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Blood Sugar in High 20's and GP not helping, please advise


Rambled on? Hardly

Hit us with your issues. WE are here to help

Mike
 
Please share your typical day's diet on here. We are a friendly bunch and all of us have been in your position so know exactly how it feels. Last May I was over 16 st- I'm only 5ft 3 so you can picture it- did no exercise and ate enough carbs to feed a small third world nation. As daft as it sounds being diagnosed saved me- I'm now just under 11st and still losing , blood glucose levels much improved and I do about 30 mins exercise a day. It can be done if you ask for support and help on here. I'd not recommend Slimming World as the diet still is vey carb heavy and uses lots of low fat foods like Mueller Lights. Far better to go down the LO carb route which will involve upping your fat intake to a level that keeps you full - if you have overeating issues don't go mad on the "free" high fat staples like cheese and nuts as they are very high in calories too. Try looking at the LCHF website of the diet doctor, a Swedish doctor who advocates a low carb higher fat diet for diabetes. There is also a book by Trudi Deakin that may help. I'm sure someone will post you a link to it as I can't find it at the minute. Keep asking questions and don't let yourself be pushed around by the surgery.
 
My typical diet is 2 x sachets of porrige at approx. 1pm and then I have my dinner at approx. 5pm.

For my dinner I have either sandwiches ( 6 x slices of bread) with crisps or a meal containing meat and potatoes.

I don't know how I am going to follow a low carb diet as, as you can see, I eat a lot of them. I don't like vegatables or yogart.

I know I'm over eating, just don't know how to stop it. So ashamed.
 


That's amazing, well done. I weigh approx.18 stone
 

Please don't feel ashamed, you've done nothing wrong, just been exposed to poor advice. You can turn this round.

I also used to live on bread, cereal and chips and couldn't imagine how I would do without them. But I did and I'm sure you can too. Maybe try small amounts of the veg you say you don't like, you may surprise yourself

Once you see the results of low carbing on your meter that will provide you with enormous satisfaction and encouragement.
 
Don't be ashamed. You can do this. If I can, anyone can.

All those carbs are what are making you overweight, increasing your blood sugar levels, and making you want to eat even more carbs because they are addictive, just like alcohol and cigarettes.

I never liked yogurt. The first time I had some earlier this year I was agreeably surprised because I loved it! Not one of those sugary flavoured concoctions, a real full fat Greek yogurt (Like Total Fage) with a few lovely berries thrown in to sweeten it. Give it a try, you may be surprised, and it wil keep you full until your next meal. Or if you have time, eggs cooked any which way, or eggs and bacon with a tomato and some mushrooms cooked in butter. An omelette maybe.

6 slices of bread is far too much. If you buy a Hovis Wholemeal Seed Sensations loaf and freeze it, you can take out a slice at a time. They are big slices and thick. One slice is 14g of carbs and is enough because the texture fills you up. It is full of protein and fibre too. Delicious toasted, buttered and topped with 2 poached eggs and some hard cheese to dip in the yolks.

Potatoes are one of the main culprits in weight gain and blood sugar rises. If you must have them (and I advise you don't) then limit them to 2 small new boiled or roasted and add vegetables to your meal. I'm not a vegetable lover either, but I do try, and I also eat lots of mushrooms to make up for it. (and I mean ... lots!)

If you have any low fat products in your cupboards, I suggest you ditch them and buy the real thing. Butter, cheese, Hellmann's mayonnaise and so on. Low fat foods are highly processed, not good for general health, and most have a lot of added sugar. Real dairy is good for you, and eat lots of eggs too.
 
Have you tried making vegetable soup. ? If you don't like individual vegs you may surprise yourself with soup I make soup using onion garlic and chilli as a base then you could add bland veg such as courgette red green and yellow peppers and Celeriac chop up the veg ,cover with water add a veg stock cube or season with Marmite ,cook for 20 to 30 mins in a heavy pan with a lid or 15 mins in a pressure cooker Blitz or mash well Serve with a swirl of double cream .Warming comforting and low carb..You can add or remove any veg until you find one that you really like
CAROL
 
