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Help with my blood sugar levels

I

irnbru

Member
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10
Hi i've been diagnoosed as type 2 for just over a year now, ive been reading a few posts on here about them little bg monitors, no doctor has told me to buy one, im really worried now that they haven't told me to buy one and when to check myself, what levels should i aim for?
I'm basicly just eating as normal as i can, i have the odd choci bar, i try and eat not a bad diet, cornflakes with skimmed milk in the morning, or weetabix, sandwhich/roll at lunch, evening meals vary from bangers and mash with peas, fish with new potatoes and veg, chicken shish kebabs with salad and a few fries, pasta with bollinaise suce and mince meat, sometimes just thick vegtable soup, although i feel empty on this, paella this sort of thing, the odd pizza, am i going majorly wrong, i worried sick after reading some posts on here, please help.
 
Your BG (blood glucose) should fall between 4 and 7 mm/ol on the meter. As a T2 you really should look into lo-carbing. I've found (like many others here) that lo-carb is un-beatable as a way of maintaining low BG levels. A lot of the food you are currently eating will cause your BG to rise. This site is a great resource for lo-carb info. Have a look around.

For me (T2 for 11yrs) Pizza and Pasta are absolute no-go's. Bolognese sauce is ok - but eat it without pasta.
 
I am so frustrated at the opinion held by many GPs that they can manage our BG levels remotely when realistically it is outside their control.

In my opinion, you do need to test. At a minimum, twice daily, once when waking and again 2 hours after your main meal. Only then will you be in a position to say whether or not you need to change your diet.

NICE recommendations are that testing should have been discussed with you, along with how to interpret the results. PCTs have interpreted the NICE guidelines to mean that type 2s on diet alone or on glucophage should test no more than three times a week, unless a regime is changing or you are ill or you experience hyperglycaemia (which begs the question, how do you know if you're hyper unless you test :D some people are hyper aware, just as some people are hypo aware).

Discuss testing with your GP and if your HbA1c is causing you concern, then stress that testing can help you learn how your diet affects your BG levels and influence the decisions you make about diet which will, in turn, benefit your health.

You will not get a meter on prescription, but the practice may have a few "sample" meters provided by the manufacturers. Alternatively, you can get one from your pharmacist, but be aware that they are VAT exempt items for people with diabetes, explain you are diabetic to the pharmacist and you should be able to get a few percentage points off the price. Once you have your meter, get your GP to prescribe you strips (which are, by far, the most expensive element of testing).

Regards, Tubs.
 
I'm afraid I shuddered visibly at your diet. :(

Yes OK I know that's probably what you were told to eat, that's probably what most of us were told to eat, and not giving you a meter is because then you can't see what horrific numbers the diet gives you, which might make you depressed.

IMNSHO testing is essential at first

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/d-day.html

if you do that I can practically guarantee you won't be eating weetabix or cornflakes for breakfast ever again
 
Thx for the replys, Im worried sick about this, ive actually just been sick, LOL, the more i read on this forum the worse i feel, hope you guys don't take offence, i know i have to do something but im frightened stiff, i also suffer from Anxiety which is making things worse, im scarred to exercise incase my sugar levels go to low, im going to start with what foods i like, hope someone can think of a meal i can eat.
love fish
steak
chicken

pasta potatos carrots peas rice swede peppers courgettes onions mushrooms and most veg to be honest.
also enjoy Bananas apples grapes oranges melon strawberrys
ps i have just had a special eye test done and that came back clear, will be booking an appointment with my doctor who is a diabetic specialist for Monday morning, what should i ask her?
many thx for taking the time to read and reply to my post.
 
Firstly, ask if they have a spare BG meter and ask for a prescription for test strips - or buy yourself a meter, you should still ask for a prescription for test strips.

Secondly, ask for a referral to diatetics.

Testing is the biggest thing you can do towards finding out how your diet affects your BG. You need to work out which foods in your diet cause your BG to spike, and those which either do not affect your BG or affect your BG in a way that is acceptable to you. Each of us is different, it could be that you can handle a few slices of pizza or a couple of slices of wholegrain bread without your BG rocketing.

Regards, Tubs.
 
irnbru , as a starter for your journey and that is what it will be for you. A little research into what is in food groups of Protien -Carbohydrates- and Fats will put you in good stead to make some choices that you will need to make.

There is a whole lot of that on this site.

The next part of that is what effect each of the above groups has on Blood Sugar levels. Again there is ample to look at.
By now the penny may already be dropping you aquire information.

Worrying about it wont actually help you but by finding out and taking control you will be surprised at what you can achieve .

