Help!

[scoobledoo]

I am currently taking quite a cocktail of drugs to deal with my type 2 diabetes, i feel awful, blood sugards are still in double figures, feeling tired all the time, no energy, i have been to see my doctor and i am now on the maximum dose of meds, I enquired about the possibility of taking insulin as im told by various medical people that I will feel much better, my doctor informed me that there is a chance my weight (I'm currently very overweight) will increase, can anyone advise me if this has happended to them or is my doctor being over cautious? any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

 

[viviennem]

Hi Scoobledoo, and welcome!

You've come to the right place for help, this is a great forum with lots of experienced people to answer any questions we've got. I've found it and them a great help.

I can't help you much with your question as I'm controlled by diet plus Metformin, but someone who knows more will be along soon. However - I too am very overweight, though less than I was, and I know from experience that things will get better for you as you lose weight.

You don't say so but I expect you will have insulin resistance - which means that the insulin you do produce can't get your blood glucose into the muscle cells to be used as energy, so it stuffs it into the fat cells instead. This could be why you have no energy. Insulin does make you put on weight - in fact it might have something to do with why you are already overweight - so I personally would say, it's a last resort.

I find the easiest way for me to control my blood glucose AND lose weight is to control my carbohydrate intake. The amount of carbohydrate in the diet advised by the NHS is far too much for me.

Someone will be along soon to give you the link to the 'Info for the Newly Diagnosed' (on the Greetings and Introductions forum) which you may find useful.

Don't despair

Viv

 

[daisy1]

Hi Scoobledoo and welcome to the forum

This is the information for newly diagnosed members written by the Monitor's that Viv referred to in her last post:

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS.
Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l........(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Sue/Ken.