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Another newbie

I

irishlass37

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi everyone

I am 42 years old, was diagnosed T2 diabetes 18 mths ago. I take Glucophage 500 twice a day and thats it so far. Yes I am overweight, trying to lose it but doesnt seem to be working too well

I have gotten no help with regards to meals, what to eat, what not to eat, I have pretty much been left to get on with it and now I'm a getting fed up lol.
All I was told was to avoid Diabetic products as they are not good for me.

My typical daily diet goes as follows

BREAKFAST

multi grain brown bread,low fat butter, boiled or poached eggs and orange juice

in winter sachet of porridge, low fat milk and fruit on top

or a smoothie, made by me, containing fruit and low fat milk only

LUNCH

A chicken fillet wrap, with salad

soup and a roll (brown)

or a panini - once in a blue moon

Dinner

I love salads so make my own a fair bit (no sauces)

lettuce, onion, cherry tomaotes, cucumber, peppers, then maybe feta or kidney beans and wholemeal pasta,

I will either eat loads of this or a smaller amount and add some grilled chicken to it

Vegetarian stews or chilli a fav of mine too

I have cut back on processed foods a lot, even to the cost of my beloved cheese :( but I do like a beer of an evening, I do however have 3 nights a week were I dont drink, cos I work night shift.
I drink a lot of water also - up to 2 litres on my night shifts and usually a litre a day otherwise. I dont drink tea or coffee, but enjoy ribena with my water maybe once a day.

I also have 2 snacks consisting of fruit a day ( banana and apple usually) or a handful of grapes

However I do love crisps, not much of a lover of chocolate but since being diagnosed I eat it more (go figure lol)

I find I dont suffer from hypo's often and if I do I can control tehm easy enough but I get a fair amount of high blood readings more and I am trying to get them under control.

What do others take food wise to lower their blood sugar apart from exercise. I live alone apart from my cats and dog and when my readings are high I really dont want to be out on country roads alone

Thanks for reading, sorry it was so long

Lass :)
 
Hi irishlass and welcome to the forum :)
Here is the information that we give to new members which I hope you will find useful. Basically you need to reduce the number of carbohydrates you are eating at present. What are your BG levels like ? Ask all the questions you like and someone will answer.


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 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.
 
They are usually under 8, this morning i am awake since 4.30 am as I am feeling unwell - getting a chest infection, so its off to docs for me, and when I tested at 5am it was 14.4 :(,

Just retested and its 9.9 after eating some multi grain crackers and a glass of water
 
Hi Irishlass37 :wave:

BG levels quite often rise when you're ill, hope your doc has you well again soon. Have a read around the forum while you can and ask as many questions as you want. Once your feeling better you could try altering your diet as in the suggestions in Daisy's welcoming post. We can advise you on the type of things that will push your levels up and what you can try in place of them. There is a lot of things in your diet that I couldn't eat without pushing my levels up.

Hope you feel better soon

Ann
 
Hi Irishlass, and welcome.
There are lots of things in your diet that will raise your blood sugar levels, and I'm not suprised they are high a lot of the time. You do need to get them down to avoid complications setting in.
I've copied the diet you sent us, and pasted it below with a highlight on all the things which will push your blood sugars up high and which should be avoided. You need to remember that what is considered healthy for food isn't neccesarily healthy for us as diabetics.

BREAKFAST

multi grain brown bread,low fat butter, boiled or poached eggs and orange juice
in winter sachet of porridge, low fat milk and fruit on top

or a smoothie, made by me, containing fruit and low fat milk only

LUNCH

A chicken fillet wrap, with salad

soup and a roll (brown)or a panini - once in a blue moon

Dinner

I love salads so make my own a fair bit (no sauces)

lettuce, onion, cherry tomaotes, cucumber, peppers, then maybe feta or kidney beans and I will either eat loads of this or a smaller amount and add some grilled chicken to itwholemeal pasta,

Vegetarian stews or chilli a fav of mine too

I have cut back on processed foods a lot, even to the cost of my beloved cheese but I do like a beer of an evening, I do however have 3 nights a week were I dont drink, cos I work night shift.
I drink a lot of water also - up to 2 litres on my night shifts and usually a litre a day otherwise. I dont drink tea or coffee, but enjoy ribena with my water maybe once a day.

I also have 2 snacks consisting of fruit a day ( banana and apple usually) or a handful of grapesHowever I do love crisps, not much of a lover of chocolate but since being diagnosed I eat it more (go figure lol)

I'd suggest you look at reducing or leaving out all the items I've highlighted. Also, do you test? You need to. Test 2 hours after meals, and if you're above 7.8 you had too many carbs (like the things I highlighted) in that meal. You also mention Chillis, but if they come with rice, the rice is a sugar-raiser too.
You mention Hypos, but you don't need to worry about that. You're only taking Metformin so you're no more likely to get a hypo than any non-diabetic, although if you start to manage to get your BGs down you may feel a bit odd because your body is used to bad high sugar levels. Your problem is high sugar levels, not low ones!
Good luck
 
Hi Irishlass.

