Hi everyone, i've been reading the forum for the past year after being diagnosed as Type 2. Diabetes runs through my family, both sides so i suppose i should have expected it. I'm 52, i take statins for cholesterol, medication for high blood pressure and also have a truly awful family heart disease history. I totally agree with the low-carb approach and have cut out pasta,rice and potato, still eating a small amount of granary bread. i don't eat cakes, biscuits etc and always use fresh fruit and veg, i cook most of our meals and am very careful about the ingredients. Each time I attend the surgery I am asked if I can lose any weight, I need to lose at least 3 stones. I was referred to the dietician at the clinic and put onto a 40g carb per day diet. After 4 months I still haven't managed to lose weight. I gained all my weight with my third pregnancy 18 years ago, i had a total hysterectomy just after this (altogether 5 major ops in 5 years) I was never overweight up til then. I'm totally depressed with the whole thing. I monitor my bloods (not obsessively) and am usually around 7.8 to 8.8 first thing on a morning. ( good according to my nurse) I vary greatly during the day. I find I have very hungry days and days when I am extremely tired. My nurse is pleased with me but I'm not happy at all. Can anyone offer any advice? I know I can't ignore it but I'm so fed up!
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hi everyone, i need help!
- Thread starter gillyscot
- Start Date
Hi gillyscot,
Glad you could join us but sorry to hear you're feeling so frustrated and I hope we can help you get to the bottom of things. I'm sure you'll get lots of helpful suggestions if you can let us know a few more details.
For example, a typical day's diet / exercise pattern and blood glucose levels?
All the best,
fergus
Glad you could join us but sorry to hear you're feeling so frustrated and I hope we can help you get to the bottom of things. I'm sure you'll get lots of helpful suggestions if you can let us know a few more details.
For example, a typical day's diet / exercise pattern and blood glucose levels?
All the best,
fergus
hanadr
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Hi Gilly
I'll re-itterate what Fergus has written.
Plus
you may be like me and very resistant to weight loss. I don't lose until my carbs aree VERY low, well under 50 per day. that means I have to watch fruit too.
You may need to keep goiuing for longer.
DON'T give up
Do you have a reference book?
A popular one in this goup is Collins Little Gem Calorie Counter, or Carbohydrate Counter.
These little books are inexpensive and handbag sized and PACKED with information.
I'll re-itterate what Fergus has written.
Plus
you may be like me and very resistant to weight loss. I don't lose until my carbs aree VERY low, well under 50 per day. that means I have to watch fruit too.
You may need to keep goiuing for longer.
DON'T give up
Do you have a reference book?
A popular one in this goup is Collins Little Gem Calorie Counter, or Carbohydrate Counter.
These little books are inexpensive and handbag sized and PACKED with information.
Thanks for replying so fast. I've been very impressed with the site but get so down about all of this that I just give up sometimes. I know its not the right attitude but at least anyone on this site will understand. A typical days diet would be:
breakfast-25g porridge oats with soya milk, cup of tea/soya milk, no sugar.
lunch-cold meat, tomatoes, salad. or soup. maybe an apple.
tea- spag bol without the pasta. or cauliflower cheese(soya milk/glutenfree flour) or stirfry.
Snacks if really hungry- an apple, occasionally a banana.
I used to eat far more fruit than this. I just hate to go in the supermarket because all I see are the things I can't have. I'm no saint and will have a few squares of chocolate if there's any around. I don't drink alcohol apart from maybe a glass of wine per month and don't smoke.
I'm a teacher and am quite active through the day. I try to go swimming during the week but sometimes I'm so fed up and tired that I literally can't be bothered. I'm achy all the time and I find exercise makes me worse. I know it would be good for me to get over this and get fit but I feel I'm in a catch22 just now, I'm needing to exercise to lose weight but I don't feel fired up enough to get going. I'm a real misery aren't I? I really don't know where to turn, I don't want to go on like this and desperately want to lose the weight and hopefully survive to be an old but very wise lady.
breakfast-25g porridge oats with soya milk, cup of tea/soya milk, no sugar.
lunch-cold meat, tomatoes, salad. or soup. maybe an apple.
tea- spag bol without the pasta. or cauliflower cheese(soya milk/glutenfree flour) or stirfry.
Snacks if really hungry- an apple, occasionally a banana.
I used to eat far more fruit than this. I just hate to go in the supermarket because all I see are the things I can't have. I'm no saint and will have a few squares of chocolate if there's any around. I don't drink alcohol apart from maybe a glass of wine per month and don't smoke.
