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Manogwent

Manogwent

Well-Known Member
Messages
63
Location
Cullompton
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
carling lager
I have just been diagnosed as Type 2 as a result of CVD screening resulting in GP asking for more tests , 4 in all, and came back positive. i am 60, work full time, care for my wife after work, look after dog as well so cannot really spend time in GYM, walk the dog so reasonably active. got apointment with diabetic clinic in 2 weeks. GP put me on Metformin and Sinvastatin at moment. when i had test done BG was 10.5. haven't really had any diet info as of yet although my diet is fairly varied and don't eat much fried stuff but quite a bit on the carb side. toast for breakfast but now started eating porridge as well, 2 sandwiches for lunch with 2 apples, meal at 7ish after work and that's it. i have the occasional beer at home and a couple on FRI after work, stopped the lager and went on to guinness. Question is, am i doing right thing as don't want to make things worse and what questions should i be asking GP and Nurse at clinic, didn't really feel unwell prior to diagnosis although some previous symptoms suggest otherwise. occasionally fainting although last was 20 years ago, sore feet ( but broke toes some years ago ) and i get a kind of heat haze in one eye ( shimmer ) occasionally. have booked eye test. wore glasses until 30, not worn since. brain has adjusted eyes to compensate so get really tired after teaching all day using laptop and projector. only wear glasses for computer use , but not always. any tips, suggestions and signposting would be gratefully received, many thanks to you all
 
Welcome to the forum,Manogwent.Have a good read round the forum and you will pick up a lot of helpful info and ask questions,that's what we are here for.Your Blood sugar (BS) level at 10.5 is very high so that is your first priority ,to bring it down to a more acceptable level.Did the doctor give you a blood testing kit? The best way to reduce your BS level is to restrict your carbohydrate intake and test before and 2 hours after every meal.Keep a food diary and you will soon see which foods make your BS go up and which don't.
I suspect that the haze in your eye could be due to the high BS that you have just now.Once your sugar levels come down then ,hopefully, your eye will not be so hazy.

Carbohydrates;do not eat the obvious sugars,such as sugar itself,or any product ,baking,biscuits,etc that contain sugar.Read the product labels.The figure you are looking for is total carbohydrate.Sugar raises your BS quickly but the rest of the carbs will also raise your BS just more slowly.Complex carbs such as ,bread,potatoes,rice and pasta and flour based products should be eaten in small quantities till you see how they affect you.Some people can eat some of these without ill effect but everyone is different so it is trial and error there,I'm afraid.Most veg.is OK and ,of course,protein based natural foods such as meat do not have carbs.Processed foods usually have additives which could include sugars.There is no need to look for 'diabetic' foods,these often have 'hidden' sugars in them.Anything that ends in 'ose' or ole' is a sugar!!
I recommend buying a Carb counter book to help.The one I have is Collins Gem carb. counter,or there is the calorie counter,either is good.
It is very confusing at first but once you get the hang of it you will be surprised how it becomes second nature to check labels etc.Hope this helps you .
 
Thanks, Sue, i suppose i eat a lot of carbs like those you mentioned.sugar is one i dont use unless it is in products. i cook mainly from scratch so don't really use 'ready meals', have occasional takeaway and pizza ( about once a week ). GP hasn't given me a testing kit yet. can see there is a lot of things i need to get / take in. have looked at forum and found some threads useful as a startpoint so will carry on looking.
 
There is a well known phenomenon known as 'the pizza effect' to watch out for,because pizza has a high fat content your BS after two hours may look all right but the fat slows down the absorption of carbs in the pizza and your BS continues to rise well after 2 hours!! Your doctor may well be reluctant to give you a monitor or prescribe test strips.A persuasive and well thought out argument is often required.NICE guidelines can be quoted and the argument' how am I supposed to know when my BS is high without a monitor' may work.The important thing is to be positive about getting control of YOUR diabetes!!
 
