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Conflicting advice...who to believe

  • Thread starter Thread starter 999sugarbabe
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999sugarbabe

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I know I'm a relative newby (type 2 diagnosed Sept 08), but I am really struggling to know who/what to believe, especially when it comes to the controversial topic of diet :? :? :?
My practise nurse says one thing, books/pamphlets vary, and some fellow diabetics on this website seem "at war" on the subject :!:
I've become more confused as time goes by :roll:

I appreciate everyone's right to their opinion and (I hope) I respect that. We are all human with our own opinions, tastes, beliefs etc; but as a newcomer all the politics, in-fighting and discord just makes matters worse for me.

I'm just a simple man (some ladies would suggest we men all are) :wink: but I only want to know what to eat that won't harm me, or at least that won't make my condition worse. When people can't even agree on whether bread is good or bad, never mind what type of bread, what hope is there :?:
One mans' meat is another mans' poison I hear being muttered. Very true too. Grapes may send some into hugely increased blood sugar levels, yet others remain unaffected.

At my time of life... I can't completely change my eating habits, diet and tastes overnight. All I have done is try to be sensible, and stick to moderation (and variety) in my diet, and hope that is going to be o.k. for now, for me.

Well, I've got that off my chest :oops:

Back to the caviar, lobster, truffles and Champagne, followed by chocolate gateaux :P
It's o.k.... I'll just have corflakes and beans on toast tomorrow. It'll all balance out :!: :!:
 
At the risk of sounding condescending the only person to believe is yourself, the only facts you need to be aware of regarding your diet is how what you eat affects your BG level.

Never got on with caviar though! Dad brought some extremely cheap and cheerful stuff back from , what was then, Eastern Germany, and it spoiled caviar for life for me.

Regards, Tubs.
 
I think the thing to do is read around the subject as much as possible. Cut all pertinent advice into a word document. Go to other forums and ask the questions, come back here and ask the same thing. PM the most outspoken supporters and opponents of different diet advice. Weigh up the respective advice and float anything past your healthcare professional. These forums are changing diabetes healthcare, in my humble opinion, but they need to be used correctly. Best of luck and I hope you find the help you need here.

Admin
 
Look at the success stories and set aside some time to find out what does and doesn't suit. Eg. test BG, eat a slice of bread, test after 1 then 2 hours. Another day try another food. It will take time and test strips ( which as a newbie, you should be given) and you'll know yourself.
I eclare myself to be a low carber( no bread for me), but I think if you try it, that low carb never hurt anyone and for most people it brings an improvement in blood chemistry. T2s in particular benefit from low carb. It's more difficult for T1 Whaever turns out to suit you, it's worth a try. It's likely to help, VERY unlikely to harm and Free!
 
999sugarbabe, you don't say if you're taking any medication. Certain oral meds like gliclazide carry the risk of lowering your numbers to hypoglaecemic levels, so an ultra low carb diet isn't necessarily a good idea.

Apart from that, most people find that they can eat a pretty varied diet and soon become used to any changes. Try checking out the recipes thread in the food forum for some great ideas.

Five years on, I'm much more relaxed about diabetes than I was at first and I'm sure you soon will be, too.

Good luck to you.
 
Yes I take several meds, for diabetes I only take 500mg Metformin at present.

Last night I thought I'd experiment a little and ate half a T****s chocolate orange :!: :) This morning my blood result was lower than it normally is :!: Does that mean I can add that to my "ok to eat" list :?:
 
I wouldn't recommend chocolate or other confectionary as a regular part of your diet (we all need an ocasional treat.) Although your morning results may have been fine, it's hard to know whether you've had a big rise overnight; over time that's potentially very damaging.

Unlike some here, my personal experience is that my diabetes team are knowledgeable and have helped me enormously. I'd suggest that you follow the advice you've been given by your guys and see how things go. If you can't get your numbers down to a safe level then it's time to consider more drastic action.

As ever, I'm not a doctor, and can only tell you what's worked for me.
 
Administrator said:
I think the thing to do is read around the subject as much as possible. Cut all pertinent advice into a word document. Go to other forums and ask the questions, come back here and ask the same thing. PM the most outspoken supporters and opponents of different diet advice. Weigh up the respective advice and float anything past your healthcare professional. These forums are changing diabetes healthcare, in my humble opinion, but they need to be used correctly. Best of luck and I hope you find the help you need here.

Admin
Click to expand...

Agreed. IMNSHO there are a whole bunch of different diseases called "diabetes", even the Type 1s may have differing liver responses etc.

The best thing about this/these diseases is that you can discover your OWN responses to things

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm

By testing intensively at first I was able to determine which suggestions and recommendations worked FOR ME and which didn't. Now I have found a routine which works I mainly only test when I'm eating outside of my usual flight envelope, then I will run a whole day every so often checking for any long term changes.

testing your own responses is essential which is why I find the restriction of strips to be the single worst decision in diabetes care possible.
 
Thanks for all your responses :)
There's much in your advice that I've taken on board.
Following my "wobbly" on Monday I got an appointment and I saw my nurse today and, as far as my diabetes goes, she was VERY pleased with my mmol/L results :shock: :wink:
She spoke to the doctor, who was too busy to see me this week, and I've an appointment to see him tomorrow now :!: It's not what you know, but who you know :wink:

My blood pressure has "risen significantly" in the last week, (it was high anyway) - stress related I suspect. At least I may now get a chance to discuss my pending operation, and whether to have it or not. :?
All in all the week seems to be improving slightly, and without feeling smug (or over optimistic) I may come through all this in a better place than where I started :!:
 
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