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Hello

A

Allan93

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Diet only
I've tried a few internet forums since diagnosis and either ended up more depressed than ever or generally insulted. Been reading this one for a while so will give things a go.

Afternoon, I'm 45 from North Yorkshire. I was diagnosed back in 2011. FBG was 15, tried diet for a short while and them straight on Gliclazide, it took about 6 months to get the levels down to normal and balance food and medication. I had Metformin added to the tablets last year as A1C readings were creeping up. That was about 6 months ago and it kind of worked but I'm getting more high BG days than low and some FBG results I don't like - between 7 and 9. My last A1C after starting Metformin was an irritating 5.2. I say irritating as I'd been feeling really rough was expecting something higher. Due my next one in a month or so and if anything I feel worse than last time.

My feet are OK still but there are the odd less sensitive bits, Blood Pressure is generally OK with the odd white coat reading now and again, I've been receiving Lucentis for DMO, retinal changes were picked up on my first scan, Lucentis seems to work though as one eye is recovered and stable, the other is improving but a bit more stubborn.

My GP and Practice Nurse have been great, although as a keen cyclist (mainly mountain biking), they've said that more intense sports and exercise isn't something they deal with often enough to know the problems I may encounter.

The main diet changes I made were giving up rice, potatoes and bread as much as possible. My diet before diagnosis wasn't terrible - I can't pretend it was healthy, I had a thing for crisps and I was surprised at the amount of hidden sugar in things.
My BMI hovered around 24-25, at 6 foot and fairly active I wasn't worried. I hover closer to 25 at the moment, piled about a stone and half on after starting Gliclazide.
Lost a bit with Slimming World and the red plan but I've found it really hard work, it seems incredibly easy to gain weight and incredibly tough to lose it again.

Now I try to stick to 80-150g of carbs a day depending on activity. I did try a lower carb diet but it made cycling incredibly difficult, just not enough fuel in the tank.

That's about it for now,
 
@Allan93

Hello Allan and welcome to the forum :)

Although you are not newly diagnosed, I think you might find this information useful which we give to new members. Ask all the questions you need to 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 130,000 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.
 
Welcome Allan
Nice to see someone else from gods own county posting.
We're a friendly bunch round here so hopefully no ones gonna insult you so please stick around.
There's a few cyclists post on here so maybe they can help with the fuel in your tank part.
 
Ta for the welcome and the basics, I'm pretty much sorted with them, but it is a useful reminder especially when I'm wondering if my medication is not working as well as it did.

Be interesting to find other cyclists findings. The last year has been a struggle with exercise, I have posted up in the Questions section..
 
Welcome Allan93
Everyone is great here, and very friendly. :)
 
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