Yet another newbie

Jon Lee

Member
Messages
24
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello All,

I was diagnosed with type 2 on the 8th of July during a routine heath check. On the 10th I was feeling rough, when my blood sugar was checked it was over 31 so a quick trip to A&E, but no ketosis so I wasn't kept in.

I'm 52, relatively fit, exercising quite a lot. I have a BMI of 25.5 so a little overweight. My diet is fairly good. I eat quite a lot of fish, make my own granary bread and have been eating basmati rice for a while. I eat small amounts of sweets and a lot of fruit and vegetables. With all of this I was surprised to have diabetes. My father and an uncle on my mother's side both have it but I wasn't aware of the genetic link.

I am slowly finding my way. My initial advice was not to drink beer or cider but gin and tonic is ok, to avoid sugar and white bread. I am hoping to see a dietition soon as we go on holiday at the end of the month and I would like a bit more advice as to what I can eat & drink whilst away.

I am also on Metformin and finding the effects quite painful. It's causing cramps and bloating so quite painful at times.

I have found this site most informative so thanks to all that post.

Regards,

Jon
 
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noblehead

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
23,618
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Disrespectful people
Welcome to the forum Jon :)

I'm going to tag @daisy1 as she has some excellent information that you should find useful, best wishes.
 
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JAY1JAY1

Well-Known Member
Messages
623
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diabetes
Hi and welcome
Sorry you've joined the club . Metformin can be hard on the stomach so you may need to ask the doc to put you on the slow release form. Try to cut down on the carbs portion size is important look around for better bread even though you picked slow release carbs with bread and rice you will still need to cut them down if you can don't forget spuds and pasta are high to !
Some beers and all cider are sugar in a glass be very careful with these , I tend to stick with low carb high fat diat so meat cheese eggs cream ( careful with milk it contains some sugars) . Red wine can be OK 2or 3glasses .
Anyway have a good look around you will soon pick it up good luck
Keep well stay safe JJ
 
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Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi and welcome. Yes, do ask for the SR (Slow Release) version of Metformin if it doesn't clearup. Be aware that NHS dietiicians can give diabetics awful diet advice that can make the condition worse, so do follow the diet advice around this forum in particular read Daisy's post. Be aware that as your BMI isn't too bad that there is a small chance that you have Late onset T1 rather than T2. The treatment approach includes the same low-carb diet but medication will be different. If your blood sugar remains high then be aware of this possibility
 
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daisy1

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

Hello Jon and welcome to the forum :)

To add to the useful advice given above by members, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful.


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 over 150,000 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-and-whole-grains.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
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 bloodglucose 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.
 

sanguine

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,340
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Intolerance, career politicians, reality TV and so-called celebrity culture, mobile phones in the quiet carriage.
My diet is fairly good. I eat quite a lot of fish, make my own granary bread and have been eating basmati rice for a while. I eat small amounts of sweets and a lot of fruit and vegetables. With all of this I was surprised to have diabetes. My father and an uncle on my mother's side both have it but I wasn't aware of the genetic link.

I am slowly finding my way. My initial advice was not to drink beer or cider but gin and tonic is ok, to avoid sugar and white bread. I am hoping to see a dietition soon as we go on holiday at the end of the month and I would like a bit more advice as to what I can eat & drink whilst away.

Hi Jon, welcome. You're not the first and you won't be the last to assume that you would be unlikely to develop T2 (or be surprised when you did) on what would otherwise be thought of as a healthy diet. Now that you are diagnosed, you may want to reconsider the granary bread, basmati rice and fruit (apart from berries) as for most of us carbohydrates and sugars spike our blood glucose levels. That means particularly bread, pasta, rice and potatoes.

I doubt that the dietician you see will give you appropriate advice frankly, much of it is laughable. Your best bet would be to get a blood glucose meter (SD Codefree are most cost-effective for strips) and see what different foods and meals do to you. As for drinks, yes G&T is OK (spirits in general, it's the sugary mixers that's the problem), or dry white wine/champagne or red wine.

Have a good read around, including the items in my sig below and good luck!
 
Messages
18,448
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Bullies, Liars, Trolls and dishonest cruel people
Hi Jon Lee and welcome

Best wishes RRB
 

4ratbags

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,334
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome to the forum, you are in the right place. Everyone here speaks from experience so dont be shy to ask questions.
 

SueB743

Well-Known Member
Messages
376
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome to the forum. Have a good look around and read the info from Daisy which gives a great steer for diet. Ask any questions you like