Has @daisy1 left you a welcome pack yet ? I don't seem to be able to find your first postings.
We do understand where your at .. And this is do-able. Three meals a day is better than two ... Have a look around the forums here about the low carb high fat diet .. It works ! .. Also high fat means more about dumping low fat foods and replace them with full fat foods.
I thought it was the end of my world to give up my much loved carbs .. Bread .. Potatoes..rice .. Pasta .. I loved them all .. But now I feel fit and sugar levels are good so I dont want to eat them now ( still miss them ) I take it you have a bs meter .. So first thing is to start your food and bs notes .. Test before you eat ..and 2 hrs after and see the results .. Don't try to crash your suger levels to quickley .. But do take controll now ... It's a great feeling when it starts to work !
You can do this ... We are here with advice when you need it
 
I'd just like to ditto the 'don't be ashamed' - type 2 diabetes runs in my family and I was glucose impaired with my second pregnancy and the doctors warned me not to get overweight and to eat a balanced diet. I did neither and have now just been diagnosed . Every time the 'I should have looked after myself' creeps into my head I shut it out. It's what happens now and in the next few weeks, months and years I am concentrating on.

I have changed my diet drastically over the last few weeks and have not touched chocolate (my main staple food - lol). I can say that my tastebuds have changed and I can taste a lot more flavours than I used to. It may be that if you can cut down on your carb-rich foods, you will also start tasting more and liking foods you didn't care for before.

Wishing you the best
 
Don't be ashamed at your diet, it's not that different from what a lot of us, myself included, ate before we knew better, low fat high carb is the standard advise at the moment. I still manage to eat bread, potatoes. pasta and rice but I have learnt to control the quantities so that I don't spike too much. I can manage 2 thin slices of bread (well what is sold as medium, why has thin sliced bread vanished), which is more than most here can manage, but packed with meat, cheese and salad, maybe a thin spread of pickles for added flavour, or full fat mayo, plenty of filling, very little bread, and never think about having bread rolls there is no way I could fit in enough filling to counter the thickness of the bread.

Try experimenting with veg, the supermarkets are full of different types, I never could stand the peas and carrots that were always dished out when I was a kid, but mange tout, sugar snap peas, baby sweetcorn and mushrooms are now staples, experiment and you might find some you like. Stir fry veg also works well, you don't need to add rice or noodle it can be a meal with just veg and meat.

Use your meter to guide your eating, try and keep the spike below a 2mmol and check at 1, 2 and 3 hour intervals after the meal to make sure that you know what the actual spike is. Plenty of us have been down this road and it can be done, its not easy, but you will find plenty of support here.
 
@scottie1

Hello Scottie and welcome to the forum This is the information that Enclave referred to which is the advice we give to new members, newly diagnosed or not. Ask as many questions as you like 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 over 130,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.
 
No need to feel ashamed.It is hard at first to give up the ways of living and eating that we have grown comfortable with. Personally I found it easier to go cold turkey with the carbs as I didn't think I'd be able to just eat a few. Now having lost weight I find I can eat a slice of spelt toast for my breakfast with no effect or a few fat oven cooked potato wedges in their skins. Others gradually reduce their carbs till they find a level that has little impact on their blood sugars. I know you say you don't like veg but things like mushrooms are great done in butter and salad is lovely with chopped peppers and homemade coleslaw. I always liked veg so it was easy to just up the portions of leafy greens or cauli. Cauli is the low carb dieter's friend... Steamed and mashed with butter, or cream and lots of cheese it is a great mash substitute with sausages or meat or as a topping for shepherds pie.
We will help you every step of the way but only you can make the changes needed. You have young children who need a fit and heathy mum and you can't continue as you are for your sake and theirs. At the end of the day I think most of us decide we love our eyes or limbs more than we ever could love a bag of crisps or another round of sandwiches. Do keep posting. You've taken the hardest step acknowledging that things need to change.
 
Hi scottie 1,
Just like to say welcome.
Hang on in there people around this site are realy helpful.
Remember, it's all about one day at a time.
Good luck
 
Well, the same advice as yesterday. It is time to do something about it. Being in the 30's is dangerous. You need some efficient and proper medical attention and quickly. Is your husband there? Please tell him, and ask him to get you to a hospital or urgent care centre. If you don't, you are playing dangerous games with your health. This may sound harsh, but everyone on here agrees it is the best thing you can do. Your doctor has been next to useless.

Apart from that, what have you eaten today? Did you take the advice from posters to cut out those carbs, porridge, potatoes and bread? These will just keep increasing your levels.
 
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