I need help!

[gefmayhem]

Hi folks,
I need help with my diabetes and here is why.
I'm 48 and type 2, I was diagnosed about 18 years ago and my control has always been variable at best.
When I was diagnosed I was told I would probably be on insulin within the year but have managed to avoid it so far.
I'm currently taking in the morning glipizide 12.5 mg, Metformin 1000mg, Avandia 4mg
Ramipril 2.5 mg
Evenings, glipizide 7.5 mg, Metformin 1000mg, Simvastatin 40mg
Ramipril 2.5 mg.
I have been told that I have maxed out on the pills.
I didn't normally bother testing my blood sugar levels but having received a letter telling me that the condition of my eyes is giving causes for concern, I started again recently and have been unable to get the results under 12 mmol/L since I started retesting.
I test once a day before breakfast lunch and dinner, 30 minutes after breakfast lunch and dinner and last thing at night.
Every 8th day I do all 7 tests.
Since I started getting these results I decided it was time to really take my diet in hand and went for a low carb diet - pretty much of my own design as my work circumstances make food preparation difficult
Currently I am working away from home from Tuesday morning until Friday evening.
At home, I have fruit (grapefruit and prunes in juice) for breakfast, wholemeal sandwiches (usually ham) for lunch and cooked or cold meat with veg (peas, onions, peppers mushrooms) for tea.
Snacks will be peanuts or grapes.
While at work breakfast is a banana, lunch is pasta or rice salad, with veg and tuna, dinner is wholemeal ham or cheese sandwiches.
Snacks are peanuts or grapes.

i know the diet isn't great but I'm very limited but the options open to me while I'm working away.
My home hospital runs a diabetic clinic on a Friday and I have been unable to see them for 9 months, I know I should take the time off and go and see them but if I don't work, I don't get paid.

So can any of you offer me advice regarding general things I can do to improve my readings?
Can someone tell me what happens next if the readings do not come down?
Finally, if I decide to see a dietitian, I cannot see one at home, and therefore I presume the NHS where I work won't give me an appointment, what do I look for to make sure a private dietitian is going to provide the correct advice?

 

[timo2]

Hello gefmayhem,
Watch out for grapes and bananas, their the worst fruits that you can choose for raising sugars. Most other fruits are lower in glucose and higher in fructose, so they're easier on the levels.

Also, brown rice is better than white - it's tastier and lower G.I(slower to release sugars).

And finally, stay away from NHS dietitians, they'll make you ill. :wink:

All the best,
timo.

 

[gefmayhem]

Not what I wanted to hear but exactly what I expected - the ideal reply would tell me bacon rolls, ice cream and currys were the way to go.

From what I remember of Atkins, its all unprocessed stuff, meat, cheese, veg and very little else.
Thats ok I can deal with that.

I am limited in shops and once at work I can either eat from the canteen, really not much good, or take food in.
My digs have no cooking facilities

Keep the advice coming in folks, maybe if there is enough good advice it will batter its way into my skull and stick.

 

[DiabeticGeek]

Not what I wanted to hear but exactly what I expected - the ideal reply would tell me bacon rolls, ice cream and currys were the way to go.

You would be amazed what is possible with a bit of imagination. Bacon is very low carb - though putting it in bread is problematic. How about a bacon salad, or a bacon lettuce leaf wrap? Ice cream often has a added sugar, but in principle it doesn't have to be high carb. Try looking at the nutritional labels of "diet" ice creams, they may not be as bad as you think. Better still make your own (you can get a cheap ice cream maker that goes in the freezer), and leave out the sugar - basically take cream and egg yolks, and then freeze it. If you must have it sweetened, then use artificial sweetener - this will taste better than the shop bought stuff and be very low carb. Lastly currys aren't a problem, providing you make them yourself from scratch (ready meal or tinned currys will usually have a lot of sugar in them). Rice is a problem, but there are quite acceptable rice substitutes. Try microwaving grated cauliflower for a few minutes, then stir fry with an egg, mushrooms or spices - you can get a very acceptable rice substitute that is low carb and goes nicely with a curry.

 

[fergus]

Hi gefmayhem,

Actually, you've made great strides simply by realising that you need to act quickly and by hooking up with the forum.
We differ from official advice in as far as we actually live with the condition every day of our lives and can tell you what works and what doesn't from first hand experience. Many 'experts' will give you the traditional dogma without much understanding of what the consequences of their advice are.
You've got to unlearn some of the habits which have got you into the 12% zone you find yourself in, and get down below 7% as soon as you can. No time to lose.
You don't need more meds, you need less starch. Bread, pasta, potatoes, fruits etc. will do you more harm than good in my opinion. No problem at all with bacon, eggs, currys (minus the rice and bread), and even ice cream in small doses.
You need to listen to people like Eddie and Timo, guys on the front line, and be very wary of the dieticians, frankly.

All the best,

fergus

 

[Silvercat]

I thought you had to avoid grapefruit if on Simvastatin.

 

[sofaraway]

You can be referred to any hospital you want. so ask your GP to refer you to the hospital where you work. i don't get seen at my local hospital, i drive about an hour away.

 

[gefmayhem]

Just been reading the thread in the diet section about fizzy drinks.
I drink a lot of diet coke as the water where I work is not nice - it has too much 'flavour'

So that will have to be the next to go.

As regards 'dogma' I totally agree.
Many moons ago, having had a bollocking at my diabetic clinic about my weight, I signed up to a gym.
They did a fitness test on my first day, I was 6 feet tall, about 90 kg and very unfit.
6 months of gym later I did another fitness test just before my next clinic.
I was 6 feet tall, 90kg but fit. I could run for miles, all my body measurements were smaller - no fat just muscle.
I went to the clinic to be told, 'you haven't lost any weight'
'But I can run, lift weights, I don't have a gut, I'm fitter now than I was in my early 20s'
'But you haven't lost any weight.'
Surely that isn't the only measure?
90kg and fit must be better than 90 kg and unfit?

Not according to my clinic.
I was very tempted to give it all up and become a couch potato.

Or have I got it all wrong and is weight the only indicator?

 

[timo2]

Hi gefmayhem,

You're right, the body mass index can't distinguish between fat and muscle mass.
So it's not an accurate indicator of a healthly weight in all people.

Here's a quote for you to print off and stick on your dietitian's office wall.

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write,
but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn" -Alvin Toffler

Regards,
timo.

 

[gefmayhem]

Thanks for your help,

A couple more questions for you.

Having had recent readings in the 15 range, how long should it take for my readings to come down on an Atkins style diet?
I'd like to know this as an indicator as to if my diet is working or not - or more likely if I'm doing it right or not.
Secondly, what are suitable low carb alcoholic drinks?
The barmaid (person) at my Southampton local says Vodka and diet coke

cheers

Geoff

 

[fergus]

Hi gefmayhem,

If you are a recently diagnosed Type 2, there is a good chance that your pancreas is still producing, and probably overproducing, insulin. Your blood sugars are high because your cells have become increasingly immune to it since there has been an excessive amount in your bloodstream.
If you start on an Atkins-style diet, the requirement for insulin is dramatically reduced so a number of things happen. Your blood sugar levels will begin to fall straight away. You will produce less insulin so your insulin resistance will improve. You will lose weight because body weight has a direct relationship with insulin levels in the blood.
As for the low-carb booze, virtually all sprits are very low carb as are dry wines, both red and white, and a few beers, such as Holsten Pils for example. Vodka and diet coke is carb free so not only will it mot raise your blood sugar, it will probably lower it. Actualy, I wonder if we could get it on prescription then?

All the best,

fergus