hello from a newbie

pugster75

Active Member
Messages
38
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi, I'm s total newbie, both to forums and to diabetes. I've just had a bit of a whirlwind 3 weeks. Unluckily 3 wks ago I managed to get a drawing pin in the sole of my shoe. Unbeknown to me until it was too late! I then had a very bad infected foot which doubled in size very quickly, I was put on antibiotics by my GP but they didn't work,I was sent to hospital for iv's and admitted, before I knew it I was facing surgery for a diabetic foot ulcer, this was the first I knew about being diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic, doctors said they suspect I have been for 2-3 yrs as sugar levels were so high and out of control. Everything is coming in line and I'm getting good numbers when I'm testing between 5-8. Just wondered if anyone has any advice or tips. I seem to be struggling with breakfast ideas and seem to be getting into a pattern of eating the same things, its getting a bit boring. I'm on metformin 1g breakfast and tea, glycoside 40 mg daily and stigapltyn daily. Thanks
 

Liam1955

Master
Messages
10,964
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Anti-Gay People, Self Centre People, Two Faced People and Bad Language.

mo53

Expert
Messages
7,869
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
@pugster75 hello and welcome. @daisy1 will provide you with some excellent information. You've certainly had a tough time. I hope your foot has healed well now.
 

Freema

Expert
Messages
7,346
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
welcome pugster75 :)

fine you have gotten your numbers so much down, if you read Daisy1´s very good advice and links you´ll get so much new and valuable knowledge... so this is very fine information.
what a chocking way of learning to know one has diabetes... you must have been very scared too.

I myself many days eat a handfull of nuts for breakfast and maybe half a cucumber and some tomatoes, or just some plain yoghurt /skyr and some blueberries, as berries are far better than fruits for diabetics... the fruit sugar is bad for diabetics, and there is less in berries and more fibres ,when eating just a little handful at a time ...or i eat some feta-salat and just consider it my new kind of breakfast...

I do avoid almost all bread but do occasionally eat a piece of whole-seed blackbread made of rye and eat it with tuna an mayonese and raw onions some days as breakfast....
or today when my morning number was only 4.9 mmols i admit i did eat 2 small pears and enjoyed them , thinking when having so low number must be the right time to eat a piece of fruit... and my rare morning whisky only one to enjoy and also to stop my dawn phenomenon raising even more than the pears would raise my BG...

a lot of people buy some protein rolls at Lidl that are actually very low in carbs and use them instead of ordinary bread...
then meat or cheese or eggs and maybe if one like bacon would be good choices these food do not raise blood glucose. I myself do not eat much animal fat as I believe it is really unhealthy, except from som sour creme or creme once in a while..
admit I like my tea or coffee with skimmed milk so this goes into my carb accounting
breakfast could also be an omelet with spinach and tomatoes or other vegs and so on...
 
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Hiitsme

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,987
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome @pugster75
There will be lots of useful info in Daisy's post.
I have scrambled eggs and mushrooms for breakfast and fried breakfast at weekends. You would seem to be doing very well with bringing your sugars down. It took me a couple of months to get anything under 7, so well done. Try and take things slowly as there is a lot to take in.
 

Liam1955

Master
Messages
10,964
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Anti-Gay People, Self Centre People, Two Faced People and Bad Language.
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pugster75

Active Member
Messages
38
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi and welcome @pugster75
There will be lots of useful info in Daisy's post.
I have scrambled eggs and mushrooms for breakfast and fried breakfast at weekends. You would seem to be doing very well with bringing your sugars down. It took me a couple of months to get anything under 7, so well done. Try and take things slowly as there is a lot to take in.
Hi and welcome @pugster75
There will be lots of useful info in Daisy's post.
I have scrambled eggs and mushrooms for breakfast and fried breakfast at weekends. You would seem to be doing very well with bringing your sugars down. It took me a couple of months to get anything under 7, so well done. Try and take things slowly as there is a lot to take in.
Thank you, any info would be much appreciated
 
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pugster75

Active Member
Messages
38
Type of diabetes
Type 2
F
P
That would be good
My foot is healing but is going to be a long haul, up on crutches now but only in the last few days. I've got a big hole that needs the flesh to regrow from inside the foot before it can close. The hospital team tell me that it is something that is unfortunately seen in the older generations not someone of my age(I'm 41) but guess it can happen to anyone. Least I've got the diagnoses now. So I can work at keeping healthy
 
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Hiitsme

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,987
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@pugster75
For me using a meter was really helpful. It enabled me to see how different foods affected my blood sugar. I tested before a meal and 2 hours after. I had to cut out a lot of carbs, though some I can now tolerate, We are all different so testing is helpful as you can find what works for you.
 

pugster75

Active Member
Messages
38
Type of diabetes
Type 2
@pugster75
For me using a meter was really helpful. It enabled me to see how different foods affected my blood sugar. I tested before a meal and 2 hours after. I had to cut out a lot of carbs, though some I can now tolerate, We are all different so testing is helpful as you can find what works for you.
As soon as I found out I was diabetic, I went cold turkey, I cut out all added sugar, crisps, cakes, biscuits, pastry, sweets and chocolate. Some may say I was a bit mad, but I wanted to give my foot the best chance of recovery and survival, and they said my sugar levels were out of control. With this I thought it was the best chance I had. I had been doing slimming world prior to this, so had made quite a few changes in life style already. Since 12 October, I have lost 3.6 kgs. So hopefully, once I get mobile again, I can increase my exercise and get on track.
 

