Newbie Type 2

Hi @Phillweaver - Welcome to the Forum . Tagging @daisy1 who will post on this Thread some useful information for New Members. Have a good read and ask your questions.

Self abuse grows on you; took me a while to be blase about sticking pointy things in myself to draw blood.

Anyway, make sure you wash your hands in warm water to get the blood flowing in your fingers and to make sure the skin is clean. Then grit your teeth and go for it on a setting somewhere in the middle of the prick strength range.

You are making the right start; testing tells you more about your body than any amount of reading.

Ignore ill informed ******** about lowering carbohydrates sending your body into shock.
Educated people still talk about "essential carbohydrates" because that is the information they have been fed from on high.
You have to become your own expert.
Think about how many conditions a GP or pharmacist has to try and learn about.
A single subject expert (even if self educated like most of us here) will read far more detailed information than most HCPs.

Welcome. Loads of useful information and opinions here. Some may even be correct.

Hi. I am still a newbie, dx on 26th June. My advice from your list? Do your own thing. The advice on here is excellent. I have lost weight and my blood glucose is getting back to normal. All because of this site.
And the pharmacist is talking rubbish. Next time ask him to define shock and give you articles about it. He will not be able to do either thing. And eating carbs as normal is one of the reasons we are both here in the first place!!!
And I still flinch when I do the finger prick. But it's worth it.
The people on this site are generous with advice, time and help. You will be fine. Good luck and keep up to date with all the research.

Welcome! I'm four months from diagnosis. Once I was over the initial shock, I saw it as the proverbial kick up the bum to get healthier. I was started on Metformin and tolerate it well now after a bit of stomach upset in the early days. I wasn't advised to eat low carb, but stumbled on this forum by chance and took up a low carb life style with self monitoring. To date I've lost three and a half stone and got my HbA1c down significantly, all due to the advise I got here. There are loads of selfless people here who talk from their own experiences, I've learnt so much from them
Pricking your finger will become as routine as brushing your teeth very soon!

Hi and welcome aboard.

The very first thing you must learn is that all carbs turn to glucose once inside the system - that is all carbs, including the brown varieties and the so called healthy options such as muesli. However, you can use your meter to show you, at a glance, what carbs do to your levels, but you need to be organised with your testing and keep a food diary including portion sizes.

Test immediately before you eat
Test again 2 hours after first bite
Record these levels alongside the food in the diary
Look at the rise from before before to after and keep it under 2mmol/l (preferably less)
More than 2mmol/l and there are too many carbs in that meal that need reducing in portion size or eliminating.
Analayse your diary and look for patterns.

You then need to learn to read all food nutrition labels before you buy. Look for the total carbohydrate amount. Depending on how much you intend to eat at one go, work out how many carbs you will be eating and keep it as low as you can.

The main culprits in raising BS levels are rice, potatoes, bread, pasta, breakfast cereals (including muesli) and things made with flour such as pastry, batter, sauces and gravy. We also need to be very careful with fruit. Most has too much sugar. Berries such as strawberries, raspberries etc are best, maybe a small apple. However, it is best eaten as part of a meal and not a stand alone snack.

Then you need to realise that the NHS is out of date with its food advice, so when told carbs are essential, they are wrong. They are not.

Phillweaver said:

Thanks Gang

Well I did it and I'm glad I did.

Just found myself at around 14mmol/L despite 4 metformin per day

This is around 2 hours after eating a bowl of plain musli for breakfast.

Will try again later and see whats happening.

Click to expand...

Just to note that Metformin won't knock your BG down by any great amount.
It is a long term aid which should reduce appetite, reduce the amount of glucose chucked out by your liver and have various other helpful metabolic actions.
It isn't like some other drugs such as insulin and Sulphonylureas which increase the amount of insulin in your blood stream and so have an immediate effect.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/Diabetes-drugs.html

You are carbohydrate intolerant.
Remember that there are NO healthy carbohydrates and that healthy eating advice for non-combatants does not apply to diabetics.
Muesli is not a health food for diabetics.
Eggs and bacon, on the other hand........

