confused re low carb or high carb

[river-rat-sam]

I was diagnosed a few years ago and have had lots of problems. I haven't been able to control my type 2 with diet alone (feel like a failure) and have been on metformin. I have just picked up my third lot of antibiotics for my third kidney infection in six weeks. My doctor has also sent me home with simvastatin and gliclazide and told me to eat lots of fruit and stuff like porridge (which i have every day) and brown rice and pasta.

Now I have read on here that some people say that advice is wrong and I'm so confused. Also my other problem is I have a really sweet tooth. I KNOW I have to give up eating cake or chocolate but I can't which makes me sound really weak. I just seem to crave sweet food. I don't have a lot as in excess but do eat something sweet every day which I know I have to cut out or the doctor says bad things will happen to me.

Just feeling so low right now. Don't know where to turn. Don't know whether to take these medicines or not. It all seems so complicated. I would appreciate some advice

Lindax

 

[sugarless sue]

Hi Linda,
The problem with bread ,potatoes, pasta and rice is that they are starch. Starchy carbs convert 100% into glucose in the body and they do not provide any particular nutrient value either.

If you could cut back on these you could probably reduce your blood sugar levels and still have the occasional treat without raising blood sugar levels through the roof!! ( I am very partial to 85% dark chocolate, an acquired taste ,I know! )

Some people can get away with eating oat products and some can't. The thing to do is test before breakfast then one and then two hours after to see if there is a 'spike' in your blood sugar levels from the porridge.

Take the medications, and they will help to reduce your levels, reducing your carb intake will also help .

 

[Spiral]

There is a lot of conflicting advice and information. You can read and read but get very cnfused in the process :? :roll:

The single most useful resource I found before I found my way to this website is http://www.bloodsugar101.com It is a well written guide to some basic facts about blood sugar - its subtitle is what they don't tell you about diabetes. It has given me the tools I needed to look at my own issues with blood sugar.

However :shock: :shock: :shock: it is an American website. The Americans measure daily blood glucose a bit differently to us :roll: These figures can be converted (phew!) by dividing teh large number you see there by 1.12. Then you divide that answer again by 18. This will give you a figure you would get on your own UK meter. Simples! :shock: :roll: The HbA1c numbers are the same tho

This website gave me a bit of hope that diabetes didn't have to be progressive and that there were things I could do to bring my blood sugar under control and avoid teh longer term complications of diabetes.

Whatever dietary approach you take, a successful diabetic reduces their intake of starch carbohydrates (bread, rice, pasta, potato and flour products). Th eonly way to find out how your body reacts is to test test test and tweek your diet depending on the readings you get.

This is where it gets controversial. T2s are not encourages to test blood glucose, and certainly not as often as is needed to get meaningful readings to bring your blood sugar under control :? I don't see how anyone can bring their blood sugar under control without testing. This can bring us in to conflict with our health care providers, especialy if we follow a diet that is different to the one recommended by the NHS and Diabetes UK

Whatever you decide to do in the end, you need to reduce your blood sugar readings. Every point you can reduce your HbA1c by will improve your chance of avoiding the complications. It is very unlikey that you will be able to do this on a diet high in starchy carbohydrate.

Take a look around and try to find something that works for you. If you don't enjoy it, you won't stick to it. I made several stepwise changes before opting for the low carb diet. You need a diet you can stick to for teh rest of your life.

 

[wallycorker]

..........Also my other problem is I have a really sweet tooth. I KNOW I have to give up eating cake or chocolate but I can't which makes me sound really weak. I just seem to crave sweet food. I don't have a lot as in excess but do eat something sweet every day which I know I have to cut out or the doctor says bad things will happen to me.

Just feeling so low right now. Don't know where to turn. Don't know whether to take these medicines or not. It all seems so complicated. I would appreciate some advice

Lindax

Hi Linda - It's good to meet you! Sorry to hear about you depression - I hope that things will get better soon.

