New here

@dadof3

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It will help you with your questions on diet and how to keep your levels down so you may not develop full diabetes. Someone will come along soon to tell you how to use the forum.



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 over 150,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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 welcome to the forum. You will find lots of helpful friendly people on here. Keep posting and ask list of questions, someone will be able to offer some help and advice.

Hi and welcome to the forum, you are in the right place as we are all speaking from experience. Dont be afraid to ask questions, we are happy to help.

Welcome,

What do you mean when you say borderline?

Is this is LADA/MODY scaneario?

It looks to me like you were diagnosed with prediabetes 4/5 years ago, and now you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes develops more quickly and the person needs insulin injections every day.

Your doctor will have used the word borderline because at an HbA1c blood test result of 48 the person crosses the border into having type 2 diabetes. Many people have a result higher than this when they are diagnosed, such as 50 or 60 something right up into the low 100s. If the result is between 42 and 47, that is called prediabetes. The normal range is 41 and under.

At this forum most of us eat foods that are a bit different to what is recommended on the diet sheet you got from your doctor. We reduce our starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta and potatoes. This usually helps with reducing blood sugar levels and weight. There is more info about this in Daisy1's post at #2 on this thread.

Often it's possible to reduce our HbA1c blood test result from 48 (or more), down to say 43, then even 38 or less. At this point the diabetes can be thought of as being in remission, or as some people say "reversed". If we keep eating low carbohydrates then we can usually stay there and we avoid diabetes symptoms and longer term problems like trouble with our eyes, kidneys and nerves.

Please feel free to ask any questions you like.

dadof3 said:

Thanks for your reply CatLadyNZ. When I was at my GP they kept referring to me as being type 1 due to my family history and then I guess its HEREDITARY!! What you have advised on base of my results, Now I look at a from different point (TYPE 2). My hunger, thrust, burning feet, shaking due to not consuming anything, low blood pressure also point to other direction. I will soon make an appointment with my GP and talk in more details about my concerns. We have cut down a lot on sugar, carbs, fatty & salty food and looking for different ways to eat healthy especially what my KIDS can eat, which is a bit of pain tbh..

Click to expand...

Are you able to tell us what foods you eat in a typical day for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks?

It would be a good idea to get a blood glucose meter and test strips, as that way you can start to learn which foods increase your blood sugar/glucose the most. You might be able to get one from your GP or you might need to buy one yourself.

Many of us use the SD Codefree meter, available here:
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm
because they have the cheapest test strips on the market, and you may need a lot initially. There is a discount code if you buy 5 or 10 boxes, which brings the price down to about £5 for 50 strips.
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833

dadof3 said:

Hi, Yes I will be able to create a chart for my food and provide you once completed (maybe for a week or so), but it will take some time. I am also looking to go back to my GP and talk in much details. I will also inquire about the sugar level and the meter and hope to get some more clearance about it. Regards to my carbs..I am already using brown bread and brown rice. We have already cut down on lots and lots of carbs...stuff brown bread, brown rice (handful). I dont take sugar at all in my drinks for at least last 8 years, no butter or margarine on my toast. We also use only Olive oil for cooking if needed, grilled or Owen chips and same to chicken and stuff. I will update you once a chart is completed. Thanks again for your kind words!!

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I have found that if I eat any bread, rice or potato it makes me blood sugar go up. The only way I can keep my diabetes under control is by not eating any of these foods. I have replaced them with eating more meat, chicken, cheese, yoghurt, cream and butter, and I never feel hungry.

CatLadyNZ said:

Are you able to tell us what foods you eat in a typical day for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks?

It would be a good idea to get a blood glucose meter and test strips, as that way you can start to learn which foods increase your blood sugar/glucose the most. You might be able to get one from your GP or you might need to buy one yourself.

Many of us use the SD Codefree meter, available here:
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm
because they have the cheapest test strips on the market, and you may need a lot initially. There is a discount code if you buy 5 or 10 boxes, which brings the price down to about £5 for 50 strips.
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the information on the testing meter. I have a Verio OneTouch and the cost of 50 strips is around £50... I can't afford any at the moment as I am waiting for my pension! Will buy the Codefree as it seems great value. Thanks again.
(Newly diagnosed as Borderline/Prediabetes hovering between 5.3 and 5.8)