newbie

Mark James

Well-Known Member
Messages
86
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
not eating food, or drinking
Hi everyone, i was diagnosed at the beginning of December with a hba1c of 10.4 had a big row with my doctor about testing and getting strips on prescription and decided to change practices. ( all he wanted me to do was take tablets and do as i was told) i decide not to take metformin and I started a low carb diet and exercising i had a new blood test in the middle of January and my hba1c is 6.5. I will try and get it within normal range before i have my next blood test in 3 months time,i think the only thing stopping my me from attaining normal range this time is my fasting levels they are always between 5.8 and 7.0, pre meal readings are around 4.5 to 5.5 and post meal (2 hour) 5.2 to 6.5. I have been lurking on this site for a couple of months and have finally decided to post.
Mark
 

NotSoSweet2

Well-Known Member
Messages
251
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Rudeness, tv soaps.
Hi Mark and welcome, glad you finally came and said hello, we are all very friendly on here and people are very encouraging and also you will find a lot of helpful tips and advice from professionals. Have fun! :)
 

carraway

Well-Known Member
Messages
977
Type of diabetes
Prefer not to say
Treatment type
Other
Hi Mark

Welcome. If you have been lurking then you probably picked up a lot of info

But if you have any queries just ask

Cara
 

Beshlie

Well-Known Member
Messages
277
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Your readings are similar to mine and I don't think they are too bad at all.
 

daisy1

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

In case you have not already seen this, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask lots of questions and someone will 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 70,000 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-and-whole-grains.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.
 

Sarah2014

Well-Known Member
Messages
67
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
My diabetes my anger and my sugars :-(
Hi I'm new too I can't stop asking questions I think I must be so annoying lol but everyone is soo helpful and friendly


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 

sagarg

Well-Known Member
Messages
63
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello,
This is sagar from Dayton. New here having small knowledge about diabetes and want to know more on this from you people. :)
 

Sarah2014

Well-Known Member
Messages
67
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
My diabetes my anger and my sugars :-(
Then tou
Hello,
This is sagar from Dayton. New here having small knowledge about diabetes and want to know more on this from you people. :)[/qu
Hello,
This is sagar from Dayton. New here having small knowledge about diabetes and want to know more on this from you people. :)
then you are in the right place hon! I've only just joined and learnt so much in last couple days they are soooo helpful on here :)