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My-mate

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I would like to say a big hello to all. I have been diagnosed with type 2 for about 8 years now and have had good times and bad with diabetes. Started with gliclazide 30 mg, one a day, then two a day with metformin, then two a day with 2000 mg of metformin, then pioglitazone with metformin until the present time when I have been told that I will be starting insulin injections next month with an hba1c of 64 or 8 in English. Have tried to eat a varied diet keeping an eye on carbs but nothing seemed to permanently reduce my bloods. Daily they can be anywhere from 7 to 16 so I have now accepted that diabetes is indeed a progressive disease and I must be prepared to accept that fact and learn to live with it.
 
Welcome to the forum My-mate :)

Daisy will be along shortly to offer you some helpful advice for newbies to the forum.
 
My-mate said:
so I have now accepted that diabetes is indeed a progressive disease and I must be prepared to accept that fact and learn to live with it.
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That's your choice of course, but that's one of the phrases that makes me really cross. Progressive in what way? Have you been kind to your Pancreas over the last 8 years or have you pushed it to try and cope with your carb intake - have you been taking Pancreas stimulating drugs.

Sorry - that sounds like I am cross with you, and I'm not - but if you judge your diabetes by your results or by the complications it causes, then both of these things can usually be stabilised or improved with a change in your diet. If your readings were the same and your medication was the same as where you were a year ago - then it wouldn't be progressive would it? not in any measurable sense.

It's your choice - but I went on to insulin meekly and now regret it. Use it by all means - many, myself included do. But don't use it as a prop to balance a diet that you could change.
 
Thanks for your reply however terse and short it reads. Perhaps I should have stated that I did, in fact, change my diet and to some extent my lifestyle to cater for and improve my stats. It worked remarkably well for a few years but it appears that my body builds up a resistance to the drugs. I am 56 years old and the opportunity for regular exercise does no longer present itself on a daily basis as I lack both time and ability to be able exercise strenuously. Even now it never ceases to amaze me that the most innocuous of foods can have such an impact on my bloods. Suffice it to say that I have tried porridge, eggs etc all with negative effects. I even went without food for large portions of the day with little or no change to my sugars. In conclusion, I apologise if my post annoyed you. It was not meant to. In my opinion and from my experience diabetes is, indeed, progressive. It 's effects can be delayed but, in my case, not forever.
 
Hi My-mate and welcome to the forum.
Here is the information that Nigel mentioned and which we give to new members. I am sure you will find something helpful in here. Ask all the questions you like and someone will have an answer for you.

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 30,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

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

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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
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My-mate - we,come to the forum :)

Dont worry, diabetes doesnt need to be progressive, let me tell you my story, I used to take maximum doses of Metformin, Gliclazide and then Avandia, I was just 2 weeks before starting insulin, over the years I developed complications, gastroparesis, neuropathy, retionpathy and CKD, electrolytes all over the place, I felt that I wouldnt be here to see my children through school. Desperate, sheesh makes me cry when I think back.

And then I found out about low carb diet or lifestyle as I prefer to call it, fast forward 6 years and I I have halted and improved all complications, gastroparesis is gone completely, neuropathy barely there, you get the picture, gradually I was able to reduce my medication, I took my last Metformin 5 years ago.
My doctors and nurse were initially warning me about low carb diets, but soon changed their minds when results of blood tests came in, every 3 months they showed an improvement, my cholesterol leves better than my medical team!!

For the past 2 years my bg levels have been consistently at non-diabetic levels. I used to think that porridge and fruit with skimmed milk is a breakfast as healthy as you can possibly get, well it might be, but for many diabetics its not,

I also remember that I often starved myself, hoping my bg would drop, how horrifeid I was when I found that the starvation actually caused my bg to rise, I mean all that hunger and no reward for it?? I have since learned that the starving causes a liver dump, where the liver resleases glucose into the system, hmmmm nice to know that the liver functions ok at least.

Dont be upset about Swimmers post, he meant well, he wrote from his own experience, I bet on my life that the would never knowingly offend anyone.

Now Daisy1's advice is good, if you were to aske me for advice I would say you should start off by keeping a food chart and test before and after every meal. You will soon see which foods you need to cut back on or avoid all together and take it from there.
Type 'blood sugar 101' into Google, its a very clear informative site.

Read around the forum, there are so many members posting about their experiences, some you can identifly with I am sure.

Of course it is entirely up to you, you may never be able to stop meds altogether or you may choose to go onto insulin anyway, the choice is yours, there are no rights or wrong, whatever you are feeling most comfortable with. Basically be flexible, read around the forum some more, ask lots of questions to ensure that you can make informed decisions.

Finally, gosh I am late for work, dont be frightened of making changes, you dont have to rush in head first like I did from one day ro the next, you can ease yourself in gently and there is plenty of support and encouragement around here for you.

I wish you all the best
Judith
 
Welcome - hope we can encourage & support you.

I was told on diagnosis (12 years ago) that diabetes was progressive - even if I diligently followed the advice I was given. That advice was, of course the Diabetes UK high carb diet. That prediction came true. The complications became crippling 4 years ago - my active life was over.

Then I found this forum & cut out the obvious carbs. In 3 months I was well again, & 4 years on I am free from complications.

Even if you do accept insulin, low carb should still be beneficial.
 
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