You lot are brill...!

Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I’ve just been diagnosed T2: last week. I’ve had a chest infection that wasn’t letting go (now I know why) and the surgery ran some routine blood tests since it had been three years since my last visit. The doctor telephoned me at work to tell me I have diabetes and told me to collect a prescription from reception on the way home. Just like that. I have no relatives, or friends, with diabetes so it’s been a very steep learning curve. I don’t have my appointment with the DN till next week but I have been trawling the internet trying to glean some information in the meantime. And found myself here. How fortunate I feel.

On diagnosis I felt frightened, low and incredibly uninformed, however, this website and everyone on it and its forum has buoyed me immensely – so thank you.

The metformin has been making me feel rough, coupled with the chest infection and antibiotics, but it’s all settling down. Does anyone know if antibiotics affect BG?

I have radically reduced my carbs to almost nothing after reading many conversations on here. However, I am vegetarian and I am finding it hard to find a suitable breakfast to eat at 6.30am since I can’t face eggs or hot protein so early, but need something to quell that sucker of a tablet. Any suggestions?

Also, will I ever be able to eat chocolate, or a biscuit/cake ever again?!

For those of us into numbers (eh, most of us!): I am 45, BMI obese, fasting glucose 9.8, HbA1c 72 (8.3), cholesterol 5.2, BP normal. Exercise: circa 2 hours walking a day. Metformin 2 x 500mg.

The Duchess
 

MaryJ

Well-Known Member
Messages
842
Well Duchess (courtseying as i write lol)

Welcome to the forum - you're right it's a brill place.

You are so lucky to have found us - I always feel sorry for those who think their gps are gods or have no internet.

Re the anitbiotics - short answer is yes, plus the infection can affect BG, and stress. - good here init

Thing is - you'll have had this for a while so take your time and firstly get better. Use this initial time for research. Don't cut all your carbs at once. Triall and error - you may find you can handle some. only way to know is to test and record a note of the food and reading. If you get a high reading (start with >8.5 per NICE) reduce or remove that carb or try it at a different time of day, or cooked differently. eg roasters are better than mash -

Mary x
 

Fraddycat

Well-Known Member
Messages
709
Hi and welcome Duchess! I've only been here a few months and the forum has helped me make some incredible changes for the better. I have been eating Atkins bars to satisfy my chocolate craving, although you have to be careful as they can be as bad or worse than the metformin so start with a half or a third and see how you go. Also many people on here have a square or two of green and blacks dark chocolate a day.

I'm a firm believer in a little bit of what you fancy though, so if you want to have a biscuit, have one (not a packet) count the carbs and cut back somewhere else that day, or do a bit more exercise that day to offset it.

Remember you have this condition for life so you have to find a way to live with it for life, which includes the occasional treat!

Nice to have you with us Duchess!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Duchess of Farr said:
Also, will I ever be able to eat chocolate, or a biscuit/cake ever again?!

Honestly ? Yes and No.

Chocolate is easy - you'll need to test but you should be ok on dark chocolate that's 85% cocoa content or above. Not a whole bar mind, but I manage a strip with my tea in the evening. For cakes you'll need to bake your own - there are ways of doing this and you'll find several recipes on here.
I miss biscuits still, but your palate will change and you'll find savoury things much more tempting. Being veggie is a problem as normally I'd suggest bacon and eggs for breakfast. You can possibly have almond porridge (just search the forum and you'll find a recipe) - if you want something as a replacement for cereal you could drink LactoFree Milk, perhaps with a protein powder to make it like a milkshake.

It's by no means impossible - welcome to our world :D
 
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Marvellous! What wise words from both MaryJ and Fraddycat. Thank you! I was just worried I'd never be able to have a "treat" again since I've read about the spikes, etc, but as you say Fraddycat I need to do some monitoring look at the bigger picture. Jogging to the ice cream van? Joking.

I guess the next thing for me is to try and squeeze my surgery for a monitor/strips and get testing. No, I won't hold my breath.

