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Hello, From London Type 2

Sonia_Sweet

Member
Hi Sonia from London Type 2, along with alot of other health complications, so feeling really down and very fed up with Doctors feel as though im being treated as a ginny pig for all types of different trials and errors, but they forget im human being who is the one suffering.
 
Hello there, Sonia_Jee, welcome, and it's true the NHS can seem like a factory conveyor belt with the GP spending more time staring at the computer screen than seeing a person in the chair (or that's what I felt sometimes). Here you're definitely an individual and you'll find lots of help if you really want to change your life around.
I'll tag @daisy1 to give you a lot of info and when you're ready ask questions. It will also be useful to know about your other health issues since there's nearly always someone with similar experiences. Make yourself at home!
 
@Sonia_Jee

Hello Sonia and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful and interesting. You did a good thing joining the forum as you will meet many people here, with similar problems to you. Ask any questions 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

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.
 
Thank you so much for the warm welcome and very informative information that made sense, i do have Diabetic Complications, whereby it has effected my whole nervous system, and am losing sensations in my feet, i just feel that i was not taken very seriously and my complications just kept getting worse over time, that my physical condition is off an 80year old, which is very sad. Im very Grateful for this Website, still trying to understand it, but kind helpful people like yourself to take the time and explain is so very nice of you God Bless You, Thank you very much.
 
Hello there, Sonia_Jee, welcome, and it's true the NHS can seem like a factory conveyor belt with the GP spending more time staring at the computer screen than seeing a person in the chair (or that's what I felt sometimes). Here you're definitely an individual and you'll find lots of help if you really want to change your life around.
I'll tag @daisy1 to give you a lot of info and when you're ready ask questions. It will also be useful to know about your other health issues since there's nearly always someone with similar experiences. Make yourself at home!
Thank you, im very grateful for this website, still trying to figure it out,lolzs but will get there eventually, i just feel, the Doctors didnt take me seriously enough and now have left me with severe Neirological problems, and loss of sensations in my feet, my nervous system is totally messed up i have severe tremors throughout my entire body, i feel like an 80year old lady ( no offence to anyone) and they say deal with it,,,,,,,thats not right or fair, who is going to help me now, when they did the damage in the first place???
 
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