Please help newly diagnosed

[BonnieH]

Hi there my Hb1ac was 58 ! I am trying to reverse this I am three weeks in to a no sugar very little carbs diet and I am losing weight but my reading last night was 6.2 and this morning before breakfast was 8.2 most of the morning ones are from 7.8-8.4 what can I do to improve this please I am only diagnosed three weeks

 

[HSSS]

Welcome. You’ve made a great start.

Do some reading about dawn phenomenon. Basically in all of us the liver dumps glucose into the blood in order to get us up and going for the day (sometimes referred to as feeding you breakfast). In non diabetics they use what they need and take care of excessive efficiently and the liver stops when it needs to. Us diabetics don’t always handle it as well. Morning fasting readings are typically the last ones to fall into range. Maybe taking a year or two (though maybe lots less too) depending on how insulin resistant etc you are.

Are you testing before and after meals? You’ll see the more or less immediate effects of your efforts there. Ideally no more than a 2mmol rise between before eating and about 2 hrs after is the most you want. The same foods at different time sof the day may yield different results as many find they cope with carbs later in the day better.

Could you fill in your profile please so anyone seeing your posts understand you are type 2 and if your are on any relevant medications or not. It can effect advice given or help us know the perspective your comments come from. This needs to be done in a web browser (not in the app) though. Click your name top right of the page and go to personal details.

 

[chrestomanci]

Hi Bonnie and welcome to the forum. First, take a deep breath. You are in the right place.
I was diagnosed 4 weeks ago and my Hbaic was 82, other peoples were even higher at first. Loads of people on here have reversed their diabetes and are very generous with their advice. I was utterly terrified for weeks after I got my diagnosis but folks here have helped me so much. It's early days for me and I haven't got a handle on all of it yet, but lots of people say their readings are higher in the mornings. Keep on the low carb, do a little exercise if you can and those readings will eventually come down. Stress and worry can cause higher readings and as it's a new diagnosis, I'm guessing this will be a factor. Are you on any meds?
Sendig you a hug. It gets better.

 

[BonnieH]

Welcome. You’ve made a great start.

Do some reading about dawn phenomenon. Basically in all of us the liver dumps glucose into the blood in order to get us up and going for the day (sometimes referred to as feeding you breakfast). In non diabetics they use what they need and take care of excessive efficiently and the liver stops when it needs to. Us diabetics don’t always handle it as well. Morning fasting readings are typically the last ones to fall into range. Maybe taking a year or two (though maybe lots less too) depending on how insulin resistant etc you are.

Are you testing before and after meals? You’ll see the more or less immediate effects of your efforts there. Ideally no more than a 2mmol rise between before eating and about 2 hrs after is the most you want. The same foods at different time sof the day may yield different results as many find they cope with carbs later in the day better.

Could you fill in your profile please so anyone seeing your posts understand you are type 2 and if your are on any relevant medications or not. It can effect advice given or help us know the perspective your comments come from. This needs to be done in a web browser (not in the app) though. Click your name top right of the page and go to personal details.

Thanks so much for that I have updated my status now I will have a look at this dawn phenomenon I think the numbers just can’t come down quick enough for me (no patience ) it’s a minefield trying to take it all in . Thanks again

 

[Antje77]

Hello, @BonnieH , and welcome to diabetes and the forum!

Sounds like you're on a good start already
People may be able to help you a bit with food choices, as there's a lot to learn. Could you tell us what you ate yesterday? We might spot some sneaky carbs.

Below is the link to the information about diabetes we offer all newbies, I found it very helpful.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.26870/

Good luck!

 

[BonnieH]

Hi Bonnie and welcome to the forum. First, take a deep breath. You are in the right place.
I was diagnosed 4 weeks ago and my Hbaic was 82, other peoples were even higher at first. Loads of people on here have reversed their diabetes and are very generous with their advice. I was utterly terrified for weeks after I got my diagnosis but folks here have helped me so much. It's early days for me and I haven't got a handle on all of it yet, but lots of people say their readings are higher in the mornings. Keep on the low carb, do a little exercise if you can and those readings will eventually come down. Stress and worry can cause higher readings and as it's a new diagnosis, I'm guessing this will be a factor. Are you on any meds?
Sendig you a hug. It gets better.

