A Young(ish) Newbie!

Hi. Can you let us have a bit more information such as your insulin regime, BMI/weight and typical diet so we can offer some suggestions.

Hello and welcome to the forum.....you will get lots of support and help and friendship on here....although I can offer no help with your question( newby myself) I wish you well....

Hi and wrlcome to the forum you are in the right place to get yourself on track. What do you typically snack on and what does your main meal consist of usually.

Hi and welcome, you are the same age as I am.

You are having a tough time with all your ailments, but type 2 is something you can control. Diet is the key. If you want to gain control, you may need to change your diet completely. It isn't just sugar that raises blood sugar levels, it is carbohydrates. They all turn to glucose once inside the system, so clearly they need to be eaten in moderation, or less than that. Bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and cereals are the main culprits, and we also need to be careful with milk and fruit. Snacks are fine, as long as the snack is small and contains no or very few carbs, but if you eat 3 meals a day as evenly spaced as possible, you may find the need to snack vanishes.

I take it you have a meter? You can use this to test out which of your foods are causing the problem. Test before you eat then again 2 hours later, and try to keep any rise under 2mmol/l, less is desirable. More than that and something in that meal is not suiting you, so needs to be reduced in portion or avoided.

We are all here to help from our personal experiences, so fire away with any questions you have.

Thats quite a bit of info actualy. The main things that might be causing your BS to spike are actualy the quite obvious ones. Bread, cereal and pasta will spike my BS more than a king size bar of chocolate will. There is a low carb swap for almost everything and as your daughter and her husband are both keen chefs it might not take too much convincing on your part to convince them to experiment with low carb options. They could make you low carb bread so you can have sandwiches and toast still. Start by testing 2 hrs after you have eaten and that will give you an indication of what foods are spiking your BS and those that you can tolerate. There has already been some good advice posted above but I will tag @daisy1 and she will post some good information for you to read over.

Hi JGB! If you want to improve your health you will definitely need to drastically reduce your carbohydrate intake. I recommend completely cutting out sugar, grains/pasta/bread, rice, and starchy vegetables. See: http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Also cut out factory processed food and veg/seed oils (e.g. rape seed oil, corn oil). Eat real, whole, fresh food. It's pretty simple, really.

GJB said:

Hi 4ratbags!
Thanks for your speedy response. Typically I snack on sandwiches with various fillings (not all at the same time), or toast, or cereal (no sugar), and lots of coffee!
My main meal is always substantial as both my daughter (and son-in-law) are very keen "chefs". Every Sunday I have a Roast Dinner (often 3 courses) but I do not eat potatoes - I prefer any kind of pasta. During the week my main meal is reduced to a single course - vary varied and usually subject to their experimentation!! However, they know my dislikes a humour me accordingly.
I know that this is not a lot of info but any advice you may feel able to offer will be gratefully accepted.
Many thanks
GJB

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Why not start with changing your snacks. Cut out the bread and eat the fillings. Cheese/salmon/ham/egg salads with a few cherry toms, a pickled onion, lots of no-carb mayo (Hellmans Real Mayo) or olive oil for dressing. If you absolutely need bread, you can buy low carb bread from supermarkets. Bergen is one. Personally I use Hovis Seed Sensations because I can cope with one slice (not 2) and it is nice and thick and packed with "good for you" seeds. If you have toast, have one slice and have it with 2 poached eggs or plenty of cheese (not baked beans though) or anything else that contains fat. Fat slows the digestion down so you get lower spikes.

NoCrbs4Me said:

Hi JGB! If you want to improve your health you will definitely need to drastically reduce your carbohydrate intake. I recommend completely cutting out sugar, grains/pasta/bread, rice, and starchy vegetables. See: http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Also cut out factory processed food and veg/seed oils (e.g. rape seed oil, corn oil). Eat real, whole, fresh food. It's pretty simple, really.

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What is wrong with rapeseed oil? It comes out above olive oil in the omega 3/omega 6 debates.

Bluetit1802 said:

What is wrong with rapeseed oil? It comes out above olive oil in the omega 3/omega 6 debates.

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Rapeseed oil and other vegetable oils are not healthy for a few reasons. They are essentially artificial oils that are produce from seeds by being chemically removed, deodorized, and altered. More here: http://wellnessmama.com/2193/never-eat-vegetable-oil/

You're much better off using butter or animal fat (e.g tallow or bacon fat).

GJB said:

Hi Daibell
Many thanks for your speedy response. I am Type 2 and not Insulin dependant. I take Metformin MR 1000mg tablets TWICE daily (total 2000mg); also Glicazide 120mg daily. I am also on a vast array of other medication for various conditions. I am not sure about my BMI but my weight is about 290 pounds but this obesity is not really under control mainly because of complications with my other medical conditions and medication. I am not very mobile because of arthritis and this precludes me from doing much exercise. Also, my diet is probably not satisfactory - about from snacking I rely on one main meal daily which is prepared by my eldest daughter who lives nearby.
I know that this is not a lot of info but any advice you may feel able to offer will be gratefully accepted.
Many thanks
GJB
xx

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Hi. Thanks for the info. As other posts have said, anything you can do to reduce the carbs will help. Gliclazide can cause hypos if the dosage is a bit too high as it stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin. It may be worth you discussing a reduction in dose with the GP? If you are on steroids then be aware that these can raise blood sugar. It may worth reviewing all your medication with the GP to check which drugs if any may be increasing blood sugar and whether any changes are possible.