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jenquinn

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Drama queens and liars
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- What is your name? Jen Quinn
- How old are you? 51
- Are you male or female? Yes, I am female
- Which country are you from? Australia
- Which city/area do you live in? Near Newcastle NSW
- Are you religious? Noooo
- Pick three words to describe your personality. Calm, cool and collected
- Do you have any pets? I share a pug, Toby, other people in the house have hermit crabs and guinea pigs
- Microsoft or Apple? Microsoft
- Which sport(s) (if any) do you like/play? Sport? I don't even like watching it on TV !
- Do you get angry easily? Nup
- Do you have any tattoos or piercings? If so, where? 2 piercings in each ear, thats it.
- List your five favourite musicians/bands. It changes, but my all time faves would probably be The Pretenders, I like matchbox 20, Train, Maroon 5 ok... I don't like jazz or country, maybe that's easier lol
- What would you say your favourite music genre is? Pop/rock
- What is your favourite flag? Ours! (Australia)
- Ever gone camping? Yup, loved it
- Ever been in love? Yup!
- Ever used fake tan? Yep
- Which countries have you visited? Just home and Vanuatu
- Favourite city? Melbourne
- List your five favourite TV programmes. Cold Feet, Revenge, Packed to the Rafter, The Good Wife and Neighbours
- List your five favourite films. Sliding doors, Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones
- Are you wealthy? Not in money
- Do you work? If so, as what? yes, as a support worker for a young man with Down Syndrome and Autism
- List the subjects you study/have studied. Teachers Aide, Commercial Needlework
- What do you like most about yourself? My patience
- What do you like least about yourself? My weight and my lack of motivation to move it.


So, I am newly diagnosed, but approach this with the sense of inevitability that I accepted when I had 4 gestational diabetic pregnancies. I am medicated with 1000mg metaformin x 3 a day, and learning how to deal with the consequences of that, that tummy upset I can deal with... the raging, racing diahorrea is a different thing, given that I need to be a carer at work - out in public. I'll get there. Looking for some support and knowledge here, so, thanks for the welcome
 
Hi Jenquinn and welcome to the forum :)

I hope this is the type of information you are looking for. This was written for new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you wish to as there is always someone here to 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.
 
Hi Jen!

Great to see fellow Aussies on the forum. I have been diagnosed almost 10 months. I am 44 years old and live in Miners Rest which is just out of Ballarat in Vic. I also had a gestational pregnancy 10 years ago and also polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Anyway Jen, welcome to the forum, it saved me in the beginning when this was very scarey and new!!
 
Thanks Daisy and Sandra, I have spent several hours in here this afternoon! So much to read! It is 39 degrees here, so being inside is a good thing. I now have a list of questions for my GP and my dietitian, so thank you for that, and a few recipe ideas... I am, of course watching my carbs, and sugars, but not losing any weight so far - grrrr

Anyways - see you both on the boards, and thanks again

jen
 
Welcome from another Aussie, Jen!

I can certainly empathise re. wanting to stay indoors out of the heat - I'm doing the exact same thing here in WA.

There's a wealth of information on this forum. One of the best sites I found when I first started researching on the web was this one:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/index.php

I'd especially recommend the "Read This First" link.

Another site, a blog by a fellow Aussie Alan S is:

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com.au/

Best wishes,
 
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