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Type 2 Finding it extremely hard

P

PrincessRahma

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi I hope this is ok. I need help. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes August 2011 and I moved out of my country to my husbands country in 2014 & 2015 and i am finding it really really difficult to know what is ok for me and what isn't. I knew what to do in the UK but here everything is different. Previously when we went back to the UK for a period of time the doctor told me that i shouldn't use my glucose testing machine so i haven't. I an concerned because i really want to be able to control it. I found it easier to control it in the UK but here it's getting me down. I already feel trapped by having diabetes please let me know if you have any advice that can help me thank you in advance
 
Hello and welcome,

You have come to the right place for advice and support.
All I would say is use your meter. UK doctors usually tell us type 2s not to test but they fail to understand how important this is for us. A meter is our most valuable tool, in fact it is our only tool if we are to learn which foods we can or cannot eat, and for those foods we can eat it tells us how much of them we can eat. Test immediately before you eat and again 2 hours after first bite, keep a food diary and record your levels alongside. You will soon see which foods are raising your levels. Try to keep any rise from before to after under 2mmol/l (preferably under 1.5mmol/l). If you go above this there is something in that meal that is causing it, and you can try again with smaller portions or eliminate that food completely. The worst culprits are rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, cereals and things made with flour.

I'll tag @daisy1 to come along as she has very good advice for newcomers. Please ask any questions you like.
 
Would agree 100% with what @Bluetit1802 say.. your meter is your very best friend. After that your diet is key. See what foods make your blood sugars go up too much and try to avoid eating them. After a month or so you will know what you can and shouldn't eat.
 
Hi and welcome!

I totally agree with @bluetit's advice, especially if you are eating foods that are different from the ones you were eating at home, in different meals and proportions.

Keep reading the forum too - there is masses of useful information on here.
 
@PrincessRahma

Hello and welcome to the forum As mentioned above, here is the information we give new members which should be useful to you. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will be able to 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 over 150,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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 bloodglucose 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.
 
As others have said, you do need meter to assess what you can and cannot eat.
Is the food available very different from the U.K? Perhaps you could tell us what changes you have had to make.
 
Hi and welcome. Yes, you must use the meter for typical meals to see how well controlled you are. In the UK GPs tell you not to test to avoid the cost of test strips to the NHS; it's got nothing to do with need.
 
@PrincessRahma depending on which country you have moved to you may actually find it easier to manage than in the UK. The actual 'normal' carbohydrates are only half the story the other half is the obsession with sugar which is not present to anywhere near the same extent in every culture. But I think if you really want 'control' then it's easier to achieve by having maximum input over your diet which means preparing as many of your own meals as you can from the raw ingredients. (and as advised above by identifying what your body tolerates and what it doesn't).
 
There is an obsession with sugar, sugar loaded products and sugary products in the US so be careful.
 

Me too. True. Sometimes I used to think of my metre being a bad thing. I suppose I was in denial and wanted to avoid it but you are right it is your best friend. True it is. I will do. I noticed before when I was testing that the culprits were potato (if fried) and milk. Thank you so much for your advice.
 
T

Thank you Brunneria. It's also a bit difficult because my father in law doesn't know that I am diabetic so everyone is hiding it from him. If I refuse things he always asks why i don't want it and I can't tell him. I don't know exactly what would happen if he knew all I know is everyone is scared to tell him. I will do thank you.
 


Hello and thank you for welcoming me to this forum. Thank you so much for this information and t has been very helpful to me. The only thing that is different is that I was always told in the beginning to test my blood an hour after food and another time from a dr while I was pregnant to test 1 hour before instead of after. I will definitely try the 2 hours after to see how it goes. Here in my husbands country there main food is rice Unfortunately. I have reduced my a,punt and if they ask I just say that I want a small belly It seems to work I don't get asked after that. I hope it was ok I copied all the information and pasted it ion to my notes so that I can go over it if I forget but also to check the links. Thank you again daisy1
 
Did you have gestational diabetes? If so, I think (@azure may be able to help here) that the timings for testing before food, while pregnant, may have been because of your insulin doses while you had gestational D.

At the moment, as a T2 not on insulin your testing times will probably be better before eating and then 2 hours later. The key thing is to be consistent so that you can compare readings and work out which foods are best and worse.

I wonder, do you think you can tell people that rice 'doesn't agree' with you? Indigestion, or something? It is almost true.
 
catherinecherub said:
As others have said, you do need meter to assess what you can and cannot eat.
Is the food available very different from the U.K? Perhaps you could tell us what changes you have had to make.
Click to expand...

Yes it is quite different. I never had rice in my diet everyday. If I did eat rice i did there would only be a teaspoon of oil not the same amount as my mother in law puts into it. They put oil into their soups too. My father in law doesn't know that I am diabetic because hubby and my mother in law tell me that he can never find out I don't know why or what would happen if he did know. And it is awkward to avoid him knowing. Here in this house they like biscuits cakes and ice creams (when it's hot for ice cream) (no I avoid those as much as possible) they don't have sweetener here either. There are some things that I have found that are useful eg low sugar/fat cereal and semi skimmed and skimmed milk. They have like a wholmeal nan but I can't get it for myself my father in law would have to get it which would bring up a lot of questions eg why do we want it Also I don't get to eat breakfast if I did it would be just a mug of tea or coffee They just make eggs or have their traditional bread or Iranian nan bread (the Iranian bread has less salt) with yoghurt I can't eat the eggs because after eating it I feel sick so I stopped eating them. I eat ocra soup with rice or beans & rice or cous cous if my mother in law makes it. I don't fry food because I know that frying it is the worst thing to do. I learnt this and a few other things when my dad was diagnosed with diabetes when he was between 50-60 yrs old I can't remember the exact age. Thank you for asking me. Sorry about the long reply Catherinecherub.
 
@PrincessRahma

Why do you avoid oils, fats, and fried stuff? Who told you this is the worst thing you can eat? Fats actually help rather than hinder diabetics. They don't increase blood sugar levels at all. Only sugars, carbs, and sometimes protein can do this. Adding fat to meals will help keep down any spikes by spreading the rise out. Many of us on this forum eat a low carb/high fat (LCHF) diet with a great deal of success.
 
Depending on which country you are in, you may be able to buy yourself the GlucoTrack. It's completely non invasive and will allow you to readily monitor yourself any number of times per day and consequently learn what amounts of food intake you can tolerate and what the effects are of exercise, stress, poor sleep etc. so as to gain far better control over your T2
 
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