Hello

Floralinda

Member
Messages
5
Dislikes
Having to try to not eat chocolate and sweats and gooey puddings
:wave:Thought it would be lovely to join this club as could do with some advice and ideas from the people who know and understand what diabetes is like to live with 24-7. Been type 1 for 5 years and even with an expert meter, which is really helpful with working out carb ratio's for me (I find all the stuff written on working out ratio's are like science equations!!), I can still not get my HBA1c down to where it should be and now dread those quarterly visits to see the consultant. I am also vegetarian, so if anyone can help with ideas for meals for such I'd be soooooo grateful :) I have started low carbing the last 2 days and I am now in the "I WANT CHOCOLATE" mode :thumbdown: I know its bad but it's like withdrawin from a drug..not that I have personal experience of the drug thing, just going on other people's exp. of that ! anyway, nice to have this site, have seen it loads, thought I'd manage ok but am a diabetic surrounded by people who can eat their choice whenever, wherever :problem: x
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I have no advice as I was only diagnosed last Friday. I just wanted to say Welcome :D
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Floralinda and welcome to the forum :) I know you have had diabetes for some time now but thought you might be interested to read this information we give to new members. I am sure that there will be things which are useful to you. Ask as many questions as you like as there are so many members here wanting 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 well over 30,000 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 ... rains.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 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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
 

Floralinda

Member
Messages
5
Dislikes
Having to try to not eat chocolate and sweats and gooey puddings
Hi again and many thanks for the welcome. Jeannemum good luck for the future with it, hope you manage better than I have so far, think sometimes I'm in denial !! and Daisy thank you, have actually been reading that information as I saw it on another post, but very useful, alhough having had this sometime, I still find myself finally understanding different things about it even at this stage so you never stop learning it seems. Have just been having a lovely time looking at the low carb recipe ideas so will def. be giving them a try. I now know and accept I have to get my glucose levels down ! You can run but you can't hide.. not from glucose anyway :|
 

Tracey69

Well-Known Member
Messages
310
HI and welcome to the forum,
Just wanted to say hello to you. My name is Tracey and have been a type 1 for 37 yrs this year. I was 6 yrs old when i became diabetic.
I noticed Daisy01 has given you some info, so will give you time to read it.
We can only give advice due to what we have been through.
Take care and keep in touch to let us know how you get on.
Tracey
 

WhitbyJet

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,597
Floralinda - welcome to the forum, you still can have some chocolate treats, check out the CHOCOLATE PARADISE thread in the low carb recipes forum.
 

Floralinda

Member
Messages
5
Dislikes
Having to try to not eat chocolate and sweats and gooey puddings
Hi Tracey, thank you for the welcome, really appreciate the lovely welcomes and replies, and yes have lots to read. I just seem to have tried to carry on as pre diabetes and not taken it seriously enough which is mad considering I was rushed into hospital almost comatose with KTA followed by a week in icu. Only thing was I had an hour crash course in the treatment and then went home, confused, worried and dependant on my diabetic nurse to work out my first weeks doses on a daily basis. I couldn't get a bed on the diabetic ward and wanted to be out of the icu. I've had so much help since but I seem to keep slipping back to my old ways, however at 58 I think it's time I grew up and got myself sorted!! Liking the site, there's just so much information I could be on here all day, need to do my job search tho also :) Thanks also Whitbyjet, I will be checking that out for definite :D I did manage to discover the milk and 90% choc for a night cap that doesn't tip me over the edge so can't wait to see what else I can feed my obsession with... within limits obviously lol x