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Anonymous

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Firstly, I'm not a diabetic....

...But my husband is and I've joined so that I can get as much help and information as I can to help him. He's Type 2, and was diagnosed about 10 days ago. Already, the doctor has started him on Metformin, one 500mg per day, increasing to two this coming Friday. When she's happy that he's ok with the Metfomin, she'll start him on Statins. The doctor has been very good so far, explaining everything carefully, checking that his other conditions will/won't be affected by the new drugs and the T2 diabetes.

We've had a first appointment at the Diabetic Clinic and already have taken agin the DN :? . She wasn't happy that my husband was only on one Metformin and wanted to increase it to two with immediate effect even though he has had nausea, dizziness etc,, and she was even more unhappy when he said No. He has a Freestyle BG monitor, which is putting his anxiety levels through the roof every time he uses it. He's full of holes because he can't seem to get any blood out....

He's managing really well cutting all of the wrong things out of his diet, but meals are becoming increasingly difficult because of his developing paranoia about his BG levels (about 9.0 first thing, 6.5 after meals) even though I am cooking wholesome meals using the recipes on this site, and I have also cut his portion sizes right down as the Metformin decreases his appetite. I guess he will be a little grumpy until he can get his head around our new lifestyle - we are all on the same diet, whether we need it or not! :wink: This sounds bad, but I'm thankful my father is also T2 diabetic as my Mum has been a fountain of knowledge so far as diet is concerned.

However, the DN just gave us loads of conflicting information which is making my head spin. She's very keen on drugs, and taking as many as possible; MH takes very strong painkillers at night (for his spinal probs) with a glass of skimmed milk to prevent the acid reflux - so she's all for stopping the milk and getting drugs for the acid reflux from the doctor. She wants to 'max him out' on Metformin and Statins, she says. I think she's on commission from the pharmaceutical companies....! She says cut out all fats and all carbs from your diet, but she's not forthcoming on the How To Do It. And, all the while she was dispensing her wisdom, she sat there eating sweeties. I'm sorry, but that's bad form.

My husband (MH) is going on an education day soon. I wanted to go with him, but the DN said no, places were limited....so I'm packing him off to forget everything they'll say to him (his memory is a little woolly at the best of times)

So, that's about us....no doubt you'll see plenty of me asking what might seem like silly questions but there are things on which I need info and other things where I have so much info my head is reeling. I need to get it all straightened out and make my husband see that life is still good. :)

Julia
 
Hi Julia and welcome to the forum :) Some members will be along soon to answer your specific questions, but I think you would be interested in this information which we give to new members. You will see that there are varying opinions on carbs, but this is what we believe here and it works well for many of us to keep our BG levels satisfactory. Ask as many questions as you need to as there is usually someone here who can help.

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.
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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.
Click to expand...
 
Welcome aboard i am Martina from British Columbia Canada, i am a type 2 diabetic since July 2005, and i am on Lantus insulin. need anything please feel free to pm me on here
 
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