• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

New T2 but confused and quite fed up

Hi. I’ve been T2 for a couple of years and still fed up and confused. My own behaviour especially confuses me. I’ve tried lower carb (100g per day) basically cutting out pasta, rice, potatoes and bread as well as obvious sweet stuff, felt better and got my hba1c down. I do this for approx 6-8 weeks. Then something happens and I crave carbs or I go to a friends house and they serve risotto or pasta bake and I remember what I’m missing then eat junk, gradually getting worse in terms of sugar and carbs, then I get stressed about it and comfort eat/ binge on sugar and carbs even more. Not hungry just want/need carbs. I am disabled (cerebral palsy which causes twitching and rubbish fine motor control) and can only use freestyle continuous monitors but they are too expensive and not available on prescription. When I use them I am in better control because I can see what the numbers are doing. I have tried multiple needle testing monitors, but just can’t get enough blood on the right place at the right time. I know for me it’s a mindset thing. I just find being consistent with what I eat and how much I walk and how much I go to the gym extremely difficult. Any advice?
 


There are several companies offering free meters. They usually come with a small number of test strips, so make sure you check the ongoing cost of strips. One is promoted on this site https://www.diabetes.co.uk/promotions/free-onetouch-verio-reflect-ireland/?refid=2000

Just google "free glucose meter uk" for others

Pharmacies also sell some of the test sticks, but they are different from one brand to the next
 
Well it's three weeks since my diagnosis and I saw my DN yesterday. She is upping my Metformin to four tablets a day - am on two at the moment (increasing them over ten days). So far (touch wood) I have only had stomach ache so fingers crossed that's my only reaction. Because my HB1aC was so high she did say a lot of her colleagues would be putting me on insulin straight away.

I am tracking my food and my BS and have lost half a stone. Increased my activity and rejoined the gym. The DN espoused low carb but also wants it to be sustainable and advocated having much smaller amounts (eg. two small roast pots). For me that would be worse! Have also got a monitor and test before and after meals etc.

I find it hard to work out what amount of carbs I should eat so might do the 20g as a starting point and increase gradually until I find my limit, thanks for the idea mikeypat! The level of care has been dire - but it's all I've got so am trying to be positive. Still might complain though. DN never mentioned anything about referring me for the special eye test which I would like so will have to chase.

TodayI feel awful, bad headache, lethargic. But went to the gym yesterday and drank 2l of water (v unusual for me, I am bad at hydration). Carb intake was 70g which is probably too high for me. I am also a bit worried about the effects of reducing my BS too quickly, the nurse warned I could get "poorly" if done too fast. But how quick is too quick? Having another HB1AC test in July, she wants to see it in the 50's range.

Also one of my children has covid, obviously don't want to get that. Do people here worry about that? Can't believe how much headspace all of this is taking up!
 
My sympathy are with you.

I was diagnosed as T2 back in 2018 and still unsure of what to do! Like you, I get told they are a bit high and repeat in 3 months time.

Unfortunately, Covid affected everything and appointments with diaticians failed to materialise.

If you have not got a meter yet and you are in the UK, you can get a free monitor from Bayer healthcare.

https://www.diabetes.ascensia.co.uk/products/contour-plus-blue/

That's where I got mine from. The link has a newer type as it has colour coding which will help you as you will see when you are within safe limits or above/below the limits.

Hope that helps you.
 
Poor you, I was diagnosed as to then MODY now t2. So I understand how confused you can feel. Try to get an introduction Desmond course from your GP or DN. desmond.nhs.uk/products
I use a libre sensor. It works with an ap on my phone and costs £50 for a fortnight. You could use it every month or two to understand why your blood glucose does with different foods and exercise. freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/#
 
The “poorly” she refers to is likely to be sugar withdrawal/keto flu. I do wish medical professionals would use real terms and be specific. Fundamentally drastically cutting carbs causes your body to kick off like a toddler having its favourite toy removed. Headaches, body aches, cravings etc as it is forced to adapt to lower (more normal) blood glucose levels. It can even fake a hypo with shakes and confusion to trick you into resuming the sugar habit. Reducing levels a bit more slowly eases you through this.

