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Newbie, diagnosed last Friday
- Thread starter Min40
- Start Date
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Min and welcome to the forum 
Here is the information we give to new members which will help you to control your diabetes as well as possible. Ask all the questions you like and someone will reply to you.
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:
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Here is the information we give to new members which will help you to control your diabetes as well as possible. Ask all the questions you like and someone will reply to you.
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
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
Squire Fulwood
Expert
- Messages
- 6,111
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
One comment I would like to make here. It is good not to be overweight and I would not stop someone from losing weight for the sake of their health BUT when they say that diabetes can be controlled by diet they do not mean the weight losing kind of diet.
They mean a different kind of diet. The word diet refers to everything you eat and does not have the word "slimming" in front of it.
Most people on this forum agree that a diet consisting of fewer carbohydrates and more meat and veg is the way to go. This may mean devising new meals and eating regularly.
I say all this as a word of warning. If you think that losing 7 lbs in one week is going to cure your diabetes then stay with this forum and ask some more questions.
Sorry to start the day on a downer.
They mean a different kind of diet. The word diet refers to everything you eat and does not have the word "slimming" in front of it.
Most people on this forum agree that a diet consisting of fewer carbohydrates and more meat and veg is the way to go. This may mean devising new meals and eating regularly.
I say all this as a word of warning. If you think that losing 7 lbs in one week is going to cure your diabetes then stay with this forum and ask some more questions.
Sorry to start the day on a downer.
Great that you want to get the weight off, BUT I have been advised by my diabetes team that the way to lose the weight is slowly but surely and then you can hopefully keep it off. I am struggling to control my weight and diabetes currently and am trying the low carbs diet advertised on here and increase on the veg and meat. I have found that trying to keep off off certain medications, i was trying to avoid insulin, can come back and bite you on the bum when you are least expecting it, I felt very ill yesterday after my blood sugar hit 24.4, I have got it down to 16.8 this morning but still feel very lethargic, cant wait til next week, I start insulin!
There are a couple of book out on reversing diabetes which are worth reading, good luck with this.
There are a couple of book out on reversing diabetes which are worth reading, good luck with this.
Hi Min!
Welcome to the forum.
Yes, it is possible to control Type 2 with diet and exercise, no medication, I'm one of many people on here who is successfully doing/done that. Diagnosed in August 2012 at my review this month had lost nearly 2 stone and blood glucose levels were in the normal range.
BUT my primary motive is to control my blood glucose levels by adopting the low carbohydrate approach. Some of my friends and family consider that to be extreme - I don't eat any bread potatoes cereal pasta pastry cakes puddings etc, only a small amount of fruit daily (usually berries or kiwi fruit) but do eat fish meat poultry eggs cream cheese butter plain yogurt lots of green veg and salad and eat 50 gm carbs or less daily. The result for me was massively improved blood sugar levels - and the weight fell off!
First step - get a meter. There's masses of information on here on what to do and lots of support if you need it. Also remember everyone is individual so what works for one person may not for another. Hope that what has worked for me though will do so for you if you try it.
Good luck.
Anne
Welcome to the forum.
Yes, it is possible to control Type 2 with diet and exercise, no medication, I'm one of many people on here who is successfully doing/done that. Diagnosed in August 2012 at my review this month had lost nearly 2 stone and blood glucose levels were in the normal range.
BUT my primary motive is to control my blood glucose levels by adopting the low carbohydrate approach. Some of my friends and family consider that to be extreme - I don't eat any bread potatoes cereal pasta pastry cakes puddings etc, only a small amount of fruit daily (usually berries or kiwi fruit) but do eat fish meat poultry eggs cream cheese butter plain yogurt lots of green veg and salad and eat 50 gm carbs or less daily. The result for me was massively improved blood sugar levels - and the weight fell off!
First step - get a meter. There's masses of information on here on what to do and lots of support if you need it. Also remember everyone is individual so what works for one person may not for another. Hope that what has worked for me though will do so for you if you try it.
Good luck.
Anne
MCMLXXIII
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,858
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Sound advice this.annew said:
Type 2 self controlled too but i cut out hydrogenated and trans fats, MSG .
I take a targeted multivitamin, flax (oil and seed) acai and maqui berry, and I'm trialling a herbal remedy.
Cross trainer 15 mins daily (no impact on the joints).
Diagnosed feb 2012 every hb1ac and cholesterol test has come down consistently since then.
You CAN do this x
Sent from my KFTT using DCUK Forum mobile app
Squire Fulwood said:
Thank goodness I didn't see your post until now! lol!
I have lost 16lbs, in less than a month, my blood glucose is well within normal range and my blood pressure is down to 106/70ish.
My HbA1c is 6% or 42mmol/mol.
I think the mind can be a very powerful tool.
diabolic sister
Well-Known Member
Hi Min. Snap, I was diagnosed last Friday too. Confusing isn't it? Sure we'll get the hang of it with time.
