Newbie T2

Fairy09

Active Member
Messages
34
Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with Type 2 about 5 weeks ago and my BS was 15 and 107 for the 3 month average.
The Doctors have put me on metformin and have already doubled my dose to the maximum. It's making me feel quite nauseating and have an upset tummy in the mornings.
I saw the nurse this Mon and she gave me a testing kit and am recoding the sugars 6 times a day.
Mine seem to be between 5.3 and 7.1
Is this good or should they be the same throughout the day.
I've already list 1 stonein weight from cutting out sugar and reducing carbs.
Can anyone give me any advise.
Many thanks. Sarah x x
 

Guzzler

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Hello and welcome to the forum. Tagging @daisy1 for the info pack offered to all newcomers.

Well done so far. Your readings arn't bad considering you have only been monitoring for a short while. Did your nurse explain when to test? This should be before the first bite of food then two hours after the first bite of food. The two readings should differ by no more than 2mmol preferably less than that. It is quite normal for levels to fluctuate but those fluctuations should be gentle and not the spikes that over time can cause problems. May I ask how you have adapted your diet, great work on the weight loss by the way.

Metformin is well known for upsetting the gastric tract. You may find that this settles down after a while, if not then request the slow release version of the drug which is said to be kinder on the system.

Have a wander around the forum and ask as many questions as you like.
 
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daisy1

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@Fairy09

Hello Sarah and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to 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
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 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. 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.
 

Fairy09

Active Member
Messages
34
Hello and welcome to the forum. Tagging @daisy1 for the info pack offered to all newcomers.

Well done so far. Your readings arn't bad considering you have only been monitoring for a short while. Did your nurse explain when to test? This should be before the first bite of food then two hours after the first bite of food. The two readings should differ by no more than 2mmol preferably less than that. It is quite normal for levels to fluctuate but those fluctuations should be gentle and not the spikes that over time can cause problems. May I ask how you have adapted your diet, great work on the weight loss by the way.

Metformin is well known for upsetting the gastric tract. You may find that this settles down after a while, if not then request the slow release version of the drug which is said to be kinder on the system.

Have a wander around the forum and ask as many questions as you like.
Thank you very much for your reply.
The information provided really helps and I appreciate your advise and support.

I've basically changed my diet by cutting out most sugars by having sugar free drinks and only having about 150-200 grams of carbs a day.

I have been given a sheet to fill in my bloods and food intake.
Yesterday my bloods were :
Pre Breakfast : 5.8
Post Breakfast : 7.1
Pre - Lunch : 5.5
Post - Lunch : 6.2
Pre - Dinner : 5.9
Post - Dinner : 6.3
Night : 5.4

Do these sound good to you or do I need to make improvements?

Thanks again.
Sarah x x
 
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Guzzler

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You are doing remarkably well. There is always room for a little improvement and this usually comes by tweaking the diet for optimal effects. Time is also a factor as Insulin Resistance plays a huge role in our condition.

I suspect that your next HbA1c will earn you quite a few trophys from us all here so keep doing what you are doing because you are doing it right!
 
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Prem51

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I have been given a sheet to fill in my bloods and food intake.
Yesterday my bloods were :
Pre Breakfast : 5.8
Post Breakfast : 7.1
Pre - Lunch : 5.5
Post - Lunch : 6.2
Pre - Dinner : 5.9
Post - Dinner : 6.3
Night : 5.4
Do these sound good to you or do I need to make improvements?

Hi @Fairy09 and welcome to the forum. Those readings are good. NHS guidelines are that a T2 diabetic should be between 4-7 before meals, with a rise of not more than 1.5 after 90-120 minutes after eating.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html

Screenshot 2018-07-12 at 12.54.18.png
 
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Resurgam

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Type 2 (in remission!)
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You are lucky to be able to eat so many carbs - I am down to 40 gm per day chasing weightloss, though my BG levels and Hba1c were back to normal on 50 gm. Above that I gain weight. I would bet that you'll be able to get back to normal just on diet.
 
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Fairy09

Active Member
Messages
34
You are doing remarkably well. There is always room for a little improvement and this usually comes by tweaking the diet for optimal effects. Time is also a factor as Insulin Resistance plays a huge role in our condition.

