Newbie type 2

[bluenoselouie]

Hi everyone

Diagnosed 30th March 2012 after a trip to Cornwall when I asked my T1 friend to test my BS. When the meter said 21 I felt quite Ill ! So off to the Docs where I had my Hba1c test (10.2). Promptly on to Metformin (started 1 x 500; now 4 x 500) 1.25mg Ramipril, 10mg Amlopidine and 20 mg Simvastatin. I started to do some research and came across this site. I must say its helped tremendously ! I had the education at the local clinic regarding diet - include starchy carbs etc etc, but I decided against this and took the advice of many of the members of this forum regarding low carbs. So, no bread (except Burgen - a loaf lasts me 3 weeks). No rice , pasta etc etc. My levels have been quite steady since I got them down; all around 6-7; Yes - I asked the GP for a meter and strips and got them!. I will continue to visit the forum for advice.

One thing - Last night I prepared myself a curry (no rice ) but decided to be a little naughty (experimental reasons you understand)and had half a garlic baguette with it. Must have been at least 60g of carbs ! Tested 2 hrs later and got a reading of 5.4 !! I couldn't believe it !. Could it have been anything to do with the bottle of red I had with it ? :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Yes the wine will have helped and I guess there was a lot of butter in the garlic baguette, which will have slowed the spike somewhat. It may be that you peaked at +1hr or +3hr - or just coped with it. That's why we say Eat to your Meter, because everyone is different. I discovered this week that I can't tolerate Strawberrys, which is a bit rum as I've planted pots of the blinking things in the garden.

 

[Grazer]

welcome bluenose and well done on your actions so far. DEFINITELY the wine that gave you the BG in the 5's. As you'll have read, it lowers BG. I have a few big glasses of red followed by curry most friday nights, have a little basmati and, if I'm out, a small chapati (not a naan) and always get nice low readings. If you like chapatis, or other thin unleavened bread, it's probably better than half a baguette made with white flour!

 

[daisy1]

Hi Louie and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members which I think you will find helpful and will answer some of your questions. You are quite right to cut down on the carbs and are lucky to get testing equipment. See in this information how you can test to see what you can or can't eat. Any more questions, just ask and someone will answer.

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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.