A week into diagnosis of Type 2 and I am exhausted !!

[zolabud]

I was diagnosed Type 2 last Tuesday and I started immediately to cram in as much info as possible as the last blood test I had was about 4 years ago so the quicker I do something about this the better.
I have reduced my drinking,started to drink lots of water,bought some Burgen bread and lots of fruit and veg and I woke up this morning to find that the 2 books I have bought,Type 2 diabetes,The first year by Gretchen Becker and The GI book for dummies were on my doormat and I have the worst day ever today.
I am finding it rather hard to start reading them although I know it's important.

The realisation that the changes to my diet and lifestyle are now important... ( Rather than just thinking about trying to lose weight to look and feel better) I am finding it suddenly rather daunting.

My first meeting with my diabetic nurse is next Wednesday and I am hoping her advice won't clash with what I have read on here.
I am hoping for a meter... And a prescription for some strips. That's when I can really get to grips with my readings and I am hoping my interest will once again be ignited as I will be much more in control.

I am having a bad day... Ate a good breakfast and doing all the right things but I just feel a bit... Muted today.

Sure it will be better tomorrow....

 

[Bazza1045]

Dear Zolabud,

I was diagnosed T2 two years ago and I cab assure you what you are feeling is quite normal. I panicked at first, too much information, too many people telling me what to do. Once the initial stages are out of the way you begin to make more sense of it all. Although I didn't like lifestyle changes being forced upon me due to something I had not asked for, after a few weeks I accepted the situation.

Please don't worry unduly, in a short while you'll wonder why you felt the way you did and all will become much clearer, its a steep learning curve at first, but it will make sense and it does get better.

 

[zolabud]

Thanks for your supportive reply.

I know I am going to have off days. I have them sometimes and don't really question why but seeing as my last week has been such an upheaval I have blamed it on that.

I am sure once I can get monitoring I will feel much more in control and my interest will return.

I just want a night off !!

 

[mickey121]

I was diagnosed end of February this year and got a bit uptight with everything have now done my Desmond course and have chilled a lot I now control my Diabetes it does not control me . Hang in there I am sure you will soon get the hang of what to and not to eat good luck


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[zolabud]

For my dinner tonight I have defrosted 6 king prawns. I also have some crabsticks which I also love. I also have a ripe avocado which I will cut into small pieces and a dollop of full fat mayonnaise. ( Have tried all the reduced fat ones and haven't like any of them so I stick to the full fat and don't use as much)
Added to that will be Iceberg lettuce,grated carrot,radishes,celery, and maybe some beetroot.Oh,and some cherry tomatoes.

I haven't a clue if this will be a 'diabetic friendly' meal as it will take me an age to look up the nutrional values of everything and I am HUNGRY!!

Does anything on my list ring alarm bells carb or sugar wise please?

The only thing I think might be iffy is the beetroot....

 

[stuffedolive]

watch out for that beetroot!

 

[daisy1]

Hi Zolabud and welcome to the forum

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you want and someone will be able to help you.


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.

 

[ElyDave]

watch out for that beetroot!

I was quite surprised how low fruits were (typically 10% carbs) and root veg as well, generally lower that 10% carbs vs sonething like rice (75%), quinoa (65%) or bread.

I think I may have a salad with beetroot, fruit and cheese for lunch now (thinking about lunch while i'm still drinking my breakfast coffee)

 

[zolabud]

Eating potatoes and bananas send my levels through the roof. 6.7 before and 18,2 after !!

But I have discovered that a whole baked sweet potato does nothing.

Another one for my list then.....

 

[catherinecherub]

It will become clearer zolabud. It's a bit like learning to drive when you have no concept of how it works.
I am 11 years in and it becomes second nature.
You can make nice oven chips with sweet potatoes.
Wash them and cut them into rounds about half an inch think.
Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and some rosemary and cook for about 15-20 minutes in an oven on medium heat.
If you don't fancy rosemary then a herb of your choice, paprika, garlic, etc.........

 

[zolabud]

I quite like the idea of whizzed up cauliflower instead of rice.

Do you need one of those food processors? I would get one but I have a tiny kitchen and I haven't got the room really.

Is there a smaller whizzy thing I can use?

Sure I have seen one on Masterchef ( Fave prog)

 

[Andy12345]

i agree with everything others have said, but i agree you should have a night off too, i dont mean eat doughnuts but dont read anything about diabetes, watch a film or go out and forget about it if you can, it helped and still helps me to do that, just eat healthy and youll be fine and feel much better the next day all refreshed and ready to absorb some more

 

[Andy12345]

i believe you can use a cheese grater to do it, personally i love cauliflower mash but not the rice so much, i would definatly suggest flavouring heavily. cauliflower pizza base is awesome if you have never tried that theres a recipe for it in the recipe thread (sticky)

 

[Valrey]

I treat each day as a fresh start. I just try to make healthy low carb choices, exercise and stay positive, most of all I work on the principle of getting it right 80%of the time and forgive myself for the odd slip up.