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of hope for you as a diabetic unless you start to get to grips with controlling what you eat. Perhaps you should read more about the quite horrible complications that can come along with poor control. Certainly, knowing about such complications helped to motivate me to try to do absolutely anything that I can to keep clear of such problems.

My advice would be to take whatever medicines the doctor gives you.

I really do think that it isn't that complicated - you will make very big improvements and very quickly by gradually changing the things that you eat to the healthier option. It certainly has worked for me and many others according to what I read on these diabetes forums.

Good luck and best wishes - John

 

[Aadrgon]

Hi Linda

I also suffer from a sweet tooth however since starting to low carb - I find that most things with sugar in any form are now too sweet for me.
I still get the urge for milk chocolate but only now and again I have to admit I occasionally give in but regret it later.
Be strict with yourself - Take the tablets, low carb for a few weeks to get yourself in control then if you want try introducing various foods into your diet to see the effect on your sugar levels. you may also find that being in control helps alleviate your depression.
Lastly remember there are always people here who will try to help you

 

[Patch]

Do you know how I know I'm in good control? When I'm driving a long and a song comes on the radio that I love, I sing along at the top of my voice. With High BG, I don't...

I have no doubt that sustained high BG leads to/contributes towards depression in diabetics.

 

[dipsticky]

Patch. Think I heard you the other day.

Don't give up the day job :lol:

 

[desperate_dave]

Hi Linda,

I can totally relate to a lot of the things you’re saying – the sweet tooth, the denial etc.

I must admit I sometimes feel a bit of a fraud always banging on about my Type 2 Diabetes. I have a brother who has had T1 Diabetes since he was twelve years old (he’s a little older than me and will be celebrating his 60th birthday next year) and has had to inject himself with insulin twice a day ever since.

Then there are my great-nieces, aged thirteen and eleven, respectively, who suffer from a rare genetic disorder known as Rabson-Mendenhall syndrome and are not expected to live beyond their 15th birthday.

This might explain why despite my being diagnosed with T2 just over two years ago I’ve never really taken it seriously, preferring to think that because mine is controlled with tablets as oppose to insulin injections, I just had the "mild form" of Diabetes. Like you, I had a very sweet tooth and I’m ashamed to admit that up until four months ago I was still stuffing my face with cakes, biscuits and chocolate, and fooling myself into believing that the Metformin would "even the score" on any sugary stuff I ate. Another thing is I don’t smoke and I could hardly be classed as a drinker (unless you include going out twice a year for a few pints at family get-togethers) and in my defence, I guess I was rebelling against the fact that I was now being told to give up my one remaining pleasure, namely sweet stuff.

I realize now that there is no such thing as a "mild form" of diabetes. I’m now suffering from kidney stones which I’m told could be related to my diabetes. Had I taken control of my diabetes (particularly my diet) at the very beginning, I probably could've avoided this.
There is a lot of sound advice offered on this forum. Admittedly, I haven’t fully converted to a low-carb diet as yet, but I am gradually working my way in that direction. I’ve been keeping a food diary and doing regular Blood Glucose checks for the last two weeks and I’m beginning to get a fair idea of which foods cause my levels to spike. Soon I will know which foods to avoid altogether.

I’m pretty much a newbie on here on myself so I can’t really offer you anything in the way of advice but I’m sure you’ll find lots of useful information here. This website has inspired me to take control of my diabetes and I hope it eventually has the same effect on you. Good luck, Linda.

Dave

 

[fergus]

Hi Linda,

I'm not surprised you feel confused.
Your doctor is advising you to try and control your raised blood sugar levels by eating the foods which raise your blood sugar. :shock:
It makes no sense whatsoever. Not only that, but the addictiveness of carbohydrate foods seems only to make you crave them even more, your insulin levels will remain sky high and some day in the (near) future you will end up injecting insulin to sustain it.
Thankfully, there is a far better way to resolve these problems. Have a look at the Success Stories thread and see if it appeals to you.

All the best,

fergus