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Hi Linda,

I suppose that as a Type 2 you understand the need to cut back dramatically on the starchy carbohydrates - i.e. cereals, bread, potatoes, pasta and rice?

Best wishes - John

Welcome to the forum, Linda.
Are you taking any other forms of medication, even those non diabetic related ? ie Steroids, Cytotoxic drugs etc.

Have you stopped taking the Metformin with your doctor's knowledge ? Metformin is usually a very effective drug for lowering blood glucose levels.

Whilst this may be diet related, we do not know what your present diet is, can you give us some idea of a typical days food intake as this will help us to give you some better advice.

wallycorker said:

Hi Linda,

I suppose that as a Type 2 you understand the need to cut back dramatically on the starchy carbohydrates - i.e. cereals, bread, potatoes, pasta and rice?

Best wishes - John

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Really ? Not EVERY Type 2 has to do that John. Some of them manage their Diabetes exceptionally well without resorting to 'dramatically cutting back'. Not quite sure what that means ?

Perhap's we need to find out what Linda's diet consists of before throwing out blanket advice to new members. Her medications perhaps or other underlying conditions ? These may ALL have a bearing on Linda's higher Bg numbers, not just diet.

Linda.
So, apart from Ezetimibe(Ezetrol) a Cholesterol lowering mediacation you are not taking ANY other drugs ?

Not everybody has to ditch ALL the foods mentioned. I can eat many of them, but only in very small portions. Your menu might well be OK for you, testing is the only way to find out what is good or bad. I could tell you what I don't or wouldn't eat, however YOU might be able to tolerate them very well. We are all different and there is no one size fits all ! :wink:

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular 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.

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.

The main carbs to avoid or reduce if your Bg levels are high are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such a bread, potatoes, pasta and rice also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

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.

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.

It could well be that your problems are all down to your diet, however it is strange that Metformin had NO effect at all. I am not surprised that your Dr increased your Meds if your Bg levels went up. If they weren't working then I would have thought he would have tried something else such as Gliclazide, a sulphonylurea. Usually this is a very effective drug for lowering Blood glucose levels.
What sort of levels are you getting at the moment ?

Maybe you should discuss this with the GP.

cugila said:

............The main carbs to avoid or reduce if your Bg levels are high are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such a bread, potatoes, pasta and rice also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

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......................

Click to expand...

Yes Linda - I agree with Cugila.Most Type 2s usually need to cut back dramatically on the starchy carbohydrates that they eat - i.e. cereals, bread, potatoes, pasta and rice? That usually leads to a quick and big improvement in blood glucose levels.

Best wishes - John