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Newbie needs advise

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Pip16

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Hi all I've been diagnosed as type 2 about 3 weeks ago. Been having regular Hba1c tests for about a year as I had a water infection which also showed high glucose. My mum, her 3 sisters and brother are all type 2 also and my sugars have also spiked during my pregnancies, last child born in 1999. My hba1 tests have ranged between 48 and 51 since starting the tests. Im due to have my first visit to the diabetic nurse on Wednesday. I've brought a monitor and I'm testing my sugars when I awake before having anything and pre evening dinner and 2 hours later. I had a phone consultation with a gp at my surgery and he said I needed to lose weight and more exercise. I have lost about 1/2 stone since diagnosis through diet and I really cannot do anymore exercise than I already do, there just arnt enough hours in the day.
I saw my optician yesterday as my sight has been blurry for a while and I've found I need to where my old reading glasses all day and when I'm doing close work I wear my newer glasses. My optician done a thorough check and said that my sight is blurred as my sugars are fluctuating too much and once they're stabilised my sight will be better. I'm a bit confused as I'm not sure what stabilised is. My recent readings have ranged between 6 and 7.8 pre breakfast and pre evening meal 5.8 - 6.8 and post anything from 6.9 to 8.8, depending on what I eat. These are better than when I first started monitoring. Questioning is when will I know they're stabilised, is that the difference between pre and post meals and if so how much should the fluctuation be. I'm really trying my hardest and I'm determined to not get as bad as my mum.
Sorry for the long post and thank you
 
Hello and welcome to the club.

Your readings aren't drastic, maybe just a tad high.

Most of us aim for under 6 first thing (and I mean as soon as you get out of bed), under 6 (preferably under 5.5) before a meal, and under 7.8 at 2 hours after first bite. The important thing at the moment is the actual rise - the difference between the before and after reading should be as little as possible. Aim for less than 2mmol/l if you can. Once you get to know levels a bit better, and you bring this under control, you may want to set your own targets.

If I were you I would buy extra strips and test all meals until you are satisfied with that meal and how your levels reacted to it. Keep a food diary and record your levels next to it. If you see a rise of more than 2mmol/l there is something in that meal that is raising your levels too much. Identify it, and either cut it out altogether or halve the portion until you get the portion right. It is also often wise to do a 1 hour check in addition to the 2 hour check because some foods release glucose faster than others, and the fat content of the meal will slow it down.

What sort of meals are you eating? Potatoes, bread, cereals, rice and pasta are the worst culprits for raising levels.
 
Hello welcome, sorry to hear that you have recently been diagnosed ...
you already have had support to get you started , which this forum is great at giving ..
Find out which is diet is right for you and do what you have to , to allow yourself to move forward ...
The eye test sounds informative ....what a pain this blurred vision can be ...
You have highlighted what seems to be a faulty gene in your family ...so many members having problems ...
I love your determination and you sound busy with family life ....
Time for you and your life is important though ....sounds like you are making positive plans...
I can't tell you about your readings though , but bluetit has given information ....
Enjoy getting support here and wherever else you find it ....best wishes ...Kat
 
Thank you bluetit1802 for replying so quickly. My morning readings are as soon as I'm out of bed. Lunchtimes is usually a sandwich of some sort on multi seeded brown bread. I don't eat pasta or rice except in a lasagne or chinese but very rarely. My evening meals since diagnosis are usually a jacket /new potatoe with light flora some sort of meat or salmon and salad. I have to be careful with what I eat as I also have ibs. I know I shouldn't eat jacket potatoes but I need something warm with my meal. At the moment I'm also trying to balance the foods allowed for diabetes with the foods for ibs.
I'm also taking 50mg amitriptyline at night along with a sugar free lactulose sachet morning and night. These are both for the ibs. My foods at the moment are pretty bland. I've also swapped normal/diet cokes/Pepsi for coke zero which I much prefer. I don't drink alcohol except for glass at Christmas and new year. Juices I can only drink a small amount of. I've had a roast chicken dinner today so will be interesting to see the readings for that. The meals I'm having now are so much better than before diagnosis and my readings have been lower this last week.
Thank you
 
Thank you kat100. I am determined that's for sure. Even my husband and daughter who still lives at home are eating the same (at home only I suspect) to show support. I've heard my mum over the years saying 'I shouldn't really but I will' when certain foods/sweets are offered and now she's on meds for the diabetes, has glaucoma and is in danger of losing a leg. Not good. I saw the diabetes nurse a couple of weeks ago for something unrelated and when seeing my blood results she gave me books full of info and this site was recommended. So pleased she did this and will be seeing her again on Wednesday as a diabetes patient. The Blurry eyes is a pain but knowing I can hopefully get them back to normal gives me the extra determination.
 
