Four Months Down The Line

Hi Rob, lovely to speak with you, it's amazing what you can find out when you finally get the chance to discover things isn't it? I didn't know how much Carbs affected my diabetes until I reached the age of 17 and now in 24 and had diabetes since the age of 4! Constantly made me thing it was just the sugar so I avoided everything with sugar in... to realise I've been wrong and sharing this with your friends and family is so helpful thanks for your story wish you all the best for the future and here if you would like a chat

Hi @rhalluk
No need to apologise for the Star Wars. Welcome

rhalluk said:

Definitely Microsoft

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Welcome. I gave you a "winner" and congratulate you for doing so well, but I have to point out that using Linux decreases the risk of long term diabetic complications due to better stress management.
Sorry, couldn't help it
Seriously, well done for being proactive, and for spreading the word to your dad and your ex MIL. I hope they listen. My BGs are doing well on a very Low Carb diet too, but weight loss has stalled miserably for a couple of months now. I suspect I'm eating way too few calories, and invested in a Keto app last night. I've never been good at following meal plans, but will try to pull myself together now.

rhalluk said:

Hi,

My name is Rob and I am 46 years old. This is my first post so I thought I would tell my story so far.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes on 4th September 2018. I requested the blood test myself as I had a suspicion. My symptoms had been a little confusing as I work Night Shifts so the tiredness was constant anyway. The weight loss I put down to my job changing and me going from 12000 steps per night to 17000 steps per night. The thirst I actually put down to more activity.
Don't get me wrong, I was not in denial, I even bought a self test kit from Llloys Pharmacy which turned out ok.
I am not massively overweight, at my heaviest I was 14st 4lb (5ft 9") Now 11st 11lb, I even took the online test which calculates risk of becoming Diabetic which turned out low risk.

The reason I took action was just before I went on holiday in August, I tested myself on a glucose meter (borrowed from type 1 at work) and I was 29 mmol.
When diagnosed I had an Hba1c of 103. I told the doctor I wanted to avoid any medication and went into full research mode.
I must admit, I was the same as a lot of people pre-diagnosis and totally Carbohydrate ignorant. In fact When diagnosed, I went straight out and bought brown rice, brown pasta, tons of fruit (bananas)!

After a lot of research I adopted a low carb lifestyle and have managed quite well. My doctor referred me for a diabetes education course called x-pert which I would definitely recommend (6 weeks of 2 hrs per week) which gives the right advice (book is available on their website). Tested myself 4 x daily on blood glucose machine to see what affected my blood

To bring the story up to date, I had my blood re-tested in December and I have managed to get my Hba1c down to 40. Have educated my Dad and ex-mother in law (Both Type 2) in Carb awareness and continue my journey.

A bit more about myself:
1 Child
No Pets
Separated
Star Wars (Sorry)
Music Taste is varied but not pop
Mexico (Furthest Travelled) Pacific Coast
Live in Chester-Le-Street
Never used Fake Tan
Not Religious
Definitely Microsoft

Rob

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Hey Rob, and welcome,

Sounds like you're well on your way. Congrats on the 40! No prob on the Star Wars, even if I am a Trekkie. Could we agree on Firefly?

Jo

rhalluk said:

Jo

You have got me with Firefly. I Googled it and all it came up with was educational software. My Little Boy is ttrokstars.com!

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Haha, well, I meant the Joss Whedon TV show about space cowboys, ( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303461/ ) but hey... My husband loves online education and I just got him another course for his birthday, so happy accidents eh.

Welcome to the forum rhalluk and well done on your results. As you’re new here I’ll tag in @daisy1 for her useful info post. You have done your own research and have found a winning formula for yourself, but there may be info you’re not aware of, so worth a read I think.

Star Trek too for me , not a fan of star wars, hubby is though he loves both.
Well done on getting your numbers down . I go for my test end of this month and hoping for better numbers , so here's to the future

@rhalluk
Hello Rob and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and useful.

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.