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Confused

Viv19

Well-Known Member
Messages
825
Last week I discovered that my pre-diabetes has now gone over the levels into diabetes. I thought ok, I can lose lots of weight and control this.
Since then I’ve been testing at different times and it’s totally confusing. I’m eating low carb but the levels are muddled. Also I’m in Germany, so my meter shows mg/dL which I then ‘translate’ because I only know mmol/L from my mother’s few years of diabetes. It makes more sense to me that way.
Usually when I’ve wanted to lose weight, I’ve eaten a fruit salad (apple, orange and banana) with cottage cheese and walnuts for lunch. That doesn’t seem like a good idea now.
Last HbA1c was 7, but I really don’t know what I should be looking at. This morning my fasting level was 127 (7). I don’t eat breakfast except at weekends as I’ve had fairly extreme IBS for some years and found it worked to give my digestion a good rest. I thought yesterday that my levels after a 2 hour walk would be low, but they were 128 (7.1). I’ve cut out potatoes, pasta, rice, and only had 1 slice of homemade seed bread (mixed flours) with breakfast at the weekend. I make my own semi skimmed lactose free yoghurt, which strained is like a Greek yoghurts.
I haven’t been offered any advice here. Maybe I should chase up my doctor.
 
Welcome. If you’re after advice you’ve come to the right place.

Does the meter have an option to switch to mmol? Can you order one from the uk to save converting as it’s the meter not the strips that set the format, make sure you can get the strips locally. Some manufacturers may even send you one for free if you give them a call and explain conversion is tricky.

You need to test before and 2hrs after a meal, or before and after an activity in order to see what it does. Exercise can sometimes cause a small rise initially but overall a fitter body will get lower numbers and have better overall health so don’t be deterred if it’s just a small rise you see. It may well improve with practice if it’s a new endeavour.

Lots of links to have a look at below. And I’ll also tag @daisy1 for her welcome.


Can I suggest you take a good look at low carb high fat methods of eating (keto is just a version of this). It helps many of us lose significant amounts of weight, if desired, keep our numbers down and for some even eliminate medications and achieve remission and reduce or improve complications. Try clicking these links for more detailed explanations that are well worth readings


https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog/jokalsbeek.401801/ for info including low carb made simple


And https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/success-stories-and-testimonials.43/ to show it really works and for motivation


and https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/ for food ideas


also https://www.dietdoctor.com/ for more food ideas and general info of carb content of foods. Lots of other websites for recipes out there too. Just use the term low carb or keto with whatever you fancy.


Also it’s very important to be able to check for yourself what’s happening so you can make the necessary adjustments day to day and meal by meal rather than wait 3,6 or even 12 months and then have no idea what had what effect. Getting a blood glucose meter is the only way to do this (no matter what contradictory advice you may have heard - it’s usually budget based rather than anything more scientific). Please ask if you want any guidance on this.



IMPORTANT FOR ANYONE ON MEDS CONSIDERING LOWERING CARBS: if you lower your carbs then any glucose lowering meds may need to be adjusted accordingly to make sure you aren’t taking more than your new diet requires. It can cause a hypo if you have more gliclazide or insulin etc (this is not relevant for metformin on its own) than your new carb intake requires. Keep a close eye on your numbers and ideally do this with your dr. Please don’t be put off by an ill informed out dated rubbishing of low carb diets or being told you should eat carbs to match meds, it should be the other way around.
 
@Viv19
Hello Viv and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and helpful.

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 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 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.
 

Thanks HSSS. No the meter doesn’t convert- it’s a good idea to get one from the uk, I’ll ask my brother, he can get one for me to match the strips/needles. The meter that I have now can link to an app on my phone. I haven’t done that yet - is it of any help? If so I’ll ask him to check it has that function.
It just goes to show how uninformed I am. I thought exercise would lower the glucose levels.
The idea of high fat helping is strange after all the years of the other kind of thinking. I’ll have a look at the Keto diet.
I take Metformin - as I understand it there’s not a problem with that and fluctuating glucose levels. Hope that’s right.
Thanks for the links. I’ve been looking through the website but there’s an awful lot there to take in.
 
This probably sounds stupid, but I find something that looks interesting and might help, then later I can’t find it again.
Have been searching for something I read before- can’t find it. :/
 
Viv19 said:
This probably sounds stupid, but I find something that looks interesting and might help, then later I can’t find it again.
Have been searching for something I read before- can’t find it. :/
Click to expand...
Theres a search box at the top of the forum page which you might find helpful.. ?
 
The app will be good to help you see patterns and trends and not rely on memory for how things change. I use “mysugr” which allows you to add meals, comments etc to readings which is useful and it does all sorts of clever things with graphs and averages .
 

Hi @Viv19,

Welcome to the forum.

I am in Germany too, so also have to convert mg/dl to mmol. To do this, I have just set up a spreadsheet, which, in addition to recording numbers, automatically converts them. As I can see based on your post, you already know the formula of dividing mg/dl by 18 for the conversion.

As to exercise, I find that it initially raises my blood sugars a bit (depending on intensity), but they then drop back about half an hour. Overall, on average blood sugars are about 0.6 mmol (10 mg/dl) lower for the day.

Have a look around the forum and fire away if you have any questions. Lots of friendly, knowledgeable and helpful members around.
 
Metformin almost turned me inside out and was so painful not to mention excruciatingly embarrassing.
If you can control your diabetes by avoiding high carb foods I would recommend it, and I would have thought that Metformin and IBS was not at all a good combination in the first place.
 

No absolutely not, it has been awful for some years. I stopped going anywhere in the mornings if I’d eaten breakfast, and if I travel/fly I don’t eat until lunchtime, when the Metformin effect seems to have worn off. I really must get my blood sugar levels down so that I can lose the meds. The weight is going down so slowly, but it is happening.
I didn’t know that it was down to the Metformin until my brother (pharmacist) mentioned it as a side effect.
I’m managing to cut out the high carb foods, though there might be some sneaking past me that I haven’t identified. But I’m learning. But the high fat idea of the Keto diet doesn’t work. Too much fat makes me quite sick.
 
You only need enough to keep hunger at bay. No need to go mad especially if you have body fat to lose. Just ditching the low fat versions of stuff and using a little butter etc is enough for many.
 

I’ve just discovered that my meter does change to mmol! So that is one hoop less to jump through.
 
Viv19 said:
I’ve just discovered that my meter does change to mmol! So that is one hoop less to jump through.
Click to expand...

I realise now it’s not the meter - it’s MySugr that translates the reading. Well that’s useful.
 
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