Also the hydration thing. Carbs hold water. Less carbs means you need to adapt to more frequently topping up. Adding lots more water can cause it to “flush” through whilst you get used to this and this can take vital electrolytes out with the water. Magnesium, potassium and sodium especially. Lack of these can cause a lot of the same symptoms and in extreme cases even a racing heart etc. make sure you foods have plenty of these and if that’s tricky think about some short term low sugar replacements. They work fast if that’s the issue.

If your child has covid and your symptoms are headaches and fatigue you may also have it as they are extremely common earlier symptoms and sometimes all anyone gets. Don’t forget lateral flow tests can miss a scarily high % of real positive cases (as much as 50% in some studies but easily 30% in most). If you do have covid it might well mess about with your bgl results so anticipate this. Some of worry a lot more than others do (as with everything covid related) and there are pages and pages of discussion about this in here. Officially type 2 is a condition that raises risk of more serious outcomes. Some have breezed through it though and others have really struggled. But like Russian roulette imo.

Whilst some of her colleagues may have gone straight to insulin I’m not sure it’s that many and sounds like a bit of dramatic emphasis to me, and many others in here did the diet thing at even higher levels than yours. Sustainability is important but I’m like you and can’t do moderation very well and am best off just saying no to the carbs. You know yourself best.
 
RHitch said:
Poor you, I was diagnosed as to then MODY now t2.
Click to expand...
Really? That’s incredibly unusual. MODY requires some very specific testing, was this done or was MODY just proposed as a possibility as your first post outlines?
I also see from your first post they called you type 1 for many years til you went keto. Again I’d ask if that type 1 diagnosis was a result of the proper testing or assumptions the dr made and based on insulin usage (type 2 use insulin too but that doesn’t make them type 1 as some people including a few drs seem to think).
It does seem there’s a lot of confusion in your case about types.
 
As far as your DN is concerned, it is Your body, Your condition, and your responsibility. She cannot force you to take any medication or treatment against your wishes.

I see your HbA1c is 86 at the moment. I am a T2D of some 30 years now, and my HbA1c crept up slowly and steadily up to 106 when my GP suggested insulin treatment and offered to make an appointment with the hospital for training etc. I refused, and requested a meter, which he supplied. (I was on max dose Metformin, Gliclazide, and Actos at the time) I went Low Carb and when he reviewed me in a couple of months I had dropped the Actos, and halved the Gliclazide, and had my HbA1c travelling south very nicely (I even produced an Exel; spreadsheet to prove it). I chose to go slowly with LCHF, and although I did get to the fringes of hypoland, and entered keto, I revised upward slightly and landed gently in the target range quite happily. I avoided keto flu and I am on minimum medication.
Its nearly 6 years now since that happened and I still LCHF. I am still diabetic, but in control, and my last HbA1c was 45 following a stay in hospital on hospital food and no diabetic meds. My levels have risen a bit now because they stopped my Metformin but I am hovering around 6.5 average.

As regards potatoes, I use the Aldi miniature spuds since they have less starch in them than standard potatoes. Any baby root veg can be considered, because these increase starch storage as they mature.
 
Last edited:
Hi @JennyDarling , welcome to the forum.
I know it is hard at the beginning, but you have to find out what works for you. We are all different.
While low carb is generally good, the amount of carbs, a T2 can deal with, can vary greatly.
Good to hear that your DN had heard of low carb.

