Type 2 BG Levels.

[Eiche]

Awe I know you guys aren't trying to confuse me, and I am really greatful for all the advice I have been given and have learned a lot from this forum. I'm just still a little muddeled as to what's good and what's bad. It's a trial and error thing at the moment, trying foods out and seeing how my BG reacts and then cutting the things out that makes it go bonkers.

Thank you all for all your advice and I will be making some serious changes to my diet AGAIN and willl be telling the diatitian to stuff her diet as it's not helping my BG at all. I am tired of being tired and feeling run down cos of my high BG and I'm tired of listening to text book advice cos they haven't got a clue how my system works and reacts, I DO!

If I made a lot of errors in my text, do excuse me, I can barely see past my own nose because of the drops they put into my eyes at the eye-clinic :lol:

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi Eiche,

I think where the confusion comes in for you is that a GI diet can aid weight loss and is fine for a non diabetic.
For a diabetic it is a different story. A low GI item that is also a carbohydrate has to be tested for a diabetic. Just because it is low GI does not mean that it is appropriate for all of us and we also have to watch portion control. There are also things that are low GI that would not be advisable for a diabetic because of the sugar content. Your meter is your best friend when you are trying to sort out what will work for you and it is trial and error. I cannot eat any potatoes but am OK with basmati rice, two tablespoons, and the same with wholemeal pasta. Someone else might find that two small new potatoes is OK for them but that the rice is a no no. It is the same with cereals. I can eat a small portion of good quality porridge with a few berries and some nuts and seeds added and others cannot. They may be able to eat other cereals but I have tried them all and I cannot cope with them. Your eventual diet has to be specific to you. Nobody else can manage your diabetes.
It took me six months to lose the weight and find the confidence that I needed to following this diet and I have used it ever since and it works for me. It becomes second nature eventually. We were all bewildered and suffering from an overload of information at the beginning.
The book that I would recommend is the GI Diet, the Glycemic Index by Rick Gallop. You could try and see if your local library could get you a copy. I bought mine on the recommendation of my Dr. in 2003 and it cost £9.99 then.
Hope this helps you understand more and feel free to ask any questions. Remember that it will eventually fall into place but it will not happen overnight.

 

[Ricky]

shaneabdelnour - I can't believe that you are drinking fresh orange juice . This is high carb high GI as is all fruit juice and is one of the things I immediately cut from my diet . You are much better off having a small piece of whole fruit. I buy the child size apples and pears. The combination of your orange juice and whole meal bread - also high carb would be lethal for most diabetics. You must eat protein and fat with your bread to slow the rate of absorption down so you don't get spikes. Just try testing your food -2 hours after eating and you will find what your body can and can't tolerate. We are all different. I can get away with my home made muesli (mainly oats and seeds) with yoghurt for breakfast but others can't. I don't do rice, pasta , potatoes and only low gi bread and can only eat fruit within a meal.If I snack it is nuts , cheese or yoghurt with protein powder in. High protein foods I am fine on with veg. Only by testing do you find out what you personally can get away with.

 

[hanadr]

Eiche
you say you swap rice with couscous and rarely have pasta, but couscous is a pasta. You need to check out the actual carb values for the foods you eat and also to be wary of portion sizes. those can often catch you out. for example if you weigh out the portion size on a cereal packet, you'll see just how small it is.
>>LOTS of fruit!<<
Ifind I can't eat a whole apple or pear, because it's too much sugar for me. I share with husband or a grandchild. Ican manage a few berries.
Also
If your dietician is diabetic, he/she would understand. If not, they have learned from books and not from personal experience. Try keeping a diary of what you eat[including amounts] and your blood glucose readings before and after. that's the only way you'll know for sure what works for you.
Hana

 

[cugila]

If your dietician is diabetic, he/she would understand. If not, they have learned from books and not from personal experience. .
Hana

Hana.
I think this is very, very, wrong.......

Everybody, even 'scientists' start their learning reading books. Dieticians educate themselves, they train, they gain qualifications, gain practical experience even if it is only from their patients, their patients experiences.

Why do you think somebody has to experience something before they can offer advice to others ? Before they can know what they are talking about ?

