How can I be diabetic ???

Actually Stephanie the research I've done indicates it is the other way round and that type 2 diabetes has everything to do with obesity and genetics and nothing to do with how much sugar you consume.... It's on many of the medical websites but I don't think I'm allowed to post the links here so maybe do a google search and see what you find...


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

elaine77 said:

Actually Stephanie the research I've done indicates it is the other way round and that type 2 diabetes has everything to do with obesity and genetics and nothing to do with how much sugar you consume.... It's on many of the medical websites but I don't think I'm allowed to post the links here so maybe do a google search and see what you find...


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

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and indeed on Diabetes UK (the charity site)

Some things that do not cause diabetes
Eating sweets and sugar does not cause diabetes,but eating a lot of sugary and fatty foods can lead to being overweight.
...

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http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-dia ... tAodqEYAQg

the most definative test for diabetes is the Oral Glucose tolerance test. You could ask for one.
In the meantime, since high blood glucose is dangerous to the micrro blood vessels, I suggest you try a controlled carbohydrate diet. You may find it's enough to put you right. In any case, it can't hurt you
Hana

Hello Unhappy. I think it could drive you mad trying to work out why you have diabetes; there are lots of statistical analyses that point obesity and inheritance (not to sugar consumption) but they're only statistics - there are always individual exceptions. I am the first diabetic in my family and I'm not overweight: after I was diagnosed, my doctor said that I really didn't deserve to be diabetic! My advice is to forget about why you're diabetic - it's pointless to worry about it. Instead, think about how you're going to manage it: your disinclation to eat loads of sugary foods is a good start, and you should be able to cut them out completely without any trouble.

I'd suggest checking your BG before and two hours after meals, keeping a record of what you eat and the readings afterwards. You'll soon find that you have control by adjusting what you eat and taking exercise. You may or may not need medication - perhaps not, as your readings are not extreme.


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unhappy said:

I work in a nursing setting so I have begun to do my BM when at work. These have been readings like 5.5, 5.8, 6.3, 4.9, the highest just after having something to eat was 7.1 ???
.....

when I asked what the result was I was told it averaged at about 7.0 over the 12 weeks. I have no symptoms - no excess drinking or going to the toilet.

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I too had to tell the GP and the DN that I was not prepared to take metformin. " But you've got diabetes, you have to. That's what people who have got diabetes do. They take Metformin. Statistically, you'll live longer."

I informed them I have a degree in maths and am fully familiar with modern statistical models of stochastic processes and what they had just told me was nothing more than a circular argument. In addition, if you give people metformin who do not need metformin, any inferences derived are skewed. My GP told me that he had been on a course on diabetes. Further enquiry revealed that he went to a supermarket and looked at the labels on foods. My DN told me that she has an A level in biology so I told her that she would know more about the reproductive cycle of the buttercup than she does about diabetes. The complacency that you encountered is typical. They think everyone they speak to is thick. Roy Taylor, Professor of Medicine and Metabolism at Newcastle University, who is published in diabetes research journals complains about this complacency in Practical Diabetes:

"It must be recorded that many individuals expressed frustration at the routine manner in which their doctor, nurse or dietitian regarded the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. This conflicted with the cataclysmic blow which they personally felt. They were told that the diagnosis was clear and therefore the guidelines will be rolled out. Lose some weight and take this metformin. Get used to it."

The readings that you have done yourself, presumably by finger prick and using capilliary blood are different from the 'average of 7.0 over 12 weeks' that you mention. Your own readings are measurements the blood plasma whereas the latter 7.0 is a measure of the glucose bound to the haemaglobin. My own HBA1c as it is called, 6.5%, is higher than many of my own plasma readings would suggest which range from the 4s to the 6s. Glucose in the blood plasma is taken out and it binds with the red blood cells.

However, my original HBA1c was something around 8.9% but I got it down to 6.5% in 8 weeks without any medication, just through watching what I eat, losing weight and doing some exercise. So, you can do it. Many people on this forum have done and, as you are starting from a low base of 7% or 53 in 'new money' you haven't got far to go to get back into the normal range. It is easier for your GP or DN to write out a prescription for metformin than give you lifestyle advice on what to eat, how to lose weight and what sort of exercises you might do. It's real tick box healthcare.

unhappy said:

the only problem was looking longingly at the machine at the back of the room and remembering how nice the drinking chocolate is...

