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Newly diagnosed and not sure what to expect

dwelldon

dwelldon

Well-Known Member
Messages
190
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi there,

I have been newly diagnosed last week but they aren't sure which type I am yet. My blood sugar was running at 24 per litre. I have been taking the tablets that they gave me for 4 days and the blood sugar has over halfed already.

My problem is that the information that they give you about foods is very confusing and I am not at all sure what I should be eating or at what levels. I am very slim 11st and 6ft 40yr old but most of the advice seems to be for overweight people.

What I really need at the moment is an example of a typical days or week diet that I should be lookling for.

I am pretty scared tbh as I have read all sorts of scary things.

Any advice is very much appreciated.
 
dwelldon said:
Hi there,

I have been newly diagnosed last week but they aren't sure which type I am yet. My blood sugar was running at 24 per litre. I have been taking the tablets that they gave me for 4 days and the blood sugar has over halfed already.

My problem is that the information that they give you about foods is very confusing and I am not at all sure what I should be eating or at what levels. I am very slim 11st and 6ft 40yr old but most of the advice seems to be for overweight people.

What I really need at the moment is an example of a typical days or week diet that I should be lookling for.

I am pretty scared tbh as I have read all sorts of scary things.

Any advice is very much appreciated.
Click to expand...

You are in the right place to get some help so welcome to the forum. Until you know what type you are and what treatment your GP is going to prescribe it is difficult to offer any advice about diet but some guidlines might be useful at this stage.

Daisy will be along soon to give you her usual help and advice but do try to modify your diet by avoiding white bread, white rice, pasta, pizza, sugary sauces, biscuits, cakes etc. eat plenty of vegetables (particularly those that grow above ground) but avoid potatoes.

Keep asking questions on here and you will quickly learn so much.
 
Since we don't know which type of diabetic you are then giving advice is a bit subject to review later. The NHS advice about food is indeed confusing and in the opinion of some people not very helpful to diabetics.

Your blood sugar is too high. That defines you as diabetic. The foods most likely to make your blood sugar high are sugar, flour, rice and potatoes. Until you know what type of diabetic you are it can do no harm to cut down on foods containing these ingredients.

If you end up taking insulin then you may be able to eat more of these ingredients. If you are a type 2 then you will have to pay much more attention to what you eat and in what quantities.

Come back here when you have your results.
 
Hi, Welcome

Try not to panic, its all a bit overwhelming at first, so much information, so many things written about complications.

the good news is if you can gain good control of your blood sugars theres a good chance you won't have to suffer any of these

from a food point of view, the less sugar you put in, the less sugar you will have floating in your blood, complicating this fact is carbohydrates turn into sugar once consumed, and carbohydrates are in all kinds of foods, as mentioned the main culprits are bread, rice, pasta and potatoes, then we have to worry about fruit (berries are the best fruits for us) and needless to say cane sugar, ridiculously carbohydrates are worse than sugar, if you have ever heard of the glycemic index....the low GI foods are better than the high GI foods so for example if your going to eat bread, eat whole grain bread, if eating potatoes, eat new potatoes as they are less starchy and avoid mashed potatoes as by mashing them you have basically pre-digested them before you eat them making breaking them down into glucose a much faster process for your stomach and giving you a faster bg spike, as you know you bg's have halved i assume you are testing, great! test before or just as you start eating a meal and then 2 hours afterwards, the before test is a baseline and the 2 hour test gives you an idea of how your body dealt with that meal, with this information you can start to cut out the foods/meals that make your bg go up higher than you would like, there is an awful lot to learn so just take your time and digest all the info at your own pace, small changes are probably best anyway, exercise is also a great way to lower bgs if you are able, it docent have to be intense, a short brisk 20 minute walk after meals will do wonders.

any questions you have, please don't hesitate to ask, we here have all been through what your going through right now and are happy to help where we can, so deep breath, stay calm and read read read :)

best of luck
 
I am prediabetic so not quite there yet but still advised to eat as though I am type 2
My weight problem is that I need to put on a few pounds so the low carb diet that many on here follow is certainly not for me because it does make you loose weight. I decided just to stick to a low fat low sugar diet with lots of fruit and vegetables.. root veg in small amounts.. but no rice pasta biscuits or cakes I do eat wholemeal bread that I make myself and I eat nuts and cheese when I want a snack No one can say what diet would suit you best because everyone is different so what diet suits one person may not suit another but you will find out what you can eat and what you can't. Just keep looking on here when you know what type you are for advice as how to go about it
 
Thanks for the advice.