My Endocrinologist, my SDSN, the Dietician I am now able to talk to, are all non-Diabetic's who help and support Diabetic's....in many ways. They don't need to be Diabetic's to understand......
What do they know.........

The best Midwife I ever met was a single Woman who had never experienced childbirth in her life......many Mother's owed their lives and their Babies lives to that Woman. She also learned from books and practical experience.
What does she know.......

My Cardiac Surgeon started off learning from books and gained practical experience operating under supervision until he became one of the top Cardiac Surgeons in the UK. He didn't need to be a Heart Patient to know what he was doing.
What does he know.......

My Oncologist was trained and learned much from books, he put all that learning into practice and is considered to be one of the top Oncologist's in the West Midlands. He doesn't have Cancer but he knows what he is doing and what is good for his patients.
What does he know.......

You have a very strange view of people, especially Dietician's.......is this just because you disagree with what some of them tell you ?

I disagree with some of the advice that has been handed out to people and am amongst the first to criticise when that advice is flawed. However, it is unfair and unjust to say that those who are trained over many years and help patients do not know much just because they are not Diabetic's.........

 

[Eiche]

My diatitian is NOT diabetic, you missread.
She is a Diabetes Diatitian i.e. a diatitian who specializes in diabetic diets.... So is my doctor, he's a specialist Diabetes doctor... I have a GP as well whom I see for other non-diabetic problems when and if they crop up

Thank you all so much for all the advice given. I have read each and every post and have taken notes for my diatitian and also my doctor to ask, ask, ask... For if you don't ask, you don't learn

Cugila I wholeheartedly agree with you on the aspect of not everyone has to be diabetic to know what they're talking about when it comes to doctors, they are the ones who went to med school, not I.... BUT, having said that, not all doctors seem to be very sympathetic to diabetic problems, especially type 2's (from observation from what other members here have said about their doctors AND also diabetes nurses!!!) I find it a shame but I say self education in those cases are very important and if your doctor or the nurse is not listening to you and seems to just brush you off as a worrywart, SPEAK UP! ..... anyway, Thanks again for all your advice....

 

[cugila]

Eiche.
I presume your first paragraph was directed towards Hana who I had responded to ?

As for the rest of what you say I am totally in agreement about the level of knowledge and understanding of some of the medical profession. Some of it in relation to Diabetes is abysmal.

My GP who I didn't mention is a great bloke, also a friend. He admits to me that I know more about Diabetes than he does......he is a General Practitioner and he quickly passed me over to a Diabetes Clinic where I have had much real expert advice and support.

I have found over the years that if you want the best advice then fight to be referred to a Diabetes Clinic or a Specialist if you can. That is where you will usually get the best advice, although we have seen members who have gone that route and still had problems ?

I think all HCP's, with a few exceptions do their best.......just sometimes their best isn't good enough.
Always challenge things if it isn't working, if they don't take time to explain.

I am not a 'meek' person so always have, always will. Unfortunately some people shy away from any sort of confrontation, get talked down to by HCP's. I never stand for that and always make my point. They might not like what they hear......but usually it generates mutual respect when the HCP realises you are not going to be content with a 'pat on the head' and told to 'Do as Dr ordered !' They need to know they have to do better.

I don't expect them to know everything......I just expect to be treated with respect and equality. They are not God's......

 

[Eiche]

Yes, sorry. My first paragraph was for Hana

As for being outspoken, I'm exactly the same! My old GP (before I was diagnosed) brushed me off telling me that a discharge from my nipple and the bleeding was a normal thing and I'd just have to put up with it and the pain. I was like WTH? I changed my doctor then and after my first visit to my new GP, I was refered to a specialist in the hospital and had bloods taken, mammogram done, the works! It turned out to be a recurring infection and a 2 week dose of strong penicillin cleared it and I haven't had any trouble since. This is also when they discovered that I was diabetic. My other doctor just dismissed the idea when I mentioned my suspicion that I may be diabetic and told her the symptoms I was having... It took an infection, two miscarriages and a change of GP before I was finally told why I was always tired, thirsty and going to the bathroom 4 to 5 times a night and every 5 minutes during the day even when my bladder wasn't even full yet!

Anyway, the point I was making there LOL, I will not put up with a doctor talking down to me or making out that I'm just overreacting. When I have a problem, I make myself heard, not brushed asside!