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Can you help with this?

J

julianh

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi

This is my first post, so I'm sure this may have been asked before, but I haven't been able to find an answer in the forum.

I first found out I had diabetes three weeks ago, after excessive thirst, dry mouth, weight loss and other symptoms. My Doc took a sample guide blood glucose test which came out at 16 - which he told me was high (He said any reading above 10 was considered to indicate diabetes).

As is my want I immediately read everything I could, stopped all the sugars, started a daily exercise programme, jogging and going to the gym, cutting out all bad carbs, trying to limit my carb intake, increase my fruit and veg, and generally follow the healthy diet advice. I've stuck to this religiously as I understand diet and exercise are the best ways to bring my BG levels down.

I did a fasting blood test the following week, which subsequently came out at 12. I had a brief telephone chat with my Doctor which confirmed the diagnosis, and which resulted in more reading, diet and increased exercise,

Today I had my first visit to the Diabetic Nurse, who whilst well meaning, wasn't prepared really to discuss giving me any testing kit (She claimed that was the old way, "which went out with the Ark"), and gave me an official NHS dietary leaflet which suggested I eat loads of carbs - which is almost the exact opposite of almost everything I read here.

We agreed that I'd try to manage my diabetes by diet only initially and have three monthly visits to the clinic.

The killer was when she took a blood test at the end of the session. After all the diet and exercise, I was expecting at least some improvement in my BG levels. It came out at 19 and had got worse. She said she'd better see me in 6 weeks time and try not to worry in the meantime. (!)

I'm sorry for rabbiting on, but I'm genuinely confused (and a bit discouraged). Am I naive to expect some improvement after just three weeks? Or are my levels so high they'll take longer to come down?

Am I missing something from the advice or doing something wrong?

Has anyone experienced this as well? Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Thanks
 
Hi julianh,
I know exectly how you feel. I found out I was diabetic in August and cut out all sugar,sweets,cakes etc but I still felt awful and got realy bad headaches. After reading the forum I went low carb and was amazed the effect it had just by cutting out all bread, pasta, spuds and rice along with the sweet stuff of course. My average reading which I take my self( after buying the codefree kit on line because the strips are the cheapest) is 10 still too high. I have stepped up the exercise and go swimming approx 3 times a week the reading still 9-10.
Had a strange day today though i have only had a chunk of cheese and handfull of brazil nuts and mug of coffee that I had for breakfast all day, busy most the day, went swimming 45mins and took a reading at 5.00 pm before tea and it had dropped to 5.1!!! never happened before and I am wondering if the cold weather has made any difference. :roll:
 
Hi Julian and welcome to the forum :)

I think you will find that this information, which we give to new members, will help you. Other members will be along soon to share their experiences with you and answer some of your questions.


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.
 
Hi. Confusing isn't it. NHS 'eat plenty of carbs with each meal' is definitely really bad advice and conflicts with the health advice in several other Western countries. If you want to reduce your blood sugar you must reduce your carb intake to obtain results within the NICE guidelines on a meter 2 hours after a meal. The nurse's comments that testing went out with the Ark is of course nonsense; if you don't test you can't manage by knowing what foods affect you. How old are you and are you overweight? If you are young and not overweight then there is always the possibility of being late onset T1. So, check your sugars and if your blood sugar doesn't come down to reasonable levels within the 6 weeks then agree to go onto meds at your next visit (eating low-carb in the meantime). Let us know your age and weight.
 
Thanks - I'm a youthful 54 and have lost weight recently and now have a 35" waist and am down to 12 stone.

I don't think I'm particularly overweight but could probably lose a few more pounds.
 
fruit is a carb BTW

I am finding I need to keep my carbs down to 10% of my calorie intake

the official way to manage diabetes is for you to eat what is recommended for everyone and just keep having more and more medication added and eventually end up injecting insulin

people here have decided this is unacceptable for them and are eating low carb so they can decrease medication.

good luck
 
Hi. At age 51 and not underweight means late onset T1 is less likely but still possible. So, do keep monitoring your sugars and I suspect you will need to go onto some meds at your next review.
 
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