Hello from meetangel

meetangel said:

Has anyone with T2 experienced low blood sugar? I am not taking any meds for a long time now, but past couple of nights I am seeing lower numbers, not scarey low, just enough to feel ******. thanks if anyone can answer

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Yes,meetangel, i'm currently at 3.8, not feeling hypo or anything but i will get back to th mid fours for comfort,what are you reading bs's at the mo' ?

meetangel said:

Well, I have just had some non diet soda, so I have brought it back up. I was at 3.3, now up to 7.2...a good dose of sugar does it every time. Has anyone explained this to you? I am just confused because I do not take medication

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Yes , i'm familiar with hypo's and how to correct for t1 and t2's , you say your t1 without any insulin is that right?

meetangel said:

I am T2 no meds. I was on metformin for 6 months post diagnosis, and over the course of the first 6 months, the metformin was cut down until finally I was taken off if completely. Why is this happening, thanks so much for answering me btw! Appreciate it very much

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Your welcome to give an answer ..can you give a breakdown of your diet for a week, are you lchf for example?

meetangel said:

lchf< what does that mean?

I eat breakfast, some days dry cereal, 2% milk, and a 1/4 banana
Lunch I might have some macaroni/cheese, hotdog, no roll

Dinner, baked chicken, and egg noodles with tuna and mayo

I vary my diet, and keep it at 50 grams of carbs total
snack in between meals, peanut butter crackers, 3, and some diet soda

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Ok low carbohydrate high fat diet, i will tag @daisy1 for you and you will get all the info that is given to new posters...

meetangel said:

lchf< what does that mean?

I eat breakfast, some days dry cereal, 2% milk, and a 1/4 banana
Lunch I might have some macaroni/cheese, hotdog, no roll

Dinner, baked chicken, and egg noodles with tuna and mayo

I vary my diet, and keep it at 50 grams of carbs total
snack in between meals, peanut butter crackers, 3, and some diet soda

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Most diabetics find that its not just sugary stuff that spikes thier blood sugar but also protein.

@meetangel

Hello Roberta and welcome to the forum

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask as many questions as you want 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 140,000 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.

Hi roberta, did the info, please ask any q's you need to , clive