New to the forum and currently feeling very anxious

Drugs may help alleviate the symptoms, but if you really want to deal with the disease you need to consider completely changing your diet.

What you eat is the key to controlling and maybe even beating Type 2.

Welcome to the forum! This is the point where you need to make a decision; are you going to control your diabetes or are you going to let it control you? It is a manageable condition but it takes determination and will power. The consequences of burying your head in the sand are a range of pretty horrendous complications; it is the thought of these that keeps me on the straight and narrow! Lots of people on this forum have found that adopting a low carb, full fat life style has had a pretty instantaneously positive effect on their blood sugar level. For me this has meant no bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and other root vegetables, anything with sugar (even natural sugar like honey), grains, fruit except berries. I did this by going 'cold turkey' but some people find it better to cut down a bit at a time. The other important thing to do is to get a meter so you can test your own blood sugar to find out what causes it to spike. Keep a food diary. You soon learn what you can and can't eat. Ask your doctor if they will supply you with one but I suspect not; most people have to buy their own.

Please do keep asking questions; the good people on this forum are a great source of information and support.

Hey there Chewie.This is a great place for exactly the sort of advice and support you are looking for.I have personally found it invaluable since my diagnosis of type 2 in mid July.There are many here to help with first hand knowledge and experience of living with this condition.My learning curve has been steep and continues daily.After four years since diagnosis, I am not sure how much research you have done, but a good look round here may give you some inspiration.
My Hba1c was 75 on diagnosis,not a million miles from yours currently.However after following a low carb high fat diet for the last three months, as advocated by many here, my meter tells me my averages are all around 6.5 or 48. I will be getting a test in the next week or so and hope my results will show an improvement.
I suspect most of your symptoms especially the sleepiness may improve with better control of your B.G. Have a look at the success stories here of those that have tried a low carb approach to do this.Of course we are all different and what works for one may not work for all,but there seems to be a definite pattern emerging.
Any questions just ask,we are a friendly crew.So stick around here.

P.S. I can't wait till 18th December how bout you?

Hi welcome to the forum from me too

I'll tag @daisy1 for some welcome info even though you're not new to diabetes, there may be something there for you.

Well here's a little more light reading for you:-

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-new-low-carb-guide-for-beginners.68695/

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/my-first-year-of-lchf.76070/

No problems. Get a cuppa and have a goòd read around here.There are extensive threads on LCHF, What have you eaten today?Low carb recipes, LCHF success stories etc.All interesting reading.
I snack on nuts,cheese,cold meats,pepperami,baby tomatoes (not too many of these tho), berries and plain full fat yougurt.I avoid bread,rice,pasta,most fruit,and root veg.But meat fish and eggs are great.I felt better within a couple of days of making the change,and do notice if I have some carbs.The old rubbish way of feeling comes back within minutes.
It is a big change but with determination is achievable.Plus bacon and eggs and good high meat sausages are fine who knew!!
I too have two kids, they are a bit older than your two, but if I am wavering I think of how they will cope if I develop serious complications.Its all the motivation I need,I couldn't put them through that, just cos I fancied a Big Mac.

@ch3w84cc4

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will 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 over 150,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.

ch3w84cc4 said:

Hi everyone,

I have joined the forum in the hope that I can get the motivation and help to sort myself out. I think I am very much a walking cliche. I am 41 and self employed IT Programme Manager. I was diagnosed with T2 around 4 years ago and I have largely ignored it. I am on Metformin and Cytaglyptin. I just had my blood tests and they came back at 86 which is obviously very very poor and I have began to notice the consequences of my choices. I am up at 5 in the morning and get back around 7.30 at night. (2 hour commute to work and 2 hours back). This means I come back and I am knackered. I am in the office for most of the day. I have a very sweet tooth and probably drink too much. I have flirted with the gym a few times and I have lost some weight but I am 6ft and weigh 16 stone so I need to lose weight. I am quite a faddy eater and that hasn't helped the situation. Also work can sometimes very stressful so thats where comfort eating causes trouble. Symptoms I have include after eating fighting not to fall asleep, or actually falling asleep because I haven't eaten. Pins and needles occasionally that takes a couple of hours to go and repeating thrush.
So I know there are a whole load of really serious symptoms and I certainly am worried about the potential for stroke etc. I have 2 kids 7 & 4 and I am the main breadwinner, so it is very very important that I don't fall apart!
I think I am pretty much at a low point at the minute, so that should be my starting point. A benchmark of being really really rubbish and now I need to pick myself up and actually do something about it. My immediate concern is the falling asleep. I could really do with some advice as to how to deal with that. (It doesn't happen when I drive, its being stuck in meeting rooms all day).
Sorry for the rather self indulgent post but I need to face my diabetes head on and any help or advice will very gratefully received. I am at the docs next Monday to review and update the medicine.

Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum. Your commute sounds very similar to mine, but thankfully I only do that once or twice a week. I was diagnosed about 7 weeks ago. 6 weeks ago I went on a LCHF diet and increased my exercise significantly (over 10000 steps every daya and as high as 20000). My initial HbA1c was 79, haven't had another yet but my mmol/L over the last 5 days have ranged between 4.5 and 6.8. I am still heavier than you though have lost 7kg in the 6 weeks. And actually I have never felt hungry (well after the first week perhaps). I have swapped red wine for beer but now drink the number of glasses that I used to drink in bottles For me its early days but I have read enough on the forum to believe it can be done mate you just have to fully commit. LCHF.

Hi and welcome to the forum. Im sure you will find the help and support you need to get yourself on track. My Hba1c on diagnosis was 100 and it is now 34 so it is definately do-able. It can take a bit of time to take it all in however so take your time looking around the forum and ask as many questions as you want, we are only too happy to help and we are all speaking from experience.

Hello.

Nothing is easy and you know what you need to do.

I've been type 2 for two years now. My blood levels were stupid high, cholesterol high and readings of 17-25.

You do need to cut all the sugary stuff out, you know that.
Drinking or eating these during the day will spike your levels and cause drowseness.
Changing your diet to stuff like brown seeded bread, brown rice, brown pasta, oily fish like salmon, chicken, a little red meat, sweet potatoe, salads and nuts. Porridge and berries.
You can eat small amounts of sugary items before your main meal. i.e. the food will dissapate the sugar.
Stay away from 'diet' low sugar stuff and sweetners. Despite what anybody says there not good for you.
Read your food labels to see what carbs and sugar content there is on what your buying.
If you can make meals naturally then you know what your ingredients are going in. Tinned stuff and sauces all have loads of sugar in to make them taste better.
It will be hard, my mates used to rib me by stuffing there faces with cake and chocolate in front of me. I laugh at them now and think, what are you doing to your bodies.
But if I didnt change my lifestyle, I'm sure I would of been dead in a few more years.
You have made the first step of many, there will be hurdles to climb and a lot of research to do.
Remember this..... you can take control of your diabetes.

New member: I was diagnosed wit T2 around 6 years ago. I'm currently on no medication, I just cut out all sugar from my diet, and do some moderate exercise. I'm hoping to see if I can reverse my T2. If my blood count is to high, I just go for a walk and that will bring it back to normal. Recently my blood count was 9 and I went for a 45 minutes walk and it bring it down to 4.1, no medication can do that so quick. My blood count never go over 7 anymore. Anyone need any help just let me know.

Welcome to the forum. I've only been diagnosed four months and on the forum for a few but I find it is a wonderful place to go. What works well for me is eating a couple of ounces of very high fibre foods with every meal. Restricting carbs wasn't enough for me--I could only eat tiny amounts without spikes. I started with the high fibre a week ago and no high readings since! So I eat a couple ounces of blueberries, sunflower seeds, chia seeds or very high fibre cereal from the health food section with every meal. It helps with the stress, too, when the numbers go down. Maybe this might work for you? Good luck and hang in there. It's a hard slog, this diabetes, but taking care of yourself is worth it.

MauraH said:

Welcome to the forum. I've only been diagnosed four months and on the forum for a few but I find it is a wonderful place to go. What works well for me is eating a couple of ounces of very high fibre foods with every meal. Restricting carbs wasn't enough for me--I could only eat tiny amounts without spikes. I started with the high fibre a week ago and no high readings since! So I eat a couple ounces of blueberries, sunflower seeds, chia seeds or very high fibre cereal from the health food section with every meal. It helps with the stress, too, when the numbers go down. Maybe this might work for you? Good luck and hang in there. It's a hard slog, this diabetes, but taking care of yourself is worth it.

Click to expand...

I'm T2 btw.

Jking said:

New member: I was diagnosed wit T2 around 6 years ago. I'm currently on no medication, I just cut out all sugar from my diet, and do some moderate exercise. I'm hoping to see if I can reverse my T2. If my blood count is to high, I just go for a walk and that will bring it back to normal. Recently my blood count was 9 and I went for a 45 minutes walk and it bring it down to 4.1, no medication can do that so quick. My blood count never go over 7 anymore. Anyone need any help just let me know.

Click to expand...

Hi Jking.

Apparantly a diet of oily fish, like salmon etc, consumed over a long period of time can reverse type 2. It all depends on each individual, it goes without saying we are all different.
A colleague of mine, his mother ate nothing but fish for 4 years and it worked for her. So it is quite possible.

Good luck.

As long as you are reducing carbs you should start to see a difference. Just make sure it is a way of eating that you enjoy as it is a lifetime commitment. Diabetes cant really be reversed as such, more likely phrased it is put into remission and if you fall back into old eating habits it wiĺl be back in no time

4ratbags said:

As long as you are reducing carbs you should start to see a difference. Just make sure it is a way of eating that you enjoy as it is a lifetime commitment. Diabetes cant really be reversed as such, more likely phrased it is put into remission and if you fall back into old eating habits it wiĺl be back in no time

Click to expand...

With all of us diagnosed, it's about finding that 'balanced' lifestyle.

Too true, as long as you are happy with the way you are managing your diabetes that is the main issue. Sometimes trying to find the right balance can be difficult but once you have it sorted its quite easy.