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Newbie :?:

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MishyUK

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Hi all

I'm sorry I'm not good at this.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the middle of May. I was told to cut out sugars, eat a more balanced diet & become more active. I was told I would need to be checked again in 3 months to see if there is any change in my BG levels. I have been given statins to help reduce my cholesterol levels.

Since being diagnosed I have been eating a more balance diet & have been jogging for 30 mins 5 days a week & up to now I have lost about a stone in weigh & my clothes are much looser. I have been keeping a diary of everything I eat & how I feel.

My problem is I have read on several different forum saying that I should be testing my BG levels several times a day? I feel a little confused as to what I should be doing to make life easier.

Mishy

:?
 
Hi Mishy and welcome to the forum :)
Here is the information that we give to new members. In it you will find some guidelines on testing. I recommend you test to start with to see what effect each food has on your levels. When you know this you can test less often. Ask all the questions you need to as there is always someone who will be able to answer you.

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.
Click to expand...
 
MishyUK wrote
My problem is I have read on several different forum saying that I should be testing my BG levels several times a day? I feel a little confused as to what I should be doing to make life easier.
Click to expand...

Dear Mishy

whilst people can advise you GENERALLY which foods to avoid, the foods which are likely to spike your blood sugar e.g. white foods (rice, bread) bananas, grapes (the sweeter fruits) etc. people are different in the way they react to certain foods.
Only your meter can tell you SPECIFICALLY which foods spike you, and are therefore to be avoided. Hence the call on this forum to 'eat to your meter.'
In this way your meter becomes your friend, telling you how large (or small) a portion your body will tolerate.

It's all our way of taking control of our body :D

Geoff
 
Welcome Mishy! Geoff is right. You need to work out your own diet plan, using a meter to tell you what works and what doesn't. Your doctor/nurse will probably tell you otherwise, because it costs the NHS too much to give us all testing gear on prescription. You can get a cheap meter and testing strips online called the codefree.
Aas geoff says, cut out the obvious things, like sugar, flour-based products and so on, then test. If your readings are too high at 2 hours after eating, have less next time!
 
Many Thanks to you all & I will look into obtaining a BG meter. It's just very overwhelming coming to terms with everything I suppose & it does help to be able to talk to other people in the same situation.
Thank You
Mishy
XX
 
Hello Mishy and welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you're making good progress on what seems to me to pretty minimal help from your doctor. I was diagnosed in December last year and using the advice I found on this site I got my blood sugar levels back to normal within around a couple of months or so and I have also normalised my cholesterol levels and blood pressure as well. I have now lost over 3 stone in weight too. My doctor is very pleased how I am getting on and has advised me to keep doing what I have been doing since it's obviously working really well.

Diet wise its really easy. Just drastically cut down or better cut out all things with plain sugar, so biscuits, cakes, sugar in tea and coffee, pure fruit juices, non diet versions of soft drinks. Next and really importantly try halving starchy foods like rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, cereals and any other flour based products. Replace what's now missing with extra meat, fish, eggs, cheese and especially vegetables. Vegetables that grow above ground are best although most of us find carrots fine. Things like yoghurt are fine as is a small amount of fresh fruit. I find the ones that end in "berry" are the best. If you don't mind artificial sweeteners things like Diet Coke are fine to drink. On the starchy foods that are left swap try brown basmati rice instead of white and brown or tri-colour pasta. The bread that most recommend is actually Bergen soya bread but some do ok with wholemeal as well.

The above diet is close to one you would be one recommended to try by the Swedish Health service. It was introduced in that country last year and the American health service and several other countries health services recommend something very similar for Type 2 diabetics. In the UK the diet guidelines are now over 30 years old and are only gradually being updated. As the UK is lagging behind you may find what I and other forum members recommend will be different to what your are told is a good diet for you follow.

Like Graza and Librarising are saying most members would recommend you test your own blood sugar levels. It's not unusual for doctors not to even mention meter and strips as some do and some don't. It's a bit of a post code lottery and we find some progressive surgeries are pro testing and others anti. I'll warn you the anti ones can sometimes be very vocally anti!

The reason testing is important is you should try and keep your blood sugars below 8ish two hours after eating any meal. Above the 8 value is where the dangers of complications do begin to occur according to diabetic experts. So if you can't test how will you now if what you are eating is keeping you safe? The problem is every diabetic is different so my earlier advice to halve starchy foods is just a rough guide. You may find you need to eat less than half (like me) or that you can eat more than half like others.

As you get into it all and read around the forum you may see people talking about carb counting. If you want to understand what that is just ask. It is a powerful weapon that a diabetic can use to control their condition and one that many of us use to great effect.

Good luck and keep asking questions.

PS Here's two good links about what's good to eat.

First is the lady doctor who's low carb / low GI recommendations seem to form the basis of what's recommended in Sweden

http://blogg.passagen.se/dahlqvistannika/?anchor=my_lowcarb_dietary_programe_in

Second is a good beginners guide to low carb regimes that are excellent for reducing blood sugar levels and losing weight.

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
 
Hi. You don't need to test several times a day unless you are on insulin. Just test when you are having a new food or more than usual etc to measure the effect on your blood sugar. Avoid testing in the morning as the reading can be affected by an overnight liver dump of glycogen (essentially glucose). Test 2 hours after a typical meal.
 
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