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valann

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Hi, I think I may have posted my intro post in the wrong place earlier and am hoping this is the correct thread.
I'm Valann (Val for short), I shall be 72 later this month and live with my husband of nearly 47 years in Doncaster, South \Yorkshire.
I was diagnosed about 12 or 13 years ago with type 2 diabetes. My introduction was "you have type 2 diabetes, heres a blood sugar monitor and some bedtime reading, was given a bunch of papers about 3" (7.5cm) thick to read and told to come back in 3 months for another blood test. I never did manage to read all those papers but soon figured out how to use the blood sugar monitor and used it before and an hour or so after all meals and logged the results. After having the next lot of blood tests I got told to cut down on sugary things, cake, sweets etc and to have whole meal bread, but that I could eat anything I wanted in moderation. 4 years ago we moved to Doncaster and had to change doctors and everything changed, told not to use the meter as not reliable, that I could no longer have strips or lancets. That the blood tests they will give me every 3 or 4 months will tell them exactly what my blood sugars was doing. To cut a long story short(er), early last year I got told my blood sugars were very high and that I needed to go onto tablets, tried Metformin and found I'm allergic to it so got put onto another tablet (can't remember the name), then they upped the dose to 2 a day but got told my reading was still way over 100 so changed to tablet to Canagliflozin. This dropped the rate but not enough for the medics who doubled the dose to the maximum. Last week I got a phone call from the practice nurse who said it had come down to 68 but that its not low enough so they want me to add another tablet and maybe an injectable. I haven't agreed to this yet because every time I change meds another of my medical conditions flair up.
I also have IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) IBS, COPD, Seasonal Asthma, Chronic Arthritis in spine and most joints, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Hiatus Hernia and a type of Psoriasis that's in remission thankfully. Often a wheelchair user also and have migraines. Not sure if I'm falling apart or have fallen apart lol. IBD is the one mainly affected when I change meds and I'm on a lot of meds as well as the diabetic one.
So that last conversation on the phone brought me to this forum whilst trying to do some research. I have learned more in this past week than I have over the last 12/13 years, so thank you. I haven't actually seen any doctor or nurse since before covid and haven't been given much advice at all they just want me on more meds and the nurse tells me she can only consider my diabetes and none of my other conditions or tablets. So around and around I go trying to make some sense of it all.

Sorry this turned into a book but will be asking more questions I'm sure. At the moment I'm trying to figure out this Low Carb diet some of you are on and am going to try and see if it helps me. I also bought myself a blood sugar meter, spare strips and have ordered more lancets yesterday. My first reading was 6.6 before a meal, we had a pre-planned Chinese meal and it shot up to 12.3 2 hours later, this morning it was 7.8 when I woke up and I forgot to take it after lunch.

Thanks for reading and looking forward to getting to know some of you.
Val
 
I'm glad that you got your own meter, it can tell you so much. I think not supplying a meter anymore stems from a study that said it didn't improve type 2's numbers, so then it became a cost saving factor to not supply them.. There are a huge group of people out there that just don't check and just want to take a pill and the doctor to fix it. But the people that care, it helps a lot!

So hopefully you can figure it out now.
 
Hello @valann .
Well, you certainly have a few medical conditions to be dealing with. It can be so difficult when medications and or treatments for one impact on another. I too have ‘co-morbidities’, and found it best to deal with the condition the one that is causing the most discomfort, at the time. Though also consider which is the most likely to cause the most damage in the long term.
Despite it being over 12 years since your diagnosis, it is still possible to improve your blood glucose, which in turn could reduce further possibility of diabetes complications.
It is good that you have started using a blood glucose meter. To get optimum benefit it is often recommended in these forums that we test immediately on waking, before each meal, and two hours after starting each meal. Keep a record of the numbers, and what you have eaten. You will start to see how various foods affect your blood glucose levels. The low carb way of eating has benefitted so many members. Have a read around the forums for inspiration, and come back to ask questions.
There is some information in my signature that is helpful to new members.
Best wishes, Pipp.
 
Sounds like you're taking the bull by the horns now! :)
valann said:
At the moment I'm trying to figure out this Low Carb diet some of you are on and am going to try and see if it helps me. I also bought myself a blood sugar meter, spare strips and have ordered more lancets yesterday. My first reading was 6.6 before a meal, we had a pre-planned Chinese meal and it shot up to 12.3 2 hours later
Click to expand...
I think you might like to have a read of this piece written by one of our members: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog/jokalsbeek.401801/
valann said:
Sorry this turned into a book but will be asking more questions I'm sure.
Click to expand...
Ask away!
 
