Could I have some advice please...

BeeGee said:

So, please could you tell me...

Did I do the right thing to exercise and drink?
Was I right not to eat until the level had dropped?
Do I still need to wait before I have dinner?
If levels go up, is there actually anything you can eat or drink to help bring them down more quickly?

Sorry, you experienced guys are fantastic with all your advice, hope I don't sound pathetic, demanding or anything. Thank you!
BG

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Well I am confident in saying that for me a walk is a great way to knock some points off my blood sugar levels and drinking water is always a good thing.

Not so sure about not eating until the level has dropped since this is not a stable condition. What happens if you have a carb free snack?

Do you have carbs with the dinner?

I know of nothing you can eat or drink to lower your figures.

I hope someone else knows some answers because I want to read them.

We were all pathetic once BG. ( I still am). I probably asked you this already (memory problems) but remind us what you eat?

Until you get some control I would leave out the potato and test before the meal and two hours after and log the rise that occurred.

Scroll up to the top of the page and click on your name in the red band. Click on signature and write anything you wish there. It will appear below the line on each of your posts.

it is very high, but as you have just been diagnosed, it takes a bit of time to settle into a new diet and exercise, the metformin works in 3 weeks,
it's good that you have a meter and ketostiks and it's a good sign that you have no reduced insulin ketones

do you know about the LCHF or the Newcastle diet? that's the 2 diets I know of with the best way to get your bloods down.
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf it’s a long page and a video
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbliving/a/Food-Cravings.htm For me, the more carbs we eat the more carbs we want. they don’t give up easy.
blood testing
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php
food counting
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

Newcastle diet aims in 8+ weeks to mimic or better, the gastric surgery rate of ~80% T2 remission
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/
http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2010/mar/weight-loss-surgery-and-type-2-diabetes.html

Hi BeeGee and welcome to the forum

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful.

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 100,000 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.

welcome beegee and please see your other post for an explanation of exercise and why it works to lower your BG levels