Help - information overload!

Murphybear

Member
Messages
11
Hi all

Apologies if this has all been covered before but there is so much stuff out there!

I have had T2 for about 2 years and am not managing well. My GP, DN and even local pharmacist all tell me that I do not need to monitor my BG at home. I have a HbAc test done every 3 months and it is constantly on the high side (usually around 8-9). I saw a dietician at the hospital and she gave me the usual NHS story of lots of complex carbs, brown rice, pasta, etc. This is obviously not working and I was advised to try a low GI diet. Problem is, I have read loads of books, looked at dozens of websites and the information is conflicting. I am 57 and about 5 stone overweight. I have lost 10 lbs but it was a real struggle. I know if I can get this sorted it should help the diabetes big time. We have taken early retirement and now spend a lot of time swimming.

The big question is, with so much conflicting advice about diet, how do I know what should work for me if I do not measure my BG? Unfortunately we are on a very restricted income so could not afford to pay for the stuff ourselves. Hopefully someone out there has been in a similar situation

Cheers

Despondent of rural Devon
 

pollyr

Well-Known Member
Messages
78
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
political correctness in any form
Hi
I was diagnosed as t2 seven years ago and tried diet first, with three monthly checks onHBAc's. When that didnt work I was put on metformin and given a monitor to check my bs. I made random bs checks at that time to ensure I wasnt getting really highs.

Perhaps your doctor doesnt think it necessary at the moment. My sister is getting 3 monthly HBAc checks and hers is about 8 and she doesnt have a monitor or meds.

Hope this helps. Polly
 

carty

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,379
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi just a few ideas non of which may work :oops:
Any way ,try being nice to your DN even though she says you neednt test if you say you really would like to check how your body deals with different foods she may have some monitors given by reps .If that doesnt work try writing to one of the firms that make the monitors they like people to have them because they buy the strips.
If you get your monitor you can buy strips on e bay if you just get one box and test carefully you will soon find what foods have a bad effect on your bgs I would suggest testing particularly after eating carbs as they drive my bgs up You might try keepinga record of your results and showing them to your dn or gp to show how well you are doing then plead for strips on prescription.
I cant get strips from my gp he says that what I eat doesnt matter,but that is another story.
Hope this helps a little Iam sure others on this forum have some ideas they are a helpful bunch :D
 

Vortex

Member
Messages
18
I have managed to obtain a few meters by contacting the manufacturers. To be honest I didn't expect freebies but they seemed more than happy to send them.

If you have no luck pm me and I can send you one and you'll just need to get your doc to prescibe the strips / lancets.
 

Synonym

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,384
Dislikes
Having no energy as this is so limiting.
Hi Murphybear and welcome. :)

I agree with Carty and you could find out quite a bit as regards your BG levels with minimum outlay.
However, as you have quite a bit of weight to lose you could make a big impression on your health care team if you lose a good bit of that in fairly short order by cutting right down on the carbs. If you show what you can do and then push it with your doctor you may just stand a better chance of getting some strips on prescription.
I am one of those on here who have found that the starchy carbs send our BG levels through the roof and so I no longer eat them. I eat meat, fish, cheese, eggs, certain fruits and certain veggies. I use a Collins gem Carb Counter to work out the best food choices and in that way have got my numbers under control. You may well find that this would be a good approach for yourself. Testing would be the ideal but you could get the Carb Counter and just go for it and see what happens at the next Hba1c. Keep a diary of what you are eating and note how you feel etc. in order to give yourself some sort of ammunition to help in getting those elusive strips.

The 'Advice to newly diagnosed Diabetic's' would really help you if you follow it carefully:

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!
If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l.(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l. ( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l (Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Sue/Ken.
 

Murphybear

Member
Messages
11
thanks for all the help! There are some useful tips. I have been on a low carb diet now for 2 weeks - total weight loss now 16 lbs. DN at surgery is helpful, she is monitoring my weight and BP every 2 weeks and has started measuring my BG as well, last measurement was 5.6 so we were both over the moon. Next HbAc is in about a month so keep my fingers crossed
:D
 

Synonym

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,384
Dislikes
Having no energy as this is so limiting.
Hi Murphybear :)

Hope that means that you are no longer "Despondendent of rural Devon"! Keep plugging away and you will surely get there - 16lbs is a great start! 8) :D

Walking and cycling will also help you and a gym will give you another slant on exercising too. Portion sizes are crucial. Keep us posted!