Hello

Ken A A

Member
Messages
14
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I am Ken, I live in Horsforth Leeds with my wife, two kids, three dogs and a cat. Following some problems a visit or two to the doc confirmed that I have type 2 diabetes. I was 19st three years ago and am now 16.5st and falling. Improvement through diet alone did not work so I take 2x50mg of metformin on a daily basis. I am getting back to being more active following a shoulder operation so will be getting out more on my Triumph Bonneville America, going fishing and generally enjoying life again. I decided a couple of weeks ago to go on a low carb ketosis diet and have lost 7lb so far. I have had virtually no carbs and no sugar at all yet when I replaced the batteries in my blood glucose reader (admittedly shortly after a meal) my level was 13.4! It is the first reading I have taken for some time but was hoping it would be less. Anyway, it's good to be here and I hope to learn how to better handle this condition.
 

Jaylee

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
18,213
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi @Ken A A ,

Welcome to the forum!

It's great you have & are using a meter.

More members will be along shortly to say hello.

For now, I'll tag in @daisy1 with a diabetes info sheet. :)
 
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Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome to the forum,

Well done on getting your life back together, and for deciding to follow a low carb diet. As for the silly high reading on your meter, it could have been for any reason - corrupted strip, dirty finger, human error, or what you ate for that meal. I hope it was a dodgy strip. :)

I suggest you start a structured regime of testing alongside a food diary. Test before you eat and 2 hours after first bite. Look at the rise from before to after. More than 2mmol/l (preferably less) there were too many carbs on your plate. Recording levels in the food diary along side the food will help you recognise the foods that raise your levels as patterns will emerge. It is not wise to stop testing or to only test occasionally and randomly. This leads to the slippery slope or complacency.
 
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Ken A A

Member
Messages
14
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I guess that I have made the mistake of failing to keep good records. I am still in a wee bit of denial and am beginning to understand that I am going to have to be more serious about monitoring my levels. I appreciate any advice. Is there a preprinted diary/chart available anywhere?
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
I guess that I have made the mistake of failing to keep good records. I am still in a wee bit of denial and am beginning to understand that I am going to have to be more serious about monitoring my levels. I appreciate any advice. Is there a preprinted diary/chart available anywhere?

Keeping good records and organised structured testing is essential to get on top of this disease.
I use an Excel spreadsheet for all my records. It is 4 years old now and still helping me.
 

Liam1955

Master
Messages
10,964
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Anti-Gay People, Self Centre People, Two Faced People and Bad Language.

PenguinMum

Expert
Messages
6,782
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I guess that I have made the mistake of failing to keep good records. I am still in a wee bit of denial and am beginning to understand that I am going to have to be more serious about monitoring my levels. I appreciate any advice. Is there a preprinted diary/chart available anywhere?
If you are not big on IT like me and want to use pen and paper I suggest you buy a desk diary with a week to a view. Because we are now in March if you’re quick you can get one cheap. I got mine at The Works for £2 and you can record times, food, readings and anything useful. good luck.
 
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daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Ken A A

Hello Ken and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.



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 235,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 

LouWilk059

Well-Known Member
Messages
376
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
dishonesty, people who throw garbage out on to the streets,
Welcome to the forum. Lots of good people and good advice here.
 
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