Newly diagnosed. Fighting it all the way!

janetilett

Newbie
Messages
2
Hello
I am a newly diagnosed case of type 2. I wasn't expecting that! I've spent 23 years working for Weight Watchers as a leader, trainer and writer, so I thought my eating was healthy, well healthy ish. I left WW 15 months ago and my weight has crept up a bit, but not masses!
Anyway, I have a lot to learn about type 2 and this looks like a great place to do it.
I decided to write a blog about my journey to reverse my diagnosis. My blog (I've only posted 1 so far) will include my feelings, mental and physical, what's working for me, recipes and links to information I find interesting or useful. I'm not going to be shy about the information I share in my blog. Yikes!
I hope it helps other newly diagnosed people. I wasn't expecting my reaction to the news - well, to be honest, I wasn't expecting the news!
My blog can be found at www.type2do1.wordpress.com

Janet Ilett

I hope you will find it helpful
 
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Pinkorchid

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,927
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi welcome I will be interested in reading your blog yes it is a shock being diagnosed T2 but you can keep it under control. Like you I was diagnosed T2 at just over a level of 7 three months ago...I had been prediabetic for a few years but luckily did not have to worry about loosing weight I am 76 and have never been more than a size 12 and no family history of T2. I go for my 3 month diabetic blood test review next week
 
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Southbeds

Well-Known Member
Messages
260
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Well your blog will look pretty impressive when you fight your diabetes into remission and loss weight by using the LowCarb diet,not many medical professional can do it but you will, just by changing what you eat
 

norbitonite

Active Member
Messages
33
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Your blog was a very good read. I will tune in again for the next instalment.

Sounds like you have a very progressive Diabetic Nurse if she's recommending low carbs.

Good luck in your quest to stave off a T2 diagnosis. Should be entirely do-able as you are only just over the top end of the 'normal' BG range.
 
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muzza3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,789
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Cauliflower pretending to be rice and any vegetable pretending to be pasta
Welcome @janetilett

I love your attitude and this is certainly the place to get a lot of information as there are many on here who have completed that journey or are on that road like myself
I have tagged @daisy1 who will post an info pack. I look forward to seeing your progress and please don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have
 
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daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@janetilett

Hello Jane and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members and I hope this will help you on your way to controlling your levels. Try a low carb diet. Ask as many questions as you need to 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 150,000 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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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.
 

Prem51

Expert
Messages
7,393
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
*
Hi @janetilett and welcome to the forum. Good blog, just one small point though, you say you skipped the pre-diabetes stage as your parents were T2. Actually you were probably pre-diabetic but didn't know it as you hadn't been tested. My mother was T2, and I was told I was pre-diabetic, the year before I was diagnosed T2. But it wasn't explained to me what that meant, how close I was to being diabetic, and how I could avoid it.
I did bring my blood sugars down to pre-diabetic levels by my 3 month retest, and I think I will be down to non-diabetic levels by my 12 month test. This was due to a Low Carbohydrate High Fat approach to eating which a lot of us on here have found is effective in reducing blood sugar levels and weight.

At 7.1 you are only just into the diabetic range, so you certainly should be able to bring it down before your 3 month retest. Good luck on your journey, and keep us posted.