Glad you have found our way to the forum. There is a lot of knowledge on diabetic issues here that will give you the ability to make the decisions you need to make to manage your diabetes. Grazer is right that the items he has highlighted are carbohydrates that will convert to sugar. However, some convert slowly and others more quickly. People seem to have different tolerances to carbohydrate. Some can eat reasonable amounts and control their blood glucose while others find that more difficult. The use of a blood glucose monitor will certainly help you to see the effects that foods have on you - both types of food and quantities. You might want to think twice about the Ribena as it is equivalent to drinking sugar - unless it is no sugar Ribena!

Take care

Doug
 
Hi folks

Thanks for your replies

Doug - yes the ribena is the no sugar variety lol

Grazer - Your take on my diet is interesting as I saw a dietican once, when I was diagnosed with diabetes, and this was the diet she reccommended for me to follow, and I have been right down to the letter as it happens :crazy:

The pasta doesnt seen to spike my blood sugar at all, nor does brown rice or any of the wholemeal bread..Once winter comes in and I start on the porridge again, I will test before and after to see if that rise I get after 2 hrs.

I fully agree there are times my blood sugar is way too high, thankfully yesterdays spike is down to a chest infection and I am now on antibiotics, and feeling far more normal

Grazer since you appear to be far more knowledgeable than I (wudnt be hard lol) with regards to diet, what do you reccommend I eat for breakfast..Also I was told not to test to frequently, that it was acceptable only to do it if I felt a bit off colour, however I do test daily, Just had my eye scan and it was fine, my cholestrol is good and my bp within its usual range, pre diabetes.

Have tried to get a low carb bread but OMG this is Ireland and I really do bang my head off a brick wall, with regards to finding low carb anything...

Currently my blood sugar is 7.9 fasting... Any help you can offer would be brilliant

Thanks again

Lass
 
Hi Lass, regarding the bread, a lot of us eat Burgen soya and linseed bread. Normal price, and much lower in carbs and low GI. Saisbrys, teso and other big supermarkets all seem to stock it here. If your one doesn't, have a word with the manager. I did that at local Sainsburys (who stopped doing it) and explained I needed it because I was diabetic. He said "OK, I'll sort it" and within 2 weeks, it was back on shelves in small but regular quantities. NOTE:- it isn't a licenxce to eat more bread, just same small quantities with better results!
Regarding breakfast, I find I'm ok with carbs in the morning, and have some bite-size shredded wheat - same carbs as other cereals, but lowest of all in terms of sugar content. All bran has the lowerst carb content of most cereals, but more sugar than shredded wheat. The key is to try, then test 2 hours later to see if figures are OK. I'll come back to that later.
With regard to the dietician, you were told exactly what I was regarding carbs; and in fact what most of us were. It's the standard NHS diet issued to all, regardless of type of diabetes, medication, etc. It just doesn't work for most of us! I was ALSO told not to test, but how else can you find what you can eat and what you can't, we're all different in terms of what we can tolerate.
Here's what I did diet wise:-
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!
 
Oh thank you so much
A lot of what you say makes perfect sense,

I dont eat white anything anymore, pastas, rice, bread, cakes ..I do like batter now and again, but its rare as im not a fried food nut, prefering to grill or boil anyway

There has been no issue with getting a meter, test strip or lancets, just that I was told it wasnt necessary to test, hmmmm
A bit like their diet lol

"hit and miss springs to mind"

I have a tesco nearby, will check out is they stock the Burgen..Damnit about parsnips, i really love them, but might go months without eating them, carrots too, raw or cooked I love em

I love boiled new potatos so thats fine, am going to buy an exercise machine or treadmill, and try get more walking in,

Can I just ask what others use to lower their BS, say in the middle of the night, I find carbs help then, a few plain biscuits does the trick

But would love to hear what others use

Thanks again

Lass :)
 
irishlass37 said:
Can I just ask what others use to lower their BS, say in the middle of the night, I find carbs help then, a few plain biscuits does the trick
Click to expand...

To be honest, can't se how eating biscuits in the night is going to lower your BG. Hw do you know? Not sure what you mean; if you eat some at, say, 2a.m, do you then test an hour or two hours later to see if it's lower? Some people say they have a small carby snack before bed to stop a liver dump in the night, but I was told by a very good specialist that as a type 2 on diet only, (or metformin)(glucophage), what you go to bed with is what you are most of the night with regards to blood sugar levels. We have a small rise in the morning, (dawn effect), but that's it. I find it's best not to eat anything wethin 2 hours of going to bed. That way, your BG gets back to normal before bed and stays there. Guess we're all different!
 
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