I have been diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes and have been put on Metfomin but my blood sugars are all over the place,I feel rough most of the time,should i go back to the GP or should i wait till i have been on metformin a bit longer,have only been on it for 1month
Type 2 Diabetes
- Thread starter Anne0257
- Start Date
If you measure before a meal and then 2 hours after, how much difference is there in the results you're getting?
Have you been told anything about the effect of carbohydrates on your blood sugar apart from the obvious sugars? Because rice, pasta, bread, potatos etc will all affect your blood sugars. If you haven't yet, try cutting those in half in your diet and replace them with more veggies like brocolli, cauliflower, pepperfruits, leek, mushrooms... and limit fruit to 1 piece/serving a day, preferably berries.
If that gives you better results, then continue doing that for a bit and possibly further reduce the starchy bits (rice etc).
You should aim for your post-meal figures being 2-3 mmol higher than your pre-meal readings. It would be almost impossible to get the 'below 8' numbers to begin with but it would probably be doable for you in a while.
If you have ketones with your 20 mmol readings, I would see a doc again pretty quickly. If you don't, then I think it's a case of the diet advice you have been given hasn't been specific enough and then I would try above and give it a bit of time.
Remember to drink plenty while you have the higher numbers, it helps flush it out.
Have you been told anything about the effect of carbohydrates on your blood sugar apart from the obvious sugars? Because rice, pasta, bread, potatos etc will all affect your blood sugars. If you haven't yet, try cutting those in half in your diet and replace them with more veggies like brocolli, cauliflower, pepperfruits, leek, mushrooms... and limit fruit to 1 piece/serving a day, preferably berries.
If that gives you better results, then continue doing that for a bit and possibly further reduce the starchy bits (rice etc).
You should aim for your post-meal figures being 2-3 mmol higher than your pre-meal readings. It would be almost impossible to get the 'below 8' numbers to begin with but it would probably be doable for you in a while.
If you have ketones with your 20 mmol readings, I would see a doc again pretty quickly. If you don't, then I think it's a case of the diet advice you have been given hasn't been specific enough and then I would try above and give it a bit of time.
Remember to drink plenty while you have the higher numbers, it helps flush it out.
Thank you,but i have not had sugar for a long time and at present i live on salad as i am worried about eating carbs,also i have a constant headache so really have to force myself to eat but i do so i can take the metformin,Could the headache be from the Metformin or my high blood sugars.I was told I didnt have to test my blood or urine but my daughter whose a nurse said i should otherwise i wont know if there is any change in my levels,my first one i had from the Dr was 16.9
daisy1
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- Type of diabetes
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- Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Anne and welcome to the forum 
I think that you will find this information useful which we give to new members. Carry on asking questions as there is always someone here 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 30,000 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 ... rains.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 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/
Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
I think that you will find this information useful which we give to new members. Carry on asking questions as there is always someone here 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 30,000 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 ... rains.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 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/
Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
If you live on salad and still get 20 as blood glucose results, I would ask that doc how that is possible.
I would also ask my daughter if she lives near by to help you check for ketones.
I don't want to worry you but if you've been doing something like that for a month, then there is a possibility you may not 'just' have type 2. I was diagnosed with type 2, but had antibodies which will eventually kill off my insulin production.
Take your blood sugar diary along with food diary and go talk to your GP about that. It doesn't look quite right in my opinion.
I would also ask my daughter if she lives near by to help you check for ketones.
I don't want to worry you but if you've been doing something like that for a month, then there is a possibility you may not 'just' have type 2. I was diagnosed with type 2, but had antibodies which will eventually kill off my insulin production.
Take your blood sugar diary along with food diary and go talk to your GP about that. It doesn't look quite right in my opinion.
Thank you Daisy,I have done my glucose levels today and they are still above what i should be but at least they are about the same today 10.6 breakfast,13.2 at lunch,13.1 and evening meal which was salad and 2 hrs later was 13.4,Thank you for all your advice and help,I am so glad i joined your site and all the advice you have given me.The best advice was to test by getting a meter even though i was told there was no need,it has help me understand alot more my health in general
