Can somebody please help me,I'm type 2,I have a low carb sugar free diet.I cycle 12 miles a day,I walk to work and I'm generally an active person.My problem is that I'm finding it nearly impossible to lose weight,my fasting blood sugar level in the morning is around 15.5 no matter what I do,around 3hrs after I have my breakfast and have been cycling I'm averaging 4.1over the past few months I haven't been sleeping properly either and my sight has diminished as well.I was so fed up and depressed Wednesday I had some French bread and some soup for dinner and a doughnut! I had the best nights sleep in months felt great Thursday morning and to my surprise my fasting blood was down to 11.4,so yesterday I tried it again, last night I got another full nights sleep,this morning my blood was 9.1??? For the first time in months I had energy my sight is so much sharper today I was able to read a book without my glasses or getting a headache and falling asleep.When I saw my diabetic nurse today and told her what had happened she just shrugged it off and said that shouldn't happen and she had no explanation for me.I feel so confused and alone right now.Can anyone help me please???
-
Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2026 Survey »
Help me please - Type 2
- Thread starter Gdogg67
- Start Date
-
- Tags
- type 2 diabetes
Bluetit1802
Legend
Hi and welcome,
Before we can offer much advice, it would help if you told us which diabetes medications you are on, if any, and a typical days food.
Before we can offer much advice, it would help if you told us which diabetes medications you are on, if any, and a typical days food.
AvaK
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 127
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
I'm newly diagnosed so I'm afraid I can't help with the technical stuff, but you are not alone, and I'm certain some of the more senior members will be along shortly to give their more knowledgeable insight, hang in there
Hi,I have 2 wheatabix with semi skimmed milk for breakfast,3 gluten free crispbreads with 1 slice of turkey ham on each one,and a salad with pilchards (in brine) for tea,I drink plenty of water throughout the day and a maximum of 4 cups of coffee per day.i take metformin,gliclazide,simvastatin and sitagliptin for the diabetes and I take 2 zopiclone to sleep
NoCrbs4Me
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,705
- Location
- Vancouver Island
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Vegetables
Welcome to the forum. I hope the forum collective can help you out. Your doctor seems to think pills are the solution, which is quite standard, but wrong in my humble opinion.
I suspect getting a good sleep is helping with your morning blood glucose numbers. I suspect your diet is not providing enough energy and the extra food, even though it's carb/sugar heavy, is providing that. You might get the same beneficial effect on your sleep if you eat a high fat/low carb.
As for your diet, it's not really a low carb diet. I would consider that a high carb diet (although quite low in calories and refined sugar).
Check this out: https://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes and https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb
I also recommend you read this web site (you'll likely know more about diabetes than your doctor does after you thoroughly digest all the info there):
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes
And @daisy1 will be along soon with some basic info.
I suspect getting a good sleep is helping with your morning blood glucose numbers. I suspect your diet is not providing enough energy and the extra food, even though it's carb/sugar heavy, is providing that. You might get the same beneficial effect on your sleep if you eat a high fat/low carb.
As for your diet, it's not really a low carb diet. I would consider that a high carb diet (although quite low in calories and refined sugar).
Check this out: https://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes and https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb
I also recommend you read this web site (you'll likely know more about diabetes than your doctor does after you thoroughly digest all the info there):
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes
And @daisy1 will be along soon with some basic info.
Resurgam
Master
- Messages
- 10,231
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Your breakfast is quite a hefty lot of carbs - about 30gm I would think - but I am not sure about the crispbreads - the carb count should be on the packet, and then you have a low carb evening meal. I find that I work best on an even distribution of carbs with each meal. The breakfast cereal must stop any chance of going into ketosis through the day, and trains your metabolism to expect glucose as fuel. Even with the pilchards it is probably low fat too - a combination which Dr Atkins warns against attempting, as it runs counter to 'natural' eating.
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@Gdogg67
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It gives advice on carbs and levels etc. and a link to the Low Carb Program which you could try. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
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:
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
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.
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It gives advice on carbs and levels etc. and a link to the Low Carb Program which you could try. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
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
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
- 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.
That seems like quite a small amount of food for someone as active as you. It is quite carb heavy, but if you are cycling 12 miles a day, it really looks like it wouldn't be enough to maintain a calorie surplus. What sort of weight loss are you aiming for?
