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Any advice for a t2

Sammy99

Active Member
Messages
27
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi finally got my account back!
Here’s my story so far……
I was diagnosed with t2 in 2011 and lived in denial for a long time. I was badly overwhelmed with it all and I was over weight I decided to change my lifestyle and lost 3 1/2 stone by way of a better diet and exercise.
I fell off the diabetic wagon and felt helpless again. Deciding last year to get back to better I started my healthy regimen again.

I am currently taking
metformin 1000mg
Linagliptin 2.5mg
Canagliflozin 300mg
Ozempic injection 0.5mg

I try to keep my carbs at under 160mg a day
I do 60+ minutes of exercise at least 5 times per week

my daily blood sugar tests are not shifting
First thing in the morning I get ratings between 7.7 to 9.1 mmol
Before lunch 6.5 to 8.5 mmol
Before bed 7.7 to 10.4 mmol

yesterday my carbs where 154.4mg I took my blood at 10pm after fasting from 6.30pm the reading was 8.8mmol
This morning expecting a low reading my test was 9.1 mmol which I was really disappointed at.

I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong and with all the hard work I put in it leaves me very disappointed and feeling hopeless I want to learn what I’m doing wrong and get a better insight into managing my diabetes
 
yesterdays food evening meal changes every day but I try to keep it under 60mg of carbs

2 Weetabix with 150ml low fat milk
A tuna sandwich in low carb bread 2 slices
Two small jacket potatoes with beans and a little butter
Small banana
Small apple
Three cups of tea
250ml low fat milk
 

Way too many carbs and not enough food.
 
Hi Sammy99 - I'd say you probably need to drop the carbs further. Personally I'd replace the Weetabix with something low carb and use full fat or cream in the tea. You might be able to keep the banana and apple but check blood glucose before and after to see if you get an acceptable rise.
 
It is hard to get back on the wagon but you did well before so getting control is to be celebrated so good luck in all that you do

160g of carbs may be too much for your particular needs, some people find that level of carbs is tolerable others need to go lower. Also there I have found not all carbs are equal, I get different impacts based on different foods. Testing prior to eating and 2 hours after might help understand your tolerance to the types of food, but a slight warning. For me, some foods though also do last a spike longer

I also looking at the choice of food there wonder if your sums are quite right and personally, even with a reasonable amount of carbs in my diet would find those foods (especially potatoes and weetabix) would spike my bloods quite a lot I’m afraid. Apples and bananas are not great either. Those are areas worth looking at changing if you can

eggs, cheeses, meats are better
Berries are also lower carbs. I have with Greek yoghurt
Tuna is good, low carb bread depends how low carb but I know there are some that people recommend
 
There are so many sites saying different amounts of carbs I get so confused I will try to lower them thanks
 
I’m finding it hard to know what to eat it seems all new again to me thanks for the advice
 
Thanks I thought low fat milk would have been better on my carb calculator it says full fat and low fat milk are the same carbs????
 
Sammy99 said:
Oh ok I will have to rethink my carbs thanks
Click to expand...

With all the meds you are on you'll need to be careful and monitor your bloods in case you start to go low.

I'd speak to your doctor about reducing/removing some if not all of them before trying very low carb but then..

Ditch the weetabix
"low carb" bread
jacket potatoes
beans
banana
apple
and low fat milk.

Base your meals around meat, fish, eggs, full fat dairy and green veg if you like them.

Try and maybe skip a meal too to give your body a rest.

Have a look at ketogenic diets.
 
Sammy99 said:
There are so many sites saying different amounts of carbs I get so confused I will try to lower them thanks
Click to expand...
Everyone is different, whilst some may be fine on 160 carbs a day, others may need much less, it will be trial and error to find out how many you can personally deal with
 
Sammy99 said:
I’m finding it hard to know what to eat it seems all new again to me thanks for the advice
Click to expand...
It can be confusing. Turning the idea of what you can eat almost is the opposite of a lot of NHS advice

they often describe “healthy” breakfast like weetabix or oats but for us T2 the carbs are really bad for us. So anything low or zero carbs is a good port of call. Meat, eggs, cheeses often are great.

also having more fat and protein help address then hunger. You may often see if here and other places about not counting calories and just carbs. Not eating enough and trying to pull down carbs only may not help as your body can get into starvation mode as I understand it (not an expert) so you want to eat nutritious food but lower carbs
 
I’d aim for no more than 50g carbs per day and DEFINITELY lose the weetabix. You probably need more fat as well. Bread, potatoes, breakfast cereals, fruit may well all be off limits at least until your numbers improve a bit.

Tuna is good though. Have you considered also: salmon, avocado, eggs, green veg smothered in butter, steak and chicken (if you eat meat), nuts, cream, cheese, full fat Greek yoghurt, berries? Any of those should give you an improvement on your current diet which from what you’ve posted seems based on bread, potato, apples/bananas and breakfast cereal - all probably no-no’s for a type 2 diabetic.

Give it a try for 2 weeks and see what happens. If you have no improvements at all, you’ll probably need to speak to your healthcare team to consider possible alternative diagnosis. But honestly if I ate what you’re eating, my figures would be the same or even worse than yours (I’m on more or less the same meds as you btw).
 
Thanks for the advice
 
Thanks so much for the advice I’m definitely going to rethink my whole diet now I have never tried changing to these types of foods I will give it a go. Goodbye bread and potatoes now the real change can hopefully start
 
Sammy99 said:
Thanks I thought low fat milk would have been better on my carb calculator it says full fat and low fat milk are the same carbs????
Click to expand...

The fat will help slow the rate of absorption, and I find I need less for the same effect on the drink.

I think the main issue you are experiencing is carbs are above what your body can tolerate - even with several medications.
I think if you drop carbs enough you will be in a better position. You do need to be careful because at least one of the medications you take can cause hypoglycemia - so dose may need to be adjusted.
 
Sammy99 said:
yesterday my carbs where 154.4mg I took my blood at 10pm after fasting from 6.30pm the reading was 8.8mmol
This morning expecting a low reading my test was 9.1 mmol which I was really disappointed at
Click to expand...
Some people can eat that many carbs and keep their T2 under control unfortunately your high numbers and large amount of medication prove that you are not one of them.
Use your meter to test your meals, take a reading just before you eat and again 2hr after. The difference in the 2 results will show you how that meal has affected your blood sugar. In a perfect world after 2hrs you would be back to the starting level. Most of us allow ourselves a little leeway and set a limit of no more than a 2mmol rise.
 
Hi, I am in a similar place but my readings where much much higher, I was hitting 25 at times.
I was diagnosed about 4 years ago and spent a lot of time doing low carb and finding a balance. I could tolerate weetabix back then. Due to covid and a few other things I went off the rails but now trying to sort it out.
What I have found out is what worked before does not work now, weetabix for example now causes me a huge spike that I struggle to recover from. Bacon and scrambled eggs now for breakfast, and I’m eating salmon slices/meat with salad most lunches. If I’m working from home I have tried having another egg at breakfast and missing lunch at that works too. Evening meals I find tricky and still finding options that work.
In the space of a week I have seen my daily average drop from 16 to 10 so I still have lots to do but I’m getting there.
Like you it feels like starting again but it’s nice to know your not alone and this forum is a great tool to help.

Good luck
 
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