Is there any so called 'special' advice for thin people?

My body is aching all the time at the minute and kidneys are kicking but I think this is more than likely because I used to snack a lot between meals.

With regards cereals such as weetabix / shreddies etc are they bad?

Can having a 'Man Flu' cause spiked blood sugars.
 
AnnieC said:
I am prediabetic so not quite there yet but still advised to eat as though I am type 2
My weight problem is that I need to put on a few pounds so the low carb diet that many on here follow is certainly not for me because it does make you loose weight. I decided just to stick to a low fat low sugar diet with lots of fruit and vegetables.. root veg in small amounts.. but no rice pasta biscuits or cakes I do eat wholemeal bread that I make myself and I eat nuts and cheese when I want a snack No one can say what diet would suit you best because everyone is different so what diet suits one person may not suit another but you will find out what you can eat and what you can't. Just keep looking on here when you know what type you are for advice as how to go about it
Click to expand...



low carbing will only make you lose weight if your are calorie deficient, if your body needs say 2000 calories to maintain the weight you are and you low carb but eat 2500 calories, you won't lose weight, low carbing is primarily for lowering blood glucose, the weight loss is a happy by product experienced by folks that want to shift a few pounds (or stone) id say that by low carbing you are paying so much attention to what you eat and eating so much more healthily than before, that the low carbing is causing us to lose weight due to the portion controls and healthier balancing than the actual lack of carbohydrates

all just my opinion :) I'm always happy to be contradicted
 
dwelldon said:
Thanks for the advice.

Is there any so called 'special' advice for thin people?

My body is aching all the time at the minute and kidneys are kicking but I think this is more than likely because I used to snack a lot between meals.

With regards cereals such as weetabix / shreddies etc are they bad?

Can having a 'Man Flu' cause spiked blood sugars.
Click to expand...



in reverse

yes illness can defiantly make your blood glucose rise, your body is trying to heal you, which in itself is nuts because your body is saying raising bg's will make you better, which we know isn't correct, this i don't understand at all

weetabix and cereals are often really bad for bg spikes :( i know that sucks

some people seem to be able to tolerate rolled oat porridge but thats about it, although i know at least one member that says weetabix is fine for them so again this comes back to us all being different and the need to test
 
Cereal are one of my favourite foods as well..... I guess as long as I don't eat too many I can balance it.
 
dwelldon said:
Cereal are one of my favourite foods as well..... I guess as long as I don't eat too many I can balance it.
Click to expand...


i loved weetabix, i even ate it as an evening meal sometimes lol, I'm afraid for me there was no balancing it, it sent my bg's through the roof
(believe me i tested a lot in denial at weetabix being a no no) i hope its different for you, the difference for me once i cut out the lovely weetabix (drool) was an average reduction of 2.0 in meter reading, i don't just mean after eating them i mean on average all day, the 2.0 just wasn't worth it, i now eat natural greek yogurt and berries for brekkie and love it, much more than i did the weetabix
 
wow really, thats a lot. I love berries myself, I think I will give that a go.

I have no idea what has caused it, either as non of my family are diabetic.

Is it really for life or can it be reversed?
 
