Hi everyone, been lurking in the Forum since my T2 diagnosis in Jan. this year and finally took the leap to join and ask a couple of questions.
The evening I was diagnosed my GP suggested that I come here to see what this Diabetes thing was all about...It was a great suggestion, by the time I went back for my next appointment a week later I was sooo much better informed and had a plan of action already in place. Many thanks to every one here for some straight and clear advice to other peoples questions (some of which were the same as mine).
At diagnosis in late Jan. my A1c was 20 mmol, I had already been kinda Low Carbing it since about Aug. 17 and had lost about 14 kgs. by Jan. 18, but it was already too late. I started the Thirst/frequent Urination thing in Dec. around Christmas (and all that it brings Carb wise), and made a GP appointment in Jan.
After reading hundreds of posts and following the external links I felt I had a good clear plan of attack to get this under control. My GP started me on 500mg Metformin 3x daily and Gliclazide 80mg 2x daily (she also gave me a meter and a Perscription for Test Strips) and scheduled an appointment with the DN a week later. By the time I had my 1st. DN appointment I had found/modified/built an Excel workbook to track my daily Glucose levels, A1c estimates, Meal Logs, Calorie & Carb Charts, Recipie Calculators, etc....(I'm an Engineer so I love to have things in Tables and Charts) and had reduced my Carbs even more by fully embracing the LCHF lifestyle. She was a bit overwelmed when I showed up with my Laptop and all of this info and said "So...your probably not interested in going to a NHS Diabeties Course then...." I wasn't and it was because this Forum was way more informative than the "Official Dogma" She gave me all the booklets for new Diabetics, Eatwell Plate...blah, blah...I pitched them in the Bin on my way out and never looked back...
After 5 months I've got a pretty good grip on this. In Jan. I set myself some reasonable Targets to slide fully into the LCHF lifestyle, < 6.5mmol daily Glucose levels, 1800 Calories, 100g Carbs. I found that after a week I was hitting my daily Glucose targets(6.5 and below), averaging 1400 Calories and 60g Carbs. Every month I tighten them up a little more (Calories & Carbs but mostly Carbs), this month I'm down to about 40g per day. I'm still losing some weight (down to 102kg, looking to stop at 95kg) albeit slowly. My daily Glucose averages have stayed at about 6.2 mmol as well as my Fasting averages. My Blood pressure is in a normal range for a 50+ man, and my Cholestrol is for the 1st. time in 15 years normal. My A1c levels have fallen dramaticly...Jan.- 20mmol / Feb. 15.5mmol / Mar. - 11.1mmol, and according to my A1c calculator it should be between 6 & 7mmol at the moment( I have my next A1c test next month).
I moved from the UK to Germany in April for work and since I've been here my new GP has changed my Medicines a bit, instead of Metformin 500mg 3x daily, it's now 825mg 2x daily (the midday tablet was the most difficult one to remember) and changed my Gliclazide to Jaridance. He said in Germany they don't prescribe Glic. very often anymore because the Pancreas has a limited ammount of Insulin over a lifetime and the extra "Squeeze" that Glic. gives it makes it wear out faster...Hummm...anyway...I changed over and haven't noticed any side effects except that overall my Glucose levels became about .5mmol higer. I don't get as many 5 - 5.5mmol readings anymore, mostly 5.6 - 6.2 mmol. I hope by July that I can stop with the Jaridance and only take the Metformin if my A1c levels are under 6.5mmol.
Finally.....after that long and torturous preamble I can get to the original questions I wanted to ask....
I have kept a very detailed Food/Cal./Carb. log since Jan. and have tested my Glucose levels several times daily. I have a basic "Food Group" that I rarely stray from (all tested with my Meter multiple times) and my Glucose levels are "Stable" around 6 mmol. Do I need to keep such detailed records anymore? What do you all do? I've cut down on my Glucose monitoring from multiple times per day to once per day (2hrs. after Dinner) and a Fasting Glucose every 4 days. If I cook a new recipie with something Carby in it I always do multiple tests (Before, +1 and +2) a couple of times and with different portion sizes before I add it to my "Recipie Book".
