Sammy99

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi, I am in a similar place but my readings where much much higher, I was hitting 25 at times.
I was diagnosed about 4 years ago and spent a lot of time doing low carb and finding a balance. I could tolerate weetabix back then. Due to covid and a few other things I went off the rails but now trying to sort it out.
What I have found out is what worked before does not work now, weetabix for example now causes me a huge spike that I struggle to recover from. Bacon and scrambled eggs now for breakfast, and I’m eating salmon slices/meat with salad most lunches. If I’m working from home I have tried having another egg at breakfast and missing lunch at that works too. Evening meals I find tricky and still finding options that work.
In the space of a week I have seen my daily average drop from 16 to 10 so I still have lots to do but I’m getting there.
Like you it feels like starting again but it’s nice to know your not alone and this forum is a great tool to help.

Good luck
Thank you
I hope you get yr bloods down too it’s a hard journey and great to know there are others out there like me too this forum is extremely helpful and I’m learning so much
 

ianpspurs

Oracle
Messages
16,419
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
@Sammy99 you certainly have heaps of motivation so that is a massive positive. No one "knows" how many carbs your body will tolerate now or in the future never mind what food you can bare to eat. Everyone's tastes are different. A general guide seems to be to check bg before first mouthful then again at 2 hrs. A rise of under two points is considered ok by many but even then some foods and meals only produce their highest rise at maybe 4 hrs. May be a good place to start. I wish you well but you have strong motivation and reached out for help so you are well on the way to a better future.
 
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Sammy99

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
@Sammy99 you certainly have heaps of motivation so that is a massive positive. No one "knows" how many carbs your body will tolerate now or in the future never mind what food you can bare to eat. Everyone's tastes are different. A general guide seems to be to check bg before first mouthful then again at 2 hrs. A rise of under two points is considered ok by many but even then some foods and meals only produce their highest rise at maybe 4 hrs. May be a good place to start. I wish you well but you have strong motivation and reached out for help so you are well on the way to a better future.
Thank you I am learning so much sometimes I wish food came in a tablet so we could just swallow it and be done lol this forum keeps me positive and well informed and keeps my motivation going thank you again
 

Pinkorchid

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,927
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
We all have to find what suits us because we are all different there is no one diet to suit everyone. I was diagnosed 6 years ago in my 70's and I found it was trial and error to find what suited me best and my way is small portions of most things Just had my blood test and review also a retinal eye scan all good and I do not take any diabetes medication
 
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Dr Snoddy

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,325
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Trolls
Another rule of thumb is not to have foods that are more than 10g carbohydrate per 100g of food.
@Mbaker once posted a very useful coloured coded chart of the carbohydrate values of different foods and I am trying to find it for you!
 
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Sammy99

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
We all have to find what suits us because we are all different there is no one diet to suit everyone. I was diagnosed 6 years ago in my 70's and I found it was trial and error to find what suited me best and my way is small portions of most things Just had my blood test and review also a retinal eye scan all good and I do not take any diabetes medication
That’s good portion size is key
 

Sammy99

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Another rule of thumb is not to have foods that are more than 10g carbohydrate per 100g of food.
@Mbaker once posted a very useful coloured coded chart of the carbohydrate values of different foods and I am trying to find it for you!
Thank you all advise is really appreciated
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
There are so many sites saying different amounts of carbs I get so confused I will try to lower them thanks
Testing after meals will show you your personal tolerance for carbs - testing before is of little use except for type ones needing to calculate insulin doses.
 
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Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
19,284
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Testing after meals will show you your personal tolerance for carbs - testing before is of little use except for type ones needing to calculate insulin doses.
Without testing before, how would you know how that particular meal has affected you? Big difference in testing at 10 after a meal if you started at 4.5 to seeing a 10 after your meal if you were at 9 before.
 
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Sammy99

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Testing after meals will show you your personal tolerance for carbs - testing before is of little use except for type ones needing to calculate insulin doses.
Thanks yes I only test on waking and before bed
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Without testing before, how would you know how that particular meal has affected you? Big difference in testing at 10 after a meal if you started at 4.5 to seeing a 10 after your meal if you were at 9 before.
Ah - I never tested 10, you see - by the time I had a tester I was under 9 and then sank down gradually to under 7. Only things such as peas or beans would push me up again, and once I reduced the portion size that didn't happen.
 

ianf0ster

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
2,397
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
exercise, phone calls
I tested just before and the 2hrs after first bite of every meal for the first couple of weeks. That uses up a lot of test strips, but by then I had my 'safe breakfasts sorted out'. Next easiest to sort was lunch, so after 6 weeks the only meals I was testing was dinner, though I did test my fasting BG before breakfast just to see if it was coming down since I suffer for 'Dawn Phenomenon' or 'Foot on the Floor' which means my liver 'helps me out' by dumping glucose (from stores) into my blood stream to give me the energy to go and hunt/gather my first meal of the day like a cave dweller.
 
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Sammy99

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Without testing before, how would you know how that particular meal has affected you? Big difference in testing at 10 after a meal if you started at 4.5 to seeing a 10 after your meal if you were at 9 before.
So true I’ll give that a go thanks
 
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MrsA2

Expert
Messages
5,574
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@Sammy99 Because you are in a medication ending "flozin" DON'T go reducing all carbs suddenly as there is risk you will get very ill with soemthing called dka or severe hypos. Its rare in type 2s, except when on this medication and when carbs are reduced too quickly.
Instead reduce them slowly so your body and the medication have time to get used to. For example, swap out the carbs in breakfast for one week, the next week swap out one piece of fruit a day, a couple of weeks after that drop bread etc etc

Here's a link to similar medication. Read the warnings carefully
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/dapagliflozin/
 
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Sammy99

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
@Sammy99 Because you are in a medication ending "flozin" DON'T go reducing all carbs suddenly as there is risk you will get very ill with soemthing called dka or severe hypos. Its rare in type 2s, except when on this medication and when carbs are reduced too quickly.
Instead reduce them slowly so your body and the medication have time to get used to. For example, swap out the carbs in breakfast for one week, the next week swap out one piece of fruit a day, a couple of weeks after that drop bread etc etc

Here's a link to similar medication. Read the warnings carefully
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/dapagliflozin/
Hi thank you for your advice I’m going to see my diabetic nurse next week and was going to run all my diet choices past her I will cut out carbs slowly as you have advised because I have suffered with hypos in the past and had to carry an injection I never realised it was because I carb crashed thanks again
 
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Andydragon

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
3,324
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi thank you for your advice I’m going to see my diabetic nurse next week and was going to run all my diet choices past her I will cut out carbs slowly as you have advised because I have suffered with hypos in the past and had to carry an injection I never realised it was because I carb crashed thanks again
Just be aware that some nurses/doctors are not sold on a low carb diet, they have an NHS approved Eatwell approach that focuses differently. “Healthy carbs” whole grains and such.

however some of the NHS does support low carb approaches too. It’s a split of approaches and it can depend a lot on your doctors (I have a nurse who supports low carb, so they do exist)

many of us have looked at the meter for the Eatwell approach and noticed just how much we spike from it, so the advice seems to not match what we see. When you are told to eat fruit and veg and whole grain on one visit and then another tells you bananas and weetabix are bad, it’s no wonder we get confused!