Just diagnosed with T2 and scared

Hi Debby and welcome
Did your doctor by any chance suggest a diet that will get your blood sugar down? If not, then you need to know which foods contribute to blood sugar and cut back on them that means sugar and anything containing it and starches, Ie. Bread, potatoes, biscuits, bereakfast cereals, cake, pasta and rice. Also any other grain that you might eat, such as pearl barley,and sugary fruits. If you have one of those diet sheets which tells you to eat 7 - 14 portions of complex carbohydrate( starch) per day, then be warned it won't work unless you have portions in teaspoonfuls.
What you can eat is meat, fish, eggs, cheese, green vegetables and salads. Stick to those and your blood sugar will normalise. Don't worry about saturated fats in cheese, they don't affect blood glucose and hey don't cause cholesterol either.
Once you normalise your blood sugar, you can experiment with foods to find out what suits you, for which you will need a blood sugar meter.

Hana

Hi marian,
Looks as though your post has been overlooked.
You need someone to reply who follows a diet with reduced fats, dairy intolerance (as stated in your original post) and carb counting, so have bumped your post up.

Catherine.

Hi Marian,
Like you I have just been diagnosed T2 and felt like the Gp had slapped me in the face.
But thankfully I have a great Gp and Nurse taking care of me and helping me with all I need, such as blood sugar tester and test strips and so on.
Since I came on these forums and sat and read about everyone who is in the same boat as me, my fears about this illness are calming down and I am finding all the information here a tremendous help.
As has been said, it will take time to work out what food is good for you.

Joe

marian coral
Most on-line diet groups who claim to provide diabetic diets follow the official government guidelines on low fat/high carb diet. This many of us know rfrom experience, doesn't actually work. Since most of the glucose in the blood comes from carbohydraes in the diet. It is these that need to be controlled. In some cases very tightly. Having a reference like Collins Little Gem Calorie Counter can help here.
Combine this with testing, and you can learn what suits you.
Hana

Kastrian said:

First day of bg testing, here are the results.... Fasting result was 9.6, 2 hours after Brekkie was 11.0, before dinner 9.9, 2 hours after Dinner 13.4. I know i'm just starting to change my diet and lifestyle so am not too worried about the results just yet.

Hubby has made me a spread sheet so I can record the results and can comment on the food I have eaten at meal times.

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Hi Debby,

Just work at it and I'm certain that you'll achieve a big improvement.

The main thing that you need to understand is the need to cut back dramatically on the starchy carbohydrates - i.e. cereals, bread, potatoes, pasta and rice. That usually leads to a big and quick improvement in blood glucose levels.

Best wishes - John

Hi i am now the owner of the collins gem carb counter and i am feeling much more positive and in control! I am eating properly again without panicking about carbs loading my blood with sugar.I am seeing the gp nurse in 2 weeks time and will see about getting a meter so i can see what effect particular carbs have on me.

I was diagnosed at Easter ('09) and it really shocked me to begin with. I had much the same b.g. level as you, Debby. I initially tackled my diet and used a meter to monitor my b.g. levels. It took me a while to find an eating plan that suited me (i.e. I didn't feel hungry) and allowed my b.g. level to behave. Then in mid-July I started exercising at the local authority gym (because the facilities were so good and it didn't cost me as much as a private gym would). That got my b.g. even lower although in October I did still need to go onto Metformin. I had hoped to control the diabetes myself with diet and exercise alone but you have to accept that it simply isn't always possible. I like taking control and I have found that 'treats' are my way to stay in control of what I eat - for example a daily treat is a skinny (skimmed milk) latte made with real coffee which I really savour & look forward to (ok - so I'm a really sad person!). I feel I'm in charge of it instead of the other way round. Read up on type 2 diabetes and use common sense - and DON'T PANIC!! By the way, I've also lost two and a half stone, I want to lose another one and a half and I'll be really slim for the first time since I was in my early twenties. I love that! I also discovered that I love weight lifting, who would have thought a 58 year old would get hooked on that! So good luck and keep your chin up, information and enjoying the challenge is the key to control.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 in September 2000 and I was scared. When I thought about it, I realised that although it meant some life changes, it solved the problems of upset digestive system, night sweats, inability to lose weight no matter what I did and being tired all the time to mention just a few.

