Diagnosed for around a year

[Shelbystargazer]

Hello everyone
I come here a little ashamed but willing to commit to turning things around.

I was diagnosed T2 around a year or so ago. I take two Metformin tablets a day, I’m meant to take 3 but I always seem to forget the third.
(I have ADHD which affects my memory)
I have my regular checks as I should do but my most recent blood test revealed levels of 60, quite a bit up from last years test.

I struggle with food. In particular bread and cheese and larger than normal portions.
I need some guidance desperately. My diabetes nurse just wants me to do the soups and shakes but I know I would fail miserably.

Mounjaro is not an option as I don’t want the side effects and I haven’t been offered it yet either.

I’d be so grateful for any advice or things I can do to bring my levels down as I’m only 45 and the stress and worry this is giving me now is raising my blood pressure.

Many thanks in advance
Shelby

 

[AllieRainbow]

First of all, Shelby, don't be ashamed. Many people on here have had the same problems, and there is a lot of support and understanding. Don't worry about what has happened in the past, look forward and take one day at a time, and be kind to yourself, you are worth looking after and we can help you.

If you could use a continuous glucose monitor and could afford it, they are a really good way of looking at how what you eat is affecting your blood sugar. If not, have you tried finger prick testing? You can test before the first bite of food and then 2 hours later to see what effect the food has had on your blood sugar.

There are lots of people on here who can give you good advice on how to get back in control.

I eat a low carb diet and make sure I exercise every day, which really helps to get the blood sugar numbers down.

I have had to stop eating normal bread altogether as I have no self control when it comes to that, but I eat alternatives that give me good nutrition, rather than making me ill and the diabetes worse.

When you eat something with a lot of carbs in like bread, if you are Type 2 it can make your blood sugar go up rapidly, and lead to big differences in your blood sugar, which then makes you feel very hungry and leads to more of the same.

You can replace bread with foods that have enough protein and fats in to keep you feeling full, and stop your blood sugar going up and down so much.

My main thing at first was making 90 second mug bread, which is made with egg, almond flour and baking powder, and cooked in the microwave - it is great for a bread like replacement. I found it quick and easy, and it got me over the initial period of stopping eating the bread altogether.

The thing I have found that is the best bread replacement for me is chaffles - lots of recipes on youtube, which are waffles made with cheese, eggs and almond flour with baking powder, and they are really great for sandwiches and desserts, and cheese on toast done in the air fryer or under the grill. I make a big batch once or twice a week and keep them in a box in the fridge, and just get one out when I fancy a sandwich.

You can also buy low carb bread in many supermarkets these days, but I have not tried that myself.

As for portion size, I find it helpful to use smaller plates and bowls, as it still looks like you have a plateful, but there is a lot less food.

 

[lovinglife]

Hi @Shelbystargazer & welcome to the forum

Many of here use a low carb or keto diet to control our T2 diabetes, have a read of the link bell for some info for newly diagnosed & testing

Thread 'Basic information for Newly Diagnosed Diabetics'

Oct 2, 2010

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 147,000 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...

• Administrator
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Greetings and Introductions

• 

Also the site DietDoctor which is more for keto but has some great information on carbs etc, I found it invaluable when I was first diagnosed, especially the visual charts for the carb content of foods

You can subscribe to get even more resources but frankly there’s no need, there is enough free info, recipes meal plans etc to keep you going

Diet Doctor — Making Low Carb and Keto Simple

How do you start a keto or low-carb diet? We have delicious recipes, amazing meal plans, the best keto videos, and a supportive low-carb community to help dramatically improve your health. Welcome to Diet Doctor, where we make low carb simple.

www.dietdoctor.com

 

[KennyA]

Hi and welcome. No need to be ashamed, you didn't cause diabetes.

If you're looking to limit your carb intake - I would recommend this as a method, worked for me - the good news is that you can really have as much cheese as you want. There's pretty much no carb/sugar in cheese (I exclude the stuff that has fruit added). Bread is something you would have to manage, being almost all carb. There are bread substitutes, but while they do a job, they're not bread.

My experience is that after diagnosis in 2019 it took me four months to go from a diabetic-level BG to a normal BG. In the three or four years following I lost around 90lbs and twelve inches off my waist. I did that by limiting my carb intake to around 20g/day, with the carb coming from vegetables. I've stuck to this lifestyle since, and maintained weight, size, and BG. After losing the weight, I started exercising again and am playing football more than weekly.

20g/day is not for everyone, but it suits my mentality. I've never been hungry once since I started - it's not reducing the quantity of food eaten, it's reducing the carbs/sugar in your food that's important.

This forum is a great resource - I got zero support from the health service, and this forum more than made up for that. Best of luck, and ask as many questions as you like.