I suspect that your next HbA1c will earn you quite a few trophys from us all here so keep doing what you are doing because you are doing it right!
Thank you very much.
I go for my next 3 month blood test end of Aug and my Nurse wants me to be at 50. I was 107 for my first reading. I shall keep you informed.
Thanks for your support :)
 
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Freema

Expert
Messages
7,346
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with Type 2 about 5 weeks ago and my BS was 15 and 107 for the 3 month average.
The Doctors have put me on metformin and have already doubled my dose to the maximum. It's making me feel quite nauseating and have an upset tummy in the mornings.
I saw the nurse this Mon and she gave me a testing kit and am recoding the sugars 6 times a day.
Mine seem to be between 5.3 and 7.1
Is this good or should they be the same throughout the day.
I've already list 1 stonein weight from cutting out sugar and reducing carbs.
Can anyone give me any advise.
Many thanks. Sarah x x

well I would say your levels are fine, and you are doing a lot of the right stuff..... most type 2 can initially get back to normal levels if they stay under 150 grams of carbs in total in a day or even under 100 grams in total in a day, well done with your lowering of blood glucose, metformin helped me lowering blood glucose around 1 mmol in average ... so on metformin I got morning blood glucose in the fives , now without metformin my numbers are in the six... so maybe I should go under 100 grams of carbs in a day... it just takes more discipline and a strong character
 
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Fairy09

Active Member
Messages
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You are lucky to be able to eat so many carbs - I am down to 40 gm per day chasing weightloss, though my BG levels and Hba1c were back to normal on 50 gm. Above that I gain weight. I would bet that you'll be able to get back to normal just on diet.
That's great to know and there is only one reading over the past 3 days of taking bloods that it's gone up to 1.5 after 2 hours of eating.
Pretty pleased with that.
Thank you for the links and advice

Resurgum :

I think I've lost weight because I've literally gone from eating so much sweet foods like Coke, Nesquick milkshakes and sweets and chocolate to almost zero sugar.
My nurse said to have 250 grams of carbs a day but I'm only having about 150-200 grams a day.

I'm writing everything I eat down which helps me see what the Carb and Sugar content are.

You also may not have as much weight to loose as me. That's so good that your levels are back to normal. You've got to be happy with that.

Are you hungry or feeling deprived on only 40/50mg of Carbs?
 
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Fairy09

Active Member
Messages
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well I would say your levels are fine, and you are doing a lot of the right stuff..... most type 2 can initially get back to normal levels if they stay under 150 grams of carbs in total in a day or even under 100 grams in total in a day, well done with your lowering of blood glucose, metformin helped me lowering blood glucose around 1 mmol in average ... so on metformin I got morning blood glucose in the fives , now without metformin my numbers are in the six... so maybe I should go under 100 grams of carbs in a day... it just takes more discipline and a strong character
Thank you Freema,

I'm pleased with the way I'm managing atm but I just don't know if I'm going to be able to keep this up for the rest of my days.
I'm still craving sugars and what I call tasty foods and to go below 100 grams of carbs a day is very low.
I have about 50 grams for breakfast ( 40g Sugar free Granola ) and decafe latte and 50g for lunch ( 3 x oat cakes with cheese and ham) and between 50-70 grams for dinner which is mainly in new potatoes and only 4 of them.
 
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Freema

Expert
Messages
7,346
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Thank you Freema,

I'm pleased with the way I'm managing atm but I just don't know if I'm going to be able to keep this up for the rest of my days.
I'm still craving sugars and what I call tasty foods and to go below 100 grams of carbs a day is very low.
I have about 50 grams for breakfast ( 40g Sugar free Granola ) and decafe latte and 50g for lunch ( 3 x oat cakes with cheese and ham) and between 50-70 grams for dinner which is mainly in new potatoes and only 4 of them.
it gets easier along the road, and also by staying among all these helpful people in here and by measuring every day, don´t ever stop measuring your morning numbers, not even when the diabetic nurse or GP say it is not nessesary any more....it can also devellop to a kind of collecting great recipes where one should never worry of blood glucose at all...
eating the low carb high fat style makes cooking much easier.. https://draxe.com/hub/keto-diet/keto-recipes/
 
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Fairy09

Active Member
Messages
34
it gets easier along the road, and also by staying among all these helpful people in here and by measuring every day, don´t ever stop measuring your morning numbers, not even when the diabetic nurse or GP say it is not nessesary any more....it can also devellop to a kind of collecting great recipes where one should never worry of blood glucose at all...
eating the low carb high fat style makes cooking much easier.. https://draxe.com/hub/keto-diet/keto-recipes/
Thank you very much for your support and advise x
 
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Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,850
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
T


Resurgum :

I think I've lost weight because I've literally gone from eating so much sweet foods like Coke, Nesquick milkshakes and sweets and chocolate to almost zero sugar.
My nurse said to have 250 grams of carbs a day but I'm only having about 150-200 grams a day.

I'm writing everything I eat down which helps me see what the Carb and Sugar content are.

You also may not have as much weight to loose as me. That's so good that your levels are back to normal. You've got to be happy with that.

Are you hungry or feeling deprived on only 40/50mg of Carbs?
Not at all - I have more than enough to eat - large salads, stirfries or roasted veges and berries or other lowcarb fruits are fine by me.
 
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