Morning all. I was diagnosed middle of Dec 2017...I was 53kg before diagnosis, weight dropped to 46.3kg by end of January :-( My diabetes is an inheritance, unfortunately - I don't have a sweet tooth at all! Anyway, aside from losing weight, had a few scares recently. I woke up in the middle of the night with tip of tongue stuck to roof of my mouth, both completely dry. I had drinks liters of waters for 3 days before the feeling went. I went to a diabetes nurse and she told me it was not diabetes! BG then were not going past 9mmol/L. Another is my dizziness which occurs nearly the same time everyday...any thoughts on these? Thanks in advance.
Recently diagnosed T2 feeling dizzy
- Thread starter WeninHenley
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Bluetit1802
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Hi and welcome,
Have you got your own blood glucose meter? If you have (and it is a very good idea to have one) have you tested yourself when you have these dizzy do's and scares?
Have you got your own blood glucose meter? If you have (and it is a very good idea to have one) have you tested yourself when you have these dizzy do's and scares?
Thanks, Bluetit1802. Yes, I have a glucose meter but I only checked now after reading your message. It's 9.7mmol/L and it's only been an hour after a late breakfast, unfortunately so I guess that won't say anything. Although saying that, the dizziness coupled with nausea feeling comes on around this time til late afternoon. :-( Also, I haven't had any low reading since December...no symptoms either.
Bluetit1802
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It will be a good plan to check your glucose levels each time you have one of these dizzy moments/nausea etc. It may be connected to your diabetes, or it may be any number of things that maybe your GP needs to know about.
Have you altered your diet since diagnosis, and what is a typical day's food for you?
Please have a good read round these forums, and ask questions. Meanwhile I'm tagging @daisy1 for her very useful information post.
Have you altered your diet since diagnosis, and what is a typical day's food for you?
Please have a good read round these forums, and ask questions. Meanwhile I'm tagging @daisy1 for her very useful information post.
Diet is pretty much the same so will see what happens if I tweak it a bit. Will take you advice and check each time I feel dizzy & nauseaus, and mention to my nurse. Thanks again and also for the tag.
Bluetit1802
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Are you aware of the role of carbohydrate in diabetes control? It isn't just sugar we have to restrict. All carbs turn to sugar once inside the system, so it makes good sense not to eat too many. You can use your meter to help you tweak things.
Test immediately before you eat
Test again 2 hours after first bite
Keep a food diary including portion sizes
Record your levels alongside the food
Look at the rise from before eating to after and if it is more than 2mmol/l (preferably less) there are too many carbs in that food for your body to cope with.
The worst foods that will need tweaking are bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, things containing flour, breakfast cereals, fruit.
If you need help with this, all you have to do is ask on here.
daisy1
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@WeninHenley
Hello Wenin and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. 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 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:
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 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.
Hello Wenin and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. 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 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
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 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are 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.
Thank you. Yes, I have done some research about carbohydrates, and have further reduced my white rice intake. That's the problem...I used to eat white rice probably 5-6 meals a week, when a two years ago I eat rice every nearly every meal in a week. I shifted reluctantly to brown rice (tastes like cardboard)...am not much of a potato nor a pasta, cereal or bread person. I did some research on the benefits of sweet potato to diabetics and are now having it regularly, in moderation. However, sometimes I still get a hugh reading (8's to 9's mmil/L) even after depriving myself of carbs. Anyway, for all the info and advice. It's good to have them to refer to every now and then.
