Any tips for this newbie?

Hello veracityau,welcome to the forum.
Ist i will ask @daisy1 For the new poster info,have a good read and come back with your questions,
Congratulations on your weight loss thats amazing
Your diet sounds reasonable,most posters here,use a meter so as to know what foods they can eat without spiking their blood
I have found that portion control is a big factor for me,that and limiting my carb intake to less than 50 gs a day
Let us know how your getting on,clive

@veracityau

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


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 220,000 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 free 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.

veracityau said:

Yes, I did read the "read this first" info. Thanks for posting it again.

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Ok ....the other thing you might try is fasting for just one day of the week ...some interesting results .clive

Hi and welcome. It sounds like you are doing the rights things and if the weight loss continues you may be able to drop the Byetta in the future with your docs agreement of course. Don't take too much notice of your morning meter reading as it can be affected by the overnight liver dump where it pushes glucose into the system to start the day

welcome here veracityau

Hello @veracityau and Welcome to the Forum .

veracityau said:

Hi all,

I'm a 44 year old woman based in Sydney who was diagnosed with Type 2 in August.

I'm on 5mcg of Byetta plus 500mg Metformin in the morning and 10 mcg Byetta with 1000 mg Metformin in the evening. Partly due to diet & exercise, partly due to the Byetta, I've lost 16kg since August.

Up until the last week or so, I've been achieving really good numbers when I test my blood sugar. I had a few weeks where I was sick with the flu and other things, which I understand can affect numbers, but I'm fully recovered now. The numbers I am are now higher than what I was previously getting.

So, for example:

• I'm getting 7s in the morning (and an occasional 8!), whereas I was previously getting 5s and 6s.
  
• Before lunch, I'm getting 6s, whereas previously I was getting 4s and 5

Today:

• When I woke up, my BS was 7.4.
• I had a handful (approx 10-12) almonds and cashews for breakfast.
• No morning snack (I would normally have a cup-a-soup).
  
• Pre-lunch, my BS was 6.4.
• I had approx 2 tablespoon cooked rice white rice and a small serve of lamb curry for lunch. (I know this wasn't the best lunch, but was the 'least bad' option available to me today).
  
• I did not have an afternoon snack.
• Forgot to test at 2 hours post lunch, but just tested at 4 hours after and it is 7.8.

I am not eating any differently than I was before being ill, and am trying to keep low carb and low GI.

And my morning reading is higher regardless the size of dinner, amount of carbs or whether I have a low carb snack before bed.

Any tips for this newbie?

Many thanks.

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Hi. Sounds like you are pretty determined to get in control (more than you are presently - though your numbers are not so bad at all). I know that what has worked for me personally wasn't so much just cutting carbs right down or testing regularly (ie. before and 2.5 hours after eating) but by making sure that I recorded everything (ie. time of testing, meter reading, food eaten, any meds I was on - particularly steroids or antibiotics, and of course diabetes meds) - and whether or not I had a good intake of fluid that day). I was initially testing up to 8 times a day. This didn't just let me see key patterns so that I could amend things..it also armed me with very significant and valid data to show my doctor to support any points I wanted. I later abandoned the waking readings as they were not exactly reliable indicators (given the liver dump scenario and other factors). As a result of success through this approach, I identified that meds were doing nothing compared to cuts in carbs, and I got my levels down into the normal range. I now test sort of randomly once or twice a week or before and after any new food...so that's generally testing about 6 times a week only. So, I would say be meticulous in how you record data and review your notes at the end of each week or so. Good luck.

veracityau said:

Thanks

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Extensive excercise has gotten my numbers down into the fives in the mornings like 3 x 4 hours a week . Maybe you can do it with less .
Resistance training and stepmashine for hours with good music in my ears and some smaller breaks to be able to finish my goal of burning at least 1200 calories at each time in the fitness center

veracityau said:

Great tips. Thanks. I hadn't considered hydration as a factor. I'm testing about 6-8 times a day, and recording that, so will add the kinds of data you suggest.

I guess what has been concerning me is that my numbers got really good, then went back up even though they are still kinda ok. I'm just not sure what would have caused the difference... but that's where data comes in, isn't it.

Cheers.

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I had some of that too. I'm sure we all have experienced "blips". It's important to also bear in mind that other factors can contribute to increasing the blood glucose levels : minor infections, stress, hormones, fatigue, activity, inactivity...sheep running by the window on a Wednesday...anything! Don't be too worried about the odd slight increase if it is regularly pretty good. let's face it, we can't control everything but we can control our own basic approaches by good recording and application. Good luck.

Freema said:

welcome here midschick1

why do you think you are diabetic type 1 ... and not type 2 ?

I´ll tag @daisy1 so you will get the welcome information everyone gets here

Remember to have something with vitamin C when you take your iron tablets.. likke some Water with a squeeze of lemon in it... one can not uptake iron if one does not get vitmin C in the same meal..

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The doctor feels I have been a long term diabetic due to other issues and symptoms I am having at the moment. Not sure but hopefully I will find out and can get on with my life!! Thanks for the advice on the lemon water

Welcome to the forum,
I did alert you @midschick1 that I had moved your post and reply from this thread so that people can reply to you directly rather than your posts getting lost in this thread.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/another-newbie.111273/

Exercise, whatever takes your fancy, something known or something new? It chews up the carbs, amongst other things. My experience is starting slow n easy and go where the most enjoyment comes from.

Yeknodathon said:

Exercise, whatever takes your fancy, something known or something new? It chews up the carbs, amongst other things. My experience is starting slow n easy and go where the most enjoyment comes from.

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yes I started slow myself all my body did hurt from arthritis and something like it, and I was so fat i couldn´t do much, so i just started to walk every other day like 4-5 kilometers, and the other days I was so exhausted... but after already 3 weeks of lower carbs and eating only 1000 calories a day I felt much better my body slowly started to not hurt as much , and that is only 5 month ago now, and now when I do excercise even 4,5 hours in a row , my body hardly hurts.(except from my feet).. such a giant change in those 5 month...

I am sure that my arthritis is mainly due to all the carbs and sugar I ate before... and fruits s well even though I still love fruits, but eat very few and am sad to blame fruits s well...

Freema said:

I am sure that my arthritis is mainly due to all the carbs and sugar I ate before... and fruits s well even though I still love fruits, but eat very few and am sad to blame fruits s well...

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Thanks for sharing - perhaps not exactly the same; for me I know I am not doing well with the carbs when my finger joints begin to hurt.

Exercise = endorphins = pleasure and I certainly ascribe to the firm assertion that those with diabetes deserve pleasure because it can be a real pain in the bottom. I doubt many of us will become immediate Olympic athletes but it is in our power and choice to try something and see how it goes. Going off this pm to try some Bartitsu for the first time! And what is Bartitsu? Er, not sure.. that is why I'm going!