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LOL, I know that feeling. Temptation is everywhere. Today I got an email from Amazon, recommending 3 books,
Patisserie at Home, Chocolat: Chocolate Recipes For Desserts, Truffles, Cakes And Other Treats and one on Cheesecakes. They've obviously twigged onto the fact that I am buying cookbooks :lol: Finding the right foods that work for you and cooking with them is fun if you have the time and you can eat well, and safely but those fond memories from the past are still there.

Those chocolate drinks from the machines are more accurately described as chocolate flavoured sugar drinks though. I really got into a bad way for much of my life through using drinks machines, local sandwich shops and convenience foods etc. Modern working environments and practices do not make changing lifestyles easy at all. I can only do it because I moved my office to my house. I save two hours commuting so have more time and have a kitchen, so can prepare proper food. It takes a lot of discipline to make up a healthy packed lunch when you get up in a morning before you have an hour's commute to work.

Hi unhappy,

Diet really is a minefield! I just wanted to say though, be careful with the wholemeal rolls.... Wholemeal is basically not much better than white bread really.... Try granary or whole grain as they a much lower GI. Many people cut out bread altogether but I'm a bread lover and couldn't do that so what I've basically done is switch all my carbs to low GI ones and reduced my portion size... For now that's working for me but different foods effect different people differently and it's a learning curve individual to everyone


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

Just to underscore what Elaine says above, wholemeal often isn't wholemeal. The real bread campaign found one supermarket selling a wholemeal loaf which contained only 6% wholemeal flour. It takes time to learn what foods you can trust.

http://www.sustainweb.org/publications/?id=266

This site though has a real bread finder. I found a local artisan baker and they do many loaves which are OK for me. Try the finder utility by entering your postcode;

http://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/

It's worth the effort as once you find some bread you can eat, sandwiches form the major part of a meal that you can take from home, along with a flask of soup, pickles, some fruits, some yoghurts etc.

If you can eat porridge, not everyone can, you can do that in a microwave but without at least a hob, you are limited. Bacon and eggs and german sausages (hardly any starchy filler allowed) are pretty common in the low carbing community.

You might get away with a cheap Teppanyaki grill, basically it's a hotplate type grill which you can use on the table. I got one from Lidl for £28, here's a smaller on on amazon for £20.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-James-El ... yaki+grill

It's fat free frying and will do most things from fish fillets to bacon and eggs. It's ideal for quick cooking. It won't do your soups, but they will cook in the microwave. Another useful kitchen item is a halogen cooker:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_ ... chen%2C453

Also, most 2nd hand shops or charity shops have slow cookers in them because loads of people bought them, never use them and then decide they'd be better off with the space. You can probably get one for under a tenner on ebay. These are great for doing low carb stews because they are slow. They cook whilst you are asleep. It really just a question of throwing in your ingredients, I like lamb and barley stew, switching on and then going to bed. These types of meals benefit from cheap ingredients which take a long time to cook so, you don't have to trim off fat or gristle etc. It will all break down in the slow cooking process and taste better for it. There are loads of recipes on the web and if one containes potatoes, if they spike you, although new potatoes are normally OK, just substitute with barley or reduce the amount of potatoes used. Most take 10 or 15 mins to prepare and 8 hours to cook.

Hi unhappy

completely understand the tiredness and shift battle with the no energy or desire to cook so dont cook

I have limited ability to cook to so

a few tips for meals that dont need to be cooked and wont make you ill (my Blood glucose testing have drops from 16s to 6s and 7s in 3 months and my HbA1c has gone from 62 to 55 in the same time)

so yogurt seeds and berries (be careful not to overdo each tho this one can affect blood glucose in some people)

buy bags of salad ready made or salad bowls add some tinned fish, cheese, ham or cooked meats even pepperami

lots of fruit and vegetable perfect and can eat most of them raw (even ones think are cooked veg only such as cauliflower, mushrooms, beetroot, peas)

try to eat three times a day I know shifts are hard to make it work so I use to set an alarm (different times at night to day of course but three times a day an alarm would go off telling me to eat something) it doesnt have to be large

half a dozen brazil nuts and a piece of fruit will do

that will help regulate your blood sugars

are you drinking enough water ?? check it out

A typical day for me is (and am losing weight then I need to)

breakfast (the meal I cook most days)
2 -3 rashers of bacon
2 eggs
4-6 mushrooms

or

small pot natural yogurt full fat
2-3 tbs seeds like sunflower or pumpkin
and some berries

Lunch
tinned fish and dressing or mayo full fat again
mixed salad usually spinach, celery and carrot or beetroot but I vary the leaves

Dinner
cooked meat packet of 100 - 200g
raw veggies such as cauliflower and peas (or cooked if feel like cooking)

