Newbie to the forum

[cooper98]

Hi,my names Clint.i have been a type 1 since my early teens and 40 seems to be fast approaching.Doesn't mean I am old,just a lot wiser.
Anyway,Here goes and hope I don't make too many people jealous.I take levemir and novarapid.Blood sugars of late have not been great.Had a lot of upset the last few years.I am thin and cant put on weight.Doc says usually diabetics have problems keeping weight down not up.
Had my ear hole bitten off because HB1Ac came back at 9.6.so trying to retrain.Its like teaching old dog new tricks.
At least I am not bald or grey yet,but this makes me feel like i am 60.Problem is I put my needs last on the list in my life and so does everyone else in my life.Starting to realise if I dont sort my control out it may be the death of me one day.
Thought I would join the forum and wise up to all of this.Look forward to the future and hopefully a better life in control of my diabetes.

Clint

 

[Erin]

Hi Clint,

You will soon get a truckload of advice from the monitors. I just saw your post,
and I am sympathetic with your attitude, which is a bit negative. On the other hand,
you have signed up here and that's a sign that you want to improve your control of diabetes. Cheers and best of luck.

 

[daisy1]

Hi Clint and welcome to the forum You have realised you need to sort your control out now and I think you need to go back to basics by reading this advice that the Forum Monitors have written for new members to the forum. I know you are not newly diagnosed so some of this information won't be useful to you. Just pick out what you need to know. This advice should help you to get a better HbA1c next time. The way to put on weight for you is to eat more calories but not more carbs which would increase your insulin requirements.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.