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Saintleonard

Member
Messages
12
Hi, my name is Neil and I am a newly diagnosed diabetic with type 1 diabetes.
My age is 50 living in East Sussex. I considered myself in good general health with no food or drink excesses . In April this year I very rapidly developed a real thirst , sometimes drinking up to 5 or 6 litres of water or juice in an evening alone and constantly drinking during the night as well, waking with a dry mouth every couple of hours. I also lost over 2 1/2 stone in 8 weeks. A trip to the doctors was in order but before the appointment for tests, I ended up in the A&E of the local hospital where my BG was measured at 29.5. After a few hours in a insulin drip a level of 7 was achieved and I was released. My levels are mainly between 4 and 8 on a regular basis with the assistance of insulin injections and tablets and sensible diet. One question I would like to ask is what BG levels should I be achieving before meals and how often do other members get hypo's and hyper's?.
 

mo1905

BANNED
Messages
4,334
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Rude people !
Hi Neil, I am not a doc so can only tell you what my doc told me. Ideally, your levels should be between 5 and 7. A little higher or lower not a problem. Also, if you test before eating, you should aim for your levels to be back to pre-meal levels after 2 hrs. Good luck !


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daisy1

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

Here is the information we give to new members and I think you will find some of the information you are looking for in here. Carry on asking questions as there is usually someone who can 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.
 

Netty70

Well-Known Member
Messages
666
Hi Neil
Welcome to the forum anything you want to know someone on here will have an answer so don't be afraid to ask
When I was diagnosed I also had the thirst felt like I could kill for a drink but I also suffered night sweats so thought I was on the change lol
Suppose I have that to look forward too
:)


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Kerry-Michelle

Well-Known Member
Messages
176
Hey Neil!!

Welcome to the forum!

There are many lovely people on this forum who are a great help with things you need to know so don't hesitate to ask questions! :)

When I was diagnosed with type 1 in April 2012 I didn't know what to do and I got myself on here and asked a few questions and now I've got good control of my diabetes along with the help and support from this forum there are many posts of a funny nature here too :)

Kerry xx


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zolabud

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,285
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Whelks,winkles... All crustaceous seafood except prawns. Can't do crab.lobster or scallops.
Don't like the way they are killed and cooked. Save our Scallops. SOS !!!
Also HATE evaporated milk.
Welcome Neil.

I too am from East Sussex and a newly diagnosed Type 2.

I have been on here a few weeks now and it is my new home and I have learned so much and it doesn't feel as daunting as it first did.

Ask any questions. You will get a friendly answer and lots of good advice.

Keep posting on your progress.