Snacks
if you can
celery and pate
cheese and apple
nuts
pepperami

try it for a month help your body fight back without medication

My gp wanted me on metformin too but as I have seen the damage to my sister I wont take it fortunately my gp listened and every three months after my HbA1c test we revisit results and because she is seeing the change in diet is affecting results I have been allowed to continue without medication

bottom line is

it is your body your health and your life

it is easy to do a one fits all treatment plan but as with diets not everyone takes or responds well to the same diet else the diet industry wouldnt be multi billion industry

Hope that helps a little

for me bread potatoes rice etc cause my blood glucose to rise (thats what was causing my ones over 9) I only get readings between 5 and 8.7 now)

xoxox

hi unhappy

thats lovely bg reading I would love to get in 5s been there once or twice at moment just come back out of 7s mine went back to 7s after yogurt testing but now its back in 6s

try things like cheese, eggs, those slices of cooked meat thats made of quorn etc for ease its doable and dont forget lovely nuts and seeds all essential to health (I have up to 100g of nuts and seeds a day) up to 80g of cheese a day (rarely max out but can do) and eggs are such a good snack

baby steps does the trick
xoxox

unhappy said:

The only problem is I'm vegetarian

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I cook at least one of these dishes per week, but mostly two: Prashad Cookbook: Indian Vegetarian Cooking http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prashad-Cookboo ... an+cooking

Most of the pulses, beans etc are low GI and don't spike me at all. The addition of the fresh spices completely transforms the taste. If you have an asian store nearby, they are very much cheaper than the supermarkets. They also have wide ranges of unleavened breads several of which are wholemeal or wholegrain. Futhermore, you can cook say three dishes have a third of each and freeze the rest. Its not just beans and lentils either, things to do with mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes etc and you can always add small amount medium GI foods such as gnocchi or sliced new potatoes.

vicky_l said:

eggs are such a good snack

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Duck eggs, with flaked sea salt, a total transformation. My sister in law got me all sorts of real eggs for easter, including a jar of pickled quail eggs. Very tasty and very handy for adding to a fresh salad.

Thinking about it makes me want to go to the farm shop

what a neat idea

you have a lovely sister to think of such a thing

all types of different eggs to try might have to do that

so far have had chicken duck and quails wonder which others I can find
xoxox

Hi All .

A great and quick foody thing 'ideal' for us all .
Lettuce Parcels :thumbup:
Use some huge lettuce leaves , plonk in them all your favourite salady things .
Like celery ,ham slices ,cheese grated or sliced ,tomatoes ,cucumber ,peppers , sliced boiled egg
chicken sliced up ,grated carrrot ,sliced baby beetroot ,sliced onion etc ...

You can vary these fillings too - add in as little or much as you have in stock or want .
Add any zesty lemon juice or a favourite dressing of your own choice.
Roll the lettuce leaf up around your fillings and enjoy

I often have these as they are sooo tasty quick and easy to rustle up too .
Another tip is to try putting them on a smaller plate and they feel and look more this way .

Hope this idea can help you .

Anna.

Sid Bonkers said:

Hi unhappy and welcome to the forum.

I hate to be the one to break this to you but denial is one of the symptoms of diabetes and is why it is known as the silent killer, it is common for people to testify to similar stories to your own of not having any symptoms. I myself although I did have a thirst and the accompanying need to "go" but felt perfectly OK until a trip to the hospital saw me admitted and put straight on insulin!! That was extreme though and doesnt happen to most :lol:

But please accept what your doctors are telling you, once you have accepted it you can then deal with it, it doesnt need to be a death sentence or the end of your life just a new chapter in it, although it is normal to be confused and a little bewildered at first but it doesnt take most too long to get used to once you can accept it. Oh and many people manage to live perfectly normal and healthy lives despite this condition.

Metformin is a wonderful drug that has many positive benefits including helping to protect against several cancers, others have mentioned side effects but these are just like any other drug they are not compulsory and the vast majority of people dont experience them and those who do usually settle down and get over any initial side effects quite quickly.

So dont delay, accept your diagnosis and start learning all you can about diabetes, most well controlled diabetics end up knowing much more about diabetes than the average GP who tend to have a very blinkered view of it based mainly I believe on historic outcomes and thankfully things are much much better now for diabetics both in treatment and in our understanding of how to control it.

And again welcome to the forum, you have stumbled upon a great resource of diabetic knowledge and experiences.

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What a fantastic reply Sid B. Hopefully your advice will be heeded, being diabetic is like most things, the more positive you are the easier it is to cope with.

Sounds Yummy anna
xoxox