The Duchess
 
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Almond porridge, Swimmer2? I will definitely hunt that recipe down. Thank you very much. :D
 

dawnmc

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,431
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Greek yogurt with berries - raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, pop on some pumpkin seeds and bobs your uncle. Another brekkie, as for cake there is a recipe on here for lemon cake - lush, I need to try that one. Although I'm juicing at the mo.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Duchess and welcome to the forum :)

You have already received some very good advice. Ask more questions and you will also get useful answers. 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 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
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 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.
 

izzzi

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,207
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi, :)
Dear Duchess,

Welcome to the forum,

With you being a vegetarian I am sure you will soon be giving people on this forum some very healthy recipes.

I believe that Mediterranean veggie recipes will be ideal for your breakfast needs.

Good chocolate in moderation and home made cake's ( you know what the contents are ) should be fine.

Roy. :)
 
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Thanks everyone! I had Greek yogurt and blueberries today and it will be perfect as one of my breakfast choices. Good advice. Although the yogurt is rather high in fat so I may need to watch that. Glad that on high days and holidays I may be able to have a little chocolate or cake. And of course if I uncover any great veggie recipes I will share them accordingly.

The Duchess.
 

Patch

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,981
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I agree - I'm definitely brill.

Not to mention groovy, ace, cosmic and wicked. And skill.
 

noblehead

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
23,618
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Disrespectful people
MaryJ said:
Patch said:
I agree - I'm definitely brill.

Not to mention groovy, ace, cosmic and wicked. And skill.


and modest!


...but he doesn't like to brag about it :lol:

Welcome to the forum Duchess :)
 

Grazer

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,115
Duchess of Farr said:
Jogging to the ice cream van? Joking.
The Duchess

Hi, and welcome to our merry band! You might not jog to the ice cream van, but you should jog to the shops and get an ice cream maker. I make fab ice cream using splenda instead of sugar, and fresh blended raspberries or strawberries. Can use lactofree milk to cut the carbs down even more, and end up with lovely fresh ice cream at about 3 grams carbs for a biggish portion, with the carbs just being a bit in the milk and cream, and the fresh fruit.
I also make very low carb trifles using hartleys sugar-free jelly and double cream, fresh fruit again (berries of some sort, best for carbs) and grate a square of dark chocolate on the top.
Although dark chocolate is ok, you can make your own low-carb chocs as well. Loads of recipes around on here for that.
So welcome again, and be re-assured that the choc and treat days aren't over!

Here's a link to a thread on here called "chocolate paradise", enjoy! viewtopic.php?f=18&t=23840&start=30&hilit=chocolate+paradise
 

IanD

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,429
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Carbohydrates
Duchess of Farr said:
Almond porridge, Swimmer2? I will definitely hunt that recipe down. Thank you very much. :D
Ground almonds & coconut flour - I sieve them together & use them as a low carb flour to make in effect a cake - cake-bread - but without sugar.

Approx recipe:
150 g (4 oz) mixed nut flour
1 1/2 teasp baking powder
1/3 teasp xanthan gum (optional, but strengthens the final texture)
30 g (1 oz) crushed seeds (or uncrushed seeds)
1 teasp cinnamon (good for blood glucose control)
Sieve together & add the residue

100 ml olive oil
30 g butter (melted into the oil)
3-4 eggs
beat together & add to the nut flour
beat well should be dropping consistency - add another egg if its too thick

Spread out in a 250 mm (9 inch) silicone baking dish
Bake at 170 deg C for 15-20 minutes.

Result is a sponge cake that I use instead of bread/potato/rice/pasta.
If I want sweet cake, I add sultanas and/or sweetener, cocoa powder, ad lib.

A basis for a nourishing drink is 2-3 teasp each ground almond & coconut, mix with cup soup, drinking choc, coffee, tea (fruit tea) made up with boiling water. Stir before you finish as it settles. It provides about 200 kcals - as much as a cereal b'fast, without the unhealthy refined carbs.

The same sort of mix is the basis for a "porridge" which I have every day. It is much more sustaining than cereal, providing similar calories in the form of slow-digesting healthy fats & proteins. Just mix 2 dspoons each with milk & microwave for about 2 minutes - or mix with dried milk & add boiling water.
 

IanD

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,429
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Carbohydrates
Fat doesn't increase blood sugar & provides lasting energy.