I'm a teacher and am quite active through the day. I try to go swimming during the week but sometimes I'm so fed up and tired that I literally can't be bothered. I'm achy all the time and I find exercise makes me worse. I know it would be good for me to get over this and get fit but I feel I'm in a catch22 just now, I'm needing to exercise to lose weight but I don't feel fired up enough to get going. I'm a real misery aren't I? I really don't know where to turn, I don't want to go on like this and desperately want to lose the weight and hopefully survive to be an old but very wise lady.
Hi gillyscot,
It does sound as if you have a fairly restricted diet and I'm guessing that you deliberately exclude a number of foods perhaps because of their assumed effect on weight?
Some of the foods you are eating can also have quite an impact on blood sugar, such as the porridge oats and the bananas.
In general terms, you might be lacking proteins and fats which are very important to general health and pretty benign in terms of blood glucose levels.
You mention statins and blood pressure meds, but do you take any blood glucose medications? Do you test your blood glucose levels on a regular basis?
More questions than answers to begin with I'm afraid!
All the best,
fergus
It does sound as if you have a fairly restricted diet and I'm guessing that you deliberately exclude a number of foods perhaps because of their assumed effect on weight?
Some of the foods you are eating can also have quite an impact on blood sugar, such as the porridge oats and the bananas.
In general terms, you might be lacking proteins and fats which are very important to general health and pretty benign in terms of blood glucose levels.
You mention statins and blood pressure meds, but do you take any blood glucose medications? Do you test your blood glucose levels on a regular basis?
More questions than answers to begin with I'm afraid!
All the best,
fergus
My daily medication is> 20mg telmisartan, 20mg simvastatin,10 mg citirizine(antihistamine), 75mg asprin, 1000mg omega 3 fish oil and a multi-vitamin tablet. I take the omega 3 because I don't like fish at all. I limit my dairy intake because I find too much upsets my stomach. My bood glucose levels vary during the day, I haven't tried to take the levels before and after meals over a full day but I'll try it to see what is happening. I find my morning levels have been steadily rising over the past year,they were originally 7.2 ish and now seem to be nearer to 8.5,(before breakfast) during the day I vary between 7.2 and the highest reading has been 9.8. I know others have much higher readings than this but I know its the peaks and troughs which cause the damage. I feel that the professionals think I'm not trying but I can assure you I am. I am heartily sick of the hype in the media that only fat, lazy people get diabetes.I am absolutely aware of my health and have been surrounded by diabetes, blood pressure and heart dsease in my family since I was 14 years old. Perhaps I am too aware of my own mortality? I am at the point of feeling guilty if I have something 'bad' in my shopping trolley. I remember trying to lose weight with the 'magic' fat busting tablets at my previous surgery. It didn't work, I didn't eat enough fat for them to work on. I unfortunately saw the comment on screen that the nurse wrote, 'OBVIOUSLY ISN'T TRYING' Don't it make you feel good.
pavlosn
Well-Known Member
Dear gillyscot
From what I can see you are not on any diabetes medication at the moment. Perhaps you could discuss with your doctor the possibility of taking something to assist with your glucose control, if you find that diet alone is not enough. From what you describe you are on a quite strict diet already yet your glucose levels are rather high. Medication is unfortunately necessary for some of us.
Good luck.
Pavlos
From what I can see you are not on any diabetes medication at the moment. Perhaps you could discuss with your doctor the possibility of taking something to assist with your glucose control, if you find that diet alone is not enough. From what you describe you are on a quite strict diet already yet your glucose levels are rather high. Medication is unfortunately necessary for some of us.
Good luck.
Pavlos
hi pavlos, I agree that medication is sometimes neccessary and if it would be an advantage to me I'd go onto medication, its inevitable that I will do so at some stage anyway. My brother was diagnosed when he was in his 40's, he tried diet only for about a year then it was time for him to go on tablets, he's 12 years on now and injects daily. I think if I could crack the solution to the weight problem I could deal with the rest. My practise nurse is pleased with me and says not to worry about the weight, then on another visit its all about the weight. I must say though, I live in south west Scotland and the diabetic care is very good. I get sharps and monitor etc on prescription and have attended the Desmond course.(information and advice to help with all aspects of being diabetic) I hope you are receiving good care.
cugila
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Hi gilly.
Just been reading through your posts. You state you are on a 40g carbs per day diet ? Is that still the case ?
Reason I ask is that you mention Banana and Porridge which as Fergus says are quite high in carbs. How are you calculating the carbs you are eating ? Are you using total carbs from packets etc or are you counting just sugars ? Puzzled ?
Just been reading through your posts. You state you are on a 40g carbs per day diet ? Is that still the case ?
Reason I ask is that you mention Banana and Porridge which as Fergus says are quite high in carbs. How are you calculating the carbs you are eating ? Are you using total carbs from packets etc or are you counting just sugars ? Puzzled ?
