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Sheryl27

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I was diagnosed as type 2 Thursday 4th April 2013 so only been a few days, nobody in my family have diabetes so this is very new to me. I was given lots of reading material from my nurse and was told not to look into it too deeply on the internet.... but... me being nosey and it's my body this is happening to ..... I need to know the ins and outs of how to help myself. I do like to be in control of things but this (at the moment) is totally out of control. I do love my food though and yes I'm overweight.

It appears so long as I cut down dramatically on carbs and eat fresh fruit and veg, things should be OK?

I keep getting headaches too, is this in relation to the diabetes? or perhaps the stress of it all!!!

It's all a bit of a whirlwind :crazy:
 
Hi Sheryl and welcome to the forum :)

I think other members will be along soon to share their experiences with you. In the meantime, here is the information we give to new members which I hope you will find helpful. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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 well over 30,000 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 ... rains.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 blood glucose 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.
 
Hi. Welcome to the world of diabetics; you are not alone. daisy has provided a lot of useful info. It's sad that your nurse said not to look into the Internet too deeply as you do need to take control and most us have relied on this and other web sources for the knowledge we have gained. If the info the nurse gave you includes standard NHS stuff to 'eat starchy carbs with every meal', then gently side-step that as you don't need carbs with every meal or even at all as long as you have a sensible, wide diet. Fat is OK in sensible quantities and unsaturated where you can. As your weight reduces, so should your blood sugar and hopefully you can avoid meds for many years. Headaches are not a normal diabetes problem and I guess stress may well be it. Do get hold of a blood sugar meter as this enables you take control and know what foods are affecting you and by how much.
 
Thank you for your welcome and replies, needless to say, I have ignored my nurse and read, read and read some more. The booklet I was given is about understanding diabetes and the printouts do indeed tell me to eat starchy carbs!

I do like to nibble and I do have a sweet tooth but since being told about the diabetes I see the jelly babies/mint imperials as poison! this is probably a bit drastic but I know I need to change old habits, thing is, I still want to nibble......!!!!! habits can't change over night so I need to change what I nibble. Are unsalted monkey nuts in small quantities ok? and are there any other recommendations other than carrot sticks?

I have another appointment to see my nurse next Monday 15th, she said i'll probably be put on meds pretty quickly, my readings at present are 7.9. I started asking questions but she said to read the booklet and we'll chat more about what happens next the next time I see her. I guess it's not her fault as the appointment is only for a set time and there were others in the waiting room to see her.
 
Nibble on cheese, nuts, pork scratchings, peperami. The medical folk seem to think that we can't manage our diabetes and look at it as a progressive disease, show em you can control it. Mind you they don't like you going low carb even tho its the only way to manage it. Also if they stress statins do your research. They certainly are not for women and can cause heart problems, muscle weakness and memory loss.
 
Hi sheryl and welcome :-)

I'm type 1.5 diagnosed in December and up until just a couple weeks ago I had constant dull achy headaches and after speaking to my DN about it its safe to say mine, personally, were definitely related to the diabetes, even now if I run high or low BG the headache comes immediately but that's the thing with diabetes it effects different people differently!

With my diabetes being 1.5 and me not being overweight I have just switched all my normal carbs for low GI carbs and smaller portions. I also eat a lot of meat, cheeses etc... Including butter so my diet is by no means low fat but be because losing weight won't affect my diabetes that's fine for me. It's all about discovering what works for yourself....would be a good idea to get a meter and test after foods to see which ones your body can handle and which it can't :-)


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Thanks for the support everyone, I'm feeling much better about things now.

This sounds like a daft question but I've got to ask...... Once you're diabetic will you always be diabetic and have to tick the box on forms ext, even if you've got it under control with diet and exercise?
 
Hi Sheryl,
Eight years ago I too was told that my type 2 diabetes meds would be for life. I was also told when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure 12 years ago that my bp meds were for life. Two years ago I was on 10 tablets a day for diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It was 2 years ago that I went on a diet. I have lost 5 stones and my diabetes. I no longer have to take meds for it. My bp is so normal that I might be able to come off the last pill I take for it, and I gave up the stains I was on for my cholesterol a year ago. It would be nice if this was all we had to do, lose weight, it might work for you. I am trying to adopt a low carb (well, lower than it was a few weeks back! 200grms a day was too much) I will try to get it down under 150g a day and maybe lower. There are better experts than me on the low carb option!
Lee. (diabetes meds free since July 2012, no highs or lows, no effects after high carb meals)
 
Hi. The formal view is that once diagnosed with Diabetes it is with you for life even though you may get it under control with normal sugars and just diet & exercise. The reality is that most diabetics will have raised blood sugar if they do have a large high-carb meal even if they are normal most of the time. BTW, headaches are not a normal diabetes problem but as you know many things can cause headaches so may be you are affected.
 
Hi Diabell, I was told by my diabetic nurse and my endo consultant that the headaches I was suffering was due to my diabetes...they started to go away once my levels were in the right range and then they come back if my levels are out of whack. My endo consultant also told me not to take painkillers for headaches because they ARE a sign that something is out of whack with my diabetes.... Just wondering why/ how you were told they have nothing to do with diabetes? Seems odd that health professionals don't seem to agree on these things.

I agree Sheryl, it is more than likely with you for life in some way, shape or form but that is where type 2 get the better end of the deal whereby they can control it to a point where they don't need treatment and just need to be careful. Me, as a type 1.5, am looking to definitely not having that option in my future :-(


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