Hi Manogwent!
I see Sue has answered a lot of your points. One I'd like to add is that you say you don't at much fried food. o have bothered to mention that, means you have fallen for the lowfat/ high carb = healthy diet garbage.
Carbs are the enemy, NOT fats. I have been researching the subject recently and it definitely looks as if animal fats are better for us than plant fats (oils) Since we are not plants, we shouldn't be too surprised. Unfortunately many foods that we accept are not good for us in large quantities contain fats as well as carbs and the poor fats are getting the blame for the damage done by too many carbs.
Sugars are definitely BAD, empty calories, a drain on the pancreas and they rot the teeth.
Starches are not a lot better. they will even rot the teeth if they stay in the mouth overnight. Only if processed or cooked though. We don't have a mechanism for digesting raw starch.
A good Blood Glucose limiting diet is high in proteins, green leafy vegetables and fat. You now can add cream to anything you like. I made( the real thing) tomato soup for lunch and put a big dollop of cream in each bowl . I did miss out on bread with mine though. I had some cold chicken after and a few almonds. BG hasn't budged.
 
Hi,Hanadr,i still use olive oil for frying but my pans aren't big enough for whole rump slices so have to grill/ oven cook. don't trim fat off :? meat as important for flavour. basically i have been eating what i fancy so being TYPE 2 will take getting used to. admittedly don't go much on salad unless it is with the boiled pots, thick ham, beetroot, cheese , eggs and pickles. admittedly i eat a lot, rather big platefuls so will need to cut down on portions, difficult as eat about 7/8 pm and then nothing until 05.30 when get up for work, eat again 12/1 pm and then nothing until until dinner. drink coffee at work , tea at home. dont get a break at work due to type of environment i am in, sounds bad but i start at 08.30 and my class has gone by 11.30 back at 14.30 and finished at 16.45 so am away by 17.00. snacking doesn't really happen, might fancy some biscuits occasionally or chocolate but not often, regards, manogwent
 
sugarless sue said:
There is a well known phenomenon known as 'the pizza effect' to watch out for,because pizza has a high fat content your BS after two hours may look all right but the fat slows down the absorption of carbs in the pizza and your BS continues to rise well after 2 hours!! Your doctor may well be reluctant to give you a monitor or prescribe test strips.A persuasive and well thought out argument is often required.NICE guidelines can be quoted and the argument' how am I supposed to know when my BS is high without a monitor' may work.The important thing is to be positive about getting control of YOUR diabetes!!
Click to expand...

Hmm, I don't tend to find that with pizza, or at least haven't observed that with my testing. I'll do a more scientific test next time... it probably just goes to show that diabetes isn't entirely predictable between individuals though... :)

I must admit, I hadn't fully made the link between fat/slow absorption - presumably the slowing also means "more even"?

Manogwent - regarding testing - you need test strips mate and you need to be clear and firm (yet polite!) with your GP. The only person who is going to stop this condition from killing you is you. If you're lucky you'll get a GP who gets it, if not you'll get one who will steer you down a path with a cliff at the end.

Think really carefully about your diet, look at the amount of carbs youre eating (both simple based ones and complex ones). If you can make some reducation in those you'll be heading in the right direction.

Don't go mad and try to eliminate carbs would be my advice, but a good reduction of about 50% will help a lot.

I was diagnosed in June, so am still learning myself, but by following the advice here and working out my carb needs I had an HBA1C of 6.6% a couple of months ago, with another to be done in December (hopefully it won't spoil my Christmas!)
 
The Governor said:
sugarless sue said:
There is a well known phenomenon known as 'the pizza effect' to watch out for,because pizza has a high fat content your BS after two hours may look all right but the fat slows down the absorption of carbs in the pizza and your BS continues to rise well after 2 hours!! Your doctor may well be reluctant to give you a monitor or prescribe test strips.A persuasive and well thought out argument is often required.NICE guidelines can be quoted and the argument' how am I supposed to know when my BS is high without a monitor' may work.The important thing is to be positive about getting control of YOUR diabetes!!
Click to expand...