When ill diabetics see a higher rise of sugar levels, think the body attempts to give extra energy, help fight infection but, being diabetic lacking the normal insulin response that non diabetics get to transport the.sugar efficiently where needed. im also slightly underweight, definatley not lacking calories. My recommended cals for my age,sex, height, weight is 2,800 cals a day. Weight is starting to go on gradually but having to eat 3,000 cals. Been slim all my life, but went to literally skin and bone by time of diagnosis even after 12~18 months prior going to docs off and on (long story) went down to about 11 stone, not a good look being 6ft 3. Anyway, since starting insulin (growth hormone) weight going on nicely.
As to cereals, they do spike me so choices in order to reduce the spike after having cereal and toast for breakfast is to give enough insulin for a good reading after 2 hours, but have a snack then to avoid a hypo between 3~4 hours, not a problem if not needing to loose weight, or, reduce insulin and have a good workout, as exercise can help the insulin to work more effectively, good advice on runsweet.com as certain exercises can raise levels. Or as andy suggested a healthy low carb breakfast but making sure your not lacking calories. Hope you get a proper diagnosis as can be frustrating waiting.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Hi dwelldon and welcome to the forum:)

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful in addition to the advice given by members. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will 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 70,000 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 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.
 
dwelldon said:
wow really, thats a lot. I love berries myself, I think I will give that a go.

I have no idea what has caused it, either as non of my family are diabetic.

Is it really for life or can it be reversed?
Click to expand...


yes I'm afraid at the moment anyway, there isn't a cure, but good control is the same as a cure so....
 
Forgot to say in earlier post was diagnosed type 1, at tge she of 32/33 can't remember which lol. No history of it in family but other auto immune disorders were, mum had psoriasis and brother has asthma.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
It's just hard coming to terms with it. I know I am going to have to change, but at 40 it's the last thing I expected. Then when you read about the lower life expectency and complications, it scares you into all sorts of thoughts.

Is there anyway of telling how long you have had it for prior to diagnosis
 
Unless theres obvious signs not really. Personally I needed glasses 3 years prior to my diagnosis, since diagnosis and getting control don't need glasses and recently had all clear from the hospital on the annual eye check. That tells me I had it coming for at least 3 years undiagnosed, probably lada, a slow onset type 1 but was always very active so that probably helped, although not delibratly. No further complications since, but getting control, reducing the high/low swings will certainly help to lead a "normal" life lol

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Hi. Daisy and others have given good advice ref diet. Yes, the NHS often offers out of date and simply bad diet advice for diabetics with a few good exceptions. Regardless of diabetes type the best overall advice is to reduce the carbs and have low-GI when you do have them. All diabetics have the condition where the body cannot handle blood glucose, derived from carbs, properly. Fats are not a problem in sensible quantities and do have unsaturated for preference. Proteins and veg etc are all good foods for us. It is possible at the relatively young age of 40 and being slim that you may be diagnosed as a late onset T1 (T1.5) rather than T2. There are tests that can usually differentiate between the two types but many HCPs are reluctant to use them due to cost and ignorance; hopefully you are being given the anti-body test. Regardless of type, the treatment approaches are similar. Diet, then diet plus tablets, then insulin if needed. Don't panic about the possible need for insulin in the future. I've moved to it about a year ago and wouldn't go back; it's easy and solves a problem if and when tablets run out of steam. Do come back with more questions. BTW, do get hold of a meter and you will then know what foods affect you and by how much.
 
Thanks once again for everything everyone.

I have been using the BS monitor for a about a week now and the gliclazide tablets are definitely lowering it. I was as high as 17.5 before bed and now that's come down.

At the moment every ache and pain I get I am worrying about. Especially the kidneys that are kicking and the cold right foot that I have been experiencing.

I am just a naturally nervous person, who as in the past suffered from depression as well. I am finding it hard to motivate myself at home and work, but I am sure that will come back when I gain my confidence again.

Knowing others out there are coping with the same thing is a great help and your advice is great.

Darren
 
Hey guys,

Well my first week on the gliclazide and my sugars are dropping... when I went initially my bg was 24 in the morning

18th 17.3 avg
19th 14.3 avg
20th 12.6 avg
21st 11.9 avg
22nd 9.9 avg
23rd 7.85 avg
24th 8.3 avg
25th 8 avg

My question really is, I assume that this is good. But should I be more concerned about the differing results at times of the day.
 
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