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2 week old type 2

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AlkalineMethod

Member
Messages
7
Hello All,

I'm 29 and 2 weeks ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes having frequent toilet visits and extreme thirst/dry mouth. My blood test reading was 119 which I believe is quite high(there is a very steep learning curve to diabetes I have recently found out)?

The doctor has prescribed me 500mg of metformin taken twice daily, I bought a testing meter(Freestyle lite don't know if this is any good), had a meeting with my health care nurse and was refused testing strips for it(yay)

I feel quite overwhelmed by the complete change in life style that I am having to do, I've cut out all rubbish food and started going swimming more regularly as I working IT where I can be sat behind a desk for 8-10 hours a day mon-fri

If anyone has any advice or experiences please share, especially younger diabetics :)

One thing I have noticed is cereal spikes my bg baadly, was 8.6 this morning bran flakes + semi-skimmed milk > 11.8

cheers
 
Hi and welcome! You're right, your figure of 119 is about 13% in old terms which we're used to and you'll see on here a lot - that's the HbA1c figure. You'll need to get it down a lot, and if diet doesn't help you may need to ask the doctor to check if you ARE type 2 at your age, or some other form of diabetic. If you are type 2, then diet and exercise are your biggest weapons in dealing with it.
Can't help with the "young" thing, 'cos I'm not, but i think the advice is the same young or old. This will help hopefully:-
In general terms you will need to reduce the total number of carbohydrates you eat per day. All carbohydrates turn to sugar when we eat them, and no type 2 diabetic on diet only, or on diet and metformin only, can control their blood sugars (BGs) without controlling their carb intake. Even those on strong medication normally choose to control their carb intake to keep the level of medication they take down. The total number of carbs per day you can eat depends on how advanced your diabetes is. It’s perhaps worth starting at about 50% of normal levels for a non-diabetic then adjusting up or down according to how you get on. So that means eating 150 grams of carbs per day for a man, 125 for a woman. You can read the total carb content of food under “nutritional info” on the packet or wrapping, or look it up on the internet for loose food. Just google “carb content..”
You also need to stop or reduce the bad carbs; that is the starchy ones that make your BG go up quickly.
So obviously no sugar or glucose! But also no white bread, white rice, pasta, flour products like pastry, cake and batter. You can eat a little basmati rice, wholewheat pasta or the tri-color pasta fusilli ones in small quantities. Boiled new potatos (again not too many) are OK but not old pots mashed, boiled or in their jackets. (Roast is not so bad, the fat slows their absorption and conversion to glucose in the blood) Amongst other veg, parsnips are about the worst for BG, and carrots not great but ok in smaller amounts.
Multi grain bread (not wholemeal) is not SO bad, but lots of us eat Burgen soya and linseed bread from tescos and sainsburys, although all bread should be in limited amounts.
All fruit has carbohydrates, and needs to be included in the amounts of carbs you eat in a day. For most people, bananas are about the worst for pushing our BG up and berries (like strawberries, raspberries etc) are the least bad.
No sweeties!
Exercise is important. I tend to exercise about an hour after eating when I know my BG will be peaking. This helps to bring it down quicker and further. I do ten minutes hard work on an exercise machine, but you could run up and down stairs for ten minutes or go for a brisk walk.
Returning to types of food and quantities of carbs - you can only find out how many you can eat by testing. Most type 2’s are not given access to testing equipment, so you should get your own – although try arguing with your Doc that you want to manage to NICE guideline blood sugar levels, and can’t do that without testing! If you have to buy a meter, they are cheap and most manufacturers will give them away for free. They make their money on the strips you have to use! So go for the meter with the cheapest testing strips. The SD Codefree available on the internet is about the cheapest at the moment. Some people test before and after eating, on waking (fasting test) and before bed. But if you have limited strips because of cost, the key to me is testing 2 hours after eating. If your BG is above, say, 7.8 at that stage, you need to cut down on the carb content the next time you have that meal. Test after various different meals and you soon get to see a pattern of what you can and can’t eat, and in what quantities. Keep careful records of what you ate and when, together with the result, so you can refer back at a later date. You can then reduce your testing. I said “below, say, 7.8” because NICE guidelines are below 8.5 but most of us think that’s a little high. 7.8 is the max. level at 2 hours after eating that a non-diabetic normally gets to so is perhaps a better target. Some then set progressively lower targets.
Do ask lots of questions; there is normally an answer on here. The more you get to learn about your diabetes, the better it will be.
Good luck!
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information that we give to new members and I think you will find it is very useful to you. Ask all the questions you like and someone will 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 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
 
I'm afraid so Alkaline - as Grazer says in his reply, we try to aim at a testing reading of no more than 7.8 after 2 hours. Your HBA1C is your average level over the last 3 months (it's loaded towards the most recent month). An HBA1C of 13% equates to an average of 21.4 mmol/l - so quite a bit above 7.8 .

So there's some work to do to get that down - but at least you know now and can make a start.

Swim
 
AlkalineMethod said:
With my hba1c at 13% I assume that with this level of blood sugars it would be doing my body damage?
Click to expand...

