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Hi, New here and newly diagnosed

Beshlie

Beshlie

Well-Known Member
Messages
277
Location
Devon
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi everyone,
I was diagnosed with T2 on 22 Nov following two bs readings of 7.6. I have been put on 2 x 500 Metformin a day but they do tend to cause painful wind and awful nausea, so, I have started chopping them in half and am taking half after each small meal that I have, and so far seem to be tolerating them a bit better. As soon as I came home from the surgery I started to research T2 and found this site and have almost lived on it! Although T2 does run in my family it was still a bit of a shock to find I had it, it was like my life changed overnight and took me a few days for it to sink in. All my dr told me was to 'watch the sugar I eat', nothing about carbs. From day 1 I stopped eating sugar in any form and have been studying carbs, at the moment limiting myself to around 100g a day. I haven't stopped eating 2/3 slices of wholemeal bread a day or my 1 Weetabix for breakfast yet, nor my 30g of Smash with dinner, but when I am better educated on this new way of eating I will. I have bought a bs meter to help me learn what I can and can't have and my 2hr after meal test has never gone above 8.3, but usually a bit lower. My BP and cholesterol are on the high side too and I've been given Statins but I've had problems with those in the past so will see how I go. I have fibromyalgia which is painful enough without the pain I have had from Statins in the past! I had already lost a stone in weight without dieting and during the first week of reducing carbs and on the tablets I lost another 5lb. I do have another 2 stones to lose so losing weight is a good thing for me! One of the things that is bothering me is that I can't exercise very much because of arthritis in my spine which affects my mobility, though I'm hoping that losing weight may help with that? Sometimes I get so hungry I become dizzy and have to eat something small, then I feel a bit better. How long does it take to adjust to all the changes? I am guessing around 3 months? From tomorrow I'm going to write down everything I eat with the carb count. I can't eat fatty food following having my gallbladder removed. I have so much to learn and work out!

Beshlie
 
Hi Beshlie and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members which I hope you will find useful. I hope some members can help you from their own experiences when they have read your post.


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 70,000 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

I didnt realise they still made Smash!

You may find the book Carbs and Cals useful as that gives details of fat content as well as fibre, carbs and calories. It is really surprising where carbs hide!

You could try mashed swede or cauliflower instead of the Smash. There are lots of helpful people here who can answer any questions.

Good luck

Cara
 
Dear Beshlie,
Hi and welcome to the diabetes forum. I read your posting and you would seem to me to heading in the right dirrection with what you are planning. Some people are lucky and experience no side effects to Metformin, but for those of us that do, its a matter of a short time untill we adjust and get used to them. Getting a B/G meter can be most benificial as it will show you (as a unique individual) exactly how you cope with eating a normal meal and how it effects your B/G (the 2 hour responce).

By selecting what you eat, choosing foods that limit the overal B/G rise (ie low Carbohydrate or Low GL foods) in time you can build up a picture of what foods best suit you. I'm not too sure of the 'Smash' as being a processed potato product that is highly refined I would think that this should be avoided, restricted or idealy substituted with some alternative as I suspect that this has a very high GL rating.

If you are able to reduce you weight you will find that diabetes is easier to control. As to exercise, well going to the Gym isn't always a necessity as reducing weight can be acheived by careful planned exercise, walking the dog, gardening (not so much this time of year as its Winter) swimming, dancing, household cleaning etc. In fact anything that will raise your heart rate even by just a little bit will help. Exercise steadily and regularly and don't overdo it.

I know of someone who is diabetic and also paralised from the waist downwards, and for exercise at home apart from the usual housework dusting, polishing and the rest, she has what I would best describe a rubber ball that she compresses when watching the television with her fingers to help improve her finger dexterity and strength. She also has a set of small weights that she also uses to strengthen her upper arms. So being disabled dosen't stop her exercising regularly and woe betide any of her children if they step out of line and need a smack !!!!

Cutting down on your total calorie intake, together with steady 'exercise' will help reduce body weight, but you should not make yourself hungry in the process, it is better to eat little and often and loose any body weight steadily (2 lbs week or there abouts)