Again, I would like to thank everyone here for the help and guidance over the last few months, even if you didn't know you were hepling.
The evening I was diagnosed my GP suggested that I come here to see what this Diabetes thing was all about...It was a great suggestion, by the time I went back for my next appointment a week later I was sooo much better informed and had a plan of action already in place. Many thanks to every one here for some straight and clear advice to other peoples questions (some of which were the same as mine).
At diagnosis in late Jan. my A1c was 20 mmol, I had already been kinda Low Carbing it since about Aug. 17 and had lost about 14 kgs. by Jan. 18, but it was already too late. I started the Thirst/frequent Urination thing in Dec. around Christmas (and all that it brings Carb wise), and made a GP appointment in Jan.
After reading hundreds of posts and following the external links I felt I had a good clear plan of attack to get this under control. My GP started me on 500mg Metformin 3x daily and Gliclazide 80mg 2x daily (she also gave me a meter and a Perscription for Test Strips) and scheduled an appointment with the DN a week later. By the time I had my 1st. DN appointment I had found/modified/built an Excel workbook to track my daily Glucose levels, A1c estimates, Meal Logs, Calorie & Carb Charts, Recipie Calculators, etc....(I'm an Engineer so I love to have things in Tables and Charts) and had reduced my Carbs even more by fully embracing the LCHF lifestyle. She was a bit overwelmed when I showed up with my Laptop and all of this info and said "So...your probably not interested in going to a NHS Diabeties Course then...." I wasn't and it was because this Forum was way more informative than the "Official Dogma" She gave me all the booklets for new Diabetics, Eatwell Plate...blah, blah...I pitched them in the Bin on my way out and never looked back...
After 5 months I've got a pretty good grip on this. In Jan. I set myself some reasonable Targets to slide fully into the LCHF lifestyle, < 6.5mmol daily Glucose levels, 1800 Calories, 100g Carbs. I found that after a week I was hitting my daily Glucose targets(6.5 and below), averaging 1400 Calories and 60g Carbs. Every month I tighten them up a little more (Calories & Carbs but mostly Carbs), this month I'm down to about 40g per day. I'm still losing some weight (down to 102kg, looking to stop at 95kg) albeit slowly. My daily Glucose averages have stayed at about 6.2 mmol as well as my Fasting averages. My Blood pressure is in a normal range for a 50+ man, and my Cholestrol is for the 1st. time in 15 years normal. My A1c levels have fallen dramaticly...Jan.- 20mmol / Feb. 15.5mmol / Mar. - 11.1mmol, and according to my A1c calculator it should be between 6 & 7mmol at the moment( I have my next A1c test next month).
I moved from the UK to Germany in April for work and since I've been here my new GP has changed my Medicines a bit, instead of Metformin 500mg 3x daily, it's now 825mg 2x daily (the midday tablet was the most difficult one to remember) and changed my Gliclazide to Jaridance. He said in Germany they don't prescribe Glic. very often anymore because the Pancreas has a limited ammount of Insulin over a lifetime and the extra "Squeeze" that Glic. gives it makes it wear out faster...Hummm...anyway...I changed over and haven't noticed any side effects except that overall my Glucose levels became about .5mmol higer. I don't get as many 5 - 5.5mmol readings anymore, mostly 5.6 - 6.2 mmol. I hope by July that I can stop with the Jaridance and only take the Metformin if my A1c levels are under 6.5mmol.
Finally.....after that long and torturous preamble I can get to the original questions I wanted to ask....
I have kept a very detailed Food/Cal./Carb. log since Jan. and have tested my Glucose levels several times daily. I have a basic "Food Group" that I rarely stray from (all tested with my Meter multiple times) and my Glucose levels are "Stable" around 6 mmol. Do I need to keep such detailed records anymore? What do you all do? I've cut down on my Glucose monitoring from multiple times per day to once per day (2hrs. after Dinner) and a Fasting Glucose every 4 days. If I cook a new recipie with something Carby in it I always do multiple tests (Before, +1 and +2) a couple of times and with different portion sizes before I add it to my "Recipie Book".
Again, I would like to thank everyone here for the help and guidance over the last few months, even if you didn't know you were hepling.