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Feeling A Bit Confused As To What To Do...

hecate105

hecate105

Member
Messages
12
Location
dawlish, devon, uk
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
bullies, unfairness, cruelty,
I was diagnosed type 2 diabetic 9 weeks ago. The Dr wanted me to try controlling it with diet. So I have been on a low carb diet ever since. No grains, alcohol, or root veg, no pre-made food, no sugar. Fruit - berries and citrus in moderation. It has been ok - as long as i can eat something i am happy! I have lost just over a stone. I have been testing my blood sugar levels and they are still high in the mornings 8, 9 or even 10. But it rarely goes up much after a meal - in fact sometimes down. I found that if i had carrot or beetroot my levels were v high next morning, so i cut them out totally.
My problem is - I am eating yogurt and having milk/cream in coffee (just to feel full!) but i have a long-standing dairy intolerance, so am a bit nervous about eating dairy - at some point I am probably going to tip over and get terrible stomach aches again... Also as i am on thyroxine, I have been told to avoid many nuts, brassicas, soya and some fruits. So that cuts a lot out too. Soya particularly effects my thyroxine uptake - Years ago I managed to go from 150mcg a day to 125mcg just by swapping soya milk with oat milk... so i shouldn't really have those foods either. Then I also had a major op when my gall bladder disease was misdiagnosed (nearly died!) so have no gall bladder - and have been told to keep to a really low fat diet...
All these things together (as well as being menapausal) are making me really confused as to what i should eat. I really want to reverse the diabetes - for one reason I was put on Metformin years ago for polycystic ovaries - and i was allergic to it!
I am confused - any advice out there??
 
hecate105 said:
so have no gall bladder - and have been told to keep to a really low fat diet...
Click to expand...
Can't help you with the rest of your questions, but I don't have a gall bladder and do perfectly fine with dietary fat. Just try.
hecate105 said:
i have a long-standing dairy intolerance, so am a bit nervous about eating dairy
Click to expand...
If it's lactose intolerance, there are many mature cheeses riped long enough to get rid of the lactose. You probably already knew this, but if not it might be an enjoyable food for you.
 
Antje77 said:
If it's lactose intolerance, there are many mature cheeses riped long enough to get rid of the lactose. You probably already knew this, but if not it might be an enjoyable food for you.
Click to expand...
Does lacteeze help?
 
Hi @hecate105, Welcome to this site and sorry to hear of your ups and downs.
From my experience as a diabetic and not as medical advice or opinion:
I have a daughter whom is prescribed thyroxine and as long as see takes her thyroxine 3/4 hour before breakfast and not within 1 hour of soy products she has has no problems with dosage.
As others have said, a trial of lactose-free milk could help to establish whether it is truly lactose that is the culprit as far a ordinary diary is concerned. And one of my relatives with lactose intolerance can manage a certain amount of lactose from yoghurt/cheeses etc. per day. She also can manage a certain level of fat per day without gallbladder troubles.
As many T2Ds on site have attested, in other threads, the morning BSLs are the last thing to normalise when they have started on a LCHF diet, months and months at least. And congratulations on the weight loss you have achieved !!
You may wish to look at attending a dietitian to ensure that the diet you have adopted is replete in essential vitamins and minerals etc also. Best Wishes, and please tell us of your progress, the ups, and the downs. Share the worry and halve it !!
 
@hecate105

Hello Hecate105 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 like and someone will help.


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 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.
 
@hecate105

Hi and welcome!

You are most definitely not the only person to arrive here with multiple issues that need careful balancing to find your own personal way through to something that works for your unique situation.

My advice on the fat intake is to make small gradual additions to your fat intake to give your body time to adjust. The liver can step in to cover for a missing gall bladder, but it can take a while to get up to speed.

As for the dairy... depending on your own tummy situation you may be able to tolerate goat or sheep milk, cheese and butter, or the lactose free options. Worth some experiments to see if any of them work for you.

And congratulations on the weight loss!
 
Thanks for all the advice and info. I didn't realise that some hard cheeses don't have lactose - that's great as i love hard cheeses. I also like goats/sheep cheeses, so will try and keep to them. I know i can have a certain amount of dairy - but its a bit like 'buckeroo' - suddenly you tip over and get horrific pain and have to stay off all dairy for a while. I have only been eating yoghurt since on this diet, so hopefully not overdone it yet.
I don't know what happens with the gallbladder if you do eat a lot of fat... the Drs don't seem to give out any nutrition advice, and online you get oodles of conflicting info... I just don't ant to get kidney stones or something - especially after nearly dying last time!
I will make sure i don't eat around the time I take my thyroxine - then hopefully uptake won't be affected..
Great to have this forum as source of experience/info, thanks guys!!
 
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