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New to T2

J

joshandjess

Member
Hello everyone

I was diagnosed last Thursday with Type 2, I'm 51 and are fairly fit male, this has come as a bolt out of the blue and feel like my social life has just fallen down around me as everyone is telling me to give up the booze, which is an enjoyment of mine to go out on a Friday night and have 4-5 pints of real ale and chats. Plus a bottle of red wine on a saturday.

My diet is already healthy as I cook from scratch with my daughter and don't have any suger, white pasta, bread etc. Plus I try and do 10,000 steps a day (this is helped by having a dog)

However I do like a treat now and again in the way of a biscuit or chocolate bar, but not everyday

I'm a little down after hearing this news and any encouragement from you I'm sure will help

Thanks
Ian
 
Welcome to the forums Ian, there's plenty of help to be had around here.

@daisy1 can give you some info.

Sounds like you're already low(ish) on carbs but your beer may not be helping you. Wine is generally better for blood glucose but won't help your liver!
 
joshandjess said:
My diet is already healthy as I cook from scratch with my daughter and don't have any suger, white pasta, bread etc. Plus I try and do 10,000 steps a day (this is helped by having a dog)
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Did they run tests for C-peptide and/or auto-antibodies to rule out Type 1?
 

Re-reading your post I note that you state 'white pasta, bread etc'. Does this mean that you eat wholemeal versions ?
I'm afraid that all carbohydrates turn into glucose in the body - irrespective of what colour they are.
 
Hi sorry to here you have been diagnosed type 2 but this doesn't mean you have to give up every thing as they say everything in moderation if you feel like a treatnow and again have one I've been type 1 for 43 yrs4jabs aday and I haven't really missed out on alot just carry on eating a healthy diet I can't comment on beer etc as I don't drink but I'm sure someone on the forum will advise you on this subject hope all goes well for you just don't get to down diabetes just means a few life style change's good luck
 
Hi and welcome,

You would be surprised how many newcomers to the forum are shell shocked because they feel they eat a healthy diet. When it comes down to it, the diet isn't as healthy as they thought and likely to be carbohydrate heavy with too much fruit.

All carbs convert to glucose once inside the system, including the wholemeal varieties. The wholemeal varieties have an equal amount of carbs in them. Fruit is full of sugar - natural sugar maybe, but still sugar. Breakfast cereals are one of the worst culprits, including oats.

Have a good read round, and ask as many questions as you wish.
 
Thanks for your quick replies. I was tested fully and T1 has been ruled out, my liver is okay, and I don't generally eat fruit! Yes I have brown rice maybe twice a week, do not eat bread and have cut down the drinking to twice a week from around four times aweek.

My blood pressure is fine as is my collestrol and the doctor said something amount a score of 54 for my T2

I think it is tjhe carbs and that as a family we have always bought low fat, so from now on they are on their own as I whittle down on these and eat full fat instead. I have already cut to skimmed milk and only have plain porridge for breakfast

Ta all
 
Welcome Ian, you will find this place very useful with lost of information to help you keep those blood glucose numbers down as much as possible. As far as having a drink is concerned I too had a problem with not wanting to give up my social life and this pleasure. In fact I write this after a saturday night of 5 pints of lager, my now one night only of pleasure. Gone too is the pizza or late night fish and chips supper after, but all is not doom and gloom as I feel tonnes better for it.
 


Ouch! porridge? now this is something that will definitely raise your blood sugar, by how much depends on the amount and how your own body deals with it. Some people can tolerate it in small amounts so you have to see what it does, personally 30g cuppa porridge sent my levels too high so i've had to knock it on the head
 

Wow did not know this, what would you recommend as a substitute?
 
Hi and welcome. It sounds like the revised diet should help. There is always Metformin which many have to help a bit with the blood sugar. Do get hold of a meter so you can check occasionally. For chocolate do look at 85% Dark which is much lower carbs than the other sugary rubbish. I assume for the T1 tests they did a c-peptide as possibly a GAD test?
 
joshandjess said:
Wow did not know this, what would you recommend as a substitute?
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Well if you are going down the LCHF route then there are lots you can eat, bacon & eggs etc. Have a read around the forum and get some ideas. At least three mornings a week I have one small slice toast with poached eggs, I mix it up a little and have fried eggs one day with bacon
 
joshandjess said:
Wow did not know this, what would you recommend as a substitute?
Click to expand...

Ian, I think you need to go through the food in your kitchen cupboards and look at the carbohydrate levels - ignore the of which sugars bit, it doesn't matter to us.

Foods that are high in carbs include pasta, rice, potato and bread. It might be an idea to assess your diet and where you are against the governement guideline intake of 250g of carbohydrate per day. And then judge your your intake against figure used by some forum members of less than 50g of carbs per day.

Somewhere in this range is a figure that's right for YOU.
 
Especially check any low fat stuff.

I was having a Benecol low fat yogurt as I don't take statins (long story ... ) - 13g of carb in one little pot!

Now on an avocado a day but a while before my next blood test to see what effect it is having
 
joshandjess said:
I just looked at certain foods I love and the carb content and have been shocked at how much carbs are in them
Click to expand...

Dr Google gives this generic figure for how many carbs are in a pint of beer?


You can see easily how your 5 pints on a Friday night mounts up. To stay sane, you can give yourself a treat now and then but the trick really is to know what you're consuming.
 
As the other member said it's certainly worth investing in a meter just to give you peace of mind doctors usually say theres no need to test if not on insulin but it's certainly worth it just to see whats going on you will probably have to buy one so keep your eye on forum to see what others are using and ask for advice keep us informed?
 
Welcome to the forum Ian.. it is a shock to many of us when we're first diagnosed. Read as much as you can and ask any questions here.. there's lots of experienced people here who can help. I had to swap my much loved beer for spirits with ice.. alongside a pint of water with ice and lemon. Red wine or dry white is best if you drink wine at all. I no longer get drunk as your judgement is impaired.. especially important if you take insulin for treatment. I do have the occasional chocolate bar but have 85-100% cocoa. It can be an acquired taste but it's better than none at all.
 
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