Hmm, I don't tend to find that with pizza, or at least haven't observed that with my testing. I'll do a more scientific test next time... it probably just goes to show that diabetes isn't entirely predictable between individuals though... :)

I must admit, I hadn't fully made the link between fat/slow absorption - presumably the slowing also means "more even"?
Click to expand...

Me too, I think it depends exactly how your pancreas and control systems have disintegrated.

For Type 1s pizza is too slow, first the bolus unsulin will outrun the carbs and send you low then the carbs cut in and send you high.

For me with a low pancreatic output but one I can sustain over time pizza will cause a slight raise over several hours so works well as fuel for gardening or walking (about 20g carbs diluted with salad and washed down with red wine and I'm good for a few hours)
 
Thanks all for pointing me in right direction, started to get on the right track regards eating right foods and have STOPPED smoking, 7 days now and counting.will be seeing diabetic nurse on tuesday, eyetest on friday and finally got appointment with podiatrist in 3 weeks to check possible paresthesia in feet, will go back to GP in 2 weeks and now will be able to ask about the issues i was totally ignorant about, many thanks again. :D
 
Fantastic news! It does get easier, promise. I finally gave up 20 years ago and now I'm one of those very boring people who can't smell the horrid stuff without feeling sick.

One day at a time......

wiflib
 
Hi, All, back again after seeing diabetic nurse who gave me a tester and loads of advice about portion control!! can manage most things but this is going to be a problem. had eaten at 6pm and starving at 9pm so had another bowl of casserole, to me it was small but to others it was probably a full meal. it was a cereal bowl though. saw optician who gave me a thorough exam and said my eyes were ok, nothing related o diabetes , felt probs i had were possibly visual migraines. my hba1c was 9.8 on dx and doing random tests i have got 6.0 to 9.2 ( after some chocolate biscuits) the 6.0 was after evening meal ( waited 2.5 hrs before test ). Have been trying different recipes, bought a couple of books to see what foods i should be looking for and find shopping takes a lot longer when you constantly have to look at labels. as far as smoking it is 14 days and counting, haven't really craved for a ciggie so guess i have been lucky, other times practically crawled up the walls so this is comparatively painless and not used any patches, gum or lozenges which burned my mouth. point of this is that without your help and advice i would not have known where to start, many thanks to all.
:wink:
 
Sounds like you are getting there Manogwent,lucky that you got a tester from your nurse! If the casserole was fairly low in carbs then eat away!
 
Happy New Year to all forumers, i have seen podiatrist who gave me a lookover and said feet ok but you have high arches and need supports,funny how it takes this long to find out. feet are dry so moisturise!! what's that!! cocoa butter makes a right mess and had to wear socks in bed to avoid marking sheets. Got through Xmas without 2 much trouble, had a few glasses wine and a few beers but nothing like the past, kept the potatoes to minimum and had boiled wherever i could left the roasties alone. since being diagnosed i am averaging BG levels of 8.2, although hit 9 and 10 once or twice. My morning readings , at 05.30 are generally high 7's or 8's, i can't seem to get them lower than this. read something about 'Dawn Phenomenon' or liver dump and suggestion to eat a few biscuits/crackers to even this out so tried and shot up to 9.6. celebrated new year in bed with 1 small glass cava and i was 8.2 this am at 08.30 before breakfast. i am eating dinner about 7pm and then nothing until breakfast. any ideas on how i can get morning levels down? :roll:
 
Hi Manogwent,
This link might help with the wretched high sugars in the morning, http://www.bloodsugar101.com.
Click on the link entitled, "Why is bs highest in the morning?"
It is a problem for a lot of people.
Regards, Catherine.
 
:?: Hi, catherine, thanks for that unfortunately, comes up as unable to access/cannot display,regards, manogwent :|
 
Hi manogwent,
I think the site may be having problems. I accessed it earlier today.

Try googling bloodsugar101 and that will lead you to part of the site, then click on home for the information you need.
Hope this works,
Catherine.
 
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