Hello and welcome,

I agree with previous posters about the benefits of testing. I found that testing often at the beginning helped me both from an information point of view but also as a reward for keeping very low carb. I have slackened off recently but plan to go back again soon. I am still low carb but I find its easy to carb creep if I don't test.

I also lost my asthma from very low carb so it may actually help some of your other medical conditions as well.

Good luck and welcome.
 
Hello and welcome. You are in the right place for the best information. I agree it is frustrating when each medic you see just wants to treat their specialist area and nobody seems to realise we are a complete unit. You may well be able to improve a number of your conditions with the right sort of help, and it's good to have you on board.
 
Hi Val.

Like @VashtiB ..
I too was an asthmatic sufferer.

Technically still have it, but my symptoms reduced dramatically on LCHF.

I was so focused on the diabetes it took the wife to notice I didn't spend those early waking moments coughing.

At 6 months in on LCHF, I barely noticed any asthma symptoms....and 4 years on I'm still much clearer of life long asthma then I ever hoped to be :happy:

Good luck balancing your other ailments.

And fully agree, I found more useful information from this site than everywhere else combined.

And all REAL LIFE experiences.

I now pay more attention to those who have BEEN THERE, versus other so called 'experts' any day of the week .

I'll say good luck anyway, but I think
"You got this" :)
 
Marie 2 said:
I'm glad that you got your own meter, it can tell you so much. I think not supplying a meter anymore stems from a study that said it didn't improve type 2's numbers, so then it became a cost saving factor to not supply them.. There are a huge group of people out there that just don't check and just want to take a pill and the doctor to fix it. But the people that care, it helps a lot!

So hopefully you can figure it out now.
Click to expand...

Hi Marie 2, Yes I'm glad I got a meter after reading posts of this forum and feel it will be a big help. You could well be right about it being a cost thing but I really don't think medics should tell you they are useless which mine did, I actually felt that I had no control over this thing, just taking their word for it all, have blood tests and pop more pills. This is not what I wanted either and know doctors aren't Gods and can't fix everything with a tablet. x
 
Pipp said:
Hello @valann .
Well, you certainly have a few medical conditions to be dealing with. It can be so difficult when medications and or treatments for one impact on another. I too have ‘co-morbidities’, and found it best to deal with the condition the one that is causing the most discomfort, at the time. Though also consider which is the most likely to cause the most damage in the long term.
Despite it being over 12 years since your diagnosis, it is still possible to improve your blood glucose, which in turn could reduce further possibility of diabetes complications.
It is good that you have started using a blood glucose meter. To get optimum benefit it is often recommended in these forums that we test immediately on waking, before each meal, and two hours after starting each meal. Keep a record of the numbers, and what you have eaten. You will start to see how various foods affect your blood glucose levels. The low carb way of eating has benefitted so many members. Have a read around the forums for inspiration, and come back to ask questions.
There is some information in my signature that is helpful to new members.
Best wishes, Pipp.
Click to expand...

Hi Pipp, Thank you for the welcome. Yes I do have a few too many medical conditions and often feel I'm just juggling them all. Would you believe I didn't ail much at all until 35 when I had a stroke and it seems as if every year for the next decade after that I got another condition, although I'm told some are connected. As for which is most likely to cause the most damage goodness only knows, the IBD, COPD or the diabetes could all take me in the end and I have no idea which it will be as all are causing damage I know. I really feel that yes I can improve my diabetes with help and information, although at the moment I feel a little overwhelmed with it all I think I have got so much more info here than in the past few years.
Thanks for the advise to keep a record of the numbers and of what I have eaten that day, it makes sense to do so but no one has suggested it before for the diabetes only for the IBD. I have started doing so now starting from yesterday so will keep it up. x
 
jjraak said:
Hi Val.

Like @VashtiB ..
I too was an asthmatic sufferer.

Technically still have it, but my symptoms reduced dramatically on LCHF.

I was so focused on the diabetes it took the wife to notice I didn't spend those early waking moments coughing.

At 6 months in on LCHF, I barely noticed any asthma symptoms....and 4 years on I'm still much clearer of life long asthma then I ever hoped to be :happy:

Good luck balancing your other ailments.

And fully agree, I found more useful information from this site than everywhere else combined.

And all REAL LIFE experiences.

I now pay more attention to those who have BEEN THERE, versus other so called 'experts' any day of the week .

I'll say good luck anyway, but I think
"You got this" :)
Click to expand...

