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[kev.t]

Hi................ I have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and nobody has told me anything about it yet I have seen my doctor and a diabetic nurse but got little information and it's scaring me

 

[jack412]

everyone goes nuts the first month, it is scary. normally they diagnose and give you a few weeks to get your head around it before they get you back in and tell you about "healthy plate" unless you get lucky and the DN suggests low carb.

have a read around the site and ask lots of questions, it gets better

 

[Scandichic]

Hi................ I have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and nobody has told me anything about it yet I have seen my doctor and a diabetic nurse but got little information and it's scaring me

Hi there! I was in the same position as you when I was diagnosed at the end of January this year. Luckily I was directed from this website to the following one for more dietary info
http://www.dietdoctor.com
This works for me. I have reduced my metformin from 3 tablets to 1, my bp meds and lost over 3 stone in weight. Good luck!

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Of course you are scared, we all were when first diagnosed, but well done for finding this forum. You couldn't be in a better place for friendly support and helpful advice. The fear won't last. This disease can be controlled, but it does require a bit of effort and a lot of knowledge. You will find the knowledge right here. The effort must come from you. Have a read round, and ask as many questions as you like.

 

[daisy1]

Hi Kev and welcome to the forum

To help you, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will be able to give you an answer.

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 over 100,000 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 bloodglucose 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.

 

[kev.t]

Many thanks to all for your reply will try to get a grip of myself and stop being a sissy lol

 

[kimbo1962]

Many thanks to all for your reply will try to get a grip of myself and stop being a sissy lol

Hello and welcome Kev !
I was feeling like you just 12 weeks ago......but thanks to finding this lovely, friendly,supportive and informative forum I quickly became empowered with knowledge, inspiration and determination!! After just 6 weeks my levels were down, 12 weeks still going down, almost 2 jeans size down - , thanks to lchf, never hungry or craving, tastes changed dramatically- and I feel alive!!
Keep posting to ask questions and let us know how you are doing

 

[jack412]

Many thanks to all for your reply will try to get a grip of myself and stop being a sissy lol

be a sissy as long as you need to be a sissy LOL, it takes time to adjust to the idea
http://www.diabetesexplained.com/the-five-stages-of-grief.html

 

[Brunneria]

be a sissy as long as you need to be a sissy LOL, it takes time to adjust to the idea
http://www.diabetesexplained.com/the-five-stages-of-grief.html

Great link @jack412

 

[Alice233]

There is nothing you can eat or drink that will cause diabetes.
Smoking causes lots of bad stuff, but not diabetes.
Being overweight and inactive will increase your chances of developing type 2.
You should start weaning yourself off the soda. It is just empty calories and just plain bad for you. Start cutting down a little at a time.

 

[kev.t]

Hello and welcome Kev !
I was feeling like you just 12 weeks ago......but thanks to finding this lovely, friendly,supportive and informative forum I quickly became empowered with knowledge, inspiration and determination!! After just 6 weeks my levels were down, 12 weeks still going down, almost 2 jeans size down - , thanks to lchf, never hungry or craving, tastes changed dramatically- and I feel alive!!
Keep posting to ask questions and let us know how you are doing

What is ichf please?

 

[jack412]

What is ichf please?

Low carb high fat
it's were a diabetic lowers their carb to reduce their blood glucose and replaces the lost calories by increasing their healthy fats/oils. [everyone cringes at this idea at first]
it's advised to buy a codefree meter and strips off of amazon uk or search the site for the promotion code for it to be slightly cheaper again

these are some links that initially helped me
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbliving/a/Food-Cravings.htm

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf long page and a video to watch

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

 

[kimbo1962]

Low carb high fat
it's were a diabetic lowers their carb to reduce their blood glucose and replaces the lost calories by increasing their healthy fats/oils. [everyone cringes at this idea at first]
it's advised to buy a codefree meter and strips off of amazon uk or search the site for the promotion code for it to be slightly cheaper again

these are some links that initially helped me
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbliving/a/Food-Cravings.htm

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf long page and a video to watch

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

Thanks Jack!! Yes, after years of being told "low fat" was good it takes some thinking to realise we can have cream in coffee and bacon,butter etc. I've not really gone "high" as such, like most, more "moderate" to replace the carb calories- which is obviously vital!!

 

[jack412]

Thanks Jack!! Yes, after years of being told "low fat" was good it takes some thinking to realise we can have cream in coffee and bacon,butter etc. I've not really gone "high" as such, like most, more "moderate" to replace the carb calories- which is obviously vital!!

LCHF is confronting, I've seen it changed to low carb enough or moderate fat and is more accurate