I NEED HELP

Hi Heidi and welcome!
First let me post a link to our useful info:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/
There are a few diets people follow with type 2, personally I went low carb, not only did it result in non - diabetic numbers but I also managed to lose a shed load of weight very easily.
Here’s a link to an intro to low carbing:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

Hi and welcome. You have come to the right place.

First of all my sympathy- it can feel very overwhelming and yes it can feel very hard to get the right information.

I'm relatively newly diagnosed so don't have anywhere near the experience of others here but I can say that I have been able to bring down my blood sugar levels by following a LCHF diet.

The first piece of advice is that if you don't already have a meter get one and test regularly. Only be testing do you know the effect food has on you. Everyone is slightly different and the most important thing is how the food you eat effects you.

Before giving any other advice it would be helpful to know what medication you are on.

Help can be found on this site- I couldn't have coped without the amazing people here so start looking around, asking questions and let everyone know how we can help.

Hi @Heidio2018 it sounds like you’ve had a rough time of it recently but don’t worry, people here will listen and try to help.
I too find a lchf way of eating very helpful for controlling my T2 diabetes and I now have a normal HbA1c. I wonder if you are seeing a nephrologist about your kidneys though? I know that some aspects of a lchf diet are not suitable for people with some types of kidney disease. Avocados for instance are full of healthy fats but also very high in potassium which may not be suitable for you. Dairy products too may not be advised. It would be worth checking up before embarking on lchf, I wish you all the best.

Heidio2018 said:

Hey guys so I found out I was type 2 diabetic last year. Since then I have had 2 liver biopsy, my sugar levels are still not controlled, I've been told I have high cholesterol and just found out I have too much protein in my kidneys. I take 3 different medications which for me is very hard because I never even liked to take paracetamol before.

I am in need of help I dont really have anyone to speak to about this because the people I know who are diabetic dont give me good advice at all. I have weight to lose buy finding it very hard due to me missing meals and not actually knowing what is a good diet for me to follow.

When I speak to my doctor they dont help either so just want know what what others are doing to manage their diabetes, it would be so much help for me.

Click to expand...

Hi Heidio2018,
You have found the right place for advice.
Firstly it would help us to know what your 3 medications (and dosages) are. If you fill that in on the Information under your profile. Note this can't be done with the phone app. it needs a computer. It would also help if you know if you had an Hba1c result from a blood test (extracted blood - not a finger-prick test).

Secondly, your Kidney problem may rule out some types of diet - depending upon how bad it is.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by Insulin Resistance, Insulin Resistance is caused by having too high an Insulin level for too long.
High Insulin is caused by High Blood Glucose - High Blood Glucose (and also very low Blood Glucose) can be dangerous, so the job of the Insulin is to move Glucose out of the bloodstream into muscles (for energy) and into Fat cells as a sort of fuel tank.
The problem is that the fat cells can only take so much and then it starts building up fat around the Liver and other internal organs. All Type 2 Diabetics are fat on the inside, even those who are slim on the outside.

Now the bit you won't like to hear: The thing that causes high Blood Glucose is eating Sugar (including fruit), and starches such as Bread, Potato, Flour, Rice (any grains - even the so called 'healthy whole grains'. Beans, Lentils, Peas (any legume) can also have too high a Carbohydrate load to be safe for you to eat.
Anything labelled 'Low Fat' is almost certainly high in Carbohydrates and so is bad for Type 2 diabetics.

It gets worse: What you have been told about Fat and particularly Saturated Fat is wrong. Fat does not make you fat, in fact Fat and Protein are the best foods for diabetics- though you also need vitamins from green leafy vegetables.
I have no idea what you eat or where you live, but for example Breakfast needs to be a low carb meal - so Breakfast Cereals like Kelloggs are bad for you. Even Boiled Oats (called porridge in the UK) is also bad for you.
Berries with Cream or Full Fat Yoghurt is good, so is Cheese, so are Eggs - boiled, or fried. .
Many Type 2 members eat Meat (Bacon) for breakfast, but with your Kidney problems there may be a limit as to how much meat is safe for you to eat.

As has already been advised, if you are serious about your health then you need a Blood Glucose test meter so that you van test to see what effect different meals have on your Blood Glucose.
If you are paying for it yourself, it is important to get a Meter with low cost Test Strips since you use 1 test strip every time you test - which will be a lot of time per day at first. Two popular Meters (with low cost test strips) here in the UK are: the SD Code Free (available from Amazon) and the Tee2+ available from Spirit Healthcare.

There are several ways of controlling Blood Glucose and losing weight:
1. Some people like to go for a severely calorie restricted diet, but these can't be a permanent solution.

2. Some people use either regular or intermittent Fasting - which can be as little as just skipping Breakfast and eating Lunch a little later (and perhaps dinner a little earlier). The advantage over a Calorie restricted diet is that the Body doesn't think it is in starvation mode and so it doesn't try to slow down the metabolism (which happened on Calorie restricted diets).

3. Many people in here (like me) take the 'easy route' and opt for a Low Carbohydrate but High Fat diet. They often combine that with some Intermittent Fasting. This reduces Blood Glucose and usually weight surprisingly quickly without them ever feeling very hungry!

I wish you good luck in choosing something that works for you..
Ian
.