Hello Everyone....

[kjt57]

Hello all, my name is Keith and I was diagnosed type 2 two weeks ago. Prior to this I had three fasting tests at the doctors, all high so knew what the news was going to be.
After the high readings I decided to start taking action before being told to. I cut out all the "bordem" food I was eating at work, cut out sugar in tea and coffee, and started eating regular, smaller meals.
I got a free Bayer breeze 2 meter and got strips and lancets from Ebay. All the readings I was getting in the begining, before meals and two hours after were between 7.8 and 9. Since making the changes they are around 6.2. I started taking more excercise, last week I cycled 6 miles two days and walked to town ( 3 miles) on another day. So far in three weeks I have lost 18lbs..
I was feeling very pleased, went for my first apointment with the Diabetic nurse, gave her a list of the readings and was told" they dont mean a thing, you dont need to test your BG blevels." I was given basic advice and told to come back in August for a diabetic work up I was offered a day course on Living with Dibetes which I accepted.
I am going to continue with the excercise and diet and ignore her advise about testing and see what happens in August. Tested this morning before breakfast and reading was 6.2 after 6.3...
Thanks to all the members for all the great advise on the forum

 

[daisy1]

Hi Keith and welcome to the forum You are doing the right thing continuing to test. You can then work out what particular foods do to you so you know whether you can eat them,or should reduce the portions, or cut the foods out. It's good that you have got yourself some testing equipment. You may know this but it's not only sugar you have to cut out of your diet, but you need to reduce other carbohydrates as well. Here is some information from the former Monitors to help you in managing your diabetes. Ask as many questions as you like as there will always be someone who can help.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. 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.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

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.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

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 effect 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!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.

 

[roxy44]

well Keith,

i too am new..4 weeks now...and i dont know what i would have done without the help and support of this forum...they are marvalous and have helped me no end...i too had to buy my neter and strips of ebay,

well done on the weight loss