Hello - newly diagnosed Type 2 as of Dec 2010

[kareng236]

Hello all,

Diagnosed T2 in December 2010, but I have not yet attended DESMOND course.....so I am just winging things at the moment. I am obsessed with trying to control my blood sugar levels - but as everything seems to contain carbohydrates to some extent or other - it is proving difficult to find filling food. Meat seemed a good bet - but unless it is really lean - it causes problems with weight control.So far, I am paranoid about carbohydrates - not really knowing how much I can eat safely before hitting high blood glucose levels. I am on 4 x 500mg Metformin daily. This seems a high dose compared to other posts which I have read......so I 'm wondering if I am near the next step of taking insulin. I asked the Doctor if I should be testing my blood or urine so that I can assess if I am eating the correct amount of carbohydrates - but she said that the initial three monthly blood tests will reflect this. Thanks to everyone who contributes to this site - it is wonderful to have somewhere to turn with all the questions and worries that we all have.

 

[primmers]

Hi Karen and welcome to the board.

Did you get a chance to read this post yet?

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17088

A lot of us find that the standard advice from GPs etc doesn't help control our blood sugars. The blood test your GP refers to is probably a HbA1c, I found this explanation of how the test works here

http://www.leedsteachinghospitals.com/s ... /HbA1c.php

The test gives an average, but an average might be achieved by all the readings being the same or some real highs and lows balancing each other out. You need to know how individual meals impact on your blood sugar levels and you will only work this out by testing your blood sugars as described by sue. I have been doing that since I found this board and it is working, I found a bit I posted elsewhere

I started monitoring my blood sugars 11 days ago, now on day 12. I monitor on waking, pre meal, and 2 hours post meal.I write it down, plus what I eat with a estimate carb count. I also take a note of anything I do in the way of exercise, mostly walking (I also got a pedometer with a view to achieving the 10 000 steps a day commonly recommended for good health). I'm very much regarding all this as a fact finding mission and hope not to be doing all that pin sticking in a couple of months time

On the basis of what I have noticed I have changed what I eat quite a bit, both in terms of what type of food and how often (eg, a banana eaten in one go pushes my blood sugar right up but I can have half a banana with my breakfast and the other half as a mid afternoon snack without it doing any damage)

Out of interest I just had a quick shufty at my blood results whilst I've been doing this. The average waking BM for the first 6 mornings was 7.1 and three of the readings were over 7. The average for the last 6 mornings was 5.9 and none of the readings were over 7. The three highest blood sugars I recorded in the first 6 days were 10.8, 11 and 12.5. The three highest I recorded in the last five completed days were 8.2, 8.4 and 9.8 [though I must confess to having had a carby blow out a couple of days ago and being too unhappy about it to do the 2 hour one which I'm sure would have been bad.

Read, think and ask questions, you'll be fine...

 

[kareng236]

Hello Primmers,

Thank you for your reply. It was kind of you to reply and to give such good advice and suggestions.
Best wishes,
Karen