New to forum... but not diabetes!

[EvieW]

Hi all I'm Eve

I'm a type 2 diabetic with other health issues that make my life of so joyous! lol I was diagnosed with diabetes about 2 years ago. Even though I was referred to a diabetic clinic at a hospital, they failed to follow up with anything so went quite a while without treatment.

I recently got diagnosed with high blood pressure & I'm on treatment for that, also a chronic pain sufferer & have bad BAD migraines. I suffer from depression, also have poly-cystic ovaries & endometrosis so I have been on Metformin for many years for those conditions. I knew there was always a chance I could develop diabetes, but it was still a shock when I got the news.

I am on 1.2mg Victoza as well as 850x3 Metformin daily amongst other meds. Victoza has been a good thing for me as I had gained alot of weight over the years from the different meds they put me on for the pcos & endo. In 6 months I have lost over 20kgs & still losing weight.

I guess I joined because I don't really have a support system of friends & family, plus I've been reading the forums & everyone seems to have good advice. I REALLY need good advice to keep me sane right about now!

Thanks for reading me ranting.

Eve xx

 

[Gappy]

Welcome, I'm not knowledgeable enough to be much help (fairly newly diagnosed) but I get inspiration from peoples stories, opinions and advice so thank you for joining and I look forward to learning more from you!

 

[daisy1]

Hi Eve and welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place for friendly advice and support. I know you are not newly diagnosed, but I think you could possibly benefit from some of the information in here. It may vary from what you have been told previously but it works for us. The Forum Monitors have put this together for new members and maybe you will find something that is useful to you. Go ahead and ask as many questions as you like as there will always be someone who would like to help.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

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.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

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

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily 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. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have 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.

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.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.