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new and struggling

P

purplefairy

Member
Messages
12
Hi everyone
diagnosed on 1st december, Type 2 Doc gave me a choice medication straight away or try diet first. I am trying the diet first.. went to see the nurse thinking she would give me a diet sheet tell me what I can and can't eat.. all she gave me was a load of leaflets about Diabetes and a couple of pages all about healthy eating. took my blood level on machine 17.5, nurse then gave me my own machine reading on that was 14.8.
Have to do the reading once a day at different times of the day. my highest reading so far was 8.9 when I had pure orange juice for breakfast, (don't normally touch the stuff). surely I should have been recording what I eat as well.
I have cut out all chocolate (my big downfall) and getting back into portion control. I haven't got a sweet tooth for anything other than chocolate. I don't eat fruit, but love vegetables, don't eat red meat either.
found this forum by chance and am now even more confused about what I can and cannot eat.. hopefully over the next few days I will learn a lot more.
 
Hi PF.
Welcome to the Forum. Here is the advice we give to those newly diagnosed. It may confuse you even more. If so just ask your questions and we will try to help you.

There is no 'diet sheet'....we are all different and what works for one may not work for others. You will have to see what is best for you, howver it is a good idea to take note of the things we mention here. Testing frequently in the first instance is a must, until you know how certain foods affect your Bg levels.


Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, Diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy Carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of Insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause Insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting Carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total Carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a Diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the Nurse/Doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own Diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try !!

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l........(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.
Sue/Ken.
Click to expand...
 
Hi
thanks for the quick reply.

I do feel I should be testing before and after every meal, maybe that is something that will happen after my next visit to the nurse. hope so..
started to keep a food diary myself today but until I start testing before and after meals how will I know which foods are ok for me?
the nurse did say the docs aren't keen to prescibe the little test strips. Can you buy them yourself? maybe that is why I am only testing once a day. will phone my tester people tomorrow to enquire about price.

Is this normal.. why is it that once you have been diagnosed and got your little machine, the whole family suddenly want testing..
 
PF.
That's just it.....our advice is from experience......I've been a Diabetic for nearly 14 yrs. Mostly the folks on here know what is best for them....what works for them.

Testing is the only way to find out what works for you. The Nurse/GP will probably tell you not to test in this way, that is solely down to cost and the mistaken belief that we will get paranoid ! We are all adults and we have choices........our choice. The choices we make allow us to control our Diabetes. Some of the things that we are told are not helping us to good control.......that is why we make our own minds up........as you will have to. We have no interest other than to help our fellow Diabetic's.

Only you will know what you would like to eat and with the help of our advice what you can do without or restrict portion sizes. Testing will tell you that.

You can buy the strips.....many buy them from Ebay as they are much cheaper. Try to get the Nurse to prescribe them first, but frequent testing in the first month or so is very importatnt, then once you know what certain foods do to your Bg levels you can ease off. It isn't that difficult but you have to be methodical and stick to it for a while. It gets easier I can assure you. :)

If you purchase from a Pharmacy they are much dearer....always remember to ask for the VAT to be taken off as that is your entitlement as a Diabetic.

As for the family....tell them to bu**er off ! :D
 
hi

Ah maybe not tell them to bu**er off.
If I can't get enough strips off the GP. will tell them all to buy me a packet of strips before I can test them.. there is enough of them to keep me supplied for a year. lol

Everyone talks about the prescription for the strips, but what about the little needle things. The nurse said as I was the only one using the meter just use the same needle, but didn't say how often I needed to change it.
 
As regards the Lancets........what we are supposed to do and what we actually do are very different things. The lancets should be prescribed and they should only be used once.......however I will tell you that I use 1 lancet per day. I sometimes test anything up to 7-8 times daily as I keep tight control.

Some change the lancet every time.......their choice....I find that wasteful, although it is the correct procedure.

Have to go now, will be back tomorrow. :D
 
Hi

I am a happy person today.. 7lb lighter, normal blood pressure, and readings gone from 17.8 to 6.9 in 2 weeks.

Had a little chat with my chemist about the testing strips, told him I wanted to test more frequently, he said why would you buy them get them on prescription. Told the nurse today I was cutting my carb intake and needed to check my blood more often as my levels had peaked a couple of times and I needed to know what had caused it. and she told me that was ok and she would get my strips on repeat prescription for me... Also got one of those boxes for my lancets. (slowly learning the correct names for things)..

Must say a big thanks to all on the forum for all the advice offered, I would have still been in limbo land. now after 2 weeks I feel as though I am in control of my diabetes.

also say thanks to my family, when I was just "dieting" no one took me seriously when I said no chocolate.
A trip to tesco turned into a facted finding mission for me and the kids, we must have read every packet we lifted to see how much sugar and carbs were in what we were going to buy. needles to say a lot went back on the shelf.

thanks again
 
PF.

What a great result all round for you. Now you are 'in the groove'........just keep on doing what you are right now.

Well done....... :D
 
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