Help please.

BKP

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hello,

I was diagnosed with type two on October 19th 2017. Since that day I have no longer eaten any (bad cards) just, couscous, bulgur wheat, etc. Lentils, raw and roasted veg (none starchy) salads and very little meat. Occasionally some chicken. I get my proteins are from oily fish, eggs, feta and hard cheeses, Greek yogurt, nuts and hemp powder. I snack on seeds and small bits of 90% dark chocolate.

The main issue for me was drinking at least 8/10 pints of strong larger every day. I now drink only water, herbal teas and the occasional coffee.

Exercise wise, I now walk my dog for at least 45mins on average 3miles a day and go to the gym every second day to do weights and also swim.

Since this change it has taken only two weeks for me to start seeing a massive difference in my bloods.

Daily average stats as follows:
Fasting blood = 6mmol/6.2mmol
2 hours after eating = 5.6mmol/6.1mmol

I am 182cm tall
100kg weight - was 120kg back in May but I started to diet before I had the diagnosis.
42 years old
Not taking any medication proscribed to me.

Can anyone enlighten me as to whether I am still a diabetic? And yes I have read Professor Roy Jenkins book which was very interesting indeed.

Many thanks,
Ben
 
Last edited:

paulus1

Well-Known Member
Messages
843
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
your always going to be a diabetic. even if your bloods are at non diabetic levels. your diet what are you trying to aim for if its the lchf. you dont have it quite right. is your diabetes diet medicine or insulin controlled. if you alcohol in take was 8-10 pints you were drinking 36-45 units of alcohol a day or roughly 315 a week. the recommended is 15 a week. this indicates that you are or where alcohol dependent. if you've dropped from that level to 0 well done if not this is your urgent challenge. when you were tested did the doctor do a liver and kidney function test. its quite likely that may be the cause and if it is you maybe type 3c. i would stop any very restrictive diets until you've been oked by your doctor. this is a life long condition it takes time to adapt to it. even in remission you wont be able to eat a normal diet or it will return. but well done youve started well
 

paulus1

Well-Known Member
Messages
843
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
ps you booze intake equalled over 13000 cals a week.
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
I'm afraid you will always be diabetic. However, you can live with non diabetic levels and avoid the complications that uncontrolled blood glucose levels can cause.

Great work on your new healthy, proactive lifestyle. Giving up the booze will go a long way to helping your liver deal with carbs. Well done.
The bulgar wheat you mention, you may want to look at that in terms of testing. As it is a grain a lot of us cannot tolerate.
Tagging @daisy1 for loads of info useful for newbies. Welcome to the forum.
 

BKP

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
your always going to be a diabetic. even if your bloods are at non diabetic levels. your diet what are you trying to aim for if its the lchf. you dont have it quite right. is your diabetes diet medicine or insulin controlled. if you alcohol in take was 8-10 pints you were drinking 36-45 units of alcohol a day or roughly 315 a week. the recommended is 15 a week. this indicates that you are or where alcohol dependent. if you've dropped from that level to 0 well done if not this is your urgent challenge. when you were tested did the doctor do a liver and kidney function test. its quite likely that may be the cause and if it is you maybe type 3c. i would stop any very restrictive diets until you've been oked by your doctor. this is a life long condition it takes time to adapt to it. even in remission you wont be able to eat a normal diet or it will return. but well done youve started well

Thank you your comments. I am not and have not taken any medication for the diabetes or insulin controlling substances. I have just changed my diet drastically and become extremely active. As far as I believe my liver and kidneys were tested showing as being fine. I will make another appointment though and discuss my plan with the DR. I am fully aware of how many units and calories in the alcohol I was costuming but thank you anyway. I am also very happy with my diet and never felt better so no issue sticking with it. I don't see it as a diet just looking after my body. Luckily I was never into eating load of pasta, white rice or bread so don't miss it one bit!
 
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BKP

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I'm afraid you will always be diabetic. However, you can live with non diabetic levels and avoid the complications that uncontrolled blood glucose levels can cause.

Great work on your new healthy, proactive lifestyle. Giving up the booze will go a long way to helping your liver deal with carbs. Well done.
The bulgar wheat you mention, you may want to look at that in terms of testing. As it is a grain a lot of us cannot tolerate.
Tagging @daisy1 for loads of info useful for newbies. Welcome to the forum.

For reference.
Bulgur Wheat
"Slows Down Absorption of Sugar and Fights Diabetes. Bulgur wheat has a low score on the glycemic index, especially compared to enriched or refined carbohydrates. Because bulgur contains high levels of fiber, it slows the rate that carbohydrates are digested and blood sugar is released into the bloodstream"
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
For reference.
Bulgur Wheat
"Slows Down Absorption of Sugar and Fights Diabetes. Bulgur wheat has a low score on the glycemic index, especially compared to enriched or refined carbohydrates. Because bulgur contains high levels of fiber, it slows the rate that carbohydrates are digested and blood sugar is released into the bloodstream"

This is all true. But I tend to ignore the GI as it applies to non diabetics in the main. As I said above, grains are a foodstuff that most T2s cannot tolerate in terms of bg spikes, I tried it once and apart from disliking it it raised my bg to unacceptable levels. There are no grains in my diet at all these days. We are all different and what one person finds ok another may not.
 

paulus1

Well-Known Member
Messages
843
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
sadly im like guzzer. i even proved it to my wife. i tested my bloods.ate a really thin bit of stupidly seeded bread. im talking see through thin. it shot my bloods up for a good 12 hours. this shut the wife up. she has been trained to teach the nhs plate diet. my bloods were still 2 units higher the day after. im not able to eat any grain. potato or rice.
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
sadly im like guzzer. i even proved it to my wife. i tested my bloods.ate a really thin bit of stupidly seeded bread. im talking see through thin. it shot my bloods up for a good 12 hours. this shut the wife up. she has been trained to teach the nhs plate diet. my bloods were still 2 units higher the day after. im not able to eat any grain. potato or rice.

