Hello and a couple of questions...

Caterham · Mar 8, 2012

Hi All.

I just wanted to say 'hello', and as a newbie ask a couple of questions.

A bit of background first. I am 51, and I have to say I have led a pretty 'fun' life to date. Lots of friends, nights out etc. Over the years I have let my weight get too out of control, and that I am sure is the reason I am where I am. In November I had reached 18'5, which at 5'7 was a bit ridiculous and I started dieting. In January I started getting up a couple of times in the night to wee, and started feeling very thirsty. After 10 days of this I went to the doctor, who did a sugar test and then a fasting test which was 16.3 (B Hell!). He put me on Metformin 2x 500mg per day, and I have another test next week. After than I intend to get a meter and start checking myself. The good news is that after 2 weeks of Metformin my thirst and night wees have gone, so it looks like they are having an effect. My diet has been ok so far, I have now lost 37lb since November, and weigh 15'10. My target is 13'.

I have completely changed my diet over the last 3 months. Before the test I was going for low calories. Now I am doing the same, but trying to keep carbs in the range of 130-150 per day.

Like some others on here I went through a bit of a dark time, but strangely, knowing others had had the same emotions helped, so thanks for all your honest posts. You seem a great lot!

Anyway, onto the questions.

I have been trying to work out how long I have been diabetic. I had a test in 2010 which was negative. However, was a false negative at that time possible? Can tests swing from positive to negative as the diabetes is developing? I am obviously hoping that it was correct and that I have been diabetic a maximum of 2 years, so that I have started treatment soon after onset. I went to the doctor pretty much as soon as I started feeling thirsty.

Carbs. As I said I am maintaining 130-150g a day. I know some people eat less than this, but nobody seems to take thier weight into account. In my view, an average carb limit should be per stone or kg. What do people think of this.

Excercise. I do go to the gym 2-3 times a week, as well as walking every day at least 2 miles. I have seem some posts that gym can increase your blood sugars. Do other type 2's still go to the gym?

Breakfast. I am alternating a boiled egg for breakfast with kellogs fruit and fibre, which I like, but which seems like all cereals high in carbs. Can anyone suggest an alternate low carb breakfast?

That's all, and thanks for wading through this if you have, and many thanks for a great forum.

Caterham

lesley1960 · Mar 8, 2012

I'm afraid I dont have the answers , but am replying because you have asked the same questions we would like to know . My husband has been type 2 for a few years but his doctor has ordered him to lose weight fast as hes on the verge of going to injections , so I have found this site and the advice re lo carbs makes much more sense then the advice he has been following !

he too has found his BG rise after her has been to the gym , is this something to worry about ?

He would also like to know what to have for breakfast as he cannot eat eggs .

The doctor told him he has to loose 4 stone in 4 months and his diet advice was to not eat ! ( which im afraid he did more or less do for the first 5 days )

daisy1 · Mar 8, 2012

Hi Caterham and Lesley and welcome to you both I think you will find that this basic information, written for new members, will be helpful. Carry on asking questions though as there is usually someone who has the information or experience to answer you.

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 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.

skhwoody · Mar 8, 2012

weetabix or porridge are generally the lowest cereals and i have those, as they both have a slow eneergy release as well.

xyzzy · Mar 8, 2012

Caterham said:
Hi All.
Carbs. As I said I am maintaining 130-150g a day. I know some people eat less than this, but nobody seems to take thier weight into account. In my view, an average carb limit should be per stone or kg. What do people think of this.

Excercise. I do go to the gym 2-3 times a week, as well as walking every day at least 2 miles. I have seem some posts that gym can increase your blood sugars. Do other type 2's still go to the gym?

Breakfast. I am alternating a boiled egg for breakfast with kellogs fruit and fibre, which I like, but which seems like all cereals high in carbs. Can anyone suggest an alternate low carb breakfast?
Caterham

Hi Caterham and Lesley, welcome to the forum.

Caterham sounds like you're doing really well. :thumbup:

130-150g is a good place to start. Once you start testing you will easily be able to see if you need to move that up or down a bit and it will give you a better indication of what foods are safe for you. You should try and aim to be under 7 prior to eating and under 7.8 two hours after eating.

Lesley said:
he too has found his BG rise after her has been to the gym , is this something to worry about ?

I just walk miles as I hate structured exercise but that's just me. Normally exercise will reduce your sugars but occasionally if you exercise really hard and say start from a position where your sugars are in a low range anyway then you may get a liver dump where your liver does its job and stuffs glucose back into your system so temporarily you BG's can rise. I found that in this situation they fall back down pretty quickly.

I read somewhere on the forum you shouldn't do strenuous exercise if your BG's are really high (in the teens) but can't remember why or even if I've remembered that correctly. I'm sure someone will tell us both...

People's tolerance to cereals varies considerably so another good reason to test and find out. Try your boiled egg followed by some yoghurt and berries. I do a mix of 25g plain or Greek yoghurt with 25g strawberry yoghurt and 30g of defrosted frozen berries or various kinds. At those same kind of levels plus your egg and assuming you don't have soldiers then depending on the kind of berries you would end up with a breakfast of between 5 and 10g. Add around another 11 to 15g if you did soldiers out of a slice of Burgen Soya or Wholemeal bread.

Take care

Daibell · Mar 8, 2012

Hi. It's not always easy to tell how long you have had db at the time of diagnosis. Although my symptoms and weight loss came on very quickly just before diagnosis I believe I was having sugar problems for up to 2 years based on getting up during the night. So, I believe you can have swings which confuse diagnosis positively or negatively. Ref breakfast we have home-made muesli with no added sugar. Oats are quite high in carbs so we have small portions but at least we avoid the added sugar in branded cereals. I also have egg and bacon some mornings. BTW, watch out for the added sugar in fruit yogurts. I only know of one remainng brand of fruit yogurts that has no added sugar i.e. Irish Yogurts Diet.

Hello and a couple of questions...

Caterham

Well-Known Member

lesley1960

Member

daisy1

Legend

skhwoody

Active Member

xyzzy

Well-Known Member

Daibell

Master

Hello and a couple of questions...

Caterham

Well-Known Member

lesley1960

Member

daisy1

Legend

skhwoody

Active Member

xyzzy

Well-Known Member

Daibell

Master

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