45 year old man seeks new pancreas

[Darrell]

Hello all.

I am a 45 year old man diagnosed with type 2 just after Christmas, I was initially diagnosed as type 1 but they got it wrong because I had lots of ketones in my urine.

My blood test numbers were as high as 40 and we have gradually got the numbers down to today's low of 4.7 using Metformin and diet.

I was quite sick without realising it, I was ultra thirsty and I fed the thirst with strong full fat Vimto, gallons of it.

I was seeking a bit of advice if anyone can help.
I have altered my eating drastically, cutting out sweet stuff, pastries, pies, fats, cakes, crackers, biscuits, butter and various other tempting treats.

This has helped me get my levels down but I see by reading this forum today that I am still eating things that are regarded as iffy. Here are some of the items I do eat, brown bread, potatoes (usually mash :shock: ) brown pasta, carrots, peas, half a sugar in my brews, breakfast cereal (Alpen, shredded wheat or Shreddies), cashew nuts,and here is the shocker, quite a lot of brandy.

I test quite a lot, as I am sure all new diabetics do, and none of the above has made my blood 'spike' and my levels have steadily come down. My question is, even though my blood numbers are getting good, as a diabetic am I doing myself hidden harm?

 

[Daibell]

Hi. My reaction is that if your sugar readings are consistently good then you are unlikely to be doing any harm with your diet. AS you have found on the forum most of the things you list are not ideal as they can be medium to high GI. Carrots and peas are fine, but the carrots are better raw. I would check the added sugar in the breakfast cereal and go for no-sugar added muesli or similar. You may be pleased to hear that alcohol is not a problem in sensible quantities unless any meds recommend strongly against it. You are doing well, so just watch the carb portion sizes and keep them low-GI. How about using sweeteners rather than sugar in your brews?

 

[Darrell]

Hi. My reaction is that if your sugar readings are consistently good then you are unlikely to be doing any harm with your diet. AS you have found on the forum most of the things you list are not ideal as they can be medium to high GI. Carrots and peas are fine, but the carrots are better raw. I would check the added sugar in the breakfast cereal and go for no-sugar added muesli or similar. You may be pleased to hear that alcohol is not a problem in sensible quantities unless any meds recommend strongly against it. You are doing well, so just watch the carb portion sizes and keep them low-GI. How about using sweeteners rather than sugar in your brews?

Thanks for the reassurance. :clap:

I love my cereals and have swapped my beloved Crunchy Nutters, Sugar Puffs and Ricicles for the above mentioned 'healthy' options, so they stay. I have done my bit :lol:

I cannot do the sweeteners, I tried but they are not for me. I even spent a fiver on Truvia, truly disgusting.

 

[xyzzy]

Hello Darell and welcome to the forum.

The way I do it is not so much worry about what I eat but the results of eating on my blood sugars so effectively I'll quite happily eat anything so long as 2 hours later I'm under the safe limit. For me that amounts to a low carbish diet but others and you may be far more tolerant

The knack is choosing the safe limit.

For a Type 2 the "official" guideline is 8.5 at +2 hours but many of us think thats a bit high as there is good evidence that going above 7.8 regularly is where trouble can start.

So the next safe level is 7.8. This is the level I like to think that 100% of the average non diabetic population manage 2 hours after eating as by definition if 7.8 is where trouble can start then exceeding 7.8 means you're not an average non diabetic person.

The level I aim for is 6.5 after 2 hours. I do this as that's where the research shows 95% of non diabetics manage after 2 hours.

Finally a long term goal for me would be 5.5 after 2 hours as this is what 75% of the non diabetic population achieves.

So its up to you to make your choice based on the risks you want to take. For a bit of a depressing but accurate read about levels and risks go to http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045678.php

All the levels I've mentioned are at +2 hours after eating. For anything new you eat I would always do a +1 hour reading the first time to make sure it isn't spiking you dangerously high. I like my 1 hour limit to be 7.8 but will except a bit higher if its an occasional treat.

 

[sweetLea]

Have you tried going without alcohol for a couple of weeks and testing normally? I only ask because I found an enormous difference in my readings when I had to give up drinking alcohol. It was as if it had been "hiding" my true blood sugar readings from me. Sorry, can't find a better way to explain that but I was shocked.

 

[Darrell]

Have you tried going without alcohol for a couple of weeks and testing normally? I only ask because I found an enormous difference in my readings when I had to give up drinking alcohol. It was as if it had been "hiding" my true blood sugar readings from me. Sorry, can't find a better way to explain that but I was shocked.

Perhaps the alcohol helps keep blood sugars down.

 

[Darrell]

Hello Darell and welcome to the forum.

The way I do it is not so much worry about what I eat but the results of eating on my blood sugars so effectively I'll quite happily eat anything so long as 2 hours later I'm under the safe limit. For me that amounts to a low carbish diet but others and you may be far more tolerant

The knack is choosing the safe limit.

For a Type 2 the "official" guideline is 8.5 at +2 hours but many of us think thats a bit high as there is good evidence that going above 7.8 regularly is where trouble can start.

So the next safe level is 7.8. This is the level I like to think that 100% of the average non diabetic population manage 2 hours after eating as by definition if 7.8 is where trouble can start then exceeding 7.8 means you're not an average non diabetic person.

The level I aim for is 6.5 after 2 hours. I do this as that's where the research shows 95% of non diabetics manage after 2 hours.

Finally a long term goal for me would be 5.5 after 2 hours as this is what 75% of the non diabetic population achieves.

So its up to you to make your choice based on the risks you want to take. For a bit of a depressing but accurate read about levels and risks go to

All the levels I've mentioned are at +2 hours after eating. For anything new you eat I would always do a +1 hour reading the first time to make sure it isn't spiking you dangerously high. I like my 1 hour limit to be 7.8 but will except a bit higher if its an occasional treat.

Thank you for your welcome, and thank you for the link. It is quite educational.

 

[Pneu]

Have you tried going without alcohol for a couple of weeks and testing normally? I only ask because I found an enormous difference in my readings when I had to give up drinking alcohol. It was as if it had been "hiding" my true blood sugar readings from me. Sorry, can't find a better way to explain that but I was shocked.

Perhaps the alcohol helps keep blood sugars down.

Alcohol will indirectly reduce blood glucose.. blood glucose is increased in two ways:

1) The consumption of carbohydrate (and to some extent protein).

2) The Liver constantly releases stored glucose into the blood stream.

When you drink alcohol your liver concentrates on removing that from your blood and as such will temporarily stop or reduce the amount of glucose it is releasing. The amount of glucose that your liver releases throughout the day is not insignificant. On a basal / bolus regime the basal insulin (long acting) is used to cover liver released glucose, this is typically at least 50%+ of the total insulin injected.