Can anyone help please. I was diagnosed with type 2 earlier this year and told to take a tablet each day( end) I have been told by my doc not to check my blood sugar but being a man I have been doing so for the last month. my readings have never been lower than 9.0. I constantly worry what to do and have long periods of heavy sweating every day, even if I have not moved Then I go to sleep for an hour or so. Could someone give me some info please as my doctor is useless. I have been told my diabetes is due to my constant use of oral steroids for my asthma and heart condition.
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- Thread starter smeg 59
- Start Date
Hello and welcome
I am convinced that with a change in diet you could lower your blood sugar.
Are you overweight? Are you able to exercise?
Are you more sleepy after meals? This is quite common in diabetics.
Normally, people test first thing in the morning. Before a meal and after a meal and then you can see what has an effect on you.
Daisy will post some information for new forum members shortly.
Meanwhile if you are interested in seeing what food can do to help improve things why not post a few of your favourite meals.
Since I took control of me health a few months ago I feel so much better. This group is a great help.
Cara
I am convinced that with a change in diet you could lower your blood sugar.
Are you overweight? Are you able to exercise?
Are you more sleepy after meals? This is quite common in diabetics.
Normally, people test first thing in the morning. Before a meal and after a meal and then you can see what has an effect on you.
Daisy will post some information for new forum members shortly.
Meanwhile if you are interested in seeing what food can do to help improve things why not post a few of your favourite meals.
Since I took control of me health a few months ago I feel so much better. This group is a great help.
Cara
Pompeygirl
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 121
I was diagnosed just a few weeks ago. Saw GP All he had to say was take tablets and no food is banned. Sunce reading through all the wonderful info on this forum i have totally changed my diet and i feel very much in control and positive. I have a long way to go but i can see my levels changing and i no longer feel like a passenger on this bus. Read read read and ask questions that would be my advice
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
raycollings
Newbie
- Messages
- 1
Wow not on my own. Only a couple of months in, so a confused newbie. GP not very helpful, dietitian even less helpful, diabetic nurse never seen, been off sick for several weeks. One tablet as day, not testing, poss blood test in October if I can get an appointment that will be 4-5 months after initial diagnoses. I do exercise as I am a football referee so 3-4 time a week, but yes over weight but don't know what to eat . Submitted a 3 day list to the dietitian and she couldn't fault it, so no advise given, waste of time gong. Where can I find a diet sheet please. Fed up, depressed in denial.
Hi Ray
Welcome to you also.
Lots of us have found dieticians unhelpful.
Why don't you share your 3 day diet with us and we can all comment :wink:
Did you tell the dietician the whole truth? I didn't! I eat very healthily but it was the snacks on top.
Since joining this group I have changed what I eat, I watch out for carbohydrates and I have lost weight. I feel loads better
Cara
Welcome to you also.
Lots of us have found dieticians unhelpful.
Why don't you share your 3 day diet with us and we can all comment :wink:
Did you tell the dietician the whole truth? I didn't! I eat very healthily but it was the snacks on top.
Since joining this group I have changed what I eat, I watch out for carbohydrates and I have lost weight. I feel loads better
Cara
whompa73
Well-Known Member
Carbs out guys . Low carb and exercise. I was diagnosed 8/8/13 bgs were 14.5 lowest and highest reading was 24.9 but that was only second readind and cut everything out after that. I am on 4 metformin 10 -15 grans carbs per day usually and my bgs are usually between 6&8 . My hba1c was 102 or 11.5% equivalent to 15.7 mmol which supposedly is an avrage running of 19/20 mmol (off equation in dr bernstien book) try to get dr bernstien diabetic solutions either from book shop of library it will be you best friend when it comes to controlling diabetes and feeling better. It will answer all those questions you want to know and many more that you never knew you needed to know. Dr seem to think best way to treat diabetes is to keep the patiant in the dark so that they dont realy have to do anything
squirrel1
Member
I was diagnosed with type 2 10 years or so ago. The initial information I was given the basic USDA pryramid chart and told that carbs should be the basis of my diet! 
At the time I was diagnosed test strips were on prescription and free so I had enough to test daily. However I was lucky in that although I had a not very good dietician I did have a very good GP and Diabetic Nurse. The nurse very strongly recommended me to read "Dr Bernsteins Diabetic Solution" (ISBN 0-316-09906-6) so I could understand exactly what Diabetes was. I bought it and then read it! Not all at once, but his basic philosophy made me want to read more. There is a lot of info that applies only to type 1 - but it is all information that is useful to understand and control your diabetes. Some of the info is vital.
When the NHS restrictions on testing strips came into effect I decided that although it was expensive it was worthwhile to buy strips for my meter and test my blood (for at least 28 days) as recommended by Bernstein. I thoroughly recommend that you do the same if you possible can so that you get an idea of how food/exercise/pills affect you and what your basic numbers are. Knowledge is power and you need power over your diabetes!
Another book to check out is the "Gi Diet" by Rick Gallop. Although sold as a diet book it has lots of good information on high sugar foods and what foods are low sugar etc.
The website http://www.diabetes-solution.net/ is a useful source of information (Bernstein's web site)
This forum and web site are dedicated to helping diabetics - I used it to help me and hope it will help you too!
ps Both books are availablle on Amazon
At the time I was diagnosed test strips were on prescription and free so I had enough to test daily. However I was lucky in that although I had a not very good dietician I did have a very good GP and Diabetic Nurse. The nurse very strongly recommended me to read "Dr Bernsteins Diabetic Solution" (ISBN 0-316-09906-6) so I could understand exactly what Diabetes was. I bought it and then read it! Not all at once, but his basic philosophy made me want to read more. There is a lot of info that applies only to type 1 - but it is all information that is useful to understand and control your diabetes. Some of the info is vital. When the NHS restrictions on testing strips came into effect I decided that although it was expensive it was worthwhile to buy strips for my meter and test my blood (for at least 28 days) as recommended by Bernstein. I thoroughly recommend that you do the same if you possible can so that you get an idea of how food/exercise/pills affect you and what your basic numbers are. Knowledge is power and you need power over your diabetes!
Another book to check out is the "Gi Diet" by Rick Gallop. Although sold as a diet book it has lots of good information on high sugar foods and what foods are low sugar etc.
The website http://www.diabetes-solution.net/ is a useful source of information (Bernstein's web site)
This forum and web site are dedicated to helping diabetics - I used it to help me and hope it will help you too!
ps Both books are availablle on Amazon
squirrel1
Member
Further to my recent post - the site http://www.diabetes-book.com/ gives you loads of good info and question and answer sessions with Dr Benrstein.
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
Hi smeg 59 and welcome to the forum 
Here is the information Cara mentioned which we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will 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 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:
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
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 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.
Here is the information Cara mentioned which we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will 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 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
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
- 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 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.
