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Feeling like rubbish.

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flobadob

Newbie
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3
Hi,

A bit of background about me, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in late November 2010 following two fasting blood tests (the first test read 13.5 the second test 12.8).

The diabetes nurse put me on Metformin 500g twice a day.

I now have a problem that a couple of hours after breakfast i will always feel faint, shaky and sick until i have something else to eat.

It doesn't matter if i have wholemeal toast or porridge or cereal or boiled eggs, the same thing always happens.

I told my doctor about this and she suggested drinking orange juice, this doesn't help either.

Any ideas of what else i could try? The strange thing is that before i was diagnosed, i could go all morning without eating breakfast and not feel any ill effects at all!

Also i am finding it difficult to feel full at any time during the day, even though i try to eat little and often.

Thanks for taking the time to read my e mail.
 
Hi.
Welcome to the Forum.

It would be more helpful to us if you could tell us what your BG levels were at the time that you felt this way ? Do you test pre meal, and also 2 hrs after meals ?
 
Hi,

Firstly may i say thankyou for replying, especially on a new years eve!

Unfortunately i have no way of testing myself as my diabetes nurse said that i didnt need to with type 2.

If its any help at all, before i started medication a diabetic friend tested me and i was 18.7. That was after a few beers though.
 
OK, this is my final answer on this New Years Eve........ :(

Take a read of this information that I and my pal Sue hand out to newly diagnosed Diabetic's......

As for not testing.....I won't say much other than that is total rubbish for someone who is newly diagnosed and the Nurse should know better ! :twisted: I would imagine your BG levels are high and that MAY be the cause of how you feel. Testing is the only way to prove that.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. 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.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of Insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause Insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

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 effect 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 !!

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l........(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

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.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.


Ken / Sue.
Click to expand...
 
flobadob said:
Hi,
If its any help at all, before i started medication a diabetic friend tested me and i was 18.7. That was after a few beers though.
Click to expand...

Yep you NEED a meter.

Welcome to the forum 8)
 
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