9 range. My eyes were up the wazzoo! it was actually my eyesight going nuts that scared me enough to see the doctor. It's good I did!
Don't rush off to see an optician for a new prescription. It takes some time for the eyes to settle. After 2 months on diabetes meds my vision is almost back to where it was before I was diagnosed but for awhile there it was truly awful. It was the worst thing about the whole diabetic experience but gradually it's getting much better.
My liver consultant wants to put me back on hepatitis meds. I've had them before, but I wasn't diabetic then! So it will be quite an adventure to see what happens with that. Apart from being like a pincushion (interferon needs to be injected too) it should be quite a roller coaster ride.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Edit-just want to say it's very helpful to keep track of your blood sugar. It's really a crucial tool in the beginning to see what does and doesn't work for you, so do make good use of your meter!

 

[jacquirs]

Phil well done on getting a monitor, you have intelligent HPs

keep us posted on how you get on

 

[phil2001]

Hi all, thanks for all the replies they are very helpfull, just to keep an update, i went to see my consultant at the hospital for my liver disease & to see what they were going to say about me now being diagnosed with diabetes aswell, i went on Thursday 20th November 2008.
the consultant says i have to go on medication straight away and has given me 'Pioglitazone' tablets,
i'm not sure how long these take to be effective or not but i have to go back in 3 months for a check up again, my blood sugars are quite consistant over the last few weeks reading at 7 ish in the mornings progressing to the mid 18's by the end of the day, it does'nt seem to help at the moment what i am eating or drinking,
the pattern seems to be consistent, so i'll just have to see if the tablets kick in sooner or later,
i've still got blurred vision and can fall asleep all day.. lol.
anyway i'll keep in touch and thank you all for your interest.. thank you..Phil.

 

[hanadr]

The glitazones stimulate your pancreas to make more insulin. Unfortunately, they generally also make you put on weight, so be careful what you actually eat. In addition, they can cause hypos.
If you can work out the lowest amount of carbohydrate you can eat, whilst taking the pioglitazone, that should make it possible to juggle all your needs. I'm a low carber myself and it works for me, but you would not find it easy on Pioglitazone, so I would suggest that you download the GI tables from the University of sydney Au website and stick to low GI foods for the carbs.

 

[phil2001]

Thank you, i will take a good look at that site now, i'll have to do plenty of reading up i think..

 

[phoenix]

Just in case you can't find Hana's suggested site.
[link removed]
I don't think you can actually download a straightforward list as the database is extensive. There is a part of a list downloadable in the area when they try to sell you their diabetes handbook (I've no idea how useful the book is)
Apart from the FAQs which give a general introduction there is a lot of useful info in the newletter.

 

[Trinkwasser]

AFAICR the TZDs make take a few weeks to build up their effect. They work on insulin resistance (metformin is contraindicated with liver disease, and they work through a different mechanism). Another mechanism for reducing IR is growing and using muscle. They may cause weight gain, and if you find yourself swelling up with retained fluid get back to your doctor immediately and stop taking them. However I suspect the risks have been overcooked, they work pretty well for people who are suitable candidates and I'm guessing with your medical conditions they've regarded you as low risk for this.

You're now on the "holy trinity" of diet exercise and medication so hopefully you'll see your numbers coming down over the next few weeks.

 

[phil2001]

thank you for the link and all you nice peoples advice.. i will be looking and reading up on the information you have given me...thank you again,,

 

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