Hi From me - Newly Diagnosed and bummed about it

Hi Mike and welcome to the forum

I love food too but have found that there are loads of delicious things you can eat. Just check out the recipes in the Low Carb forum.

There will be lots of things you want to know and I hope this information will help you. Ask all the questions you like and someone will be able to answer.


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

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

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

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.

Hi Mike I too am recently diagnosed this August. I was told several years ago that I was pre diabetic. Like you when told I was type2 I went into shock and dread. The nurse told me to try diet and other life style changes. I came home broke my heart and decided I'd have to give it my best shot.
Starting with portion control and reducing fats, I cut out all sweets the usual stuff. I even managed to stop smoking. When I was diagnosed my test result was 6.8 after three months it was 6.2 I'd lost over 2 stone lowered my cholesterol.
I'm still enthusiastic and continue with one thing in mind if I don't stick at it then the obvious is a lifetime of injections and the possibilities of loosing my legs scares the hell out of me. My one regret is that i never took it seriously enough when i was pre diabetic. I hope that you find the willpower like I did and wish you all the best.

judderman62 said:

thanks folks. Luckily I have people at work who will tell me off if I misbehave and a goodfriend who is also type 2 so can pick his brain ...now that is where some puzzlement kicks in.

He takes tablets for his.

sometimes when round at theirs he will have a full scale indian meal, when at pubs he's not careful with meal choices - he does avoid sweet stuff mostly.

so I am baffled as to how much leeway there is - how "naughty" can one be ? How frequently ? Does every transgression add a little bit to future problems ?

Click to expand...

If he's on tablets, then it's very likely that he's not testing either and therefore doesn't know what his blood glucose levels are getting to... and unaware of the damage being done to his beta cells every time they go too high...

Hi Mike, welcome to our club, its not very exclusive, but we all know how you feel!!

So, there are diabetics who are in denial, and just carry on eating/drinking whatever they like, thinking the tablet will make it all better. I have a feeling your friend is in that place. The danger is that eating/drinking whatever you like puts you at much greater risk of diabetic complications. What happens is your sugar levels remain high and that sugar does damage to your kidneys, your eyes, your feet. I don't want to frighten you, as you are new to all of this but as you learn more you will realise you have another choice.

You can be a controlled diabetic, one who controls the food they eat, does some exercise and is in charge of your diabetes (not the other way around) I love LOVE love my food but I have learned to eat differently to take control of my diabetes. I follow the recommendations on this website www.dietdoctor.com/lchf I thoroughly enjoy steak, pate, ham all kinds of protein, vegetables, cream, cheese etc I just don't eat much in the way of carbohydrates. There are some amazing recipes on this site and all over the web, with low carbohydrate food ideas.

Its contraversial so some people might not agree with me, but I think carbohydrates are addictive, especially pastries and white bread, its really hard to give them up but once you do you feel SO much better, you don't get the mid afternoon sleepies after lunch, you have bags more energy and the weight will fall off you (I've lost 3 stone without really trying)

Have a good read around the site, and ask any questions you have.

Hi Mike

Your nurse sounds very sensible to me - get Christmas over with and then buckle down to it.

Judging by your readings you, like me, have been caught early - my GPs were running a book on me developing it! :lol: - so you have a very good chance of achieving excellent control.

I have said more than once that being diagnosed Type 2 was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have always had weight problems, and had managed to achieve my greatest bulk ever - 298lbs (21st 4lbs) on a 5' 6" frame. BMI of 48 - on fact, morbidly obese. Being diagnosed Type 2 meant that I really had to take things seriously. I altered my diet, upped my exercise a bit (difficult; I have back problems) and set about taking charge. I have now lost 60lbs, and my blood glucose levels are almost always within the non-diabetic range. My cholesterol and blood pressure are fine.

My diet is a Sticky Thread on the Low-carb Diet bit of the forum - Viv's Modified Atkins Diet. It doesn't suit everyone, and there are other ways of controlling your blood glucose levels elsewhere on this forum, but it suits me, and I don't miss vast amounts of carbohydrate much. I even allow myself fish and chips - very occasionally!

I won't go on just now - but welcome to the forum. You are among friends. There really is no such thing as a silly question, and there's lots of help and support - and many disgraceful senses of humour! Get through the festivites, cherishing every mouthful, and make a fresh start on January 3rd.