Hi @Phillweaver .. and welcome
You have certainly made a positive start .. and a positive move coming here. From your comments about the pharmacist at Boots, you will already be aware that there is a lot of conflicting and sometimes confusing information around .. but the key point to take on board is that managing and controlling your diabetes (or pre-diabetes) through exercise, diet and testing your blood glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I see that @Liam1955 has already tagged @daisy1 for you and I suggest that you read up on the valuable material that she will soon be sending you. I think that you might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. together with the following Diet Doctor websites, which will give you all the info that you need about carb levels and about what and what not to eat ...
Low Carb Intro and Information and Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

I agree with all the info about testing and particular foods that you have been given above by @Bluetit1802 and others .. so nothing to add here except to say since joining this forum, the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need. It can all seem uphill to start with but, in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly.

Hope this helps

@Phillweaver

Hello Phill 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 want and someone will be able to 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 250,000 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 free 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. They're all 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.

Hi. Do find another pharmacist! Yes, you do need a meter as you now have but you don't need to test that often; just use it to learn more about how your blood sugar varies. With regard to diet you have already had a lot of good advice. Many GPs, DNs and dieticians have a very poor understanding of nutrition and follow research reports funded by interested parties. Follow these forums and the web and gradually gain your own understanding. Carbs do need to be kept down and you don't actually need any as the body can get all the glucose it needs from proteins and fats, but they do supply some fibre. Have enough protein and fat to keep you feeling full. Don't worry about fat as it's a minor source of your cholesterol most of which comes from the liver and caused by mainly by high carbs. You need to get the surgery to give you a full lipids breakdown and use the ratios to determine whether you need to consider taking statins. Ignore the silly NHS algorithm. I do take statins with no problems but only a small dose and with CoQ10. Many do have serious problems with them.

If you are a reader I can recommend "Diabetes Unpacked" by various authors. The book is aimed at diabetic people, GPs, dieticians, DNs and just about anyone concerned with their health. Each chapter is written by experts in their own field and has patients' stories.
It is in layspeak so not heavy reading. Welcome to the forum.

Phillweaver said:

Thanks Gang

Well I did it and I'm glad I did.

Just found myself at around 14mmol/L despite 4 metformin per day

This is around 2 hours after eating a bowl of plain musli for breakfast.

Will try again later and see whats happening.

Click to expand...

As I understand it, Metformin takes some time to start working (weeks, rather than hours or days), and may not work for everyone, or may just have a limited effect. Low Carb seems to be much more effective and fast-working for most people with T2. Ditch the hamster food and try bacon and eggs for breakfast with some mushrooms, or maybe full fat Greek yoghurt with berries, and see what the result is.
Good luck, and welcome to the forum!

Daibell said:

...Many GPs, DNs and dieticians have a very poor understanding of nutrition and follow research reports funded by interested parties....

Click to expand...

@Daibell raises a very valid point here. Check out zoeharcombe.com for a most illuminating view of the NHS' Eatwell Guide and its sponsors!

Hello @Phillweaver , I see you have already received lots of excellent advice from the good people on this forum and agree with what's been said. Take your time have a good read around and ask as many questions as you like.
Finally a big welcome X

Phillweaver said:

Well just over 5 weeks ago I knew nothing about Type 2 Diabetes.

Who knew eh?

So here I am Type 2 and pee'd off.

Not only pee'd off with having a "condition" but pee'd off because life has suddenly become so confusing.

Low carb or mixed diet?
Fruit or no fruit?
Very low calorie or normal varied diet?
Test or don't bother testing?
Listen to the doctor or do your own thing?
Statin or no Statin (My cholesterol is very high apparently

I've even just had the pharmacist at boots tell me that testing is not required for Type 2 and that I should eat cards as normal or my body will go into shock.

Hence I returned to the office (with my self funded blood checky machine thing) and joined the forum in the hope that the fantastic people on here are as awsome as I think they are.

I am no sat at my desk as a grown man trying to pluck up the courage to prick my finger!

Click to expand...