Pip16 said:
Thank you kat100. I am determined that's for sure. Even my husband and daughter who still lives at home are eating the same (at home only I suspect) to show support. I've heard my mum over the years saying 'I shouldn't really but I will' when certain foods/sweets are offered and now she's on meds for the diabetes, has glaucoma and is in danger of losing a leg. Not good. I saw the diabetes nurse a couple of weeks ago for something unrelated and when seeing my blood results she gave me books full of info and this site was recommended. So pleased she did this and will be seeing her again on Wednesday as a diabetes patient. The Blurry eyes is a pain but knowing I can hopefully get them back to normal gives me the extra determination.
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Stay positive ...pip ...this is a great site for support ...
Sorry about your mum , that is sad news ....
Hope you don't mind a suggestion ..but if you are going to have juices , can you dilute with water ...you might do this already and I am just thinking out loud ....
My eyes were really awful when I was diagnosed ...it was very scary ...they have improved now , with much lower BG levels ....hope you get some improvement in time ...my prescription sunglasses help even in supermarkets where the lights can have an awful glare ...
Chat again any time ....Kat
 
Thanks Kat I don't really drink that much juice wise but I will dilute with water from now on. I Didn't know this. Am really learning a lot through this site. X
 
Sweet potatoes and swede are lower in carbs.

There is an excellent book called Carbs and Cals which is very enlightening.

Exercise will help weight loss and also lower blood sugar in it's own right.

Do you have much weight to lose?

Cara
 
Thank you cara I will try the sweet potato but I really cannot touch swede. I gag on it. (Think from school dinner lady forcing me to eat it many years ago)lol. Funny but I really didn't think I was overweight til I had a 50yr healthcheck a month ago. I knew I had a belly but I've had 4 kids and at this time of life etc etc. My bmi showed I had 14cm to lose off waist. Shocked me completely. Still wearing size 8 jeans and not tight at all round waist. Anyway now I know I've already lost 4cm. Think I'm gonna have to do stomach crunches and raise the sit-ups to lose the flabby bits. X
 
Morning Pip,

Have you tried not having jacket spuds at all and just having 2 small new spuds? With IBS are you allowed butter? (sorry, I don't know much about IBS) If so, I would swap your Flora Light for the real thing as this will help and is so much better for you. Fats do not raise blood sugar levels and slows down the time it takes for carbs to turn to glucose in your system, which levels out the spikes somewhat.

Use your meter to test out your meals wisely. Watch those spikes and eliminate any carbs causing them, or seriously cut down the portions. We must also be careful with fruit and milk as both contain a lot of sugar.

Keep posting and let us know how you go on today with your readings.
 
Dn
Pip16 said:
Thanks Kat I don't really drink that much juice wise but I will dilute with water from now on. I Didn't know this. Am really learning a lot through this site. X
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I had to learn as well :). It is life long learning ....and having to remember .....
 
Thanks jack the trouble with my ibs is the high fibre. My old gp 30+ years ago used to say add plenty fibre, bran etc which I did and it just made the whole ibs thing 10 times worse. There's lots of veg my stomach cannot take and I end up doubled up in pain. Guess I'm going to have to experiment loads with this and it's going to take quite a while.
 
Pip16 said:
Thanks jack the trouble with my ibs is the high fibre. My old gp 30+ years ago used to say add plenty fibre, bran etc which I did and it just made the whole ibs thing 10 times worse. There's lots of veg my stomach cannot take and I end up doubled up in pain. Guess I'm going to have to experiment loads with this and it's going to take quite a while.
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Hi pip , have you tried the new super food ...flaxseed ...just a thought x
 
Hello . If you find the flax seeds too strong try chia seeds. They are supposed to have huge numbers of benefits.
 
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