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Hi

T

toodles60

Member
Hi,

I'm 52 and live alone with my 17 year old son in Devon. For a few years have had hypothyroidism and as my weight increased, high blood pressure. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 2 months ago and seen nobody since so am quite upset and a bit frightened as to what the lack of thyroid, the high blood pressure and now diabetes means for how long i will live. I do feel like a death sentence has been passed which i'm hoping is just me being silly. I am a little bit upset that when seeing the GP he said 'You have type 2 diabetes, you need to make an appt with the diabetes nurse. I think we'll try and see what happens with other routes before we give medication'. I made the appt that day which was two months ago and the appt was made for tomorrow. I just feel that leaving me for 2 months without any explanation or help as to diet or what the whole things means for me is a bit cruel. I am 5ft 3 and weigh 14 stones because for a few months now i am always hungry. For the past few months i've been hardly able to walk as my legs below the knees and my feet, hurt so much even after walking for a short time. My memory is also playing up and i keep forgetting words. Also I am so hungry all the time. I could eat 24/7 and never feel full. I wake in the night hungry. Does anyone know if any of the above symptoms i'm getting could be connected to diabetes, so that i can stop panicking over it?

Many thanks

Suz
 
Hi Suz and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the basic information we give to new members which you should find helpful. Other members should be along soon to share their experiences with you regarding how you are feeling. Ask all the questions you like and someone will 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 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. Sadly it's quite common for the surgery to leave diabetics with little information at diagnosis. Daisy's post should help you start thru the information for are looking for. Obviously your Hypothyroidism makes things a bit more complicated but I'm sure the usual dietary advice for diabetics applies. As all the carbs we eat are converted to glucose in the blood it is important to keep these down in size and low-GI to help keep blood sugar down. By controlling portion sizes and quantity of carbs your weight should also gradually reduce. Being constantly hungry isn't a normal symptom of diabetes, so I can't comment on that aspect, but as carbs are a bit addictive reducing them over time may help reduce the hunger. If you need to fill up a bit go more for protein, veg, some fatty foods such as egg & bacon. Nuts make a good snack.
 
Hi Suzanna, and welcome to the forum. :wave:

I also have hypothyroidism and other conditions, so when I was also told I had diabetes, I felt shocked and I admit a bit scared about what life was going to hold for me too. I have 2 grandchildren and wondered if I would be in good health to enjoy seeing younger one grow up, such was my thoughts at the time of diagnosis.
However since joining this forum I have had the motivation and the right advice to do something to improve my lot in life...it can be done, so don't despair, please.

Firstly re the hunger....is your thyroid condition well under control? If it's not, you can gain weight more easily and always feel hungry, so perhaps a trip to your doctor to check that your levels are OK might be the first step?

Losing weight is difficult, I don't deny that, but have a look around the forum, and see for yourself what diet might suit you. I am currently relatively low-carbing, and watching calories, and I have made huge inroads into both losing weight, and getting my blood glucose levels under control, so if I can do it, anyone can. I really feel so much better too, far more energy and just generally more positive in my outlook.
I do believe that cutting down carbs (I still eat some but generally only the good ones, as I couldn't give up carbs completely) has made me less hungry - I don't seem to have the same cravings as I had before either.

Doing some daily exercise I think is essential in helping you to both lose weight and help with your diabetic control.
I have an inflammatory type of arthritis so exercise was very difficult for me, as I often get very tired when I have a flare-up of my condition, but I was determined to do something regardless.
I could only manage a few minutes of walking at first, then I upped it to 10 minutes, then 10 minutes twice a day. I now can walk at a brisk pace for over 30 minutes without being 'puffed out'! :lol: I'm gradually upping the walking, and now use an exercise bike too, and I'm actually enjoying it.

It just takes motivation and determination that you won't let diabetes win! It isn't a death sentence, just a huge wake-up call, and you CAN do it - just read the inspirational posts on here. You CAN live a long healthy life, so don't get disheartened, it's the choices you make right now that are important for your future.

I wish you all the best, and please keep posting.

PS. I found using a blood monitor helped enormously too. It keeps you on the straight and narrow!
 
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