Ambernick

Ambernick

Newbie
Messages
2
Hi my name is Nick, I was officially diagnosed type2 diabetes about 3 months ago. I am in New Zealand.
I have a no. Of chronic illnesses,
1 COPD
2 Hiatus hernia
3 Congestive heart failure
4 G.A.D (anxiety disorder)
5 & now....type2 diabetes
Wow! Let the good times roll. Lol
Feel free to say hello & give ANY advice, I assure you, it will be appreciated.
Thanks guys
 

EllieM

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
9,209
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
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forum bugs
Welcome to the forums from another NZer (though I've only been living here for 2 years). I'm tagging @daisy1 to give you the usual intro to diabetes talk.

Have you been given any advice about diet from your doctor/nurse? I've actually been quite impressed by the treatment for T1 diabetics in New Zealand and hope that T2s are also treated well. ( My fear is that you may have been sent away with some generic "eat healthy" advice and some medication, and no real information on how to combat this illness ). Have they given you a blood testing meter?

That is a big pile of health conditions to be weighed down with, but hopefully the advice you'll get from these boards will mean the fifth on the list will not be too much of an issue for you. In fact, you should start feeling a lot better once your blood sugars normalise and you eat things that your body can cope with (hint: T2s don't process carbohydrate well, and tend to do much better when they reduce the quantities of it.)

Stopping for now, as I don't want to weigh you down with advice (particularly as I'm T1 not T2). Hopefully some T2s from Australia or NZ will post soon (the UK folk will be asleep).

Good luck :)
 

1spuds

Well-Known Member
Messages
375
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Its all about the right diet for a lot of us T2. Low carb,high fat has been very good for a lot of us.In general for carbs,stop the pasta,rice,potatoes and starchy food,and bread.Of course cut out all sugars that you can.That works for many in really reducing sugars.

Another good line...EAT TO YOUR METER. If you tolerate a food,eat it,if you dont tolerate it,dump it.

If you dont have a meter....well,you cant test then.IMO having a meter is essential to getting on top of this.
 
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daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Ambernick
Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 600,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.
 
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Ambernick

Newbie
Messages
2
Welcome to the forums from another NZer (though I've only been living here for 2 years). I'm tagging @daisy1 to give you the usual intro to diabetes talk.

Have you been given any advice about diet from your doctor/nurse? I've actually been quite impressed by the treatment for T1 diabetics in New Zealand and hope that T2s are also treated well. ( My fear is that you may have been sent away with some generic "eat healthy" advice and some medication, and no real information on how to combat this illness ). Have they given you a blood testing meter?

That is a big pile of health conditions to be weighed down with, but hopefully the advice you'll get from these boards will mean the fifth on the list will not be too much of an issue for you. In fact, you should start feeling a lot better once your blood sugars normalise and you eat things that your body can cope with (hint: T2s don't process carbohydrate well, and tend to do much better when they reduce the quantities of it.)

Stopping for now, as I don't want to weigh you down with advice (particularly as I'm T1 not T2). Hopefully some T2s from Australia or NZ will post soon (the UK folk will be asleep).

Good luck :)
Hi, so the easiest way to begin with is to cut right down in portion size?
Then start introducing....what type of foods would you recommend?
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,850
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
When I was diagnosed I ordered a whole hogget at the butcher on the way home and had steak for dinner.
Depending on just how intolerant of carbs you are - and which ones, your best bet is to organize your protein source, with fats, and then add in the lowest carb veges to start with - stir fries of mushrooms, courgettes, sweet peppers, aubergines, try beansprouts, but I react to beans and peas so don't include them, some people can eat them no problem.
If you can get a blood glucose monitor, then you can test before eating and two hours later and see just how your metabolism is coping with the amounts of carbs.
The diet I already knew worked for me was Atkins - and a couple of people have found that a late edition of New Diet Revolution has been helpful. Levels of carbs at about 50gm a day seem a good place for glucose control, rather than going straight in at 20 gm per day - the body and metabolism of most type twos are already shaky, and the low carb diet can come as a bit of a shock even for the more healthier specimens. Ease down and adapt if you feel the need for caution, but I felt so much better eating low carb and seeing normal numbers I can only recommend it as a destination no matter what route you choose to get there.
 
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EllieM

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
9,209
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
forum bugs
If you can get a blood glucose monitor, then you can test before eating and two hours later and see just how your metabolism is coping with the amounts of carbs.

I'm not sure how readily NZ doctors hand out meters and testing strips to new T2 diabetics (I think it depends on your medication), but the caresens meter (there are 5 in the range but you're probably best with a caresens n or npop) costs between $33 and $40 and then testing strips cost between $15 and $22 per pack of 50. (They are much cheaper bought online if you can't get your GP to prescribe them for you.)

https://www.pharmacodiabetes.co.nz/products/meters/

The links about blood testing meters in daisy1's post refer to the UK and aren't relevant in NZ. The only meters now funded by the NZ government are the caresens range, which means even if you're self funding you're best buying that meter, because pharmacies don't stock supplies for any others. But see if you can get your nurse/doctor to give you a meter.

Hi, so the easiest way to begin with is to cut right down in portion size?
Then start introducing....what type of foods would you recommend?
I'm assuming this means you're overweight? Be aware that weight gain is a symptom rather than a cause of T2 diabetes, so you may well automatically lose weight if you restrict your carbohydrate intake.

I'm T1 so not the right person to talk about T2 diet (I'm moderately low carb but don't go overboard with it, as I have to inject insulin whatever I do.)

@Ambernick , it would be very helpful to know what medication you are on for diabetes. Some medications can make your blood sugar go too low if you just drastically start reducing carbohydrate intake, though most T2s don't start with these medications.
 
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HSSS

Expert
Messages
7,465
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi nick, welcome to the forum

Before I start on advice could I ask for you to finish completing your profile with diabetes type and any medications . I appreciate you already said type 2 in your post but once a thread gets long that can be missed. Also the advice will vary depending on medication. You’ll only be asked over and over for the same info otherwise.

It’s not particularly about portion size and definitely to focussed on calories. Can I suggest you take a good look at low carb higher fat methods of eating (keto is just a version of this). It helps many of us lose significant amounts of weight, if desired, keep our numbers down and for some even eliminate medications and achieve remission and reduce or improve complications. Try clicking these links for more detailed explanations that are well worth readings

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog/jokalsbeek.401801/ for info including low carb made simple

And https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/success-stories-and-testimonials.43/ to show it really works and for motivation

and https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/ for food ideas

also https://www.dietdoctor.com/ for more food ideas and general info of carb content of foods. Lots of other websites for recipes out there too. Just use the term low carb or keto with whatever you fancy.


Also it’s very important to be able to check for yourself what’s happening so you can make the necessary adjustments day to day and meal by meal rather than wait 3, 6 or even 12 months and then have no idea what had what effect. Getting a blood glucose meter is the only way to do this (no matter what contradictory advice you may have heard - it’s usually budget based rather than anything more scientific). Please ask if you want any guidance on this or how to use one to best effect results wise.


IMPORTANT FOR ANYONE ON MEDS CONSIDERING LOWERING CARBS: if you lower your carbs then any glucose lowering meds may need to be adjusted accordingly to make sure you aren’t taking more than your new diet requires. It can cause a hypo if you have more gliclazide or insulin etc (this is not relevant for metformin on its own) than your new carb intake requires. Keep a close eye on your numbers and do this with your dr’s knowledge. Please don’t be put off by an ill informed out dated rubbishing of low carb diets or being told you should eat carbs to match meds, it should be the other way around.