You will have lots more questions i am sure

Good luck
Dave P
 
Thanks guys, ive calmed down a bit now, firstly i'm going to buy a tester, does any know which is the best make to get or are they all equal?
Have made an appointment with my GP going Monday morning, thirdly am going to change breakfast to Porridge for a week to see how i get on with that, I'm also going to cut out fruit juice, I actually thought drinking lots of orange and cranberry juice was good for me, and its starting to make sense now as after I eat I feel like sleeping for a week, LOL, its even put me off going out for dinner with my wife for the last 6 months, luckily I don't drink alcohol and haven't for 5 years apart from a glass of good wine on Xmas day.
I've bought lucazade to carry around with me as i do get light headed quickly when i haven't eaten, mostly in the afternoons, when i feel like that i usually have a couple of digestive biscuits which makes me feel better.
From what ive been reading Fish chicken and steak/lamb seem to be ok its just learning what would be good for me to have with them.
thx again guys
 
I'd really avoid drinking lucazade ever, it's very sweet. What medication are you on? You shouldn't be getting low blood sugar bad enough to need to drink lucazade, depending what medication you take though.
Having a snack is a good idea, and maybe plan to eat a healthy snack before you feel light-headed anyway just in case?
If you look in the low-carb section there is lots of advice, meat and fish are good (I don't eat either though so not sure what types are best!) vegetables too, root vegetables less so as they have more carbs. Cheese is ok too. Does that go with meat/fish? no idea!
 
I'm not on any medication i was told just to eat a healthy balanced diet, maybe ill discuss medication with the GP on Monday, what type of medication will they offer me and will it regulate my blood sugars? will i stop feeling so knackered all the time like i've got a permanent does of Flu? are there any bad side effects to the medication i may be offered?
thx again
 
One thing that I wondered about with eating a low carb diet was, doesn't it make you feel lethargic, I mean if your not eating carbs how does your body have energy? forgive me if I sound foolish just wondered.
 
I am on low carb diet, I am quite strict, no rice, potatoes, vegetables, pasta, cereal or fruit other than berries. I have far more energy than before. I used to feel tired all the time, whereas now I feel terrific, get yourself a meter as others have said and give it a try. I cook for my family and it is easy to have the same meals, for example last night we had a roast, I had no potatoes but loads of veg. Tonight chicken kebabs and salad, rest of family had cous cous with theirs. I can't do eggs in the morning but you can have eggs and bacon for breakfast, then for lunch I normally have a large salad.

I think you will be surprised how well you feel if you give this a try.
 
irnbru said:
One thing that I wondered about with eating a low carb diet was, doesn't it make you feel lethargic, I mean if your not eating carbs how does your body have energy? forgive me if I sound foolish just wondered.
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Hi Irnbru,

Reducing your carb intake doesn't make you feel lethargic at all - in fact it is just the opposite. The amount of carbs that your body needs on average to meet your energy requirements is around 50g per day. Below that level then the body gets its energy by burning off fat. This creates ketones which the body uses instead of glucose to provide energy. You mentioned about feeling knackered all the time in your previous post. That is generally a result of having a high blood sugar level, which is indicative of having too many carbs. Something that pretty much all people who have reduced their carbs have remarked on is how much more energy they now have compared to their higher-carb days!
 
If you are feeling tired I'd imagine it's high blood sugar like Dennis + Jo123 said, I definatly feel very tired and lethargic all the time when I have high blood sugar. Do you know what your last HbA1c results were?
 
Hi irnbru!
I found a good cookbook, which you might find interesting. It's by Carolyn Humphries and called
The Low Carb Long Term Lifestyle. It's available from Amazon.
there's a load of delicious stuff in there. Mainly Mediterranean style.
 
Thx for all your kind replys, im going to see the doc monday as I said before, really need to see her about a few things as i can't go on living like this, i just feel totally out of it and have done for the last three weeks, feels like flu but its not, also feel low mentally as i just have no energy, Ive been constipated and have Ive ripped something in my gut, lol, thought i had a hernia top it all off but cant feel any lumps, lost some blood when I went to toilet last night, well quite a bit of blood, have had piles fo the first time to so im sure its that with regards to the blood.
But honestly it feels like my legs are 3x there weight and my arms feel like there made of cast iron i feel groggy and generally unwell, Im not one for seeing doctors but will definitely go, think its because my doc is new, had my last doctor for years and really find it hard talking to docs, but am determined to get the best help I can from NHS and from you kind people here.
Just popped up to boots and superdrug, no testers, LOL, am going to order one online.
Again thank you so much for taking the time to answer my post, will let you know what the doc says come Monday.
 
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