Newbie Seeking Wisdom!

[Irishbayfield]

Hello all,
I have stalked this forum and have plucked up the bravery to ask for some well informed judgements and advice!

I had gestational diabetes with my youngest who is 4 next week. Yearly bloods have always been good. This year however I had all the symptoms of type 2 and was diagnosed in July. My blood tests had a reading of 143 so I was put on Metformin. This did not agree with me at all, even when the dosage was reduced to one tablet a day.

I could not get in to see my diabetic nurse until last week. Since February I have needed glasses which was another symptom but for the last 3 weeks my eyesight has returned to normal. All other symptoms have gone such as excessive thirst etc. I mentioned this to the nurse who took my bloods again. At the meeting today she said they had came down to 116. Still far too high but at least lower. She has prescribed me glicazide to start tomorrow and given me a monitor to test my sugars twice daily.

I am just trying to get myself informed really about what is best for me. I am a teacher and have been enjoying the summer holidays so food and exercise have not been as good as usual. I have lost 3 stone over the past 18minths through diet and exercise so I can be much more disciplined and need to get back to clean eating. What I would like to know is would it be possible for me to lower this further through increasing exercise etc or are the tablets an absolute must to get it under control?

I hope this all makes sense, and a huge thanks in advance,
Ema

 

[xfieldok]

Welcome Irishbayfield, tagging @daisy1 for the welcome pack.

Have a read around the forum and ask as many questions as you want. Testing twice a day is totally pointless.

Generally, we follow the low carb/high fat way of eating. Every diabetic is different, food affects us as individuals, there is no such thing as a diabetic diet, except for low carb.

Many of us test 6 or 8 times a day. The most important times are right before you eat and 2 hours afterwards. This shows us what affect the food we have consumed has on our BG. We look for a rise of no more than 2 between the two readings.

 

[Diakat]

Hi @Irishbayfield

Tablets are not a must. Tagging @daisy1 for info pack and then @Resurgam and @bulkbiker as examples of no medication people.

 

[NicoleC1971]

Hi Ema, I am sure someone will be along with some basic newbie and useful info soon! In the meantime, the answer is yes you need to get that blood sugar down to feel well and prevent future problems but this is best achieved via a low carb diet. Exercise can help but is only 10% of the solution and I am a trainer saying that!
The drug that your nurse has suggested works by getting your body to produce more insulin to lower your blood glucose. However you are insulin resistant so this approach will simply mean needing to take more and more medication; even if your blood sugars get lower using this medication you will still be at increased risk of diabetic complications. However you are young and have great motivation and proven ability to make lifestyle changes.
There are great sites advising on the best ways to go low carb (no hunger or calorie counting required) and you have your meter to check how your body is responding. I would also recommend Jason Fung's take on diabetes in his excellent book The Diabetes Code.
Good luck and keep asking questions. That is what is great about this forum!

 

[Resurgam]

You have my sympathies about the Metformin - I had wicked side effects from it, and was rather peeved to find that I could get normal results just from low carbing. I returned to normal numbers by eating 50 gm of carbs a day maximum, and am perfectly happy to go on with this way of eating for the rest of my life.

 

[bulkbiker]

Hi @Irishbayfield
Those numbers are a bit high so you should probably be trying to get them down asap.
I too had the time from hell with Metfartin in all its forms so I'm afraid I was a very naughty boy and stopped taking them.
Instead of tablets I used a very very low carb diet (ketogenic) with some intermittent fasting (no solid breakfast just tea or coffee) and went from there. In fact here I am almost 3 years later still doing almost the same thing. And it still seems to be working.. fair amount of weight gone and pretty "normal" blood sugars. Hope that helps.. it's not all doom and gloom and in fact I'm now in a far better place than I was before. Food addictions under control and so much healthier I almost look upon diagnosis as one of the best things to have happened... spooky eh?

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

A change in diet might do the trick: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

 

[Irishbayfield]

Thank you so much everyone! I have a night of online reading ahead of me but feel more knowledgeable already!

 

[Irishbayfield]

You have my sympathies about the Metformin - I had wicked side effects from it, and was rather peeved to find that I could get normal results just from low carbing. I returned to normal numbers by eating 50 gm of carbs a day maximum, and am perfectly happy to go on with this way of eating for the rest of my life.

It was just horrible and every time I complained they asked me to try it again!

 

[Irishbayfield]

Hi Ema, I am sure someone will be along with some basic newbie and useful info soon! In the meantime, the answer is yes you need to get that blood sugar down to feel well and prevent future problems but this is best achieved via a low carb diet. Exercise can help but is only 10% of the solution and I am a trainer saying that!
The drug that your nurse has suggested works by getting your body to produce more insulin to lower your blood glucose. However you are insulin resistant so this approach will simply mean needing to take more and more medication; even if your blood sugars get lower using this medication you will still be at increased risk of diabetic complications. However you are young and have great motivation and proven ability to make lifestyle changes.
There are great sites advising on the best ways to go low carb (no hunger or calorie counting required) and you have your meter to check how your body is responding. I would also recommend Jason Fung's take on diabetes in his excellent book The Diabetes Code.
Good luck and keep asking questions. That is what is great about this forum!

That's really interesting! Thanks! I am away to Amazon to look for that book! Thanks again!

 

[daisy1]

@Irishbayfield

Hello Ema and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to 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 well over 235,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thank you so much everyone! I have a night of online reading ahead of me but feel more knowledgeable already!

Better yet, you sound positively hopeful! Good for you. I'm another no-med T2, (metformin was hell!), my HbA1c is currently 34, and I've lost quite a bit of weight on moderately low carb/high fat, and even more on Keto/Intermittent Fasting. Dr. Jason Fung's work and dietdoctor.com are great places to start. But if you have any questions, give a shout.
Good luck!
Jo

 

[Resurgam]

It was just horrible and every time I complained they asked me to try it again!

One definition of insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting a different outcome......

 

[Chronicle_Cat]

I agree with the other posters, low carb eating seems to be the way to go. I consider myself well educated but I was shocked to find out that carbs when digested by the body hit the blood stream as sugar. Did you know potatoes are worse than table sugar for this? This is why many Type 2s reduce and/or avoid them.

With a meter and frequent testing, you can determine which foods cause spikes (increases of 2.0 or more 2 hours after eating, you also test right before eating it.) Although there is some individual variation, most T2s find the usual high carb foods (potatoes, sweet potatoes, bread/wheat products, rice, corn, bananas etc.) cause these spikes. The amount of carbs reduced varies from individual to individual , I started with 80g, then after a few weeks found I was eating under 50g, I usually eat under 30g currently.

Although I think exercise helps glucose blood levels some (I exercise regularly for other health benefits as well), I think diet has the biggest influence on Type 2. I use the app Carb Master (the free version) to track my carbs (and other apps to track my blood sugar.)

BTW, I find weight loss easier on low carbs, I'm less hungry on it than on previous low fat diets.

 

[Bananas 2]

there is a free demo carb-counting app out (also macronutrients: fat, protein, fiber, calories). It is Excel-based but easy to use; has a large database of macronutrients and foods. www.gly-control.com