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Type 2 I am a bit confused

T

tish1979

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello everyone.
I am recently diagnosed and am a bit confused about some stuff. Please may you help me? I am in Zimbabwe and we do not have Diabetes clinics etc. here.
-My blood sugar level seems to stay between 6.5 and 8. It does not go above 9.5 even after eating. I was told by 1 nurse that I will have to go onto insulin as my sugar is way to high. Another nurse told me that my sugar can stay on 10 and it will be fine. From what I am reading, even 6.5 seems to be too high. If my sugar drops below 6 I feel AWFUL! Is this normal?
- I have been told to eat no fruit at all! We do not get the fancy veggies and food as you do in the UK. So my diet is chicken, veggies, sometimes eggs and I drink tea or water. I have zero potatoes, rice, flour, bread, sugar, pasta etc. So I struggle when I go out and normally land up not eating.
- My weight. I have lost 47kg in the last 18 months but I just cannot shift the last little bit standing between me and my target weigh. Any suggestions?
- Last question - what healthy diabetic snacks could I make? I don't buy any food I don't make myself.
Thank you in advance for your help and sorry for all the questions :-)
 
Hi tish and welcome to the forum. First let me tag in @daisy1 for her useful info post.
You are to be congratulated on your weight loss so far, I too have lost the majority of the weight I needed to lose and the last little bit is really stubborn. I eat a low carb diet to control my blood sugars and eat enough fat not to feel hungry but replace the energy I’m not getting from carbs. however it is hard to get the balance right.
I’m glad you have a meter so you can see what effect different foods have on you. Can you post what you ate yesterday as an example and we may be able to tweak things for you.
Snack wise, have a look here:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/snacks
Your feeling bad when your sugar levels drop below 6 is because your body has been used to running high, it’s called a false hypo.
I don’t understand your first nurse saying you’ll need to go onto insulin, from your profile you take just one Metformin tablet per day, when the maximum dose is four. Surely that could be increased or other tablets added before insulin is considered, if there is no adjustments left for your diet. The second nurse is wrong too, 10 is not an acceptable level! Have a look here:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. I have given you a Trophy because you seem to be doing all the right things with regard to your Diabetes so Well Done. Quite a few people see a weight loss stall especially after losing a considerable amount, the last few pounds or kilos can be very stubborn. As Rachox has said, if you tell us what you would typically eat in one day then we may be able to help you tweak things so that your numbers improve even further.

Have a wander around the forum and ask as many questions as you like.
 
Congratulations on doing so well. I really do not understand why one of your nurses thinks you need insulin though. Your readings are higher that the 'normal' range suggested here but not very high.
I felt like I was having something like a hypo when I went low carb, but it seemed to be that my body had got used to a higher blood sugar and it settled down - I now feel fine with a morning BS ranging between 4.2 and 4.8.
If you are trying to reduce your blood sugar which veggies are you eating - some are fairly high in carbs so could be causing an issue. Also we all react slightly differently so try testing before and 2 hours after a meal to check if your BS after a particular veg.
One snack I take with me is based on eggs - I beat up a couple of eggs with either cream or a little ground almond, and add spices or herbs. Baked in a bun tin they make 5-6 small patties - cooked on a medium heat for about 12-15 mins. I like them with some grated cheese added to the pans.
 
@tish1979
Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 600,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.
 
TriciaWs said:
Congratulations on doing so well. I really do not understand why one of your nurses thinks you need insulin though. Your readings are higher that the 'normal' range suggested here but not very high.
I felt like I was having something like a hypo when I went low carb, but it seemed to be that my body had got used to a higher blood sugar and it settled down - I now feel fine with a morning BS ranging between 4.2 and 4.8.
If you are trying to reduce your blood sugar which veggies are you eating - some are fairly high in carbs so could be causing an issue. Also we all react slightly differently so try testing before and 2 hours after a meal to check if your BS after a particular veg.
One snack I take with me is based on eggs - I beat up a couple of eggs with either cream or a little ground almond, and add spices or herbs. Baked in a bun tin they make 5-6 small patties - cooked on a medium heat for about 12-15 mins. I like them with some grated cheese added to the pans.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! I will definitely start testing and seeing what doesn't shoot my sugar up! xxx
 
Guzzler said:
Hello and welcome to the forum. I have given you a Trophy because you seem to be doing all the right things with regard to your Diabetes so Well Done. Quite a few people see a weight loss stall especially after losing a considerable amount, the last few pounds or kilos can be very stubborn. As Rachox has said, if you tell us what you would typically eat in one day then we may be able to help you tweak things so that your numbers improve even further.

Have a wander around the forum and ask as many questions as you like.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your response! It is a bit tough. Especially as not a lot of people know much about diabetes. The amount of times I go out and someone offers me a coke, then looks at me weird when I decline and ask for water :-). I am loving this forum! x
 
Guzzler said:
Hello and welcome to the forum. I have given you a Trophy because you seem to be doing all the right things with regard to your Diabetes so Well Done. Quite a few people see a weight loss stall especially after losing a considerable amount, the last few pounds or kilos can be very stubborn. As Rachox has said, if you tell us what you would typically eat in one day then we may be able to help you tweak things so that your numbers improve even further.

Have a wander around the forum and ask as many questions as you like.
Click to expand...
Oops forgot to say what I eat in a typical day
Breakfast - Oats with milk and sweetener
Snack - A small piece of cheese or handful of peanuts (most days I don't have)
Lunch - Avo, tomato, egg. piece of cheese and salad
Dinner - Chicken breast with steamed veggies
I do drink a lot of tea with milk and sweetener though. I know I need to stop sweetener as it is bad for you but I will try cut down. It is just there is nothing much I enjoy and the sweet tea is my little treat.
 
tish1979 said:
Oops forgot to say what I eat in a typical day
Breakfast - Oats with milk and sweetener
Snack - A small piece of cheese or handful of peanuts (most days I don't have)
Lunch - Avo, tomato, egg. piece of cheese and salad
Dinner - Chicken breast with steamed veggies
I do drink a lot of tea with milk and sweetener though. I know I need to stop sweetener as it is bad for you but I will try cut down. It is just there is nothing much I enjoy and the sweet tea is my little treat.
Click to expand...

So, the oats and peanuts will not be doing you any favours at all. The oats especially in the morning when it is said we may be at our most insulin resistant are a grain and the peanuts are a legume not a nut, legumes are higher in carbs.

Try bacon and eggs for breakfast, and almonds or macadamia in small quantities as a snack.

Do you like coffee with double cream? Fewer carbs and full of healthy fat for a more satisfying hot drink.
 
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