The first thing I did was to cut out all sugar from my diet including things like dried fruit and high sugar fresh fruits. I kept this up for 3 months and made sure that I had some carbohydrate every three hours, even if it was just one dry Jacob's cracker. Then I began to talk to other people and read more about it once I stopped being scared and had things like the occasional handful of raisins, a very small bowl of ice cream, etc provided that I had eaten a proper meal beforehand - never on an empty stomach. My blood sugars came down and I went from being 11st 7lb to 9st without trying - proving the theory that diabetes made me fat and not the other way round.

I have never used a bg meter, just diasticks which I used twice a week morning and evening for about a year which gave me some idea of what was going on. I never drink anything with sugar in it, have limited alcohol but that is because it gives me fluid retention, don't eat bread for the same reason, keep a low-cholesterol diet because it is a problem in my family and my blood pressure was bad since I had children.

It is now 2010 and I am still diet controlled and the last time I went for my test the doctor said that if he saw that result for the first time he would not be diagnosing diabetes. All the business of low carbs, low sugars, worry, testing, etc seems to me to be a nonsense. I did and do what my body seemed to need and am now able to have pretty normal food including puddings and the odd choccy bar provided I don't do anything to excess.

I think that as type 2 newly diagnosed, we hear a lot of advice from type 2s who have been put on tablets and insulin and it isn't necessarily relevant if you are an intelligent person with some self control. Sorry to those who disagree with me but I am proof that it is all unnecessary as 9 years on I am still without medication and don't have to cause difficulty if I go out to dinner somewhere.

Hi casamorena,

I think your post highlights the fact that we are all different.

I am glad that you are doing so well after 9 years. The eating plan that you are using works well for you but does not mean that it would work well for all type 2's. Some type 2's have had undiagnosed diabetes for up to 10 years and they need to use medication and/or insulin and that should not make them feel guilty. Some have more insulin resistance than others. I am sure they too are intelligent and can use self control. It is all about finding something that works for you and you alone.

Catherine.

casamorena said:

I think that as type 2 newly diagnosed, we hear a lot of advice from type 2s who have been put on tablets and insulin and it isn't necessarily relevant if you are an intelligent person with some self control.

So, using your logic......those on Insulin and tablets are not intelligent and lack self control.......??? Rather a sad assumption to make I think.

Sorry to those who disagree with me but I am proof that it is all unnecessary as 9 years on I am still without medication and don't have to cause difficulty if I go out to dinner somewhere.

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Frankly, there are many who will disagree with you. You are proof of only one thing....YOUR diet works for YOU, absolutely nothing else at all. What works for you will not work for everybody. That has been shown to be the case time and time again on this Forum. I think you need to look around here and read the stories from individuals rather than just make assumptions about the best treatment regime for other people. We are all different

I totally agree with catherinecherub too.

Well said Lynne.
You could not be in a better place than Diabetes.co.uk
Without this web site and all the helpfull people in hear i would proberly be all over the place, so just take a step back, one big deep breath and DONT PANIC.
Graham1441 :twisted: :twisted:

Hi, I think all diabetics should have a tester wether type 2 or type 1. How do you know if your BG levels are good if you don't test?...If you're eating more bread than you normally do, just try cutting it down a little. Plenty of great healthy eating recipies on here too! Good luck...dorne x

I too am recently diagnosed type 2 my initial reaction was ..ok i have it now what do i need to do .
Then frustration because i had no help or info on what to do or eat. Then found this site everyone has been very helpfull no matter how daft the question sounds.
Have you printed the free recipe book which is a great help.

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It is a big shock to the system when first diagnosed. Next time you. Visit the diabetes nurse ask to be put on a Desmond Course you meet others in the same boat and you can learn a lot about taking control of your diabetes. A lot of Drs will not give out meters and strips as some people will panic with the odd high reading and of course they are watching the purse strings. I sent for a free meter on Diabetes Uk web site and it arrived following day just have to get replacement strips definitely get them on line lot cheaper then high street chemists . Good Luck


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