Ange G

Active Member
Messages
33
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi pugster75 what a terrible way to find out you had type 2. I thought mine was bad enough when I went for routine annual check with GP and discovered my BP was 222/117, I had no symptoms but I think the GP did after discovering these dizzy heights!!!! She looked well shocked. Then the bloods came back type2 @ 52 and cholesterol 9.7. That was all last month, since then everything is coming down. BP 120/77 no meds now, Cholesterol 4.7 statins and my best ever purchase of BC monitor is helping me understand what spikes my blood by testing and experimenting with food and I have lost just over a stone by cutting out carbs. You will find so much information and support on this forum and I hope you reap comfort from all here. I do. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.:happy:
 

pugster75

Active Member
Messages
38
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Thank u
Hi pugster75 what a terrible way to find out you had type 2. I thought mine was bad enough when I went for routine annual check with GP and discovered my BP was 222/117, I had no symptoms but I think the GP did after discovering these dizzy heights!!!! She looked well shocked. Then the bloods came back type2 @ 52 and cholesterol 9.7. That was all last month, since then everything is coming down. BP 120/77 no meds now, Cholesterol 4.7 statins and my best ever purchase of BC monitor is helping me understand what spikes my blood by testing and experimenting with food and I have lost just over a stone by cutting out carbs. You will find so much information and support on this forum and I hope you reap comfort from all here. I do. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.:happy:
My
Hi pugster75 what a terrible way to find out you had type 2. I thought mine was bad enough when I went for routine annual check with GP and discovered my BP was 222/117, I had no symptoms but I think the GP did after discovering these dizzy heights!!!! She looked well shocked. Then the bloods came back type2 @ 52 and cholesterol 9.7. That was all last month, since then everything is coming down. BP 120/77 no meds now, Cholesterol 4.7 statins and my best ever purchase of BC monitor is helping me understand what spikes my blood by testing and experimenting with food and I have lost just over a stone by cutting out carbs. You will find so much information and support on this forum and I hope you reap comfort from all here. I do. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.:happy:
hbac1 came back as 114 when diagnosed with no symptoms. I had them done again on 25 October and it was down to 76. It is only now that infection and sugars are all under control that I realise that I hadn't been feeling great. I think how I had been feeling was my norm. Everyone on here has been lovely, thank you all
 
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daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@pugster75

Hello and welcome to the forum :) To help you to keep your levels in check which will help with your healing, here, as mentioned above, is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Restrict the carbs in your diet as much as you can and have a look at the Low Carb Program (link given in this information). Ask as many questions as you want and someone will 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 220,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.
 

Adeydee95

Member
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi, I'm s total newbie, both to forums and to diabetes. I've just had a bit of a whirlwind 3 weeks. Unluckily 3 wks ago I managed to get a drawing pin in the sole of my shoe. Unbeknown to me until it was too late! I then had a very bad infected foot which doubled in size very quickly, I was put on antibiotics by my GP but they didn't work,I was sent to hospital for iv's and admitted, before I knew it I was facing surgery for a diabetic foot ulcer, this was the first I knew about being diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic, doctors said they suspect I have been for 2-3 yrs as sugar levels were so high and out of control. Everything is coming in line and I'm getting good numbers when I'm testing between 5-8. Just wondered if anyone has any advice or tips. I seem to be struggling with breakfast ideas and seem to be getting into a pattern of eating the same things, its getting a bit boring. I'm on metformin 1g breakfast and tea, glycoside 40 mg daily and stigapltyn daily. Thanks
Hope it's all healing now, can I ask how you managed to get them to take care of it..I've had a hole in my leg for over a year now and the doctors just keep sending me away saying it will be fine
 

callyandy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,394
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello @pugster75 gosh what a start for your journey. I had an infection in my lower spine many years ago which had to be cut out and the hole heal from the inside out, I know it takes time and you have to be careful, I hope it's mending.

Like you when I was diagnosed on 30 September I stopped anything that looked, smellt or tasted like a carb, and started counting my daily intake. I've lost some weight too and found that I'm not hungry and can cope with the odd dream of a crunchie or packet of walkers cheese and onion crisps (ahhh, crisps :hungry:) without completely flipping out!

I think it's these guys that really help, so much information and support. amazing.

Good luck to you, keep reading and posting. At 41 you've got a lot of life ahead of you. Changes made now will carry you through to your future.:happy:
 
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mo53

Expert
Messages
7,869
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello again @pugster75 . I'm glad your foot has started to heal. You have already made big changes in your diet and lost weight which is great. This forum is brilliant for help and support. The information is excellent as many people can speak from experience. Take care.