Newbie, in need of lots of advise please

[sujepero]

Hi My name is Sue
I have just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, that was yesterday, and I have seen the diabetes nurse today, both the doctor and the nurse have just left me with a million questions, which I am trying to find the answers to on the internet. I am finding contradictory evidence as to what I should eat and drink, neither the Doctor or Nurse has given me a diet plan. a simple question to start with.....what do I eat for breakfast?? I hate hate hate cereals of any kind they make me gagg, the only thing I can force myself to eat in the morning is toast, (and believe me that took years to do)so what kind of toast, how many slices should I have, what spread should I use? you see my point here, what we need from Doctors and Nurses is a diet plan, one that you can use day to day, its no good saying oh you should eat a healthy diet, what is that? but that was not forthcoming so ill have to find out myself....not impressed, if this is how people have had to deal with their diabetes there is not much hope for me , also I think they should give you a diet plan when you are told your borderline, but once again all I was told (by a doctor)is that there is sugar in milk!

 

[charon]

Yep - you're exactly where I was.
Fortunately this forum is available to ask questions and to give the info that really should have been given at the first diagnosis.
Don't panic (well just a bit as it might be helpful) and remember that everyone is different - the important thing is to find out how you react and what you can do about it and what you are prepared to do.
And test regularly in the initial stages.

Have a look at my post here about what I went through in the last couple of months since diagnosis.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=43073

 

[mickey121]

Daisy will give you all the information ,you need to get the nurse to enrol you on a Desmond course this will give you advice on diet and other means to manage your diabetes . If you eating bread try and avoid white bread eat whole meal this slows digestion down and does not give the blood glucose spikes good luck


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[daisy1]

Hi Sue and welcome to the forum

Here is the information we give to new members, mentioned by Mickey, and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like as there will be someone who can 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.

 

[Andy12345]

Hi welcome, what to eat is a big question and I kinda feel uncomfortable suggesting my way which is low carb because it's a choice you have to make once you have read lots and decided what sounds right to you but, generally sugar is obviously bad so needs to be avoided that unfortunately isn't as simple as not having sugar in your tea as lots of foods turn to sugar once eaten including cereals and bread so neither are ideal, make yourself some eggs for brekkie if you can stomach them (I can't so I have natural Greek yogurt (full fat) with some berries) but this will come down to you reading up on the subject, I've been diagnosed for 4 months now and still read about what to eat every day so it takes a while sorry no easy answers, but until you have time to learn eat lots of meat veggies salads, avoid bread potatoes pasta rice and sugary stuff, the non processed foods are by far the best but that's just scratching the surface so please read and ask questions here, good luck
Andy

 

[pav]

Sounds like a familiar pattern, being told your diabetic then receive no help.

The cereals I like are out of the question for me cornflakes and rice crispies, but every one is different what effects one might not effect some one else bananas are an example I am not to bad with them, yet others can not eat them as they send their sugar levels rocketing.

Most breads for me are out and can only eat wholemeal bread, white and granary send my levels high, others recommend Burgen bread of which there are several varieties to try. Been trying Burgen bread myself, though found one of the types I did not like and have tried another variant at the moment.

Now's the tricky one I doubt you will have been given a meter and strips, if not I would ring one of the meter companies like Bayer, Abbott Medisense, Life Scan, or Accu Chek etc as they will more than likely send you one free.

These meters generally come with 10 strips to start you off, approach your GP to get test strips, but this can be a post code lottery as if they will provide strips on prescription. Getting a meter helps you identify what food affects you and helps you to avoid them or groups of food.

GP's tend to say for type 2's there's no need to test as they the practice will keep an eye on things for you, I made that mistake and ended up with high BS that crept up on me un-noticed. until it was high in the 20's.

 

[elaine77]

Hi Su,

Diet really is individual to what your own body can handle. What I would say though is that there's not much point bothering with wholemeal bread as there is a borderline difference between wholemeal and white - they are practically the same! For me personally I can't cut out all my carbs and so what I have done is I have switched all of my carbs for low GI carbs and cut the portion sizes. I have only granary or wholeGRAIN bread, I have only new potatoes no other type of potato, cereal-wise all I can cope with is weetabix or Cheerios as they are wholegrain and I don't like shredded wheat.

Veggies are usually ok but fruit u have to be careful with - especially bananas and tropical fruit. I find that a diet of low GI carb, high fat and medium protein works for me but I don't have any weight/health issues other than the diabetes. Fish is good, eggs, cheese and meat are all good. Best thing to do though would be to get a meter and test your blood 2 hours after you eat to see how certain foods affect you. Hope this helps a little


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

 

[Etty]

Here's some information from a Swedish low-carb. doctor on what to eat. It will give you some idea of what foods are high or low in carbs. You don't have to eat breakfast if you really hate it, at least not to begin with.http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

 

[sujepero]

Yep - you're exactly where I was.
Fortunately this forum is available to ask questions and to give the info that really should have been given at the first diagnosis.
Don't panic (well just a bit as it might be helpful) and remember that everyone is different - the important thing is to find out how you react and what you can do about it and what you are prepared to do.
And test regularly in the initial stages.

