I am newly diagnosed with fasting sugars of 16 ! I have been put on metformin three a day . I have to go back to drs in three months but have been told not to worry about testing blood sugars ! Is this normal when first diagnosed
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High initial readings
- Thread starter Janey61
- Start Date
jack412
Expert
sadly it is normal for the UK. you can argue the guidelines that say you should initially test, but most give up and buy their own meter from amazon uk called code free and strips for 7 quid per 50
with a meter you can check what foods are sending your [Blood Glucose] BG high and control with diet and minimum meds
with a meter you can check what foods are sending your [Blood Glucose] BG high and control with diet and minimum meds
- Messages
- 3,176
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- I do not have diabetes
Hi and welcome. Did you get any dietary/exercise advice on how to reduce your glucose levels. A good starting point would be to go for a 30 minute walk about an hour after you start to eat. That will help bring your levels down. Additionally if the weather is unpleasant I do the stairs. This entails walking up and down a flight of stairs about 20 times. It used to take me about 20 minutes and now only takes 10.
As for diet... there are different dietary regimes; they boil down to... Low Glycemic Iindex (GI), Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF). It is not just sugar you need to consider it is carbohydrate as that just turns to sugar when you eat it. The low GI foods turn slower than high GI foods and fat doesnt turn to sugar at all.
Have a look around the site and come back and ask any questions you may have.
Good luck for the future and @daisy1 will be along shortly to provide some more information.
As for diet... there are different dietary regimes; they boil down to... Low Glycemic Iindex (GI), Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF). It is not just sugar you need to consider it is carbohydrate as that just turns to sugar when you eat it. The low GI foods turn slower than high GI foods and fat doesnt turn to sugar at all.
Have a look around the site and come back and ask any questions you may have.
Good luck for the future and @daisy1 will be along shortly to provide some more information.
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
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- Tablets (oral)
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- Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Janey and welcome to the forum
This is the information that Andrew mentioned which we give to new members. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will help, as you have already seen.
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 98,000 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 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-and-whole-grains.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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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 bloodglucose 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 is the information that Andrew mentioned which we give to new members. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will help, as you have already seen.
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 98,000 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-and-whole-grains.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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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 bloodglucose 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.
As said above - quite common in the UK to be told not to bother testing. However, if it were me I would do as jack412 said above. Get a meter and some test strips - then you can see how you progress over the next three months. Why wait three months it is after all your health! All advice given by daisy1 above gives you a starting point and ask any questions in the forum (which is brill).
Daibell
Master
Yes, do get a meter and consider your diet. Have a look at Daisy's advice. Reduce the carbs and have low-GI ones when possible to minimise spikes. Increase the protein and fats so you have enough calories and nutrients but keep portion sizes sensible and if you snack try nuts, cheese and berries.
Thanks all ! I'm a nurse so I think I shall test myself at work as it's free !!! just while my BG hopefully settles down a bit.
I have been exercising most days but fell playing tennis today..... So think that will hold me back a bit this week as it's agony
Need to lose a stone but feel positive in general as I have known that type 2 would catch me up eventually as the last four generations of women on my maternal side have had late onset ! So probably inevitable...... Not to say that I could have eaten less and exercised more !!!
Support on this forum is great thank you
I have been exercising most days but fell playing tennis today..... So think that will hold me back a bit this week as it's agony
Need to lose a stone but feel positive in general as I have known that type 2 would catch me up eventually as the last four generations of women on my maternal side have had late onset ! So probably inevitable...... Not to say that I could have eaten less and exercised more !!!
Support on this forum is great thank you