Hi jjraak, Firstly thank you for the welcome.
Glad to hear you asthma is so under control now long may that continue. Yes it's much better to listen to those that have "been there" than anyone else, my nurse spent a long time telling me she will never be diabetic, ever! But insists on more tablets and maybe an injectable for me, yet has never mentioned diet....go figure! But I have already tried to cut out most carbs and have been given info (from here) where to find out even more info.

I really wish I had "got this" but maybe I'm on the way ;) x
 
VashtiB said:
Hello and welcome,

I agree with previous posters about the benefits of testing. I found that testing often at the beginning helped me both from an information point of view but also as a reward for keeping very low carb. I have slackened off recently but plan to go back again soon. I am still low carb but I find its easy to carb creep if I don't test.

I also lost my asthma from very low carb so it may actually help some of your other medical conditions as well.

Good luck and welcome.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the welcome VashtiB and yes I hope a change to low carb will help all my conditions but even if it helps just the diabetes it will be a plus. x
 
valann said:
Hi, I think I may have posted my intro post in the wrong place earlier and am hoping this is the correct thread.
I'm Valann (Val for short), I shall be 72 later this month and live with my husband of nearly 47 years in Doncaster, South \Yorkshire.
I was diagnosed about 12 or 13 years ago with type 2 diabetes. My introduction was "you have type 2 diabetes, heres a blood sugar monitor and some bedtime reading, was given a bunch of papers about 3" (7.5cm) thick to read and told to come back in 3 months for another blood test. I never did manage to read all those papers but soon figured out how to use the blood sugar monitor and used it before and an hour or so after all meals and logged the results. After having the next lot of blood tests I got told to cut down on sugary things, cake, sweets etc and to have whole meal bread, but that I could eat anything I wanted in moderation. 4 years ago we moved to Doncaster and had to change doctors and everything changed, told not to use the meter as not reliable, that I could no longer have strips or lancets. That the blood tests they will give me every 3 or 4 months will tell them exactly what my blood sugars was doing. To cut a long story short(er), early last year I got told my blood sugars were very high and that I needed to go onto tablets, tried Metformin and found I'm allergic to it so got put onto another tablet (can't remember the name), then they upped the dose to 2 a day but got told my reading was still way over 100 so changed to tablet to Canagliflozin. This dropped the rate but not enough for the medics who doubled the dose to the maximum. Last week I got a phone call from the practice nurse who said it had come down to 68 but that its not low enough so they want me to add another tablet and maybe an injectable. I haven't agreed to this yet because every time I change meds another of my medical conditions flair up.
I also have IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) IBS, COPD, Seasonal Asthma, Chronic Arthritis in spine and most joints, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Hiatus Hernia and a type of Psoriasis that's in remission thankfully. Often a wheelchair user also and have migraines. Not sure if I'm falling apart or have fallen apart lol. IBD is the one mainly affected when I change meds and I'm on a lot of meds as well as the diabetic one.
So that last conversation on the phone brought me to this forum whilst trying to do some research. I have learned more in this past week than I have over the last 12/13 years, so thank you. I haven't actually seen any doctor or nurse since before covid and haven't been given much advice at all they just want me on more meds and the nurse tells me she can only consider my diabetes and none of my other conditions or tablets. So around and around I go trying to make some sense of it all.

Sorry this turned into a book but will be asking more questions I'm sure. At the moment I'm trying to figure out this Low Carb diet some of you are on and am going to try and see if it helps me. I also bought myself a blood sugar meter, spare strips and have ordered more lancets yesterday. My first reading was 6.6 before a meal, we had a pre-planned Chinese meal and it shot up to 12.3 2 hours later, this morning it was 7.8 when I woke up and I forgot to take it after lunch.

Thanks for reading and looking forward to getting to know some of you.
Val
Click to expand...
Hi Val.

In respect of finding information, that can be a little overwhelming.

I found many great people offering good advice re food, from basic to full on keto replacements for almost any dish you could think of.

Not the best of cooks but I gave most things a go...(grateful to all for the tips & guidance I was the weak link , not them)

But in the end, for me..it came down to this

Meat...that looks like meat.
Vegetables ..that Look like vegetables
Spices & herbs added as I fancy or per tecipe
And all cooked by me.

I'm no Saint, but most days it's what I do

I eat very well
I eat my fill .

And that previous constant hunger, has got to the stage now where i might have to remember to eat something.

The LCHF diet, seems very flexible from vegan to carnivore....it's all down to our choices :)
 
jjraak said:
Hi Val.

In respect of finding information, that can be a little overwhelming.

