• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

newbie

steveandkay

steveandkay

Member
Messages
22
Location
donington
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
hi there my names steve , I have type 2 diabetes , I live in donington nr boston lincs and was diagnosed late last year,,just wanting to say hi to everyone HELLO
 
Hi & Welcome @steveandkay to the forum, you have definitely come to the right place, I'm sure a few more will be along shortly.

I'm Tagging @daisy1 and she will be along shortly with a long list of very useful information we give to all new members.

Neil
 
Hi steveandkay
Make sure you have a good look round the forum and ask as many questions as you need to, there is always someone there to help.

Lots of the information on here contradicts what you get from the NHS in-particular diet, most of us on here would follow a LOW CARB HIGH FAT diet which works for nearly all, read and see.

Neil
 
hi paul blood sugar still very high running around the mid to high 20s but only started on insulin last week so trying to find the right amount ,,docs have been brill with me,,diet is my biggest problem knowing what is sugar free to start with
 
@steveandkay

Hello Steve and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find this useful. It gives lots of information about carbohydrates which you need to control carefully. 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 over 130,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

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 bloodglucose 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.
 
steveandkay said:
hi paul blood sugar still very high running around the mid to high 20s but only started on insulin last week so trying to find the right amount ,,docs have been brill with me,,diet is my biggest problem knowing what is sugar free to start with
Click to expand...
a lot of us here low carb, so you will get plenty of help there..it's carbs inc sugar you need to watch.
 
jack412 said:
a lot of us here low carb, so you will get plenty of help there..it's carbs inc sugar you need to watch.
Click to expand...
Steve,Do this & you should find you will most likely stop the insulin. The way I see it is your most likely following Nhs guidelines. One day they will catch up & give us the right advice we need to control the condition. There are many on here that gain control by simply not following the Nhs & listening to those with hands on experience.
 
steveandkay said:
that is where im struggling knowing what I can and cant eat
Click to expand...
I can tell you what I did..
I cut all grain..grain product, bread pasta etc...starch veg, potato corn..sugary stuff inc fruit/juice

I ate lots of nonstarch veg and salad, normal protein and full-fat everything.
http://www.practicaldiabetes.com/Sp.../March 2014/PP Unwin final proofs revised.pdf

it’s a long page and a few good video’s
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
For me, the more carbs we eat the more carbs we want. they don’t give up easy
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a/firstweek.htm
 
I suppose its a case of just finding out what is low carb ,when you have never had to check before you have never worried,but im sure ill find the low carb stuff as I go
 
All you have to do is learn what carbs are and seriously reduce them. The major ones are potatoes, cereals, pasta, rice, flour and bread. Learn how to read food nutrition labels - look for total carb amounts, not the "of which sugars", and decide if you can manage the amount shown on the label or not. Preferably stick to those under 10g carbs per 100g. Look at the ingredients and discard those with major carbs in. Avoid any products that are low fat as they are likely to contain added sugars.

Meat, fish, dairy foods (except milk), green leafy veggies, tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs, salads, olive oil, oily fish, avocados, are all good things.

Read round these forums and you will pick up some ideas.
 
Back
Top