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Hi, from a newly diagnosed Type 2

H

Hamish_Gordon

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hello everyone
I am a 65 (nearly 66) year old retired teacher and I live in a small village in Warwickshire. I was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes (to be controlled by diet) just over a week ago and have been in a state of confusion since then.

My problem is not with the diagnosis; my mother had late onset type 2 and my paternal grandmother was insulin dependent and eventually died from complications. With hindsight, I suspect I have been pre-diabetic for several years. I am just over 6ft tall and currently weigh a little under 11 Stone , which my GP considers ideal. I have been a bit heavier (up to just over 12 stone), but I have been underweight for most of my life. However, I lost a fair bit after suffering a broken leg two years ago. I am a former distance runner ( cross-country, road and marathon) and at the time of my accident, was back in training. Before that, I kept myself reasonably fit as a wildlife photographer, carrying my kit over the countryside. Three operations later, I am still very restricted in my movement and can walk only a few hundred yards without considerable discomfort.

My diet is largely vegetarian, although I do eat fish and I prefer whole grain cereals and bread. I understand the need to reduce my blood glucose levels, but find the dietary advice confusing and contradictory. I would be grateful for any help the forum members can give me.

Regards

Jim
 
@Hamish_Gordon - Hello Jim and Welcome to the Forum :). I am tagging @daisy1 who will provide you with some basic information that all new members receive. Have a read and don't be afraid to ask questions, there will always be someone to answer. :)
 
Hi @Hamish_Gordon

Welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of valuable information here, I'm pleased to say. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. Do feel free to ask questions.

Regarding dietry advice, yes, it can be very confusing and sometimes it may seem contradictory. Certainly, what you may be told by your surgery/diabetes nurse, is not what we would advise. The EatWell plate that the NHS/NICE currently advise does have quite a large portion of carbohydrates and it's the carbs (which include sugars) that put your blood glucose levels up. So, reducing carbs is generally considered (outside of NHS) the way to go. It's an individual decision as to how much/little carbs suits you and achieves the glucose levels you feel right for you.

@Liam1955 has tagged daisy1 who will post you some excellent information and will help explain how carbs are involved re diabetes.

One very useful tool, with which you need if you are to take control of your diabetes, is a Glucometer and to test your own blood glucose levels. The SDCodeFree is considered to be a good, reliable meter and the test strips, which are an ongoing cost, are the cheapest on the market. There are other glucometers, at varying prices, with test strips also at varying prices but these can be quite expensive. Again, it's down to personal choice. Having a meter and testing is the only way you can see how different foods affect you, then you can adapt your food choices accordingly.

There is so much information to take in and get your head around so take it day by day and ask questions on here as they occur to you

:)
 
@Hamish_Gordon

Hello Jim and welcome to the forum :) Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It will give you advice on carbs and a link to the Low Carb Program. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to 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 220,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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.
 
This site runs a free course in low carbing which helps with blood sugar control. There is a link to it in @Brunneria 's signature above.

You have to register and give a new password but since it's free that shouldn't be a problem.
 
Hi and welcome,

Yes, it is all very confusing, but if you read round the threads on the forum you will see many success stories so it isn't doom and gloom. The first thing to learn is that carbs all convert to glucose once inside the system, so the fewer carbs we eat the less glucose will be swimming about. Even the healthier options of wholegrain will convert to glucose. There are also other foods that we need to be careful with such as fruit and milk. Starches are the worst culprits, such as potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, plus cereals and flour.

If you decide to buy a glucose meter (and I strongly urge you to do this) it will help you discover which foods affect you the most. Our bodies are all different, so what affects one person may not affect another.

Good luck, and do ask questions.
 
Hi everyone.
Thank you all for your helpful suggestions and for replying so promptly.

I should have said in my original post that it would appear that I am luckier than some, in that I was given a blood glucose meter and a repeat prescription for the consumables by my GP. I was told to test myself once per day for a fortnight (at different times of the day) to establish my "base level" and then, presumably be given my target levels. Having read through some of the advice on this and other websites, I decided to test myself twice per day, once before breakfast and once after each meal in rotation, to establish the effects of different foods, but it will take a while to produce any meaningful results.

Incidentally, my GP (or rather the Practice Nurse) advised me
to look up this web site as a reliable source of up-to-date information and support.

Thank you once again.

Regards

Jim (Hamish)
 
Hi @Hamish_Gordon and welcome to the forum. Well done to you for taking action to control your diabetes. And well done to your GP for prescribing meter and strips, and your DN for recommending this forum.
What was your HbA1c test figure, and what sort of readings have you been getting with your meter?
You will find a lot of good advice and support on here, have a read round the threads and ask any questions you want. It will take a bit of time to get your head around it all.
 
Hi and Welcome.
I urge you to go Low carb as I did 3 months ago and my Hba1c was then 53 but is now 40. So it worked for me, you can't loose any thing by giving it a go but it may improve things for you to.
Maggie
 
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