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Confusing

Milly11

Member
Messages
18
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I'm new to this. I was diagnosed in March. My GP & diabetes nurse at my local surgery have been brilliant. I've been given loads of support & a heap of literature to read. I think I've gone into information overload trying to understand it all. Did/does anyone else feel like this.
 
Absolutely Milly. I was just where you are in May last year. I’ll tag on @daisy1 for our very own batch of info for you! Just remember you don’t have to tackle it all at once. Take a break from time to time, digest all this info you’ve been given then come back with your questions. There always be someone to help you. Take it easy x
 
Yes. I had information overload at the start and I found it unhelpful. I try to keep things simple nowadays.

For me it's about setting targets for where I want my BG levels to be, then achieving those in the simplest ways I can.

If you would like some more details about that, let us know.
 
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Welcome to the forums @Milly11 ,

We all start from different places, move forward with confidence but learn at a speed that's comfortable for you.

The forum members can offer all the support you need together with practical advice, just ask when your ready.

Good luck.
 
@Milly11 - Hopefully, my colleague @daisy1 will post some useful info for you.

Welcome aboard.
 
Yup. Don't forget to go out and enjoy the weather in between trying to process information. It won't hurt your brand new diabetes to not comprehend everything in a day or a week, or even a month or a year, and it will be good for your mood. And as a bonus you'll get some extra vitamin D
 
Thank you
 
@Milly11

Hello Milly and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Read a little bit at a time and you'll be fine. Ask as many questions on here as you like and someone will be able to help you.


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 235,000 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
Thank you very much for this information. I've managed to shed 9kg in weight since mid March, I've reduced my starchy carbs d cut out refined sugar. I'm still getting frustrated with food labels. It seems that if a food is low in sugar it's high in fat or vise versa. I'm still not sure of a lot of things & a little unhappy that I've not lost more weight. Am I being unrealistic? I've heard horror stories about people bounce in & out of hospital as they can't get their diabetes under control. This scares me silly. As does the thought of amputation due to diabetes
 
I wouldn't worry too much about the fat, just focus on the carbs for now. Then, in a couple of months, see if you like what eating less carbs and a bit more fat has done for your health
 
Milly as @Antje77 says concentrate on keeping the carbs down first and don’t worry about the inevitable increase in fats, you need them to stop you feeling hungry and make the low carb eating more sustainable. I’ve been eating low carb for over a year now and rarely feel hungry. I’ve lost a shed load of weight and after an initial deterioration in my cholesterol numbers (common in rapid weight loss), the numbers are now improving.
 

I am new at this too and relate to a lot of the above do you have a BG meter? And what about your exercise program ? Food, I go for fat instead of low sugar so diet food is off the list - just look at low fat yogurt how much sugar is in it compared to the normal ( I eat Greek) no pastry either Tesco do a good lunch salad for £1 I add a kale quiche ( mini) to it cause a male uses more calories than female or tomatoes & cucumber with tuna around a fiver for 3 lunches a whole cooked chicken lasts 3 dinners or more oh and did you say you were type 2 or 1 ?
 
You are doing great. 9kg is a lot of weight to lose, well done!

You can lose even more weight with a bit of tweaking - the info on this site about foods that help or hinder is the best I've found anywhere, and that is from 30 years of trying (and failing) to permanently lose weight.

It sounds like you are a long way from complications like amputations... these days medical science has advanced our knowledge and it is now possible to avoid that level of complications for the entire lifespan if you eat the right foods and keep up with regular blood tests, and foot and eye exams etc.

In the past, people didn't know how to prevent progression and complications like we do now. They continued to eat the same level of carbs, ie >250g a day (and much more), and relied on ever increasing tablets and injections to do all the work. That is a back-to-front approach and it usually fails.

Keep asking questions, we're here to help.
 
I'm type 2
 
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