Time to say Hi!

jahusba

Well-Known Member
Messages
57
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
having to cut carbs
Just a brief hello as I've been lurking a while now and thought it was time to introduce myself....

I'm a married 52 year old Mum of 4.
Diagnosed type 2 last summer, am controlling it with a low carb diet.
Although have lost a couple of stone still need to lose loads more, obesity has caused me several health problems including high blood pressure (controlled by 4 different meds), gall stones, AF (occassional irregular heartbeat) painful knees and feet, numb hands and I believe is the main cause of my diabetes.
I know some say that it isn't necessarily the reason but I believe in a lot of cases it is. In my family other type 2's are Mum, Gran (she's made it to 92 so far by the way!) Father in law, Sister in law and my hubby, we are the overweight ones, all our slim siblings are ok.
By the way out of all of us I am the only one that has good numbers and manages without medication so far. :idea: I am the only one following a low carb diet.
Am happy to have been diagnosed as it now means I must take more care of myself and I get much better treatment at my GP's and was well looked after last year when I had a shoulder op. Best to look on the positive side :D
Can't believe how much info is out there about LC,so many recipes and advice.
My biggest find/help in low carbing has to be the flaxseed muffin and flaxseed crackers.
Enjoying other health benefits from my diet but these numbers have to be the best thing...
At diagnosis HbAlc was over 10 and trigs 2.1, just 3 months later HbAlc 5.8 and trigs 1.4! :lol:

If I don't post very much right now it's cos I've got lot's of reading of past posts to read through!
Good luck and health to you all
Jane :)
 

jahusba

Well-Known Member
Messages
57
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
having to cut carbs
P.S.

Forgot to say the couple of things that annoy me...
the fact that because I am using diet control means that tho diabetic I can't get free prescriptions.
My diabetic nurse won't let me have strips on prescription because "they are of no use in controlling diabetes" :roll:
Jane :)
 

anna29

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
4,789
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Cruelty to Animals/Children
Liars/Manipulators/Bullying
Hiya, welcome to us all here, hope you enjoy being with us n find the help and support you need. With regards to your concerns you may not get a meter to test with, try letting the nurse know you really wish to be proactive with your diabetes, self care managing knowing what your BS levels are then you can eat accordingly. Write down your readings and take them along next time so they can see you are being proactive and hopefully will continue to repeat script them for you. Hope this helps? Anna.x :)
 

shirley56

Member
Messages
5
Hi Jane, just thought I'd say hello from 1 newbie to another!! You certainly sound as if you have a postive attitude and that can only be good, take care,

Shirley
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Jane and welcome to the forum :) Congratulations on your improved HbA1c. You are certainly going about things the right way. Here is some basic information, written by our friends Sue and Ken, former monitors, which is given to new members to help them to get started.

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.
 

jahusba

Well-Known Member
Messages
57
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
having to cut carbs
Thanks for the replies.
anna29 my nurse knows that I like to test and gave me 30 strips to start with but when I asked for a repeat prescription the next month was when she stopped them. She said it can become obsessive and that's when she told me testing doesn't work. Even when she saw my good results she wasn't convinced. I may try again at our next meeting if my numbers are still good.
I forgot to say in my intro, tho I've only been diagnosed for a year my husband already was so I'd already researched diabetes and maybe that helped me be less scared when I was diagnosed

Jane
 

anna29

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
4,789
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Cruelty to Animals/Children
Liars/Manipulators/Bullying
Hi, It does help to have someone in the family with diabetes yet it can still feel totally strange when the focus shifts onto yourself, you still need time to adjust . You had been used to the focus being on your husband. Please keep in touch and let us know how you go on. Anna.x :)
 

mariab

Active Member
Messages
30
Hi Jane - I'm newly diagnosed as well. I had an awful experience with my GP who refused me a monitor and strips but the Practice Nurse was fantastic and gave me a monitor and put the strips on repeat prescription. I'm currently trying a low carb diet but am considering the LighterLife diet to shift some weight quickly.

There's a huge amount of information here - all I need is the time to read it!!

Maria