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New to the T2 Diabetes

Vanmaninessex

Member
Messages
7
Hello,
My name is Kelly, I’m a mother of 3 children and I’m 38yrs old . My health hasn’t been great thought out all of my pregnancies carrying big children (10.5lbs , 11.2lbs and 10.8lbs and I wasn’t diabetic then ) finding out that my kidneys are damaged through high pressure and diabetes which I found out I only had since December 2018 . I haven’t had any support really apart from health checks for my eyes and feet which are all fine . They just told me to eat healthy and we will see you on your birthday for blood test and that’s it . I was put on Metformin tablets which I have taken before for my PCOS in the past . I’m often sick though out the day , very tried and weak but I was told it’s all normal with diabetes. Has anyone got any tips , suggestions or help with information I would be very grateful, because I don’t know what I’m doing . Sorry for the long post x
 
Hi Kelly, We are not doctors here, so we can't give any medical advice, just share our experience.
Unfortunately the standard of medical advice for Type 2 Diabetes is poor and patchy.
Small parts of the NHS are taking the lead from Dr Unwin who has (I think an 85%) success rate of improving Blood Glucose levels and even getting patients off all Diabetes medication, while the majority are still sticking to the old 'eat healthy grains and 5 a day' .

When you think about it that established (world-wide) view of a T2 diet is just plain crazy! It is Carbs that spike Blood Glucose and so Carbs are the enemy of everyone with T2 Diabetes.
In our (collective) experience, some people tolerate Metformin quite well and some suffer badly.
Since you appear not to tolerate it, you should ask your doctor for the 'slow release' version which is easier to tolerate.

If you want to be proactive about dealing with your Diabetes and prevent eye and foot problems etc. there are 2 dietary approaches which work for the majority of people who are able to follow them, but for these you need to either get your doctor to prescribe a Blood Glucose test Meter and testing strips - or else buy one yourself.
The cheapest (overall) when taking the cost of the many strips needed into account are the Codefree and the Tee2.

The 2 approaches which work are either to lose weight and keep it off! - See Newcastle diet (or Michael Mosely's 8 week Blood Sugar Diet etc.)
Alternatively and best in my opinion is to radically change your eating lifestyle to be Low Carb High Fat (LCHF).
This is against most medical advice, but it works- you don't need to suffer so much from hunger, in fact during the first month I was probably eating more calories not less and still lost weight and improved my blood sugar reading even without any additional exercise! You can check which meals are good for you and which ones spike your Blood Sugar by using a meter. There are thousands of T2 and even T1 diabetics who have improved with this approach. (See the LCHF Forum on this site where there is a success stories thread).
As a supplement to the LCHF dietary approach, there is also a thing called Intermittent Fasting (IF) - which is basically just skipping breakfast and eating nothing (an no sugar in drinks) before Lunch .
 
Hi Kelly welcome to the forum. I'm a newbie so I can totally relate to the feeling of feeling that you have been left to figure it out. The good news is that this forum is awesome with many many great people who lots of knowledge.

I have followed the LCHF way of life and it has helped so much with my blood sugar levels. If you haven't yet got a meter I highly recommend getting one and testing often. That is the only way you can get regular information on how what you are eating affects your levels.

I still get overwhelmed at time but always find help and empathy here. Good luck - keep reading and asking questions and my tip- cut the carbs.
 
Hey Kelly,

I'm sorry you had to join, but I can promise you, things are going to get better from here on in. Sick, tired and weak does NOT have to be your default setting. Though I don't know how much of the "sick" bit is due to the diabetes.... That could well be the metformin. But you're not in this alone, we're right here, and we started out where you are. The "eat healthy' advice is garbage. It's too non-specific, and most people then automatically go with the EatWell plate, which is entirely, and absolutely, wrong for type 2 diabetics. Far too many carbs. It's like telling a coeliac to eat gluten to fix their issues. If you can't process something, you need to cut it out. So that's where a diet that IS appropriate for T2's comes in. Low Carb, High Fat or Keto are the best options for a T2, and going that route would likely get you off of the metformin, and out of your sickbed. I couldn't walk around my own flat without my knees buckling every once in a while, back when diagnosed. Couldn't lift a fork half the time, and my husband had to cut my meat on the bad days. Fatigue and muscle weeakness. I've lost a lot of weight, regained a lot of energy, and I go walking every weekend. Decent distances too, with heavy camera gear. I got my life back. And I am sincerely hoping that'll be true for you too, because with three kids, you need all the energy you can get. Not just for them, but for yourself too!

Bottom line: You've got support now, and possible answers. A lot of people here follow this way of eating (because practically all carbs turn to blood glucose, not just the sugar but the starches too!), and have gained control of their blood sugars. No reason why the same couldn't be true for you.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ This is my own quick-start guide, but for more in-depth info I can recommend Dr. Jason Fung's The Diabetes Code, this forum's website (.co.uk, NOT .org), and dietdoctor.com.

You're going to be okay.
Jo
 

Most of the fruits listed in that article might have a low GI, but they are high in carbs/fructose so not good for Type 2s, except occasionally maybe. Try testing before then 2 hours after eating to see how they effect you.
 
@Ya Sham have you been diagnosed as diabetic? If so are you Type 1 or Type 2 - your profile doesn't indicate whether you are.
7.1 isn't too bad if you are diabetic.
 

Thank you so much for all your advice and support, I will definitely take this in and hopefully learn to control my diabetes.
 
Prem51 said:
View attachment 34930
Most of the fruits listed in that article might have a low GI, but they are high in carbs/fructose so not good for Type 2s, except occasionally maybe. Try testing before then 2 hours after eating to see how they effect you.
Click to expand...

I can't stress enough how much I agree with Prem51 on this point.
I consider the '5 a day' campaign' as dangerous as the high Carb or now a days High 'Healthy carb' campaign, because it is practically impossible to eat a measure of 5 different fruit and veg per day without eating some high carb and probably at least medium GI ones!
Those 2 things are guaranteed to create more T2 Diabetics.

Carbs turn into sugar no matter how you cut it.
Excess blood sugar spike Insulin, Insulin stores excess sugar as fat.
Excess fat decreases Insulin Sensitivity.
Decreased Insulin Sensitivity means that more insulin is required to control the Blood Sugar.
And around it goes in a circle getting progressively worse and worse.
Unless and until you break it by going Low Carb and the easiest way to go low carb is to go Low Carb High Fat since Fat doesn't spike Blood Glucose at all!
 
Vanmaninessex said:
Yes I was diagnosed in December with Type 2 .
Click to expand...
It helps if you add that to your profile (can't do it in the app, will need the pc for that). Otherwise any time you ask something, the first questions you get back are about your type and medication, rather than immediate answers. Just a handy tip.
 
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