New Balloo here

[Balloo]

Hi All
Thought I would stick my head above the wall and take a look....Balloo's the name ...back scratching's the game...seriously though I was diagnosed with type 2 about a year ago before my last heart attack and to be honest I am totally confused as to what I can and can't eat...? my levels for the last two days have been running around 15-17 and can be anywhere from 6.5 to as high as 19.... :shock: obviously not good, it dose not seem to make any difference what I eat or drink I can't seem to get consecutive stable readings....never mind consecutive low readings :? My GP started me off on 500 mg of Metformin a day which made me feel so ill I had to stop taking it after a month and am now on two a day...which probably is not enough.... :| So any help would be gratefully received...

The Bear....

 

[daisy1]

Hi Balloo and welcome to the forum I wonder if you have tried seriously reducing the amount of carby foods you eat. I have found it made my levels very good and perhaps it would help you to stabilise too. Here is some information written by our friends Ken and Sue, former monitors, which is aimed at new members and I think you might find some of this information helpful. Give it a try! If you have any questions, please ask as someone will always be pleased to help.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, 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.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

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!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......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 at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. 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.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.

 

[anna29]

Hi balloo , welcome to us all here, Are you back on the metformin ? able to tollerate it ? there are other tablets/meds that can be taken also possibly increase on the metformin ? best place to go n ask about this is at your GP or diabetes clinic theyre medically trained n qualified to discuss this with you. We arnt medically trained or qualified, we're here to offer support and guidance, please let us know how you go on with your meds/tablets etc... Yep on the foods n diet bumpf it is indeedy confusing until you find your feet n know what you do n dont like to eat n can implement it into your daily cooking n meals etc... your erattic BS levels will only settle when your diet meds n active lifestyle are in balance, finding the RIGHT BALANCE to make this combination work is the hardest bit n job... I too am with erratic BS so I do know where you are coming from. :? Am yet trying to find the right balance of meds , activeness , diet combo. You have got us all here to turn to when nowt makes sense if you see what I mean? Anna.x

 

[Ogri]

Hi Balloo and welcome. Your post regarding your diabetes mirrors my story. I also had uncontrollable blood sugars which were all over the place. Personally I have now been referred by my GP to a diabetes clinic for insulin prescribing but that's my story. I was able to get the blood sugars to drop by following a low carb diet for a few days. I'm currently running at about 11-14 mmol which is a huge improvement. I will now stick to the low carb approach and see how it goes.

Good luck with your journey balloo!

 

[Balloo]

Thanks all for welcomes and words of encouragement, looks like what I have though for a while...it's those **** carbs the cause all the trouble.... :twisted: will now move into type 2 forum...I need to know more about how many carbs a day constitutes a low carb diet, I really don't want to have to go down the insulin injection route, on waking this morning my level was 13.3, last night 2 hours after I had eaten level was 17.4 and all I had was a ham on brown wholegrain sandwich...go figure.... :roll:

B.

 

[anna29]

Hiya, balloo. am similar to yourself, well the BG readings I mean ! Overnight as we sleep our liver is the store house and the high morning readings can be from the dumping of blood glucose to wake us up for the day [ you may see this referred to as the dawn phenonomen ] however with the after eating a meal testing, I test 2-4 hrs after eating, and yes my BG readings are similar to yours in the mid to late teens despite only eating a small portion sized meal or even snack! It is confusing I know... I discuss this with my consultant each time I see him. He tells me to stay with the meds and injections and between us all me / him / DSN can crank up my insulin to the right dose to bring me down from the rafter's ! Keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. Anna.x

 

[Synonym]

Thanks all for welcomes and words of encouragement, looks like what I have though for a while...it's those **** carbs the cause all the trouble.... :twisted: will now move into type 2 forum...I need to know more about how many carbs a day constitutes a low carb diet, I really don't want to have to go down the insulin injection route, on waking this morning my level was 13.3, last night 2 hours after I had eaten level was 17.4 and all I had was a ham on brown wholegrain sandwich...go figure.... :roll:

B.

Hi Balloo
I think you will find it is indeed those wretched carbs but you will have to test before and after eating to work out how they affect you. Unfortunately there is no magic formula for the number of carbs to qualify as low carb. We are all different so we all handle them differently too - shame eh?
Nothing is really simple with diabetes! :roll: