hello all

[spaglemon]

hi , i'm a 41 year old guy and was diagnosed type 2 about 7 weeks ago , hadn't been feeling great for a few weeks and as my dad and his dad have type 2 i popped into my local pharmacy to have a test , they told me to fast overnight and come back the next day which i did and to my horror the result was 14.9 ! immediately went to gp and after another fast got a reading of 13.7 hba1c 10% was put on metformin 500mg twice daily and followed the usual advice for about a week until i discovered the potential benefits of a low carb diet and have already shed just over 2 stone , my practice wouldn't give me a monitor as they said i'd stress myself out testing all the time ? however after radically changing my diet and exercise routine i was getting stressed not knowing what my body was doing so i got an unused meter from a friend and have checked my fasting level several times and it's never been above 5 , usually 4.6 - 4.9 so i'm thinking i'm on the right track , looking forward to my next hba1c in january when i hope to see a big improvement
i'll ask about getting test strips on prescription again then as if my hba1c has dropped by quite a bit i'd like to slowly start to introduce some more carbs as i'm currently only consuming 10 to 15 grams daily and i'd like to test loads to see which carbs spike my blood sugar level and settle into a more realistic maintenance diet i can stick to going forward
is there a level of carb intake you shouldn't drop below with regard to your liver starting to produce sugar , does the metformin stop this process ?
with regard to my next hba1c result in january is it naive of me to hope that my last high reading could have a lot to do with the fact that i was always a huge , and i mean huge consumer of carbs and chocolate and less to do with my diabetes being really severe ?

thanks

 

[daisy1]

Hi spaglemon and welcome to the forum You have done well to get yourself a testing kit - that way you can see how different foods affect your levels and work out what you can and can't eat. Here is some information that should help you out - written for new members. Ask as many questions as you like as there is always someone who can help. For the questions you asked in your post, I am sure you will get answers very soon. Your diet will no doubt have affected your HbA1c and your next one should be lower.

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.

 

[viviennem]

Hi Spaglemon, and welcome!

Have a look on the 'Low-carb Diet' bit of the forum and you'll find a sticky thread called Viv's Modified Atkins Diet.

This is the diet I use which, just as it says, is modified slightly from Robert Atkins' Induction Phase. It contains about 25g of carb per day. I have eaten at this level for 18 months without any ill effects, just a 5 stone weight loss and abundant energy! That was a few years ago. I'm back on it now but with a few more carbs (and a bit more alcohol! ) and this time I've lost just about 4 stone.

I would say that it is perfectly possible to survive without carbohydrate, as your body manufactures some glucose from protein. Others will say that you must eat carbs. In practise I would not recommend eliminating carbohyrate entirely, which would mean eliminating all fruit and vegetables. That makes it difficult to get all the vitamins and minerals you need - not to mention fibre. :wink:

In the winter I tend to go up to about 70g carb per day (well, it's been snowing since midnight, and I need fuel! :shock: ), and I shan't be too strict with myself over Christmas. :lol:

Like Daisy, I encourage you to keep testing. I don't eat to lose weight these days - I eat to keep my blood sugar stable, which for me means low carb and regular testing, and a pleasant side-effect is weight loss . I think some doctors don't realise that we Type 2s use our meters to help us work out the best diet for ourselves. We don't just take readings and then panic helplessly :crazy:

Other people can eat a lot more carb than me and still keep their BGs stable - we are all different!

As far as I am aware metformin doesn't stop your liver producing glucagon/glucose - the liver stores this for emergencies. The Metformin acts on your cells to make them less insulin resistant, so the insulin that you are producing works better. Someone who knows more will soon correct me or add more info.

You seem to have made a great start with your diabetes, and you sound very positive. Have a good look round, ask any questions you need - and do let us know how you go on - particularly your next HbA1c.

Viv 8)

Edited for spelling!

 

[Grazer]

Hiya, Metformin actually does a few things. As Viv says, it improves your insulin sensitivity, but it ALSO reduces the amount of Sugar the liver produces from any given food. It thus prevents sugar levels rising so high, but doesn't REDUCE them per se (the way Insulin or other drugs would) which is why you can't really get hypos on Metformin - just low sugar levels after lots of exercise, or lack of food, the same way a non-diabetic can get low blood sugar levels.

 

[viviennem]

Thanks, Grazer!

Viv 8)

 

[spaglemon]

thanks for the welcome and the great info , i have actually been feeling very positive about my diagnosis , perhaps i'm being naive but i feel it's been a wake up call and i hopefully the lifestyle changes i've made already will have a positive effect on my overall health
just a pity it needed this to curb my sedate overeating lifestyle



thanks

 

[viviennem]

There are quite a few of us on here who think like that, Spaglemon. In my case, Type 2 diabetes is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've spent a lot of my life stressed out about being a large fat lump (even when I wasn't :shock: ). Diabetes is going to make sure I don't spend the rest of my life thinking like that.

I now know what to eat, and how much. My blood glucose readings are here to remind me when I'm slipping off the straight and narrow.

Maybe I could make a fortune with the Blood Glucose Diet? (lose weight by controlling your blood glucose levels). I'll bet one of the meter manufacturers would pay for the publication :lol:

Viv 8)

 

[spaglemon]

There are quite a few of us on here who think like that, Spaglemon. In my case, Type 2 diabetes is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've spent a lot of my life stressed out about being a large fat lump (even when I wasn't :shock: ). Diabetes is going to make sure I don't spend the rest of my life thinking like that.

I now know what to eat, and how much. My blood glucose readings are here to remind me when I'm slipping off the straight and narrow.

Maybe I could make a fortune with the Blood Glucose Diet? (lose weight by controlling your blood glucose levels). I'll bet one of the meter manufacturers would pay for the publication :lol:

Viv 8)

you're absolutely right there , people that don't know i now have diabetes have asked me how i've lost weight and i've replied " i'm following the type 2 diabetic diet " they're quite interested when i tell them , and it could be a good diet for a non diabetic to follow too



cheers