Fortunately, I do not even miss bread any more but there was a bonus in that my family love Burgen bread which goes a little way in improving their diet.
 

derry60

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,196
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Rudeness,people being unkind
I love couscous brown rice Bulgar and pretty much lived on that as I thought these things were healthy. Then was diagnosed as having high sugars..No way will I eat those foods again
 
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zbluebirdz

Well-Known Member
Messages
51
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
For reference.
Bulgur Wheat
"Slows Down Absorption of Sugar and Fights Diabetes. Bulgur wheat has a low score on the glycemic index, especially compared to enriched or refined carbohydrates. Because bulgur contains high levels of fiber, it slows the rate that carbohydrates are digested and blood sugar is released into the bloodstream"

Are you following any particular food lifestyle plan? LCHF, keto, GI/GL, vegan, etc?
 

TIANDB

Well-Known Member
Messages
77
Type of diabetes
Don't have diabetes
Hi BKP. Well done for dropping the booze that is not easy for some.. Your glucose readings seem ok ? How often do you test ?
If you post up your original HBA1C when diagnosed it will show how deep into type 2 you have been.
Good weight loss also that I am sure has helped with your good readings. Take care dude.

upload_2017-11-15_14-14-6.png


DiagnosticCriteriaPrediabetes.png
 
Last edited:

daisy1

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

Hello BKP and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope it will be useful to you. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will 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 well over 258,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
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9893973788

Active Member
Messages
40
Hello,

I was diagnosed with type two on October 19th 2017. Since that day I have no longer eaten any (bad cards) just, couscous, bulgur wheat, etc. Lentils, raw and roasted veg (none starchy) salads and very little meat. Occasionally some chicken. I get my proteins are from oily fish, eggs, feta and hard cheeses, Greek yogurt, nuts and hemp powder. I snack on seeds and small bits of 90% dark chocolate.

The main issue for me was drinking at least 8/10 pints of strong larger every day. I now drink only water, herbal teas and the occasional coffee.

Exercise wise, I now walk my dog for at least 45mins on average 3miles a day and go to the gym every second day to do weights and also swim.

Since this change it has taken only two weeks for me to start seeing a massive difference in my bloods.

Daily average stats as follows:
Fasting blood = 6mmol/6.2mmol
2 hours after eating = 5.6mmol/6.1mmol

I am 182cm tall
100kg weight - was 120kg back in May but I started to diet before I had the diagnosis.
42 years old
Not taking any medication proscribed to me.

Can anyone enlighten me as to whether I am still a diabetic? And yes I have read Professor Roy Jenkins book which was very interesting indeed.

Many thanks,
Ben
Hi Ben
You are recently diagnosed as diabetic.I
Think you are more worried than the real problem,you can reverse it.you have to loose some more kgs,cut carbs,take natural fat,keep watch on lipid profile too.
 
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Kristin251

Expert
Messages
5,334
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Good job on all your changes! I’m sure you feel better

I’m just wondering if you’re only testing your fasting bg as the one and two hour tests after your first bite tells a much bigger story. It will show you which foods spike you out of your desired range and which foods have little effect. This is typically how we find “our” diets.
 
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BKP

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Is the very little meat for ethical reasons?
I've just gone off it a bit have done for a while. Used to eat meat three times a day. I now really enjoy veg based meals and have meat as a treat. Pork is completely off the menu though :) I believe there is more protein in lentils than beef and the essential fats I get from real yogurt, seeds and fish.
 
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BKP

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Good job on all your changes! I’m sure you feel better

I’m just wondering if you’re only testing your fasting bg as the one and two hour tests after your first bite tells a much bigger story. It will show you which foods spike you out of your desired range and which foods have little effect. This is typically how we find “our” diets.
I am testing both. Like I say I no longer eat any bad carbs, breads, pasta, potatoes etc. I never had a sweat tooth so don't have cravings for deserts. I eat fruit but not tropical fruits.
 

bulkbiker

BANNED
Messages
19,576
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I've just gone off it a bit have done for a while. Used to eat meat three times a day. I now really enjoy veg based meals and have meat as a treat. Pork is completely off the menu though :) I believe there is more protein in lentils than beef and the essential fats I get from real yogurt, seeds and fish.

Trouble is that all those lentils have a lot more carbs than meat and you are effectively "carb intolerant" with Type 2.
I think that per 100g steak has about twice the protein as lentils (or at least that's what the Waitrose website indicates) and to be honest I know which I prefer.. still each to their own.
 

BKP

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi BKP. Well done for dropping the booze that is not easy for some.. Your glucose readings seem ok ? How often do you test ?
If you post up your original HBA1C when diagnosed it will show how deep into type 2 you have been.
Good weight loss also that I am sure has helped with your good readings. Take care dude.

View attachment 24509

DiagnosticCriteriaPrediabetes.png
Thank you! When I was diagnosed I had Hba1c at 10. I have been testing three to four times a day. Last night before bed I had reading of 5.4mmol.
 
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