diagnosed but not told type yet! need advice please.

[auntie diabetes]

Hi all,
my aunt has just been diagnosed with diabetes but it seems that as of yet they have not said if its type1, 2 or whatever. Which is a bit pants to be honest!! She is definitely feeling weak and poorly and until we have more medical advice we are all a bit confused :? as to the best course of action as no advice has been offered!! (Bit shocked at this, that they could diagnose somebody yet then allow them to go off with no advice until she returns to the doc) :roll:
So we (the family) would like to know what are general guidelines regarding her diet/beverages etc until we know for sure what type she is/has? Just some general info to be on the safe side of things please with regard to her diet and well, just about everything!!
I have been browsing through the forums here but am a bit confused because as I said we do not know what type it is yet so am not sure what advice I should be taking on her behalf.
Thanks in advance to anyone who can jot down a few words and point us in a direction that comes from experience!

Sam.

 

[sugarless sue]

We are as much in the dark as you as regards type but here is the general advice we give to new Type 2's. Some of the information is relevant to ALL diabetics so I hope it helps put you in the picture a bit. For more specific advice she will obviously need a proper diagnosis.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics.This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

The main carbs to avoid or reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating then two hours after eating you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the affect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try !!

As a Type 2 the latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l.
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.

(For Type 1's 2hrs after meals......no more than 9 mmol/L)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.



It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

Sue/Ken.