Have a look at my post here about what I went through in the last couple of months since diagnosis.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=43073

Thank you for your response, I will take a look at your link, very much appreciated

 

[sujepero]

Thank you all sooo much, sorry to have sounded a bit cross, but I had a mixture of emotions going on in my head, and all I felt was confused, but its as you all say it takes time to figure out what to do, I think I expected to be able to understand everything on day one, I have been prescribed metformin, which I havent yet started, I thought I would give it a go at trying diet and exercise and perhaps a supplement of say ginseng, and monitor my levels as I go, what do you people think to that idea? and thank you again I feel better already reading the messages....Sue

 

[elaine77]

Theres no point taking medication if you dont need it and so trying other things is always a good idea but If you do need medication then Metformin is a very good drug....the slow release type is kinder on the side effect front but Metformin has been known to reduce cancer risk and all sorts and also doesn't cause hypos which is always a good thing


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

 

[lrw60]

Hi Sue,

I was diagnosed type 2 several years ago. Funny thing was it didn't really ever sink in. I was diabetic so I got on with it. Now I am doing what you are doing, trying to find the best diet that suits me. People on this forum are amazing, nomatter what the question you hit them with, good sensible answers come back. You might find more help is forthcoming if we knew a bit more about you. Sorry to ask Sue, but for a lot of type 2s weight is an issue. There could be a connection for some type 2s between being overweight and having diabetes. I speak from personal experience here! A good diet and exercise can sometimes help. A low carb diet helps many diabetes sufferers on this forum. It might be helping me, but I would still like to get my carb intake down a bit more.

Lee

 

[sujepero]

Hi Sue,

I was diagnosed type 2 several years ago. Funny thing was it didn't really ever sink in. I was diabetic so I got on with it. Now I am doing what you are doing, trying to find the best diet that suits me. People on this forum are amazing, nomatter what the question you hit them with, good sensible answers come back. You might find more help is forthcoming if we knew a bit more about you. Sorry to ask Sue, but for a lot of type 2s weight is an issue. There could be a connection for some type 2s between being overweight and having diabetes. I speak from personal experience here! A good diet and exercise can sometimes help. A low carb diet helps many diabetes sufferers on this forum. It might be helping me, but I would still like to get my carb intake down a bit more.

Lee

Hi Lee
Thank you for taking the time to respond.
I am 53 and around 2st overweight, so yes I suppose it is an issue, Ive already lost half a stone in a week!, so now only 1st 1/2, I do regular exercise I swim 32 lengths two or three times a week, which is in our pool 1/2 mile ( in half an hour), I have been swimming all my life, when I could I used to play squash too, I walk every where as I don't drive, so exercise wise I think I'm fine, I think I have inherited it partly too, both my parents have/had diabetes, as did some of their parents. I never ever eat processed food, I always cook everything from scratch, so not sure what I've been doing wrong, obviously something! so Ive been given a reading of 8.1 and told to take this medication, which I am holding off until I am sure about the results, the problem is they now take an average reading? not what the reading is on the day of the blood test. I have not been offered a meter to check it myself so I am trying to find one. Do you happen to know of a herbal supplement that can be taken? the recommended ones interact with my Asprin that I take daily ( this was prescribed after a stroke 2 years ago, which by the way I recovered from fully and very quickly!) I'm a determined lady ! my blood pressure is under control due to pills!, and I take statins, my cholesterol levels are fine, God I sound a mess don't I !! lol But I'm not, I class my self a generally fit and healthy....or I did

 

[lrw60]

Hello Sue,
I wouldn't have thought 2 stones was very overweight in someone so active. You put me to shame! I have lost 5 1/2 stones in weight and as I lost weight my diabetes nurse started to reduce my medication, much to her surprise. I didn't know this could happen to a diabetic. Anyway, after I had lost all that weight I also lost the need for diabetes medication. I just eat an almost sensible diet with a few treats thown in and I am managing to keep the db at bay. I have also lost my need for statins and a few other pills as well. I am down from ten per day to two. Thats why I asked about your weight, it worked for me, and for many others on this forum. I was extremly fit when I was overweight (days gone by...). I could pick the front of my mini van up off the ground, and work all day, very hard, with virtually no food. So I don't think fitness can be a replacement for thinness. I asked my db nurse why I had 'lost' my diabetes. She just said that I had lost so much bulk that my body could now supply all four corners of me with enough of what it needed instead of trying to spread it very thinly round nearly 18 stones. In other words, everything had less work to do. I was still on diabetes medication when I was two stones overweight, it makes you think.
Lee.