Thought I would post this in case it helps or anyone has comments. Note that I seem to be one of the lucky ones that can affect things by diet and exercise - won't apply to everyone but worth considering.
I was diagnosed a couple of months ago with an HB1AC of 20.9 (found that at the second meeting with the nurse when I asked for a printout of the results).
Nurse said don't change much - just cut out any sugar (jam...) and swap raisin wheats for weetabix at breakfast. Hovis wholemeal bread was ok - as long as it's not white.
Test once a day before a meal.
Was short - we've run out of monitors and information leaflets, go to diabetes.org site. Will deliver a monitor in 4-5 days.
Tried a few days of that (well - testing before every meal) - after BG test equipment arrived found I was 7.6-15.8. This was having weetabix in the morning and dinner in the evening only.
Panic set in but I found this site - by accident - nurse said get info from the .org site.
Looking back at my first reading with a beef and veg meal (no potatoes) - no breakfast so like a fasting test. Pre prandial 7.2 post prandial 8.0. I can remember feeling elated (after one test?) that there was some possibility of control. First time the reading hadn't gone up by 7 or 8.
Then went to a conference - nearly cancelled but lived on bacon and eggs and salad - readings came down to 5.4 - 7.5. I suspect eating more regularly helped.
Visited a friend on the way back - steak dinner with vegetables and red wine - following morning 6.3.
Went to visit my brother and his wife (brother also diabetic but on metformin and statins). First meal lasagna and baked potato followed by trifle (all homemade). Pre prandial 6.2, post prandial 6.4 - don't understand that.
Had toast/marmalade in the morning, barbecue, roast dinner (few potatoes), mushroom rissotto and the only thing that put me above 8.0 was ham eggs and baked beans (9.9). Probably too many baked beans.
Second meeting with different diabetes nurse after a few weeks.
Said I shouldn't record everything I eat and should only test once a day and maybe not every day. Didn't discuss the diet at all - but no medication so guess she was happy with that. Advice ignored.
First meeting was very short.
Second was longer but seemed to end quickly as though I'd reached a time limit.
Now checking back for the last few weeks the max reading has been 7.4 after an indian (tandoori mixed grill) but that was down to 4.4 after another couple of hours. I am now between 4.0 and 6.5 consistently - I can remember recently being worried by a 6.4 reading when I tested 1 hour after a meal rather than 2. How things change.
I also have a cup of hot milk before bed - I had never tested that and noticed the sugar content so tried - went for an hour after. Before I was 6.4 after 4.8. Don't understand that but happy.
-------------------------------
Advice from nurse seems odd doesn't it.
My layman common sense says
The problem with diabetes is high BG so it seems sensible not to do things that will raise BG.
How does BG rise? By eating carbohydrates (including sugar) which gets converted to BG and by the liver releasing glucose.
How does it fall? by insulin produced by the pancreas allowing the cells to take up the glucose and by passing in urine.
So - don't eat carbohydrates and one of the causes goes away.
Then you are just left with the liver - which may actually be helped by eating some carbohydrates (low GI?).
Lose weight and become fitter and the body becomes more efficient allowing insulin to be more effective.
So, start with a very low carb diet and test regularly especially after any new foods to see how it affects you.
Be prepared for the odd anomaly and just rerun that test. If you are one of the lucky ones that should help enormously.
Side effect is losing weight and if combined with exercise...
Don't advise this but when I first got monitoring equipment I ate very little at all for a few days to see what happened. Think that wasn't a bad idea but BG was only controlled when I started more regular light low carb meals. Again understandable as alternate eating and starving doesn't allow the body to settle down.
Not so obsessive about testing now as I am confident about my levels, not before and after every meal. Test to make sure nothing untoward is happening and if I do anything out of the ordinary. Still write down all meals and readings though.
I was diagnosed a couple of months ago with an HB1AC of 20.9 (found that at the second meeting with the nurse when I asked for a printout of the results).
Nurse said don't change much - just cut out any sugar (jam...) and swap raisin wheats for weetabix at breakfast. Hovis wholemeal bread was ok - as long as it's not white.
Test once a day before a meal.
Was short - we've run out of monitors and information leaflets, go to diabetes.org site. Will deliver a monitor in 4-5 days.
Tried a few days of that (well - testing before every meal) - after BG test equipment arrived found I was 7.6-15.8. This was having weetabix in the morning and dinner in the evening only.
Panic set in but I found this site - by accident - nurse said get info from the .org site.
Looking back at my first reading with a beef and veg meal (no potatoes) - no breakfast so like a fasting test. Pre prandial 7.2 post prandial 8.0. I can remember feeling elated (after one test?) that there was some possibility of control. First time the reading hadn't gone up by 7 or 8.
Then went to a conference - nearly cancelled but lived on bacon and eggs and salad - readings came down to 5.4 - 7.5. I suspect eating more regularly helped.
Visited a friend on the way back - steak dinner with vegetables and red wine - following morning 6.3.
Went to visit my brother and his wife (brother also diabetic but on metformin and statins). First meal lasagna and baked potato followed by trifle (all homemade). Pre prandial 6.2, post prandial 6.4 - don't understand that.
Had toast/marmalade in the morning, barbecue, roast dinner (few potatoes), mushroom rissotto and the only thing that put me above 8.0 was ham eggs and baked beans (9.9). Probably too many baked beans.
Second meeting with different diabetes nurse after a few weeks.
Said I shouldn't record everything I eat and should only test once a day and maybe not every day. Didn't discuss the diet at all - but no medication so guess she was happy with that. Advice ignored.
First meeting was very short.
Second was longer but seemed to end quickly as though I'd reached a time limit.
Now checking back for the last few weeks the max reading has been 7.4 after an indian (tandoori mixed grill) but that was down to 4.4 after another couple of hours. I am now between 4.0 and 6.5 consistently - I can remember recently being worried by a 6.4 reading when I tested 1 hour after a meal rather than 2. How things change.
I also have a cup of hot milk before bed - I had never tested that and noticed the sugar content so tried - went for an hour after. Before I was 6.4 after 4.8. Don't understand that but happy.
-------------------------------
Advice from nurse seems odd doesn't it.
My layman common sense says
The problem with diabetes is high BG so it seems sensible not to do things that will raise BG.
How does BG rise? By eating carbohydrates (including sugar) which gets converted to BG and by the liver releasing glucose.
How does it fall? by insulin produced by the pancreas allowing the cells to take up the glucose and by passing in urine.
So - don't eat carbohydrates and one of the causes goes away.
Then you are just left with the liver - which may actually be helped by eating some carbohydrates (low GI?).
Lose weight and become fitter and the body becomes more efficient allowing insulin to be more effective.
So, start with a very low carb diet and test regularly especially after any new foods to see how it affects you.
Be prepared for the odd anomaly and just rerun that test. If you are one of the lucky ones that should help enormously.
Side effect is losing weight and if combined with exercise...
Don't advise this but when I first got monitoring equipment I ate very little at all for a few days to see what happened. Think that wasn't a bad idea but BG was only controlled when I started more regular light low carb meals. Again understandable as alternate eating and starving doesn't allow the body to settle down.
Not so obsessive about testing now as I am confident about my levels, not before and after every meal. Test to make sure nothing untoward is happening and if I do anything out of the ordinary. Still write down all meals and readings though.