Type 2 newly diagnosed @ 40

[Russell1975]

Hi Guys,

I am only 40 and feel like 70, my history is both parents have it and grand parents had it.

Just been diagnosed with type 2, I knew this day would come but ignored it, now its hit me hard.
Up until about 3 years ago I was fit, relatively healthy then had a motorbike accident, now I find myself touching 15 plus stone ( I am only 5'6") and now getting readings of 14.0 upwards.
I am awaiting medication type (meeting doctor tomorrow) but I'd like some insight by you guys.

How do you quench that thirst I constantly have?
How do you stop feeling hungry all the bloody time?
Will my sexual appetite return with medication.
Does this tiredness go?

I will now attempt to change my lifestyle and lose weight but I am so confused as to where I start, as I have no knowledge about food types ect

what's good, what's ok and what's bad?
I like to cook and never bought sauces , I make my own never adding sugar but use a lot of dried spices and chilli, will I still be able to enjoy this type of diet by changing white rice for brown?
I am not one for fizzy drinks (lager excluded) and drink about 5 litres of water daily but does the lager need to go?

Thank you for reading this and please any advice greatly received as I have 2 young kids and really want to get on top of this!!!

Russell

 

[Enclave]

Hi Russell, welcome to the club no one wants to join @daisy1 should be along soon with your official welcome pack, it full of great info that should answer some of your questions. Lots of us here find that cutting right down on all carbs helps reduce sugar levels ..increasing our full fat foods gives energy. Your four questions should all be resolved once you get your sugar levels down. Have a wonder around the forums and come back with more questions ... This is controllable...yes it takes a little effort and a BS meter that you may have to self fund as most NHS Drs will say don't test .. Code free are the cheapest for strips ...
Edit to add ...carbs are potatoes, bread, rice, pasta ..cereal and oats .... Hope this helps

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. I never felt tired even with blood sugar in the 30s so it doesn't affect me but it does some. I wouldn't hope for miracles on the tiredness front but you never know. Ref sex, reducing blood sugar may help a bit but the GP will give Viagra on prescription if needed. Cilli and suaces are fine and so is lager in sensible quantities. Do go for a low-carb diet to get the weight down which is essential. Once on a low-carb diet your hunger should fade and you can always have nuts or cheese for snacks.

 

[DeejayR]

Hiya, appreciate your anxiety but now you're here you can start taking control of your diabetes. I'm sure we all recognise your problems although at 74 I'm not holding my breath for a sexual revolution in our household.
Try and relax and let the forum take the strain. It's what we do. @daisy1's info pack will soon be speeding your way and then you'll be busy reading all about it.

 

[daisy1]

@Russell1975

Hello Russell and welcome to the forum

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to 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 over 150,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.

 

[Russell1975]

Thank you everyone that has read my message and replied.
I will no doubt be hitting you all up with my endless questions
Once again thank you

 

[burnettj]

Dear Russel,

Thanks for sharing this. I want to start by saying I understand what you are going through and there is hope. I am not a Dr or anything but I can share what has been working for me. I am 33 and when I started this journey 21 stone (now down to 19.5 stone). I was having all the symptoms you described. I have been overweight since I was 12 years old but because I was vegetarian I convinced myself I couldn't get diabetes etc. I kept having urgent need to go to the toilet in fact engrossingly I even wet myself once in the car. This was about 1 month ago. That was a turning point for me I knew I had to do something. I was really scared of going to the Dr but decided to sign up with the local gp (we recently moved and hadn't done it yet) and find out what was going on. We were not able to register on the day we went so I bought one of those blood sugar kits from the pharmacy. After looking it up online I noticed a lot of my symptoms match type 2 diabetes. On my first test my blood sugar was 13.3! I thought the machine was broken!

Anyway to cut a long story short that was about 4 weeks ago. This morning by blood sugar was 7.3! I haven't taken any medication. I am not saying you should come of your or anything obviously follow your Drs advice. But basically I have drastically changed my lifestyle. What I have done many may find extreme but if you or anyone is up for giving it a go it really works.

Basically I have been following a modified version of the Newcastle diet. I have been having green smoothies in the morning and evening and a very large salad for lunch. I know you might be thinking that is not enough. Honestly I have not been hungry, trust me as a 21st dude I know about hunger. Im the guy you would one my way home stop off and get 2 croissants and whole cake plus bread and humous as a snack! But I have not been hungry.

You can do it!

Edited to remove videos. Both of these people reckon they can cure Type1 diabetes.

 

[Russell1975]

Thank you for the insight, just had blood test done to show last 3 months, was 14.7 this morning.
Started the carb layoff today looked at some recipes and have just had poached egg on spinach with wholemeal bread, must say very much enjoyed it.
Doc's setting me up with diabetic nurse for more info on foods etc so just going take it day at a time and try to slowly change my lifestyle , what I haven't shared as yet is that we lost my wife's father last year to type 2, age 61 so with 2 young boys ages 5-8 I'm determined to control it and not it control me.
Basic food ignorance I feel has let me down as well as carting around 15st, but since the accident cardio is basically ruled out as running on one leg results in face wounds lol !
Just like to reconfirm my thanks to everyone who's helping me as I start on this journey
Thank you guys x

 

[Enclave]

You will probably find that the diabetes nurse will strongly advise against low carb of any kind ..also tell you not to test ....most of us here have had to find our own way of controlling this.. A few are so very lucky to have a medical team that are forward thinking and offer real help ie LCHF diet so the Newcastle diet to take control of our sugars. Do let us know if you have a forward thinking team or the standard eat well nice guide lines ..lots of carbs and loose weight !
Don't have to much bread ..remember it's a carb and will help keep your sugars up ...but your a onto a good start
Edit to add... Very sorry to hear of your loss.