Hi @Phillweaver

Hb1Ac 12.9 to 5.7 in three months

Hi everyone, I have never posted on any forum before, I'm more of a reader than a writer but I love a challenge and I enjoy studying and learning new things. I am 63 years of age and I am retired in Thailand 3 years now and I believe its the last 3 years in which I developed type 2 Diabetes.

Just a bit of background, please stay with me here, I joined the Army at age 17 and served 10 years, upon leaving the service I embarked upon a career in the Haulage Industry and held many positions from Driver to Manager and then Director of my own company, I always ate healthily, I excersised regularly and remained fit, even to this day I walk 8 Kms Twice a week, play badminton 3 times per week and in between I Cycle 20 kms 2 or three time per week and swim most days. However for the past 25 years or so I have suffered with High blood pressure, a level around the 140/85 mark sometimes higher sometimes lower, just below the level at which medication is prescribed, however on a routine check with my doctor my Blood pressure had risen to 168/95, at this point my doctor asked me the question, when were you last checked for Diabetes?, 2 years ago I replied (changed doctors in the meantime), I advise you to do one right now he said.

OK the results horrified me, FSB 295, Hb1Ac 12.9, Tryglglicerides 490, Overall cholesterol 260, basically I was a mess but I never realised it because I had no obvious symptoms, by the way I was not overweight my BMI was 24.5, I was devastated, I explained to him my so called healthy lifestyle, but with further ado he pronounced you drink too much! and explained about the high trygliceride levels were caused by over indulgence on the beer, so while I sat there in total shock I vaguegly remember the doctor trying to describe a treatment plan, anyway I left the Doctors with a bagfull of medication a total of seven pills per day, prior to this i had barely taken a pill all my life, so after a couple daysI gathered my thoughts and decided to learn how to beat this, without the **** pills!

The internet is a fantastic place to be when one is in need of information, I quickly found this page which was a great starting point and I read through the forum for type 2 with great interest especially the posts refering to Professor Roy Taylor and his study at Newcastle University, this lead to Dr Micheal Mosley and his literature on the 5/2 diet and other eminent people who specialize in diabetes and studied for until my eyes nearly fell out, 2 months of solid research, I then developed my own plan to fit my lifestyle, and it worked a treat with very little effort on my part, i must say.

And here it is free of charge and if it only helps 1 person my mission will be accomplished.

1. I asked myself the following questions:

Do I want to reverse this condition?
Am I prepared to make lifestyle changes?
Do I have the strength of mind to achieve this?

2. I answered yes to all 3

3. I immediately stopped drinking beer

4. I removed all Carbohydrates from my diet, Potatoe, Rice, Bread and Pasta (ALL OF IT)

5. I replaced the Carbs with fresh Vegetables, as many dark leafy Greens as possible

6. I reduced my meat portions to 4oz per serving

7. I drank alot more water, didnt touch any canned or bottled drinks and replaced beer with soda water and green tea.

8. I introduced High Intestity Interval Training to my excersise shedule for 20 mins 3 times per week.

9. I bought a blood Glucose meter and monitered my level on a structured basis, I took readings three times per day, Fasting, 90 to 120 mins after eating and at bedtime time, I presented these tests results to my doctor each month.

10. Each Monday I fasted, I ate my last meal at 4pm Sunday and ate nothing untill 5pm Monday, only water and green tea.

And thats about it folks, it worked, I was first diagnosed 24/06/2017, and my latest results were done 16/09/2017 that just short of 3 months and heres the Numbers:

Hb1Ac 5.7
Cholesterol 178
Triglyceride 95
Blood Pressure 110/75

NO MEDICATION - JOB DONE

Thanks for your patience reading this, sorry if I was boring at times, but I do believe my story is worth telling, and I hope and pray that it will inspire one or two of you to never give up hope and dont be afraid to take this horrible sneaky disease by the neck and throttle it out of your life.

In the words of the great Joe Walsh "One day at a Time"

Hi @Phillweaver. Welcome to the forum. I'm also a newbie diagnosed 21.8.17 but luckily was told about this forum straight away. I've found everyone very helpful