Here is my journey, I got diagnosed in 2014 with Hb1Ac around 100, was put onto Metformin and thought this would fix it. While Hb1Ac came down to high 60s it wasn't enough. I tried to ignore this for several years, but 3 years ago GP wanted again to put me on Glicazide. It was only then when I started taking my T2 seriously. I had heard about the Newcastle diet where people reversed their diabetes by losing lots of weight. Reading two books by Michael Mosely - the fast diet & The 8-week blood sugar diet - convinced me to try 5+2 intermittent fasting, with 600 calories for 2 days per week, i.e no bread, pasta, rice, potatos, ... just vegetables, soup, a bit of chicken or fish. On the other days we (my partner joined me in this endeavour) we ate normally. This worked well for me. Within a month I started to see results, lower blood sugar (prick tests) and losing weight, after 8 months my Hb1Ac came down to 42 and I had lost 10 kg. Thus my GP agreed to stop Metformin. I have been diet controlled since then, i.e. I still fast regularly.

My understanding of how the body works has greatly increased. Regarding food, not all calories are equal. T2 don't tolerate carbs, thus we need to replace these calories, essentially with fat. The body is a hormonal engine, eating less will also lower your base metabolic rate, i.e. how many calories you burn and you will feel tired, miserable, ... This is why diets based on eating less will usually fail. Intermittent fasting worked for me, it is also one of the oldest tricks of evolution, if the hunt was unsuccessful, our ancestors had to make to with what could be foraged. A good book explaining this is "The diabetes code" by Jason Fung,
 


I wrote to my Diabetic nurse last week requesting a meter. Was given a national number to order one for free.
It arrived the next day.
Worth a try
 
Nikki-616 said:
I wrote to my Diabetic nurse last week requesting a meter. Was given a national number to order one for free.
It arrived the next day.
Worth a try
Click to expand...
You are very lucky, most type 2 don’t get one on the NHS
 

First of all I think you need your own thread as your post is getting lost in this long one @Antje77 can you help?

Secondly, because of your physical disabilities I think you have a good case to write and ask your surgery for libre on prescription, especially as yo are having trouble controlling your numbers. It's worth a try, even if they say no initially, keep at them. Or see if you can get a grant or funding from somewhere ( a charity perhaps) to fund it

Thirdly, start with Jen Unwins book and website Fork in the Road. She's doing good work helping people with food addiction.
 
MrsA2 said:
First of all I think you need your own thread as your post is getting lost in this long one @Antje77 can you help?
Click to expand...
Of course! Or one of my colleagues can, especially thinking of @EllieM or @VashtiB , who are often online at our night.

@Gina698 , if you'd like your post to be moved to a thread of its own so it will be more visible, you can just let us know here and we'll move it.
Or you can simply start your own thread with your post, which may be a better choice, as it will be higher up in the 'recent posts' list.
 
I signed up for Locarno diet on this site. It was free then and it worked for me. I followed it to the letter but it was the first time I have ever been able to do that. I still needed medication but if I had found locabhifat earlier perhaps I could have avoided meds. Instead I had been told to cut out fat and eat a carb at every meal.
 
Google is confused by Locarno diet. I am presuming you mean low carb. Either that or autocorrect stepped in?

I too enlisted in the Lowcarb diet on this website when it was free. I also started to learn about LCHF from the Forum members in parallel. This did indeed give rise to confusion since the two diet plans are similar, but differ as well. I believe that the LC diet does use a higher carb range and less less fat than LCHF. The LC diet is also non ketosis. LCHF can be either keto or non keto or both if you do fasting as well.

These are all options open to us and they all appear to be an improvement on the standard diabetes diet. I am a ancient diabetes sufferer so I do not expect to get remission easily. I have acheived it briefly on LCHF, but it is not a permenent change in my case. I too still use a small amount of diabetic medication and I still eat medium carbs ( and crabs too). I am content with my diet after 6 years doing it. My BGL is not perfect, but is in the low 40's with no hypo's. For me its minimum faff, minimum stress, and easy shopping because I am not needing keto.
 
more tablets does not sound well. tackle the issue(sugar is the symptom, not the cause)and you will see improvements not just with diabetes, if what u eat is not changed, the problem only gets worse. start watching dr robert lustig videos, dr pradip jamnadas's.

dr eric berg and sten eckberg are great also.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…