Feeling poorly

Sorry to hear you’re not feeling good @Luvly

It’s far more likely to be the porridge oats that have spiked your blood glucose. Have you tested before and after eating it when you haven’t had sweetener?

Having high blood sugars can make you feel terrible, but I’d always check the kind of symptoms you describe with a doctor.

Luvly said:

Hi again.
For lunch I had rolled porridge oats with candrel sweetener As apparently that's ok for diabetics.
My blood sugar has swot up to 15.0
Feeling so tired, pain in the top of my head, pain in the front of my throat and and a heart burning feeling.
I need sleep. Could it be the sweetener? as I don't usually have sweetner

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No, my educated guess is that it's the porridge oats! They act like kryptonite for the vast majority of us (carbs are high). Of course what you wish to eat is up to you as an individual and some people with diabetes DO eat porridge. Put it this way, porridge (along with bread/pasta/rice etc) requires an injection of insulin prior to eating MORE so than a chocolate eclair or even a doughnut!

What are you generally eating? Using just metformin you’ll need to make changes to what you eat, which usually means restricting carbohydrates. Have you been given any guidance about this?

The website dietdoctor.com - https://www.dietdoctor.com/ - is a very good place to start.

Luvly said:

Hi again.
For lunch I had rolled porridge oats with candrel sweetener As apparently that's ok for diabetics.
My blood sugar has swot up to 15.0
Feeling so tired, pain in the top of my head, pain in the front of my throat and and a heart burning feeling.
I need sleep. Could it be the sweetener? as I don't usually have sweetner

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As others have said, oats and the carbs likely the problem. Where did you get the information that it’s okay for diabetics? Diabetes covers a lot of conditions unfortunately and type 2 has a significant issue with carbs, so the advice for what a diabetic can eat can be wrong in that respect. Then there is advice direct from the NHS regarding healthy carbs, but the thing is all carbs are a problem regardless. I used to think it was sugar that was the problem, but unfortunately it is any carbs at all. So many fruit, oats, cereal, bread, pasta, rice etc.. all as bad or in some cases worse than just eating a bar of chocolate. May involve totally relearning what you can eat

Your DN is (putting it mildly) a blithering idiot @Luvly

Do NOT listen to her.

Luvly said:

my DN told me to eat porridge, special K ( special K, which I found has 17% sugar. She also said it's ok to have rice and pasta, but just a small amount. And fruit.
Yes, I need to re-learn and change my eating habits/choices.
At the moment it seems like pretty much everything is a no, no. This is really becoming frustrating and stressing.

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We have all been were you are now - I remember wondering what on earth I was going to eat on being diagnosed and yes my DN gave me the same advice you were given - it will get easier, honest

Not sure if you have this already or not but this may be of some help to you -

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/

Keep asking the questions - we all have to learn and when it is for our health it is very important

Take care

Learn to read the back of packs, the nutritional information.
Focus on the carbs, strictly the carbs.
I say this bluntly, ignore all medical advice you've been given that carbs are essential.

Then, once you have this knowledge look at the packs of Porridge & Special K, I'm pretty sure you'll find that they are 70g of carbs per 100g.
So 70% of the food that you've eaten is the one thing your body is intolerant to.

Research the low carb forums on here, a huge wealth of knowledge.
Science will catch up, it just must fight against decades of processed food lobbytst, big pharma & un-enlightened health professionals.

Catch you up in a months time when you're on the right road.
Good luck

Hello and welcome,

Yes many of us have been where you are. So many. Unfortunately the advice from many in the medical profession is bad. I was going to say something else but it would not be in the guidelines of acceptable language. You see the advice you got was the same that I received. If I followed their advice they would have seen what they expected which was a progressive disease. Instead I found this site (and I am grateful every single day that I did). I immediately cut my carbs and started regularly testing my levels. On my first review date my HbA1c was in the midway of normal again to the chagrin of my doctor. My doctor is still not on board with low carb despite the fact that my levels continue to be in the normal range and I've lost 30 kg. My overall cholesterol has gone up- but that's for another thread- but don't worry about it.

So yes it took me over 2 weeks before I didn't cry every single day because I love carbs. I just accept that my body is intolerant to them. The way to dealing with any allergy is not just to keep eating the stuff and medicating to keep you alive. The other thing very low carb has done for me is eliminate my asthma- life long and last year the fires here in Australia would have seen me hospitalised before low carb so all my life my body has been trying to let me know that low carb is what I need.

I saw on another thread- trust advice from fellow diabetics. I agree- but more trust your meter. It can't lie to you. My meter has shown me and my very sceptical husband that very low carb is the way to go.

Good luck and welcome.

Don't worry too much- 15 is a bad reading, but not unusual or surprising after oatmeal, so you can avoid this sort of thing in the future if you stay off the carbs. Your DN is an idiot, but don't take our word for it: trust your blood readings. Special K indeed!

@Luvly can't endorse @VashtiB post enough

I went almost 8 weeks following the govt/docs stupid guidelines...got sicker and starving
Losing the will to live, if living was years of this.

