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hello everyone please be gentle i'm new to all this

O

opalmoon

Newbie
Messages
2
Well greetings and salutations folks :D

I was diagnosed with type 2 two months ago, i had my first diabetic clinic 2 weeks ago. I am totally confused and all at sea with it all and i'm hoping you loverly peeps will be able to help me out and answer my questions and give me advice.

so far i have been given metformin 500mg 3 times a day. i dont have a monitor of any kind and i am waiting to go on a course for diet changes . i can still often sleep on a chickens lip. although the last week i have been less tired :)

please be gentle with me if it seems im asking silly questions, it's just all very new to me. i will thank you for your patience in advance :D
 
Hi opalmoon and welcome to the forum.

No question is silly and we all need help at the beginning of our journey. Ask away :lol:

Catherine.
 
Hi Welcome to the site :roll:
I am also new to the forum but I believe you will get a lot of support from other members.
I am on 2 500mg Metformin per day and have been fro the last 5 yrs.

My blood glucose flutuates but I try to keep it below 10.
My step son is a Staff nurse in a large hospital some of the stories I hear from him
with blood glucose really high scares me.

My biggest problem is weight and Diet.
My wife is a brilliant cook but I am afraid cooks far too much and uses non artificial products.
real butter for example.

I love her food so struggle to diet.

I am going to write my own message later asking for help.

Once again welcome to the site. :D
 
Hi copperend,
Nothing wrong with a bit of butter, it's the amount of carbs that cause the problems. I ain't exactly low carb, as some on this site seem to regard low carb, but I have cut out the huge piles of spuds, though I do still eat them, and now only have a couple of slices of Burgen bread a day. No problems giving up pasta as I don't like it anyway. :lol: Get your wife to check out some lower carb recipies, there are plenty about if you look.
 
Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics.This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

The main carbs to avoid or reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating then two hours after eating you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the affect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try !!

As a Type 2 the latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l.
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.
If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

Sue/Ken.
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