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Greetings All

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GlazedDoughnuts

Well-Known Member
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196
Greetings all,

I've used this website for research and it appears to be a beacon of knowledge, I thought I'd pop by and say Hi! And share my experience and if I may, ask for some advice.

I am 24 years of age, my BMI has been just over 25 the last few years which qualifies me as being 'overweight'. I haven't been too kind to my body over the years, I hardly done any exercise, I drank more than I should on many occasions and also smoked things I shouldn't have for years.

I started noticing in the last few months after a heavy carb meal I'd feel rather agitated and tired, I thought nothing of it. I decided to stop smoking completely two months ago, join my friend in weight lifting and took a U turn in terms of exercise, lifestyle & diet.

My diet consisted of mainly lean protein, complex carbs (rolled oats, brown bread), healthy fats (no t-fats) and minimal amounts of sugars/refined carbs.

A month into weight lifting all was going well until I started to notice I'm waking up every night to pee at 3-4am, I thought this was due to an increase in protein intake. I started eating my last meal & drink earlier in the night thinking perhaps it was just my bladder needing to empty it self, this didn't help. I then noticed my gains were decreasing and the same with my strength it was pretty much staying the same. Despite increasing my calorific intake compared to my body weight I was struggling to budge over 12 stones (I'm 5'8") however previously I was 12 stone 7 (I lost the weight through a ketogenic diet around 6-7 months ago)

I also noticed when I wake up in the mornings I felt very rough as if I was hung over or if I'd been smoking the night before.

I was getting rather exhausted at the gym, sweating heavily and feeling like I had no energy to carry on. I had my protein shake (30g protein, 7g sugars, 50g rolled oats) went home and felt a bit rubbish. My partner decided to check my blood sugar levels (bearing in mind 2 hours had elapsed since I had the protein shake) my glucose levels were at 12.x and we found keytones in my pee. (We had ketosticks due to the previous ketogenic diet that we were on).

My partner was concerned so we kept an eye on my blood sugar levels and done some research on the internet. The next morning I woke with a blood sugar level of 10, a good 9 hours had passed since I last ate food. I had my morning protein shake which was exactly the same as the one I had the night before. Within an hour my blood sugar level was at 16.1, two hours later it was at 14.x. During this day, there were just trace levels of keytones in my pee.

I showed my GP the glucometer results, he sent me away for a blood test and the results are as follows:
Blood Glucose level: 9.3 mmol/L
HbA1c level (DTTC aligned: HI 7.0% (4.2-6.2) - I assume the numbers in the bracket is the normal range?
R hBA1c new units: 53 (20-42)

I saw my doctor, she said the results are a bit high for someone of my age and they shouldn't be, she precribed me with some Metformin (500mg for 2 weeks, 1000mg thereafter). She didn't tell me if I had T1 or T2 diabetes, in fact I recall her saying I have diet controlled diabetes, but I thought diet control meant exactly that, i.e. no medication involved :?:

I started on the Metformin yesterday, I woke with blood sugar levels of 9.5 mmol (my last meal was 9 hours ago), I then had breakfast (A chicken and sweetcorn sandwich on brown bread with an bottle of Oasis) the drink was probably not the best option. My blood sugar levels increased to approx 10 then tailed off down to 6mmol! This is the first time I've seen my BG at a 'normal' range. I felt a lot better, like I had energy, I also felt hungry (which I hadn't been feeling for a bit now) it put me in a much better mood. As I was planning on returning to the gym I was eating every 3-4 hours so my blood sugars stayed at 8.5 throughout the rest of the day.

Gym session: I ended up lifting more than I had previously, I wasn't out of breath instantly and had a lot more energy. I drank my protein shake and checked my blood sugar levels 30 minutes after (usually I just shoot upto 16 or something post meal) this time round I sat at 8.5mmol.

On my way home I bought a new glucometer, the Accu-Check Compact Plus (I like the light up display, I currently have borrowed the Aviva off my partner.) I noticed the Aviva consistantly reads 1.0-1.2 lower than the compact plus.

Before going to bed my blood sugar levels were 5.3 according to both meters (yes for once they gave the same result!). I woke up at 4am to pee again. Went back to sleep, woke up at 9 feeling a bit groggy, a little hung over. Blood sugar level was at 9.5 according to the Compact Plus (I didn't bother checking the Aviva).

I ate breakfast, I was planning to have a protein shake with rolled oats but read if taken in conjunction with the Metformin it may upset my stomach, I had no brown bread so ate some cashew nuts for breakfast along with the Metformin and had the Protein shake 45 minutes later. My BG is at 8.2 now.
 
Hi GlazedDoughnuts and welcome to the forum :)
This is the information that we give to new members and I think you might find this useful. Ask all the questions you like and someone will have an answer.

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 30,000 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 ... rains.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

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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
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Hi GlazedDoughnuts (I wish !!) You're protein shake probably has a lot of sugar in it, check the label. I have a skinny shake which I have sometimes after exercise which has sucralose instead of sugar, does the trick. I often have full fat yoghurt and berries for breakfast, I find it really filling and satisfying.

Weight training is great to help sugar absorbtion, but do you get time for aerobic exercise as well? It will defnitely help.

Good luck
 
Same here I have Greek yoghurt and some almonds for breakfast 7.00am, pepperami or some macadamion nuts around 10ish, then a ham and chicken salad for lunch, one day I will just have a protein shake and two baby bells, 4 nights a week I go Gym for two hours drink plenty of water then come home and have dinner, steak, pork, Chicken, Ham and mushroom omelette or something from the low carb section on here, always high in protein, and have a pudding high in fat. Low carb cheese cake, raspberry tart, berries and cream, almond flour pancake or waffles with 1 cube of 80% Choc and cream. But always chuck the double cream on everything. Then for supper I will have some cheese, or salami sausage if I am still hungry.
 
RoyG said:
Same here I have Greek yoghurt and some almonds for breakfast 7.00am, pepperami or some macadamion nuts around 10ish, then a ham and chicken salad for lunch, one day I will just have a protein shake and two baby bells, 4 nights a week I go Gym for two hours drink plenty of water then come home and have dinner, steak, pork, Chicken, Ham and mushroom omelette or something from the low carb section on here, always high in protein, and have a pudding high in fat. Low carb cheese cake, raspberry tart, berries and cream, almond flour pancake or waffles with 1 cube of 80% Choc and cream. But always chuck the double cream on everything. Then for supper I will have some cheese, or salami sausage if I am still hungry.
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Thank you everyone, good advice that I will be taking on board.

RoyG do you go into Ketosis? I'm eating carbs at the moment to avoid going into Ketosis. I'm limiting my carb intake to mainly complex carbs such as rolled oats, wholemeal bread & brown rice. I guess up until recently I have consumed a fair bit of refined carbs so will definitely kick that out of my diet.
 
GlazedDoughnuts said:
RoyG do you go into Ketosis? I'm eating carbs at the moment to avoid going into Ketosis. I'm limiting my carb intake to mainly complex carbs such as rolled oats, wholemeal bread & brown rice. I guess up until recently I have consumed a fair bit of refined carbs so will definitely kick that out of my diet.
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If you are eating more than a mouthfull of any of those things, there is almost zero chance that you are anywhere near ketosis.
 
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