I'm using carb values from packets, the collins gem book and whatever else I can find. I have a banana now and then, probably 2 or 3 in a month, the porridge is measured out as 25g dry weight which as far as I know is 20 g carb. Its 2 level table spoons, looks like nothing til the soya milk is added . I microwave it for 1 min 30 secs then it soaks up into the milk and doesn't look so bad. I used to eat lots of fruit (pre diabetes) but I'm very wary now.
sugarless sue
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Can you give us a daily average diet please, Gilly ?
I'll take examples of daily diet from my diary,
breakfast> porridge oats (25 g dry weight) with soya milk
or slice of granary toast with flora extra light spread
lunch> can of soup, apple, cup of tea with soya milk
or egg mayo/ slice granary bread(not if I had toast for breakfast)
tea> chicken stir fry
or chicken / roast veg
or spag bol without the pasta/1 slice french stick
snacks/drinks> tea with soya milk, apple, pear, banana (not often) bag of crisps (not often)
couple of squares of chocolate (depending how fed up I am!)
breakfast> porridge oats (25 g dry weight) with soya milk
or slice of granary toast with flora extra light spread
lunch> can of soup, apple, cup of tea with soya milk
or egg mayo/ slice granary bread(not if I had toast for breakfast)
tea> chicken stir fry
or chicken / roast veg
or spag bol without the pasta/1 slice french stick
snacks/drinks> tea with soya milk, apple, pear, banana (not often) bag of crisps (not often)
couple of squares of chocolate (depending how fed up I am!)
sugarless sue
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Gilly I suggest that you keep a food diary for a few days and keep a carb content on each item of your meal. For instance what is the carb content of your can of soup ?
One slice of granary bread can have as much as 18 gm of carbs. Fruit can be high as well so I wonder if you maybe have more carbs than you think.Keeping the food diary will help you , and us, to see what you are having and where we can help.
One slice of granary bread can have as much as 18 gm of carbs. Fruit can be high as well so I wonder if you maybe have more carbs than you think.Keeping the food diary will help you , and us, to see what you are having and where we can help.
Hi Gilly,
I should have warned you, ask for help around here and you get it in spades! :lol:
Just a couple of points before you are buried beneath an avalache of good advice, but I noticed your earlier comment that progression of diabetes was inevitable and insulin would eventually appear on the horizon. This is far from true as many of our member will testify. We have lots of very determined people who have reversed complications, reduced or stopped medication, and regularly post non-diabetic numbers. It's all in the diet.
The other thing I wanted to say was that you will find your numbers fall, your weight also, and you will feel better in yourself if you try and stick to a few simple principles.
Try to eat a good sourse of protein with each meal, don't worry whether it's lean or otherwise.
Use this to replace some of the carbs (porridge is a very good example) in your meals.
I know for certain if I started the day with porridge, I'd be battling to get my blood glucose down for the rest of the day. It looks like you are too.
Try to include some good fats in whichever form you prefer. Perhaps cheeses, cream in your coffee, butter for cooking etc. etc. This will help with your satiety and have zero impact on your blood glucose. If they replace the carbs, your blood lipids will benefit too.
Take care,
fergus
I should have warned you, ask for help around here and you get it in spades! :lol:
Just a couple of points before you are buried beneath an avalache of good advice, but I noticed your earlier comment that progression of diabetes was inevitable and insulin would eventually appear on the horizon. This is far from true as many of our member will testify. We have lots of very determined people who have reversed complications, reduced or stopped medication, and regularly post non-diabetic numbers. It's all in the diet.
The other thing I wanted to say was that you will find your numbers fall, your weight also, and you will feel better in yourself if you try and stick to a few simple principles.
Try to eat a good sourse of protein with each meal, don't worry whether it's lean or otherwise.
Use this to replace some of the carbs (porridge is a very good example) in your meals.
I know for certain if I started the day with porridge, I'd be battling to get my blood glucose down for the rest of the day. It looks like you are too.
Try to include some good fats in whichever form you prefer. Perhaps cheeses, cream in your coffee, butter for cooking etc. etc. This will help with your satiety and have zero impact on your blood glucose. If they replace the carbs, your blood lipids will benefit too.
Take care,
fergus
Bluenosesol
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Gilly,
one of your main concerns is around weight loss. My experience is that I have been yo-yo dieting for donkeys years (30+) and never been successful. In the last 4 months I have lost 56 pounds. My greatest aids have been metformin (helps to greatly suppress hunger/craving) and a low carb diet (approx 40 g per day). I snack on cheese and walnuts and have a daily treat of 10g 70% cocoa chocolate. As my energy has improved following normalisation of my blood sugars, I have been able to exercise more, resulting in ever improving control. (At diagnosis, I was so weak and tired I would crash out on the sofa and stay there. Now I walk 5 miles every day and do gym and 6 mile cycles).
