Newbie question - what am I aiming at?

Longhaul

Newbie
Messages
3
Hi, I'm Paul. Newbie to the forum, which I'm delighted I've found. I'd love to get some feedback or any other comment based on what follows. Thanks SO much to anyone who has time to read this and lend some knowledge/experience. I'm feeling a little bit lost over what seem to me to be fairly basic things. Anyway I'll start with all the info you great guys seem to ask for, then ask a couple of q's...

I'm 56, was diagnosed diabetic (I assume I'm type 2?) about 7 months ago. I got quite sick while travelling last summer, got back to UK and had all sorts of tests including first ever HbA1c which was 61. There was a lot being looked at back then (nothing ongoing and happily everything ok now) so we (Doctor and I) finally came back to blood sugars 8 weeks later when second HbA1c was 45. Diabetic diagnosis was made, no medication. I was due to have another HbA1c early last month but Covid intervened. Doc has just asked me to call back in 3-4 weeks to see about having another one. I was also scheduled for a Desmond day last month which has been rescheduled for September.
I've had a BG finger prick monitor since the start. Around the time of the 45 last year I was averaging about 8-9 before lunch. Since then I've put some exercise back in my routine, lost a few pounds (currently 164lbs) and my BG before lunch has dropped this month to average 5.7, ranging between 4.7 and 6.3. I don't measure BG in a structured way; before lunch just became my routine, most days. When I occasionally do 'before first bite and 2 hours later' I get pretty much the same readings before and after.
What do I eat? A generous bowl of All Bran for brekky every day, with some nuts and seeds thrown in. Then rather than having set meals I have 3 or 4 'portions' throughout the rest of the day. The portions might be rice (riceberry or brown) with tuna, or a veg broth, crispread with mackerel or other fish, quorn with a low carb sauce or just chopped toms, plenty of chicken breast or other white meat, very occasional wholemeal roll. Or some combination of that lot, or something similar. Few cups of tea, unsweetened soy milk with tea and All Bran, plenty of water. Yes I know my diet is really boring, but now I've found this site I'm sure that's going to improve;). Anyway, whichever combination of the above I have doesn't seem to make much difference to my readings, which are pretty consistent.
Of course it's a shame I don't have a recent HbA1c. I've not had a conversation about targets with the Doc and it's not clear when that will happen now. Likewise Desmond day is a while off. And time is drifting by... so here I am asking you fine people!
Without this diagnosis I would have said I was in reasonable shape. I'm happy in life. I'm lucky my Diabetes was spotted really, and ok with the diagnosis as it doesn't seem too severe (yet). I have no other health issues or medications (yet). I suppose I'm questioning whether I'm doing enough about my Diabetes diagnosis. Should I have a fixed target? Should I be more worried about it than I am? Should I be cutting back on carbs more than I am? Etc etc.

Any feedback at all is most welcomed. Thank you so much if you made it this far:).
 

xfieldok

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,182
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Welcome.
You obviously know that carbs play a huge part.

If I were you, I would start testing properly. Before first bite and 2 hours after.

Download the mysugr app and record your numbers and food. After a few days of data it will give you an estimated hba1c. Obviously at first the number it gives you is only based on the data you enter.

It has an annoying sound which you can turn off in settings.

Bacon and eggs would be far better than bran.
 

copilost

Well-Known Member
Messages
354
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Should I be cutting back on carbs more than I am?
I'd say rethink carbs. We've been told for years to eat a lot of carbs and hold off on fats (and more recently meats). If you read around this site (and beyond) you'll see a lot of people challenging that advice. What you thought was 'healthy' might not be so, this isn't fad this is genuine scientific doubt. I wouldn't worry too much about an unvaried diet at this point I'd look at what the balance of that diet is and how your body reacts to changes you make (eat and test). Like the photo :)
 

xfieldok

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,182
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Forgot to say. When testing before and after eating, the rise should be no more than 2. If more then you had too many carbs.
 

VashtiB

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
2,283
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello and welcome to the forum. You have found a great resource with amazing people. People here are very generous with their support and advice- you could not have found a better place. Read around and ask questions.

I'm another that suggests that you spend some time regularly testing your levels. The app that @xfieldok suggested is great and will give you an estimated HbA1c which is helpful. The thing to realise with the Hba1c is that it is only annaverage. It is helpful but limited in the information it provides. I think that regular testing is very important to learn what your body tolerates. After a while once you know the effect of different foods you can reduce the testing. I still test to keep myself accountable. The possible complications of diabetes are significant and worth me spending some time everyday testing. It also helps my motivation to keep really low carbs.

Good luck and welcome.
 

Longhaul

Newbie
Messages
3
Thanks for those replies and I will certainly follow up on all suggestions.
I'm still confused about the end game. Is it just to eat as little sugar as possible, as few carbs as possible, to get BG and Hba1c just as low as possible? Guess I'll wait until the Doc has time to see me to answer some of those. Thanks again :)
 

Sgathach

Well-Known Member
Messages
75
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Thanks for those replies and I will certainly follow up on all suggestions.
I'm still confused about the end game. Is it just to eat as little sugar as possible, as few carbs as possible, to get BG and Hba1c just as low as possible? Guess I'll wait until the Doc has time to see me to answer some of those. Thanks again :)

Not as low as possible, as too low is bad too. But in a healthy range so your body can function normally and so you avoid all the nasty complications that can arise from high blood sugar.
The end game I'd say is a healthy diet you can stick to that let's you eat enough, gives you enough energy to exercise and do what you wish but stay in a good range.

Many people get misdiagnosed as T2 at the start, so it may be worth asking for an antibodies test to confirm your diagnosis too. Food will be largely the same but you need to be aware if it's T1 you will need insulin in the future.

Also, at the beginning I admit I was a bit obsessed with testing, sometimes I tested before, after 1h and after 2h. And the spikes were sometimes huge even if they were back to normal.after 2h.
Even now with my cgm I see massive drops within about 30mins from my lunch. So maybe worth to test a bit more to find out.