Thanks for that my dAd is diabetic since he’s 40 and now here I am after inheriting the sweet tooth but I have been really good these last three weeks and I suppose I am impatient for the numbers to drop I am not on meds the doctor told me to get my act together with diet and exercise and we will review it in 3 mts and 6 mts fingers crossed I can get back to pre diabetic range in 3 months

 

[chrestomanci]

You're on the right track Bonnie! Don't be discouraged. It's probably Dawn Phenomenon and stress that's giving you higher numbers, also it's early days for you, just keep going! Also, I had the biggest sweet tooth but your tastebuds really change after a while of no sugar xx

 

[HSSS]

Thanks so much for that I have updated my status now I will have a look at this dawn phenomenon I think the numbers just can’t come down quick enough for me (no patience ) it’s a minefield trying to take it all in . Thanks again

You’ve updated your status but not your profile. Under the status box if you keep scrolling down the page you’ll find more boxes including required ones for diabetes type and treatment type. See post below. These selections will very usefully show up under your avatar (cute dog btw) on every post you make.

 

[HSSS]

 

[Mike d]

Thanks for that my dAd is diabetic since he’s 40 and now here I am after inheriting the sweet tooth but I have been really good these last three weeks and I suppose I am impatient for the numbers to drop I am not on meds the doctor told me to get my act together with diet and exercise and we will review it in 3 mts and 6 mts fingers crossed I can get back to pre diabetic range in 3 months

It will take time but you have a good base from which to start. I've seen double that initial reading

 

[urbanracer]

Welcome to the forums @BonnieH

 

[BibaBee]

Some great advice already here. My husband brought his HBA1C down from 122 (!] to a non-Diabetic level (41) within 5 months of diagnosis. All thanks to a low carb and lots of advice from this forum. It can take a while for fasting levels to come down, as others have said. You are only at the start of your journey, so try not to worry too much. It's a marathon, not a sprint and everyone is different. Take care of yourself.

 

[chrestomanci]

Hi Bonnie,
Hope you're doing ok today.
Here's some info I found about the Dawn Phenomenon:
https://blog.virtahealth.com/dawn-phenomenon/

Hope it helps! xx

 

[BonnieH]

Great thanks for that chrestomanci that’s a great help

 

[BonnieH]

Some great advice already here. My husband brought his HBA1C down from 122 (!] to a non-Diabetic level (41) within 5 months of diagnosis. All thanks to a low carb and lots of advice from this forum. It can take a while for fasting levels to come down, as others have said. You are only at the start of your journey, so try not to worry too much. It's a marathon, not a sprint and everyone is different. Take care of yourself.

Thanks that’s very impressive results wow I am sticking with the diet and low carbs the weight is starting to shift and so the numbers will follow thanks for your help

 

[BibaBee]

Thanks that’s very impressive results wow I am sticking with the diet and low carbs the weight is starting to shift and so the numbers will follow thanks for your help

You're doing great! We're not strictly Keto and started gradually to begin with. We started at around 100g of carbs to begin with, then reduced to less than 50g. It's now rare that we're over 30g often closer to 20g, when I do a proper check. The weight has dropped off me too (I'm not diabetic, but mostly eat the same stuff) - I've gone from a size 18 to size 12, in less than a year.

 

[BonnieH]

Wow that’s great thanks for all your help I am slowing reducing the carbs the bread sandwich at lunch is hard to beat but I have been having crispbread and I am attending SlimmingWorld as well

 

[BonnieH]

Welcome to the forums @BonnieH

Thanks

 

[HSSS]

Wow that’s great thanks for all your help I am slowing reducing the carbs the bread sandwich at lunch is hard to beat but I have been having crispbread and I am attending SlimmingWorld as well

Be very wary of slimming world. It’s very easy to fill up on syn free carbs that definitely aren’t zero effect on glucose!

Food info and ideas at these links

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog/jokalsbeek.401801/ for info including low carb made simple

And https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/success-stories-and-testimonials.43/ to show it really works and for motivation

and https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/ for food ideas

also https://www.dietdoctor.com/ for more food ideas and general info of carb content of foods. Lots of other websites for recipes out there too. Just use the term low carb or keto with whatever you fancy.

 

[BonnieH]

Be very wary of slimming world. It’s very easy to fill up on syn free carbs that definitely aren’t zero effect on glucose!

Food info and ideas at these links

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog/jokalsbeek.401801/ for info including low carb made simple

And https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/success-stories-and-testimonials.43/ to show it really works and for motivation

and https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/ for food ideas

also https://www.dietdoctor.com/ for more food ideas and general info of carb content of foods. Lots of other websites for recipes out there too. Just use the term low carb or keto with whatever you fancy.

Thanks for all the links they are great I am careful of the carbs with SlimmingWorld the gp recommended the blood sugar diet also just need time to figure it out thanks for all the advice