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maz1221

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Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi I'm Maz, 63 years old from Havant, diagnosed with Diabetes 2 approx 5 years ago. Metformin did not work for me couldn,t get passed the nausea and diarrhoea am now taking Levemir in the morning and Novorapid before meals. Sugar levels are not controlled and I feel extremely tired all of the time. My diabetic nurse tells me I probably cant lose weight now I take insulin which I find depressing because I really want to lose weight. Sugar levels remain high most of the time never much below 15. I am working and active. Have 2 adult sons and 4 grandchildren 3 of which I have with me regularly. (daily)
 
Hi maz

Welcome to the forum.

Nice positive message from your diabetic nurse!

With you being on insulin do you eat what you want and adjust your insulin accordingly to the carbs you ate?

As you will read, many of us on here advocate a lower carb regime. I'm on diet control, been diagnosed since Dec 11. In that time I've brought my BG level down to 'normal', lost 2 and a half stone in weight. the way I've done it is to 'Eat to my meter' by that I mean test 2 hours after food if the read was above 8.5 (i now use a lower read of 7.8 as my trigger) I cut out totally or reduced the amount of carb in that meal.

The result was the weight dropped off me as I wasn't obsessing about the bathroom scales - I was eating for health not to lose weight.

If you start to look at reducing your carbs you should see an improvement in your BG's - your problem will be the fact that you are on insulin therefore, if not managed carefully could fiind yourself going too low, not a good place to be.

There are members on here who have successfully come off insulin or been weeks away from going on it and avoided it simply by following a low carb regime and exercising. the key I think is to do it gradually and carefully, ideally with the support of your HCP.

Have a read around and ask questions, I don't think your nurse was correct or indeed helpful to suggest you've nowhere to go re weight reduction.

Mary x
 
Hi Maz and welcome to the forum :)
In addition to the advice Mary has given you, here is the information we give to new members and I think this will help you. Ask all the questions you like as there is always someone here to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS


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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
Click to expand...
 
HI Maz,
Welcome to the website. I am a type 1 diabetic on novarapid 3 times aday and Lantus solar star at night, and also 2 x 500mg twice daily of metformin.
I noticed daisy has given you some good advice, but am sorry to hear your diabetic nurse wasn't very positive.
You can lose weight by cutting carbs and the more weight you lose the less insulin you will need, this will also help the sugar levels.
If you can do gentle exercise that will help as well.
I don't want to bombard you too much, but please feel free to keep in touch.
best wishes
Tracey
 
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