Swimmers correct. But, if you get your BGs down to better levels you can stop, and often reverse, the damage being done. You must know how serious the damage can be; use that as motivation to be incredibly strict with yourself regarding diet and exercise. No excuses. If the diet and exercise doesn't then do it, you'll know extra meds are needed. But get the diet right FIRST.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
 
I've ditched the cereal for breakfast, I never did feel it satisfied me for long anyway. I now have gone back to things like scrambled egg with a sausage or black pud and some beans - all microwaved btw so takes no time at all. Alternatives are cottage cheese on Morrisons Crispbakes, peanut butter on Hovis Crackers - more protein/fat and less carbs is definitely the secret for every meal I think. It's referred to as LCHF on here - :wink:
 
Yea I've learnt very quickly that breakfast cereals are baad, simple bowl of bran flakes and some milk to my bg to 11.8, from tomorrow morning I'm trying poached eggs and 2 rashes of bacon with the fat removed which I always did anyway as fat on bacon isn't nice imo

One thing that does concern me is that I'm constantly having headaches, now is this a reaction of my body to the huge reduction in sugar intake that it is having to cope with?
 
AlkalineMethod said:
2 rashes of bacon with the fat removed
Click to expand...

that's fine if you don't like the fat but remember, fat is now your friend. It slows carb absorption and makes you feel full. If you low carb then you need to replace the carbs with fat and protein - otherwise you're just starving yourself and you'll never maintain it.

Most people feel a bit rubbish for the first couple of weeks of a low carb diet - especially if they dive straight in and don't gradually reduce. It could be that.
 
I'm feeling happier and better than I was yesterday, I had some good readings yesterday esp before dinner 4.9 after dinner 4.9 then after swimming 4.2 - This morning reading was 4.1 with my scrambled eggs(3 whites, one yolk) and bacon, it was 5.5 although I did have around 6 walnuts and 2 almonds. All in all a lot better than my 11.8's and 19 at diagnosis
 
Yay, another swimmer !

Those numbers look great and much better than the double figures you were posting.
 
This readings game is a pain, at half six this morning I checked in at 4.0, then after 2 slices of burgen soya and linseed bread with scrambled eggs(3 whites, one yolk) I check in 2 hours later at 8.1 !!!

I'm assuming to many carbs in the bread did it..
 
Good results coming on there! Yes, it would be the bread. Burgen is about the best slice for slice of the "normal" breads, but two slices are still 24 grams carbs and may be too much for you in the morning. Don't conclude that from one test though. You sometimes get one-offs that cxan mislead you. Repeat the test another day with the same food AND routine, and if you get the same result then, reduce to one slice. Remember also that some people are worse with carbs in the morning compared with later in the day, and others vice versa. I'm a morning person, but many can't tolerate hardly any carbs in the morning. You may find the same 2 slices of burgen for lunch would be fine.
 
Hi Alkaline, welcome to the forum. I think the bread may have caused this reading, although its only slightly above what we normally aim for (I normally aim for 7.8 at +2 hours after eating). Also not sure why you are having more egg white than yolk. The egg yolk is perfectly fine with Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet, and will help to fill you up. I would suggest 2 eggs scrambled is absolutely a fine breakfast and a lot less hassle than separating the eggs.

When I first joined one of my new friends recommended this website for guidance on LCHF, hopefully this will help!

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Good luck!
 
It's not toast exactly, but it's a crunchy substitute, but try Dutch Crispbakes - they're a round shaped kind of toasted bread type thing, very crunchy. You can have them with butter, poached or scrambled eggs, beans - anything you'd put on toast. They're available at Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury and they also make their own brands of crispbake. They're not like ryvita, more like melba toast. And only 6.7g carb each.
 
i have been diagnosed 3 weeks ago with type 2 diabeties and im a bit lost with all this
most of my levels have been 13.8/14.5/ 15.8/ 8.1/9.4 and most of the info i have been given has been very conflicting
i have been for a 2nd fasting test yesterday and hope it comes back good this time
i have not been put on any meds as yet but dont feel i am getting the help i need

ANY ADVISE would be gratefull
thanks
.
 
Hi mrsgadget, welcome to the forum, I like your self am new to all this, The main thing that I have learnt from reading the forums and by testing before and after eating is that carbohydrates are the single most thing that will cause your blood sugar levels to spike.

I have cut out a lot of foods that are high in carbohydrate and it really does work, my fasting bg at diagnosis was 19, now it averages around 4- 7

Out of interest may I ask what you ate before you were testing your levels?
 
Hi Alkalinemethod. You are very young to be a T2. If you are not overweight and your blood sugar doesn't reduce with low-carbing or meds such as Metformin then it is always possible that you are actually a late onset T1 (LADA). So, do keep up the testing and if your blood sugar doesn't reduce then I suggest you discuss the possibility of an alternative diagnosis. There are tests that the GP can request to confirm or otherwise the correct diagnosis.
 
Hi Daibell, I know what you mean, my levels are a lot more "normal" now that I have cut a lot of foods out and the metformin seems to be working ok. I am still over weight(have lost around 2 1/2 stone so far) I weight around 16 1/2 stone now

I should clarify I guess with the doctor that I am 100% type 2
 
Hi. As your weight is quite high your GP may be reluctant to do the LADA GAD and C-Peptide tests as they do cost and he may assume it's definitely T2. If you can keep reducing your weight your blood sugar hopefully will reduce and if it doesn't then you can discuss LADA with the GP.
 
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