Newly diagnosed one month in!

Absxx

Active Member
Messages
32
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi, just after some advice really. My blood sugar has been really inconsistent since starting metformin twice in the morning and twice in the evening I'm eating a low cal low sugar diet and go to the gym for 3-4 hours each week. My diabetes nurse has forbidden me to use a blood sugar monitoring kit as I was concerned that I was having hypo's and hypers only two hypo's and mostly hypers in the 18's to 20's. my nurse isn't concerned about this. Should I be?
Thanks
 

Art Of Flowers

Well-Known Member
Messages
956
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
You should get a blood sugar meter and us it to see what food spike your blood sugar.

Metformin may reduce blood sugars a little, but to effectively reduce it you need to cut out the high carbohydrate foods in your diet. That means cut down on or cut out breakfast cereals, bread, potatoes, rice and pasta. You should also avoid fruit juice as that is high sugar. Some fruits are high sugar, so avoid bananas and grapes.

Take a look at https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb for ideas of what to eat and what to avoid.
 
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AM1874

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,383
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Not much
Hi @Absxx .. and welcome
Sadly, it's not unusual for "nursie" to tell you not to test .. many others have been told the same thing. Putting that aside, however, you have made a good move coming here. Since joining this forum the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need .. in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly.

Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I have tagged @daisy1 for you and I would suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program in the information that she will soon be sending you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and, as @Art Of Flowers, has said, the following Diet Doctor websites ..
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

As suggested above you really would benefit from a meter and I suggest that you try the website at: https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/ for the SD Codefree meter or: http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/ who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free. The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I will be able to manage them

A final point to note is that you are not alone in terms of the unusual advice that you are receiving from nursie .. but you do not have to follow it. A useful little mantra that I have employed is ..
# Listen
# Nod
# Smile and say thankyou
# Ignore

Hope this helps
 

daisy1

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

Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helps you. Ask questions if you need to and someone will be able to answer.


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 235,000 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
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Dairygrade

Well-Known Member
Messages
314
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Having diabetes
Hi absxx hi and welcome as the other members said it's a good idea to test and you haven't got to tell anyone without you wish too at the end of the day it's your body and if it puts your mind at ease to see what your results are then go ahead get a meter and good luck in the future keep well.
 
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Absxx

Active Member
Messages
32
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Thanks all, don't have to see nurse till end of august now. I have got the Desmond course on the 10/6/17 so will see what they have to say. Xx
 
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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.

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.
Hello and Welcome @Pinkie200 to the Forum :). @daisy1 will provide you with some basic information that all new members receive on joining the Forum.
Have a good read of the information when daisy posts it on the Thread and don't be afraid to ask any questions you might have? :)
 

urbanracer

Expert
Retired Moderator
Messages
5,186
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Not being able to eat as many chocolate digestives as I used to.
Hi, just after some advice really. My blood sugar has been really inconsistent since starting metformin twice in the morning and twice in the evening I'm eating a low cal low sugar diet and go to the gym for 3-4 hours each week. My diabetes nurse has forbidden me to use a blood sugar monitoring kit as I was concerned that I was having hypo's and hypers only two hypo's and mostly hypers in the 18's to 20's. my nurse isn't concerned about this. Should I be?
Thanks

Hi @Absxx , when you write 'concerned' , does that mean that you were experiencing anxiety about the test results? Is that why your nurse doesn't want you test or am I reading things into your words that are wrong?
 

AM1874

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,383
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Not much
Thanks all, don't have to see nurse till end of august now. I have got the Desmond course on the 10/6/17 so will see what they have to say. Xx
Hi @Absxx ..
I would like to be wrong but I'm afraid I think its quite likely that you will be given the same advice about testing on your Desmond course .. you will probably also be told that you should eat meals with 20 to 25% starchy carbohydrates. Having said that, you are quite right to see what they say and make your decisions for yourself .. I would remind you, though, that you can always ..
# Listen
# Nod
# Smile and say thankyou
# Ignore
 

Absxx

Active Member
Messages
32
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi @Absxx , when you write 'concerned' , does that mean that you were experiencing anxiety about the test results? Is that why your nurse doesn't want you test or am I reading things into your words that are wrong?
Not really concerned in the way you're thinking just concerned that she thinks that me spending most of the day with a blood sugar above 10 is ok. Thanks anyway x
 
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