Hope this is of some use - Lazybones
 
Sorry I have been so long in replying, it's taking me time to get used to being diabetic, but I have accepted it now. I have been spending my time reading on this Forum and reading books, Blood Sugar and The First Year Diabetes mainly, which I am finding very informative. I had my first appointment with the diabetic nurse on 19th (had to cancel the one on the 12th as I was in bed with a virus). Nothing was mentioned about my BS but, after cutting down on carbs and no sugar and losing weight at the rate of 2 kilos a week she said I was going in the right direction. Also my blood pressure had dropped to normal. At the moment I am sorting out what causes me to spike and many things that I expected to don't. I'm going to get a large exercise book to note which foods I can eat and which ones I can't! I don't think you can change your lifestyle in 1 month, it takes time. I had new glasses earlier this month and already they are not much use, I will wait until my BS has settled or I will be visiting the optician every week or so! I haven't been able to exercise as yet because my Fibromyalgia keeps flaring up, but I intend to once it has settled down. I do go up and down stairs a lot so I'm not rooted to my chair, but I have to pace myself with regards to exercise. My weight has gone down 1.1/2 stones so far, I lost some before diagnosis, and my clothes are getting baggy so, rather than keep buying new ones I'm going to alter my existing ones. There are times when I sort of grieve for the person I have always been and not to have to worry about diabetes and all that goes with it but, on the other hand, physically I do feel much better. I had been so fatigued that I hadn't had the energy to do very much at all. I'm an artist, photographer and jeweller and hadn't touched any of them for about a year. I'm still not active in these things but am thinking positive about them for a change!
My BS levels fluctuate between 4.5 and 9.5, but as I say, I'm still working on what I can eat and what I can't. I am aiming for between 4.0 and 5.0.
Studying this disease is like being back at uni, there is so much info to take in!!
I can't get on with the Metformin, it makes me too ill, so the DN has arranged for me to see my Dr. on 27th to maybe try the SR type. I already have problems with diarrhoea since having my gall bladder removed so the last thing I want is to be housebound with that problem, plus wind cramps and sickness through taking Metformin!!!! Ideally I would like to control my diabetes with diet and as much exercise I can do.
 
Hi Beshlie,
Congratulations on the weight loss and lowering your BP. :) You are right, there was for me too, a period where I had to get used to the loss of my old self, my old life (where I could do everything for myself and now need to rely on help for the most simple things) but once you have dealt with the grief, there is a new way forwards. I hope you get back to your hobbies and isn't it great to have to alter your old clothes? :D
Good luck and take care
Chris
 
Hi Chris,
One thing I am finding is that I hardly ever feel hungry, unlike before lowering carbs. I think diabetes was the reason I gained weight...high BS causes hunger = 3 extra stones to carry around!:(.
I hope that you are doing well :).

Take care, Beshlie
 
If you were originally dignosed on the basis of a couple of 7.6 results, I'm surprised that you weren't encouraged to go for diet and exercise only. Mine were much higher than that but I brought them down. Ask your GP is you can have a go. If he advises against it, 4s and 5s will probably be well within your reach once you get the hang of the foodstuffs. Then you should be able to come off it.

The main thing is not to rely on it to sort out everything for you. It doesn't. It's not a cure, its just a helping hand. You have to do the work and, from what you have written, you sound like you are up for the challenge.
 
Hi Beshlie and welcome to the forum

Its quite common for eyes to get blurry after diagnosis and your blood glucose (bg) levels to start to drop, as your bg levels rise it increases pressure on the back of the eyes and as this happens slowly the changes are seldom noticed, however when your levels start to drop especially if they drop quickly the changes are much more noticeable ie blurred vision, it is therefore important that you dont have your eyes checked for a couple of months or as you have discovered any prescription for glasses will be a waste of money!!

Also something to bear in mind is the fact that the more carbohydrates are processed as in mashed potato (Smash) the faster they will inter your blood stream and the more they will affect your bg levels, cooking will start to break foods down so foods/carbs cooked al dente are generally better tolerated than more processed or overcooked foods. :)
 
Sid Bonkers said:
foods/carbs cooked al dente are generally better tolerated than more processed or overcooked foods. :)
Click to expand...

Al Dente pudding:

P_H04_2388517.JPG
 
No, Yorksman, to try to control bs by diet was not suggested. But since I had to stop the Metformin because they made me so ill I have continued to lose weight. My bs is a bit all over the place while I am sorting out what I can and can't eat, but I'm sure everyone must go through that? Today my Dr. has given me a script for the SR Metformin so I'll see how I go with them.

Sid, I have decided to stop driving while my bs/eyes settle down, or I would be at the optician every week!! I have early cataracts too and the optician said I am just legal to drive, but not being able to judge distances doesn't fill me with confidence!
I know what you mean about Smash and it will be going. I used to buy it because I'm not keen on potatoes. There is such a lot to learn.


My HBA1c when I was diagnosed on 22 November was 54, and on 19 December it was 49. I don't fully understand it or how it's worked out yet, but at least it is going in the right direction...
 
Hi Beshlie your Hba1c readings translate as follows:-
22/11/13 - 54 mmol/mol = 7.1% DCCT = 8.7 mmol/l
19/12/13 - 49 mmol/mol = 6.6% DCCT = 8.0 mmol/l
 
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