newly diabetic
- Thread starter stegc84
- Start Date
Hi. It sounds like you're not getting good guidance from your surgery or clinic. You need to control the carbs you eat to make blood sugar easier to manage. Have protein, veg and fat to make up. As a T1 you may find that twice-a-day mixed insulin doesn't control your blood sugar adequately in the longer-term. If so, you need to ask to be moved to the Basal/Bolus aka MDI (Multiple Daily Injections) regime with carb counting at meal-time. It means more injections but better control. See how your meter readings and HBa1C go.
- Messages
- 4
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
- Dislikes
- The Celtic lol
My insulin is gtn changed but I need to get to diabetic clinic for first appointment soon.whats the do's and donts with alcohol?
wookie101
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 108
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi there and welcome!
I was diagnosed a few months back and went all foodphobic until I found this site and been getting support and advice...
Still I'll tag @daisy1 as she has a crib sheet with really good advise. As for alcohol we're all different but the general rule is reduce carbs as much as possible and alcohol sadly has alot... So reduce the intake and see what your meter tells you about how you're doing...
As for food I made all my favourite meals (cutting the carbs as much as possible) and then tested 2hours after each meal to see how much of an affect it had on me, I've ended up not being able to eat half of the meals I used to but hey at least I've found which ones are still ok and a glass of red wine occasionally is also ok for me, keeping my reading under 7 in general. But what's good for me might not work for you, so testing is important...
Still hope it alls goes well for you and hopefully daisy will contact you in a bit.
I was diagnosed a few months back and went all foodphobic until I found this site and been getting support and advice...
Still I'll tag @daisy1 as she has a crib sheet with really good advise. As for alcohol we're all different but the general rule is reduce carbs as much as possible and alcohol sadly has alot... So reduce the intake and see what your meter tells you about how you're doing...
As for food I made all my favourite meals (cutting the carbs as much as possible) and then tested 2hours after each meal to see how much of an affect it had on me, I've ended up not being able to eat half of the meals I used to but hey at least I've found which ones are still ok and a glass of red wine occasionally is also ok for me, keeping my reading under 7 in general. But what's good for me might not work for you, so testing is important...
Still hope it alls goes well for you and hopefully daisy will contact you in a bit.
- Messages
- 23,618
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Pump
- Dislikes
- Disrespectful people
Just be careful on twice daily fixed doses as you have to eat a set amount of carbs at each meal as well as snacking, wait until you see your DSN or Consultant at the diabetes clinic and ask if you can change to MDI, this is a much better insulin regime if you want to vary your food intake and you don't have to stick with strict meal-times like on twice daily injections.
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@stegc84
Hello and welcome to the forum
To get you started, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and 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 over 150,000 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 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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Hello and welcome to the forum
To get you started, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and 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 over 150,000 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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
kerryjohnson43
Member
- Messages
- 17
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Hi This is great advice to give and yes it is all about testing and seeing what foods and how much portion size is affecting your readings. I am newly diagnosed but think I am on the right track now, cutting carbs and moving a bit more is keeping my readings under 7 most of the time too. Thanks for sharing what works for you.
