Hello from Australia

[Cat0409_]

Hi all,
I have been voraciously reading all about low caring and diabetes. I have let my control slip dangerously in the last 18 months. I have had other major health issues unrelated to my diabetes as well as stresses out of my control. I am on quite high pain relief which includes tramadol sr and targin. As well I take an anti depressant, pristine.

For my diabetes I take 60 mg gliclazide twice a day and am also supposed to take novomix twice a day as well. I haven't been taking it as you may realise. I had a major death wish which I am dealing with.

My last hba1c was 10,7.

I started low carbing 4 days ago cutting out all pre-packaged foods. I have eaten no bread pasta et in that time and am not missing it.

I am unable to take any from of Metformin I get terrible stomach cramps and diarrhoea.

For the first time in a long time I actually slept through the night without my usual trips to the toilet.

I have restarted my insulin and my blood testing today. I am also testing 1and 2 hours after eating. I was never advised of this at any time in my diabetes journey. I amazed at all the other little tricks and tips I have learnt over the last four days as well.

Anyway I live in sunny Qld in a rural area though will be moving to the burbs In the next month.

I have an appointment with my new diabetes specialist in the next fortnight so hopefully by then I will be pulling better numbers

Cheers

 

[muzza3]

Hi @Cat0409_

Welcome to the forum. I have tagged @daisy1 who will post a heap of great info for newbies. I am also from Aussie in Canberra and have found this site to be a great resource since I have been coming here at the start of the year. the two themes that very few disagree with on here are using your meter to measure the impact of food on your BG levels and low carbing.
Have a look around and ask any questions you may have as you move forward on getting your control
Cheers

 

[Brunneria]

Hi and welcome!
Looks like you have hit the ground running.

 

[daisy1]

@Cat0409_

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like 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

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.

 

[Patricia21]

Hello and welcome.

 

[Cat0409_]

Thanks all for the warm welcome. I am actually very impressed with lc'ing so far. I have not felt overly hungry and my bs have dropped considerably already today.
My biggest concerns is my considerable sweating both during the day and overnight. Some of it I realise is to do with my pain medications and my anti depressant not liking each other. Antidepressant has already been dropped in the last month which I would like to eventually drop all together but I can see it not happening in the foreseeable future.

I am lucky in that my house mate tho not diabetic has joined me on the journey as he suffers badly from reflux and ibs and is also overweight. He is finding kicking the carbs and sugar much harder than I currently am.

Ok its bedtime for me but I will continue on my journey knowing there are people around that I can get support and assistance from when I need it

Cat

 

[chris lowe]

Welcome Cat. You've found the right place to come to for help, advice & tips or even a good old natter. And if you're feeling down there's someone around to help you keep going. Good luck with the new diabetic doc. Take care

 

[Mep]

Welcome Cat I'm another aussie here

Glad to hear you're trying to get things under control again. Living with other health conditions does make things harder for sure.

I wish you the best.

 

[Cat0409_]

Thanks Mel.

So glad to see so many Aussies on here. I wish some of you were close to chat with.

I've just finished "sugar 101" and Dr Bernstein's book "Diabetes solution".

It's all been interesting reading so far... Will have to think what my next read will be now.

I am pleased in some respects though my BS readings are slowly coming down, and my weight is dropping and I'm still feeling motivated.

Cat