Exhausted and Terrified

Ady Kiwi

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Stress is a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy: you worry that you're not well, you start getting stressed about it, the hormones produces when you're stressed start to negatively impact your health, confirming and intensifying your fears and so on it all goes.

The first thing, before you do anything else, is to break that cycle of worry. You've identified your problem and a proposed course of action - that's a fab first step. You've found your way here and asked for advice - that's two positive steps already! Now take a breath and give yourself some time to read about other people's experiences, maybe look up some LCHF, Newcastle and other dietary stuff and keep asking questions.

Joining a community like this one will confirm lots of positive things:

1.You're not alone!
2. You're not crazy!
3. It's entirely possible to take control of your health (and life) with minimal willpower (important! We're not superheroes!)
4. Your journey is not laid out before you: you still have choice and power.
5. Everything is an experiment and you get to find out what works for you and what doesn't.
6. You still have lots of time to figure things out.

Particularly as I'm T2, I'd also add that you're far from alone in having a "binge eating disorder", and many, many people here will be able to relate to the issues you've faced.

Give yourself some time to look around these boards. Ask all the questions you need. Look at what people who cut out carbs are eating and what the impact on them has been. Understand you're not alone. Brace for any number of e-hugs from Forumites. Consider starting a blog to help organise your thoughts and chart your journey (I find this INCREDIBLY useful). Not everything you read will be useful to you, but there is nothing you're facing that hasn't been dealt with by someone here already.

And, more practically, read Daisy's post a few times - it's incredibly info-rich - and follow that link to the Low Carb programme. It's an excellent, free, web-based, no-stress introduction to LCHF.

Welcome - it's good that you're here. Now take a breath and know that everything's okay.

Sock xx

Thank you so much for your incredibly supportive comments. I am feeling less terrified already. It is so good hearing from other people who have been through this. I feel very blessed to have found this forum xx
 

Ady Kiwi

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Is that a blood sugar reading from a meter in mg/dL (approx 2.7 mmol/L which is very low) or an HbA1C (just into diabetic range but not outrageously bad)?
Have you been diagnosed with diabetes (T1/T2??) or reactive hypoglycemia????

It is the HbA1C - at the top of the pre-diabetes range. My Dr has been threatening to put me on medication but I have had such a fright I am determined to turn the situation around myself by what I eat.
 

Ady Kiwi

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
M
@Ady Kiwi

Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


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.

Marvellous. Thank you SO MUCH!! That is going to be such a help to me.
 

Ady Kiwi

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
As the OP posted in the 'PreDiabetes' section of the forum I would say it is an HbA1c result. A result of 49 would imo suggest borderline Pre Diabetes/Type 2 Diabetes.

I am still classed as pre-diabetes but am right on the edge.
 

SockFiddler

Well-Known Member
Messages
623
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
It is the HbA1C - at the top of the pre-diabetes range. My Dr has been threatening to put me on medication but I have had such a fright I am determined to turn the situation around myself by what I eat.

There is no shame in taking meds for a while to help you get that control sooner. It's neither defeat nor surrender, just using what resources exist to make your journey easier. It also gives you a little more time (and takes the pressure off you) to look around, thinking about things and experiment with various approaches to see what not only works for you but what you'll be comfortable with.

Being diet-controlled is certainly within grasp, but be careful of cutting off your nose to spite your face: diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint, and anything that gets you off to a good start should be carefully considered before being discarded. You have the power to choose and experiment - and a community of folks here all willing to help you stay on the right track.

You've got this. Take a breath - you're going to be fine :)
 
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AloeSvea

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,051
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
The good part of not taking medication (I assume it's metformin?) is that you can see if your own body is righting the wrong of blood glucose dysregulation if and when you change your way of eating to get down to a normal HBA1c.

That is the true beauty of being in the intermediate hyperglycemia/prediabetes zone - it's not an enormous stretch to get it back down to the 30s. Everyone I know IRL who has been initially diagnosed with prediabetes has managed to get it down to normal levels. (They may have gone up again and were too afraid to tell me because of the 'carbs thing' - but as far as I know in any case they have all stayed at healthy levels.)

This next bit I am going to say @Ady Kiwi, is perhaps a little, mmmm, irregular. But, if you are used to having an eating disorder - going on to a restricted diet/a very new way of eating (like moderate to low carbing) probably will be easier for you than it is for most! This is my feeling at any rate. Because you are used to focussing on what you are eating, having a goal to which you add or restrict certain foods, and of course, to deal with weight issues? As there seems to be a correlation between fat on the liver and pancreas and blood glucose dysregulation. I say this as I have a bit of a focussing/obsessive side to my personality myself, I have come to realise, and I have also realised that this may be one of the reasons I was able, at diagnosis, to exercise heaps and then to transform the food I eat.

I am very sorry that binge-eating contributed to you having blood glucose dysregulation! This is sad indeed. And please know I am by no means underplaying the seriousness and danger and pain and suffering of eating disorders. I guess I just couldn't help but think that what might be a part of your personality (which includes being able to focus and perhaps the tipping over into obsessiveness) might be something you could draw upon to get better, in this instance.

And, last but not least - I recommend sugar substitutes and weight watchers jelly and atkins chocolate bars, and my own favourite - stevia sweetened things, while you go moderate-low carb, and perhaps to maintain it, if that is the way you choose to go. Otherwise cold turkey is cold indeed!