New and would like to talk to others with diabetes.

[bad-jojo]

I was diagnosed 9 months ago with type 2 and,honestly, I feel almost as much in the dark now as i did then.
I was given a basic diet sheet which i have stuck to largely but many foods are not listed so my diet is quite restricted. I was told to have something starchy (wholemeal) with each meal but reading this forum theres a lot of talk of the need for low carb intake so im feeling confused.
Another thing im feeling confused about is sugar substitutes. I have on occasion made cake or dessert using xylatol but i do feel extremely tired after eating that which i thought was an indicator of high blood sugar level.

As my doctor doesnt believe that self testing is useful i have no idea what my blood sugar levels are but at last testing he said i was doing well. I think i would prefer to know that for myself though.

I feel pretty isolated as i dont know anyone else with this condition and dont feel im getting much info from my doctor.

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi bad-jojo and a warm welcome to the forum.
I can understand your frustration about not being given much advice about your condition and suggest that you look at the sticky thread, "Basic Information for Newly Diagnosed Diabetics" on this board. Most of us find we have to lower our carb intake and the advice will help you to see how much you need to lower yours. It also will tell you that you need a meter and test strips to see what your blood sugar levels are doing.
With regard to the cake, I would think that it was the flour that that was the problem. :?:
Ask away if you have any questions and remember that we were all at your stage of the journey once. It will become clearer as you get used to it.

Take care,
Catherine.

 

[totsy]

hya and welcome to the forum

 

[john.in.france]

Hello there, bad-jojo,

I'm a new boy too but I was lucky. My wife is a bully and understands the concepts of a reduced carb diet thoroughly. Just as well because, to make life more interesting for me, I now live in France and their idea of a diabetes diet also came out of the ark.

As well as looking at the thread catherinecherub suggested, have a look at this site: bloodsugar101. Yes, it's an American site but please don't hold that against the author - somebody has to live there.

Blood sugar control is the name of our game now and your meter is your best friend - stick with it and the carb cutting. When I crashed in August, my HbAc1 was 8.2% - now it's 6.2% and my insulin dose is down from 20 units to 4. The prandin the French doctor prescribed - that's sitting in the drawer - unopened!

Stick with the forum - you'll get lots of tips and ideas as well as moral support - we're all in the same boat.

John

 

[CR741]

hey,
yes i agree, you should be aloud to test if you want to. you can actually buy test strips yourself at some chemists. they are expensive though, they are about £23 or £25 for a whole pot. one good tip to remember is that it is not just about lowering your carbs, it's about the GI of the carbs. This means how slow or fast they go into your blood. Some carbs are slower than others so will have less of an impact on your blood sugar, however if there is a food that you really like but is high GI don't feel like you can't eat it. If you put a low GI food with a high GI food it lowers the GI of the foods as a whole. Remember you can put foods together to make a low GI meal as a whole,e.g. potatoes are high GI but baked beans are low GI, so when you put beans with your potatoes it lowers the GI of the potato. Fats e.g. cheese also lower the GI of foods, but you may not want too much fat. Nuts are good, as they have low GI and are very beneficial, however they have lots of calories so watch portion sizes. About a handful at a time would be fine. You can get many books with the GI values of foods, also there are lots of books on the carbs and nutritional values of foods that are very useful.
cr741

 

[carty]

Hi badjojo.
Like others have said the only way to know how a food is having an effect on your glucose level is to test before a meal and 2 hours after.For instance if I ate the beans and potato recommended by another poster would put my glucose levels sky high.It is very confusing at first I have had DB for a year and I am still confused by lots of things. This forum is a literal lifeline so stick with it .
CAROL