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Hello from a newbie

M

minimam

Member
Messages
21
Location
Sunderland
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi I'm Sheila and thought it was about time I introduced myself. Was diagnosed T2 in February (following a rather rude telephone call from the practice nurse but enough of HER).
I found this site after many hours on internet trying to find out as much as I possible could about diabetes following the said telephone call.

First of all, what a lovely bunch of people you all are. I have spent everyday on here since reading all the post and gaining so much knowledge.

Was given the usual information/booklets from nurse and was told to go on Diabetes UK website where I would find "ALL THE INFORMATION I WOULD NEED" hahahaha.
Well, I found YOU instead.

Hope you don't mind me babbling on - cut a long story short I'm T2 no medication and striving to keep it that way for the foreseeable future. (My twin brother is T2 insulin dependant) I started my new way of living the day after my "nice" phone call.. I'm 53 and overweight, although I'm now 18lb lighter following the diet and exercise advice found on here. THANK YOU VERY MUCH 18lb yeah. Cut out potato, rice, pasta etc and 6 weeks ago joined a running club (couldn't run for a bus then) Well, on Friday I ran 5.6km in 42 minutes. I know it's not fast but I DID IT I was so pleased with myself. I've got the running bug and so much really useful information from you all.

Really looking forward to my follow up appointment with HER next month.

Thanks for reading.
Sheila
 
We'll done on the running and weight loss, it sounds like you've made a great start. I'm a newly diagnosed T1 so I'm a bit different but I'm just like you in that I'm still trying to figure all this out and understand my body again.

Hope the appointment goes well :)

Sophie
 
Welcome to the forum Sheila and I'm glad you found us ! If you have any questions, please ask ! Take care, Mo :-)
 
Excellent time on the running and welcome.
 
And a warm welcome from me, too, Sheila. So glad you've posted and let us know you're here.
 
Hello Sheila, and may I just say, RESPECT! You really seem to have hit the ground running, so to speak. I expect your brother's experiences gave you a much better idea of what was going on than some of us other newbies.
 
Omg that's fab well done. You are brave joining a running club. I bet you feel so much better and look great, kick the DN in the rump whe next you see her and tell her how you did it, watch her face drop when you mention low carb. Hopefully your HbA1c will be great next time.
 
U ARE WELCOM
Really looking forward to my follow up appointment with HER next month.

Thanks for reading.
Sheila[/QUOTE]
 
Welcome Sheila and very well done so far!
 
Welcome minimam to the best forum you will ever belong to! :)
 
Hi Sheila and welcome to the forum:)

I see you have been reading a lot about diabetes but I wonder if you have seen this information we give to new members. I hope it will be useful to you. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will try and answer.


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 70,000 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

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 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.
 
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