HBA1C on diagnosis was 10.8, last HBA1C in August was 5.8. Trigs 7.7, now down to 1.
Keep the faith!.
Steve.
one of your main concerns is around weight loss. My experience is that I have been yo-yo dieting for donkeys years (30+) and never been successful. In the last 4 months I have lost 56 pounds. My greatest aids have been metformin (helps to greatly suppress hunger/craving) and a low carb diet (approx 40 g per day). I snack on cheese and walnuts and have a daily treat of 10g 70% cocoa chocolate. As my energy has improved following normalisation of my blood sugars, I have been able to exercise more, resulting in ever improving control. (At diagnosis, I was so weak and tired I would crash out on the sofa and stay there. Now I walk 5 miles every day and do gym and 6 mile cycles).
HBA1C on diagnosis was 10.8, last HBA1C in August was 5.8. Trigs 7.7, now down to 1.
Keep the faith!.
Steve.
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Sounds a good choice! That certainly shouldn't do anything to your blood glucose levels.gillyscot said:
Hi Gilly,
I know exactly what your saying! I was only diagnosed in August this year and already feel the attitude of ''your like this because you let yourself get this way'' etc. Last week I saw my doctor in the morning for blood tests and we had a chat. She asked me to ask the diabetes nurse for a machine to test my bloods so I can see where the fluctuations happen etc, as I would be seeing the nurse later the same day. When I saw the nurse I mentioned to her what the doctor said and her reply was ''oh you don't need one of those it will only make you worry don't go and buy one either I have loads here'' then she proceeded to go on about my weight etc even though I have told her numerous times before I put the weight on because of a fall making me housebound for the past three years plus I was diagnosed with under active thyroid plus I stopped smoking! All this is ignored and the attitude of ''you need more exercise want me to arrange for you to see a dietician? want me to arrange for you to come into the gym and see the physio? Ive been seeing a physio for three flipping years! So I'm with you Gilly your doing your best and your doing good hold my hand and we will go through it together and come out the other end slimmer new women! Don't let the condescending ways get to you - remember a man once said ''they know not what they do'' ! I reckon they have a tick boxes attitude and anything outside those boxes only has one answer got to be your fault because there's not a box to explain this one! You only have to read this forum to realise that there isn't much 'help' in the health service for us there's much more on this site!My T-shirt is going say ''hide of an elephant needed to be diabetic'' on the front and on the back it will say '' I charge like one too ''.
I know exactly what your saying! I was only diagnosed in August this year and already feel the attitude of ''your like this because you let yourself get this way'' etc. Last week I saw my doctor in the morning for blood tests and we had a chat. She asked me to ask the diabetes nurse for a machine to test my bloods so I can see where the fluctuations happen etc, as I would be seeing the nurse later the same day. When I saw the nurse I mentioned to her what the doctor said and her reply was ''oh you don't need one of those it will only make you worry don't go and buy one either I have loads here'' then she proceeded to go on about my weight etc even though I have told her numerous times before I put the weight on because of a fall making me housebound for the past three years plus I was diagnosed with under active thyroid plus I stopped smoking! All this is ignored and the attitude of ''you need more exercise want me to arrange for you to see a dietician? want me to arrange for you to come into the gym and see the physio? Ive been seeing a physio for three flipping years! So I'm with you Gilly your doing your best and your doing good hold my hand and we will go through it together and come out the other end slimmer new women! Don't let the condescending ways get to you - remember a man once said ''they know not what they do'' ! I reckon they have a tick boxes attitude and anything outside those boxes only has one answer got to be your fault because there's not a box to explain this one! You only have to read this forum to realise that there isn't much 'help' in the health service for us there's much more on this site!My T-shirt is going say ''hide of an elephant needed to be diabetic'' on the front and on the back it will say '' I charge like one too ''.
thanks everyone, i knew i could rely on this site to help me. i am starting over again this morning, trying to have a more positive attitude. my husband suggested last night that we buy a rowing machine so when i don't feel like going to the health club i can still do some good exercise, its ordered and will be here tomorrow. mrs moo i am holding your hand, it does help when others know how we are feeling. i had scrambled egg with a little cheese on for breakfast, i'll think about lunch later. i do get so annoyed with the attitude of ' you must be fat and lazy ' . i 'm sure most people developing diabetes have had symptoms for a lot longer than the diagnosis. as i said yesterday, i've been very aware of my health for years due to my family health history, i've always eaten carefully and wouldn't dare smoke or drink. yet i still develop diabetes, just as i could develop heart disease, its through my family, which isn't a fat or a smoking family, sometimes its in your genes, not in fast food. end of rant........
