Lifestyle change can make a difference

[Laughingboy51]

At the end of August I had a checkup with the Doctor and he found that my blood pressure was high.
He arranged for me to have a Random blood test, and asked that I rung later in the week for the results.
When those resukts came in, I was asked to see the Doctor. It was then he sat me down and told me that my random
Blood sugar was 9.7 and I was diabetic. I was in absolute bits, but I knew I had done this to myself.
I am 43 and at the time of the first blood test I weighed 20 Stones 10 lbs. I have been really fit and active in the past, but
a busy job, lots of takeaways and sitting on my backside had sent my weight soaring. I cried for a few days, told no-one
and spent hours reading through all the numerous information on the website. My appointment at the Diabetic clinic was in three weeks, I decided that I had to start looking after myself. I starting exercising, mainly walking 3 miles a night. I found I really enjoyed this, especially with my Ipod on. Food wise I cut down from 3 chocolate bars a day to one, I reduced my sugar and bread intake and cut my calories to about 1800 a day. In three weeks I lost 18 pounds and my walking now included a bit of jogging.
Just before my appointment at the diabetic clinic, I had a fasting blood test and a HBAC1 test. When I saw the diabetic specialist
he told me that my fasting blood level was 5.4 and that my HBAC1 was in the safe range. I burst into tears, I was so relieved that I had given my body a chance to fight back. I know that it was only a small victory and that if I don`t keep eating well and exercising, my blood sugar will go up. Reading this forum has been a great help, I have been really helped by peoples posts.
For me the I must keep battling, the last few weeks have been a massive wake up call and I am determined to change my life.

 

[carraway]

Welcome


I made changes because of the things I read here too.

I'm glad you are feeling better. I hope the good things continue.
18lbs in 3 weeks is impressive. Don't forget to share your experiences and ask for advice if you need any.


Cara

 

[daisy1]

Hi Laughingboy and welcome to the forum

I realise that you have escaped diabetes for the moment but you still need to be careful. I think that this information that we give to new members could be useful to you. Ask any questions you need to and someone will help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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.