Now I'm off to have a bacon sandwich - it's Christmas! :wink:

All the best

Viv 8)

How did you get on over Christmas? I've eaten far too much carbohydrate, by my standards, and feel awful at the moment - stuffed and full of wind :shock: . I'll be glad to get back on Atkins.

Have you had a look at "my" diet? Does it sound like something you could cope with? There really is no need to lower your carbs so severely if you don't want to, but the short, sharp shock of the Induction Phase breaks the carb addiction like nothing else can. However, some people manage perfectly well (eg) by controlling the portion size of carbs, or by eating about 75g - 130g carb daily. Have a look round the site and see what other people do. Sid Bonkers, for instance, is a portion-control man - he eats small portions of carbohydrate at every meal. I couldn't do that - greedy and weak-willed, that's me :wink: ! I have nothing in the house that I'm not allowed to eat.

The two most useful tools that you really need are 1) a blood glucose monitor with test strips - did your nice nurse give you one? Tell her it would really help you identify the foods that make your blood glucose spike. Also 2) a carb counter book - a handy-sized one is produced by Collins in their Gem series. A more accurate one is the Calorie, Carb and Fat Bible , the 2013 edition of which should be out soon. Unfortunately it's not very portable!

You may find that some health care professionals will tell you that they don't approve of low-carb diets, and consider Atkins himself to be a clone of the devil. Others - like most of mine - secretly approve of low-carb but aren't allowed to say so. They have to toe the NHS party line.

I've eaten "my" diet since April 2010, and all that's happened to me is that I've lost weight, my blood pressure has gone down, and my cholesterol and blood lipid profile is excellent. I eat plenty of meat, fish and fat, as well as the low-carb veg listed on the diet, and I am in general very healthy. I do what exercise I can, but it mostly involves bending and stretching, short walks, and gardening in the summer. Also I have a programme of "core muscle" exercises that I do lying on the bed, which help to strengthen my back. I would go swimming, but my nearest pool is 16 miles away and only open to the general public, ladies only, at nine oclock at night. They won't let me in when the army's using it :lol: .

That's enough for now - I need to get some lunch. Have a look round the site, and read up on low-carb. Lots of us do it. Don't forget those questions!

Viv 8)

It seems totally illogical but low-carb/high-fat diets are very good for cholesterol - whereas too much carbohydrate is bad for it! But you need to ask for your full lipid profile, not just your total cholesterol - some people would think my "total" is too high for a diabetic, but my lipid profile is really good.

I am a statin refusnik - I took 10mg (mcg?) Simvastatin for about 18 months and had bad side-effects, so I don't take them. If my blood lipids were really bad I would probably consider taking one again, but not Simvastatin. Yet some people are fine on them long-term. We are all different.

I'm no good at portion control, which is why I like Atkins - as much as you like of bacon, egg, meat, fish, game suits me perfectly! I had venison for my midwinter feast, turkey at Christmas Day, and I'll probably be having duck at some point over New Year. My freezer is full of turkey legs for next year I don't miss bread or potatoes or pasta or rice - they are now saved for rare treats. I just fill up on the meat. And it fills me up quicker and lasts for longer, so I don't get the muchies between meals.

With your goose and pork, for instance - more meat, cut out the Yorkshire pud, and have the same amount of potatoes and veg is a perfectly acceptable "treat" meal for me when I'm on Atkins. The roast potatoes are the treat! :lol:

Just keep reading round and get as much information as you can. Diabetes can be controlled. Who knows whether it's a progressive disease? In some people it probably is - but tight control may just save most of us from the worst complications. We just have to grab our disease by the scruff of its neck and give it a good shake!

I work on the principal that my pancreas can't cope with too much carbohydrate - so I don't give it much.

Happy New Year!

Viv 8)

I'm very interested Viv lol. I can't give my meat up. I need to get my butt in to see my nurse and talk some things through. I will be checking your diet for surel.
Marie

Hello,,,I;m a newbie too and my story mirrors yours to the nth degree,except that I came in at 7.6 (starved) and 10.7 after that lovely syrup!!

BUT that was a few months back...and I was told thatI was pre diabetes by a nursing practiioner.

I went back to the Drs this week (with this wreteched winter cough/flu) and questioned these figures.

He immediately organised a blood and urine test, which I did later the same day.

he did say that the fasting/glucose test was "a waste of time" (yep!!) and that he would be surprised if the latest tests do not come back as positive - as in me having a form of DM.
What I don't quite 'get' is how my later reading was below the 11 figure...which would suggest (to me) that all's not well but it could be worse.

I will get the results late next week.....