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- Thread starter Geew
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Avocado Sevenfold
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You will get help here.
What type of diabetes do you have?
What type of diabetes do you have?
Mike d
Expert
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- 7,994
- Location
- Australia
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Other
- Dislikes
- idiots who will not learn
3 weeks to respond? Guess there's a reason for that but in any event, you will need to provide a LOT more info than that. We can't read minds. So your HBa1C? Your current levels with testing? Your diet? Your weight?
Squire Fulwood
Expert
- Messages
- 6,111
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
daisy1
Legend
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- 26,457
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- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
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- Tablets (oral)
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@Geew
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. When you have read it ask all the questions which come to mind and someone will be able to help. Tell us something about yourself so we can help you.
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 150,000 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 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
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. When you have read it ask all the questions which come to mind and someone will be able to help. Tell us something about yourself so we can help you.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 150,000 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
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
Last edited by a moderator:
- Messages
- 23,618
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Pump
- Dislikes
- Disrespectful people
Hi @Geew,
If you want to find your previous posts just click on your Username and then click on your Profile Page, there you will see Postings, just click on that and there you will find your posts to date.
I didn't post my story at the beginning but now I shall clarify. Was diagnosed around 18 years ago. Put on metformin and gliclazide and had some hypos so was taken off the gliclazide. Over time I found it more difficult to control and this escalated. I was put on Humulin I twice daily and still it was not easy - hypos before lunch and raised levels at breakfast. Hospital doctor told me to take more in the evening but this did not help. Struggled for quite some time and the new practice nurse immediately said the I had too much short term and not enough long term. She then put me onto Levermir and Humalog. At some point I was on Novomix 30 but can't remember when. It was difficult at first and my Hba1c was higher than hoped for. Things finally clicked and my results were excellent according to one hospital doctor and phenomenal by another for around 18 months. My results were generally 6.2 and I was happy at last. I then had a nasty bout of bronchitis and after eating very little for 3 weeks my results were suddenly ridiculous. After a further 2 bouts of bronchitis and 7 bouts of labyrinthitis where I was unable to eat for the duration my results are horrendous. I was dosing and eating as I was when my results were good but now struggling so I started taking more insulin (6 units for one slice of toast). I saw my g.p. a year or so ago and without looking at me he said 'have you thought of taking more insulin'. I said nothing but thought of course I have but I'm not sure that is what I need to do. He also said that my Hba1c was not ideal but acceptable. How can that be when my own tests show me running high. I was never told how to dose myself so turned to the internet and was dosing at 1 unit per 10 grams of carbs, however I started to take a lot more. Unfortunately I do like my carbs but don't eat much of anything and when it comes to an evening meal I really don't want to eat most of the time. My results are generally anything between 11 and 26 and that is 5 hours after a meal. I seem to be stuffing myself full of insulin and getting nowhere. I had to see another practice nurse for my diabetic check and she asked if the doctor had called me as my Hba1c was up. What a surprise. She said to go back to see her and she would help me at which point I had tears thinking at last I would get help. I went back and she asked if I thought there was a communication problem with my g.p. and asked if I would see another doctor, but I cannot get an appointment with another. I am going to see her again Thursday now but her time is limited. I'm struggling to get below 11 and often my breakfast figure is 14 - 16 so I start off frustrated. I did have a hypo whilst out one evening 2 hours after my tea time reading of 23. I seem to be higher than expected in the afternoon after falling asleep for around an hour. This lunchtime I took a big dose of insulin. I was 13.2 then and now 2 hours later am 15.3. I am not a stupid person but this is unfathomable to me. I apologise for the lengthy missive but I am totally stumped and hope I have given enough relevant info. (I have just call the surgery and the receptionist said that the last Hba1c was in February and was 83. It's higher now but she couldn't find the result.)
Cat0409_
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 147
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
Have you read the information @daisy1 posted here on your thread?
You need to read it and understand it.
Carbs turn to sugars in our bodies. You need to lower your carb intake. There is an awesome program on here about low carbing you can join, that takes you week by week changing your lifestyle. Sorry I cant link to it but I am sure someone else will be along who can
Remember its your diabetes and you need to take control. There is a lot of information on here and lots of support from other forum members that have or are going through the same issues.
Good luck with your journey
You need to read it and understand it.
Carbs turn to sugars in our bodies. You need to lower your carb intake. There is an awesome program on here about low carbing you can join, that takes you week by week changing your lifestyle. Sorry I cant link to it but I am sure someone else will be along who can
Remember its your diabetes and you need to take control. There is a lot of information on here and lots of support from other forum members that have or are going through the same issues.
Good luck with your journey