I found many great people offering good advice re food, from basic to full on keto replacements for almost any dish you could think of.

Not the best of cooks but I gave most things a go...(grateful to all for the tips & guidance I was the weak link , not them)

But in the end, for me..it came down to this

Meat...that looks like meat.
Vegetables ..that Look like vegetables
Spices & herbs added as I fancy or per tecipe
And all cooked by me.

I'm no Saint, but most days it's what I do

I eat very well
I eat my fill .

And that previous constant hunger, has got to the stage now where i might have to remember to eat something.

The LCHF diet, seems very flexible from vegan to carnivore....it's all down to our choices :)
Click to expand...

Hi again jjraak,

Sounds like you prefer fresh food that looks as it should, which I do myself never have been a fan of processed foods etc. I'm pleased to hear that your hunger has mostly gone now, I have found my hunger has returned which I suppose is to be expected until I get used to the low carb diet. But I am sticking with it and noticing a reduction in my blood sugars, hurrah!!!
x
 
1 week in and already noticing a reduction in my blood sugars (long may that continue). Before I started the low carbs my readings seemed to be between 11.0 and 12.3. For the last few days it has been reading between 6.6 and 8.1 which may not seem a big drop to some but to me it says I am going in the right direction.
I'm very grateful to all in this forum for suggesting a BS Meter, because now I can track it as I go and see what triggers to avoid. Early days but encouraging days to say the least.

I have no idea what they call the tests the GP's do but I measured way over 100, seem to remember the nurse sayin 160 something. Last week when I got the last call she said it had dropped to 68 but that was still too high so she talked about adding a tablet and maybe an injectable, what that is I have no idea but replied, not yet. Now I've started this diet and things seem to be coming down, I'm hoping to phone her after a month or so and ask for another test. Should the numbers have come down on their testing then yes maybe another tablet but I really don't want any type of injectables whatever they are.
I so wish I could sit face to face with a doctor or even a nurse and talk through some of this stuff but at our surgery we can't get a face to face appointment, phone only and only 1 topic. Only been with them 4 years and have only ever seen 2 doctors for very brief appointments, one an intro appt and the other for a prescription review then Covid hit and everything changed. Oops! nearly went into a bit of a rant, sorry.

Anyway I shall carry on reading and hopefully learning here, which as said I'm finding a big help to get a handle on this thing. x
 
You don’t want another test yet. It’s called an A1C and it measures the average glucose over a 3 month period. While the last month plays a stronger role in that 3 month time period, it still will register the whole 3 months average. So it’s better to wait 3 months with your lower numbers to get a better idea of what it’s actually at.
 
valann said:
I so wish I could sit face to face with a doctor or even a nurse and talk through some of this stuff
Click to expand...

Be careful what you wish for
Some pearls of wisdom from my Dr at a face to face meeting when I was first diagnosed

There is no need for T2's to regularly test their levels unless they are taking drugs that can cause low blood sugar levels. The hba1c test is all you need to keep track of how you are doing

Base your meals around lean meats, fruit, vegetables and complex slow energy release carbohydrates

Avoid full fat yogurts and spreads, go for the low fat/light options. Choose brown /wholemeal bread, pasta and rice.

Don't skip any meals, having 3 meals a day with snacks in between will keep your sugar levels stable

Suitable breakfasts for T2's are a bowl of porridge or cereal with some fruit or a couple of pieces of wholemeal toast with a low fat spread

The next appointment a few months later was with the nurse, I was fatter and my hba1c had gone up. Apparently it was my fault because I hadn't followed their advice.
I'm so thankful that I found this forum and got advice from people who actually know what they are talking about.

So if you do manage to eventually get your face to face meeting, just bear in mind that most people with T2 get progressively worse and require more and more medication. Is that their fault or their doctors?
 
Exactly @catinahat

Same story here
"Eat this, do that "

Went back HBA1c had got worse, and to top it off I was frantic with hunger most days .

In desperation searched online
Found this forum.

Read up, considered "could a diet be so simple yet effective"

A gently dip of a toe & a meter that showed BG declining...led to full immersion.

And the rest was history

Said it in other posts, but my bloods / lipids had been poor in 2010, got them checked after I had a slight scare, so ate more "Healthily "..:hilarious:

8 years ....little changed :sorry:

Went LCHF

Matched blood tests over those 8 years
None, as said much improved over 8 years :rolleyes:

6 months on LCHF
EVERY metric moved from risk etc into normal or optimal.

Every - single - one
In 6 months

I was sold :happy:
 
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