hankjam
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 4,988
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
-
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Hello Dawnnie
- Thread starter hankjam
- Start Date
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@Dawnnie
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful and helps you to control your levels better. Have a look at the advice on low carb/high fat diets and the Low Carb Program. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.
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 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 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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful and helps you to control your levels better. Have a look at the advice on low carb/high fat diets and the Low Carb Program. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.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 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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
Hello Hankjam and Daisy1, I have had diabetes type2 for 6 years and have managed really good BG with diet control. Over the last couple of months I have been feeling increasingly unwell, but did not put this down to my diabetes, at first. As I was not testing my blood as My hba1c has always been really good. I have not change my diet or doing anything differently. My GP has put me on metformin, and I have started that in the last few days, this so far has not made any difference. I am feeling a little down and confused to what is going on.
hankjam
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 4,988
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi
Thanks for your reply. To experience this change after 6 years of stable Hba1c must have come as a shock. You say you've been feeling increasingly unwell. Are you and your GP sure this is BD related? Is there any other changes in your life / health that might explain it? Did your GP start you on metformin on the result of a Hba1c test? I understand it takes sometime to build up a response in the body. Do you mind if I ask how good your diet control is? Sorry for so many questions.
I should declare an interest/worry of my own. I was diagnosed 30 months ago and with diet and exercise been able to lose weight and get my BG under fairly good control. Unlike a lot of other LCHF folk round here I have to say I feel fairly knackered and hungry all the time and am beginning to question my diet...
Hi hankjam,
Other than when I was diagnosed and having in regular hba1c bloods, annual eye and foot examinations, I have not had much input from my gp. I moved to a new area and changed gp recently. So have dealt with getting my glucose levels under control via the wonderful internet and following diet plans I have found on here and nhs websites. I have not changed what I eat in anyway.
As for my health I have been suffering with fatigue, blurred vision, thrush, dry mouth, the sweats, feeling sick, unable to finish meals as lost my appetite, unable to have a good nights sleep as I need to drink water and pee 3 or 4 times a night. But due to my age I put most of these symptoms down to the start of the menopause.
My hba1c was 48, 6 months ago. This time was 12.5 last week. Sorry done in two different values as this is the change in doctors and the way I have been given the results.
I rang the surgery for an appointment as my blood pressure was high and the blurred vision was worrying me,
During the appointment the gp then told me my Hba1c results ( blood test was only taken couple of day before) he tested my urine, rang another doctor, then prescribed metformin and made an appointment with the diabetes nurse for next week.
So its still really early days and I am left feeling shocked, bewildered and upset, its all happen so quickly so I need to gather myself together, seek information get on top of this, and get better.
Kind regards Dawn
Other than when I was diagnosed and having in regular hba1c bloods, annual eye and foot examinations, I have not had much input from my gp. I moved to a new area and changed gp recently. So have dealt with getting my glucose levels under control via the wonderful internet and following diet plans I have found on here and nhs websites. I have not changed what I eat in anyway.
As for my health I have been suffering with fatigue, blurred vision, thrush, dry mouth, the sweats, feeling sick, unable to finish meals as lost my appetite, unable to have a good nights sleep as I need to drink water and pee 3 or 4 times a night. But due to my age I put most of these symptoms down to the start of the menopause.
My hba1c was 48, 6 months ago. This time was 12.5 last week. Sorry done in two different values as this is the change in doctors and the way I have been given the results.
I rang the surgery for an appointment as my blood pressure was high and the blurred vision was worrying me,
During the appointment the gp then told me my Hba1c results ( blood test was only taken couple of day before) he tested my urine, rang another doctor, then prescribed metformin and made an appointment with the diabetes nurse for next week.
So its still really early days and I am left feeling shocked, bewildered and upset, its all happen so quickly so I need to gather myself together, seek information get on top of this, and get better.
Kind regards Dawn
