In the Type 2 club, new admission

spmccann

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi everyone,

Looks like I've joined the type 2 club. Admission price , lifelong vigilance to what you eat and exercise. The only reason it got caught was that I went for a wellness check in work about two months ago. I found the leaflet , got my blood tested and I found out many wonderful things like I had high Blood pressure, high cholesterol and Diabetes . Oh the joy and off to the doctor I went with fear and trepidation.

I got started with two doses of metformin and now have been put on cholorsly for BP. Having said that the cholesterol is coming down with the diet change and the glucose is heading in the right direction between 5.7 and 7.5 down from 12.7 at the start eek! The doctor and the nurse I'm seeing have been great. I've made some lifestyle changes , they didn't agree with the big bang change theory either as they felt its unsustainable.

I was issued with a Glucose monitoring kit which I test twice daily. I'm Ireland so I don't know if its standard practice everywhere but it makes sense. Its also helped me identify what spikes my sugar levels. To be honest I was pretty annoyed with myself for letting things get this bad. I cant cure it but I can manage the Diabetes or it will manage me. I'm trying to focus on the positives and all in all after I got over the initial shock and anger I've decided that it was better to find out now than in the back of an ambulance after a stroke or heart attack.

I'm on a diet which is more self imposed than anything else. I'm tracking my food and exercise on the myfitnesspal website. It keeps me honest and, well its been an education. It tracks carbs, salt, sugar, cholesterol , certain vitamins and of course calories. It also has a cool app for my phone and the bar code reader is great for looking up stuff when your shopping. I am now going food shopping with my fabulous wife, God love her.

I need to lose about 20kgs(was at 106), first 5kgs I've lost although once I started the bp meds my weight loss stopped not sure if coincidence or just my body getting used to less sugar, carbs and quantities in general. The diet is probably the thing that has my head melted. There seems to be so much contradictory information. I've been pretty well behaved, ok well behaved for me and my sweet tooth. The diet is tough sometimes but it beats kidney failure. However I'm probably eating better than I have done in my whole life and feeling better for it . :thumbup: Apart form being flaked out in the evenings since I started BP tablets. :thumbdown:
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi spmccann and welcome to the forum :)

You sound like you are controlling your levels well already. Testing certainly helps you to know which foods are OK for you. Well done with the weight loss. Here is the information we give to new members which I hope you will find helpful. It includes advice about diets and carbohydrates in particular. Ask all the questions you like as someone will be able to 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 30,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

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

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.
 

spmccann

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi Daisy , thanks for the info and the kind words.
 

CathyN

Well-Known Member
Messages
248
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
prejudice, racism, complacency, ignorance
What a great thing you went for your wellness check!!

Sounds like you're already taking huge steps to manage your diet etc.

Don't know if I was typical, but I got off to a flying start, did very well, and then bombed a bit emotionally, so make sure you take great care of yourself - admit it when you feel down, but enjoy all the benefits of getting the type2 under control.

And you found this forum which is really fantastic.

All the best !
 

Pastell

Member
Messages
22
Hiya..
I've only been here a short while, few hours in reality,but welcome. there really is some good advice here. :D
 

spmccann

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Pastel, thanks for that, seems to be a really good forum. Still struggling with the Diet but I'm under 100kgs for the first time in many years.