Now eat well, satiated every meal. Most happy.

Back them, I Found the forum, dipped a toe into LCHF
by 3 months I had improved dramatically.
By 6 months more I was non diabetic, technically .

The point so many are making, is that those we trust most, aren't bad. They just don't have the time to be aware of every single disease or illness that may affect the next patient walking in for their 10 minute session.

That job is sadly ours.

And this site is your open university

Fellow sufferers won't tell you what big pharma WANT you to hear, because they don't get a kick back, they tell you, as a fellow type 2 diabetic, what worked for them.

Does it work the same for everyone..no.

hence YOU need to read, question and pay attention.

But for the majority, LCHF is our way back
Various routes meat, veggie, vegan.

But I said this to myself back then.
No matter what I do, if I reduce my carbs in some way, I improve my health


And I did, I just then went on to dip more of my toe, in the water.. Which got me back to a much better state of health

And like @Vashti my asthma, after 40+ years of hassle, has almost Disappeared.

Follow those who tread your path, not those who advise from the sidelines, has been my experience

Luvly said:

My DN gave me a few sheets of basic information. I'm 56 and totally clueless on carbs. I really don't know whether I'm coming or going. 2 weeks into being diabetics and I've sobbed a few times out of frustration from not really knowing what I can and cannot eat.
I have phobias around certain food which got a lot worse from 2 years ago. I scrutinise what ever food I'm eating in fear that I might see something moving ( a reason behind the phobia). So now it feels like there is nothing I can have.
Because of the anxiety and fear, I ended up eating junk food like chocolate. But now for two weeks I've not touched any junk food whatsoever. Sorry for the long thread. I don't think I can cope with all this.

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Hi again @Luvly

Sorry, it was getting a bit late for me last night. As others have said above, try not to worry. We’ve all been in the same place and the fact you keep coming back and asking questions shows you’re really working at this and are ready to make some changes. Please keep doing that.

I’m just a year younger than you and also had a lot of weight to lose when I was diagnosed a bit over 4 years ago, so do appreciate how challenging it can feel.

The dietdoctor.com website I linked to above (and again here) https://www.dietdoctor.com/ really is a great resource. Keeping things simple if you avoid, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and just plain sugar and replace with fresh, natural foods - meat, fish, eggs, dairy, above ground vegetables then you’ll reduce your blood sugars very quickly - that’s the most important goal and you may well find that as that happens, weight will follow, and with far less hunger than on traditional ‘diets’.

The key is to remember that you need to find foods that satisfy and work for you and that you’ll be happy to eat in the long term. Easy to say, harder to do, but it does get easier the longer you do it.

You mention that you have some food phobias, so maybe it’d help if you give us an idea of the types of thing you do like eating and we can help you with some low carb ideas?

Luvly said:

my DN told me to eat porridge, special K ( special K, which I found has 17% sugar. She also said it's ok to have rice and pasta, but just a small amount. And fruit.
Yes, I need to re-learn and change my eating habits/choices.
At the moment it seems like pretty much everything is a no, no. This is really becoming frustrating and stressing.

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Hi Luvly, it can certainly be overwhelming when you are having to change your mindset (and diet) drastically. Most people have spent years eating a certain way so it's hard to suddenly have to change habits overnight. I wonder if you would benefit from picking out 3 meals (if you are used to breakfast/lunch/dinner) in advance and making them low/lower carb, for example, bacon & eggs for brekkie or a (low carb) yogurt & berries, then say a low carb lunch and dinner. It doesn't matter whether you have the same 3 meals every day, you can always mix it up later. This way you wouldn't have to worry too much about what can I have every day. If you check your glucose levels as well you will see what these meals do to your levels. After a few weeks you will then most likely have a better understanding of things and you will see the benefits of low carb with your levels. For some people, once they don't have to worry about planning an array of different meals they can feel less stressed to begin with. x

@Luvly , Hello. I hope you will follow the advice of the previous posters and have a good read of the information available. I was given the same advice as you but fortunately found this website very soon after diagnosis. If you post your meals for the day I’m sure you will be helped to find the high carbohydrate ingredients which would cause your blood sugar to rise. Do you have a blood sugar monitor to test your blood. This really valuable in helping you find what you can eat and what causes a rise. Good luck with controlling your blood sugars . With determination you will soon be feeling better.

Luvly said:

my DN told me to eat porridge, special K ( special K, which I found has 17% sugar. She also said it's ok to have rice and pasta, but just a small amount. And fruit.
Yes, I need to re-learn and change my eating habits/choices.
At the moment it seems like pretty much everything is a no, no. This is really becoming frustrating and stressing.

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As others have said - your DN is not to be listened to.

There are absolutely loads of foods you can eat as a t2 diabetic. It's just that alot of the food that is fine is stuff that for years and years we've been told are bad for us. It takes a bit of getting used to but there are alot of people on here who successfully manage their diabetes with a LCHF diet.

You'll get there. Take care