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Newly Diagnosed, any advice welcome :)

retrohaggis

retrohaggis

Member
Messages
7
Location
Malta
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Eggs
Alright folks

So, sadly a couple of weeks ago my left side was hurting a little under my ribs and after "googling" I believed I may have an issue with my pancreas, so decided to go to the local private surgery to to get checked.

After speaking to the doctor he done a quick blood test that came back as 20mmol, nightmare, they then checked me for ketones in my pee, luckily all is good, however apparently I could have had this for years and not known and was was then placed on 2x500gm of Metformin

Apart from telling me to take these drugs, i got no other advice other that book a specialist, he then rushed me out lols

Im 38, relatively fit as take part in sporting events and have a personal trainer that i see twice per week however I do have a little beer belly as I love beer and would consume a fair bit each weekend.

After i booked and had lab tests for checking my blood and cholesterol, cholesterol etc was fine, however got this HbA1c H 13.5 result for the past 3 months average and so requested an appointment with a diabetes specialist, sadly here in Malta there is a queue, so i need to wait a few weeks, almost makes me with i was back in Scotland "almost" ha

So I have have made some lifestyle changes to try improve things -
  1. No sugar or added sugar foods or drinks.
  2. Under 1000 cal diet consisting of 2x shakes and either chicken/tuna salad for dinner or home made vegetable soup in order to lose the beer belly, i wanted to try the 800 calorie shake diet but im not sure if its safe for me to. .
  3. No alcohol for the time being.
  4. Adding in extra cardio when I can.
Can anyone tell me if the above sounds feasible?

Also, my blood sugar each night before bed started off at around 15 and gradually came down to around 8, however, its stayed this way for the last week and im struggling to get it down, can anyone give me any advice on this?

My girlfriend said I should stop playing call of duty as its gets me exited, however after a long stressful day at the office its my main form of stress relief, please don't take that away form me :'( ha

Id apprecaite any advice.
 
Mike d said:
What's the rest of your diet consist of?
Click to expand...

Alright mate,

thanks for replying to my plea for help! hah

Around 3 mugs of tea per day, 3-4 litres of water, 2x small slice of brown bread with my salad or soup and some vitamin supplements.

Edit
Soup ingredients -
  • Red lentils
  • Leek
  • Carrot
  • salt / pepper
  • chick stock cube
Chicken or Tuna salad ingredients -
  • shredded lettuce
  • shredded Carrot
  • Shredded cabbage
  • half a chopped onion
  • sprinkle grated cheese
  • sprinkle sweetcorn
  • sprinkle shredded pickled beetroot
  • salt / pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Heinze salad cream
  • 1 small can of 180 cals tuna or about 100 grams of chicken
 
Last edited:
There’s fundamentally two approaches. One is the very low calorie (1000 or less) designed to shift fat from your internal organs quickly such as you seem to have started upon. It’s often known as the Newcastle diet or professor Taylor’s approach. It is a time limited option (8 week or sometimes 12 week max). It can have good results if you are able to stick with it but it is essential you follow up with appropriate eating and do not slow your metabolism by continuing it for too long nor end up undernourished with the poor health effects that come with that.

much more popular and maintainable and where many end up even if they start on very low calorie is low carbohydrate. Diabetes is essentially a carb intolerance as far as foods are concerned. And restricting these whilst eating as much healthy unprocessed protein and real fats as you need for fullness and energy is much much easier and pleasant for many. Lots of us mange our diabetes with little or no medication and achieve non diabetic levels as a result, and other health improvements too. Eg weight, blood pressure, fatty liver, reduced inflammation to name a few

have a read of these links that explain more. You may not even need an expensive private appointment afterwards.

Intro to T2 and low carb. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/
All the things I wish I’d been told earlier https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/th...ish-i’d-been-told-at-type-2-diagnosis.173817/
  1. No sugar or added sugar foods or drinks. Great
  2. Under 1000 cal diet consisting of 2x shakes and either chicken/tuna salad for dinner or home made vegetable soup in order to lose the beer belly, i wanted to try the 800 calorie shake diet but im not sure if its safe for me to. .see above
  3. No alcohol for the time being. Great but red or dry white wines or spirits will effect blood glucose far less than beer or cider do.
  4. Adding in extra cardio when I can. Weights and resistance or endurance exercise often work better for diabetes. Cardio has other benefits but not as much on bgl as these.
 
Hi. At your age and with the high HBA1C I wouldn't rule out being Late onset T1 and not T2. When you see the specialists ask for the two tests C-Peptide and GAD. Your diet isn't too bad but could be tweaked. Don't worry about measuring Calories as they are irrelevant, but do focus on all Carbs and not just sugar. Some alcohols are fine where they are low-carb such as wine and spirits. Fats and proteins are also fine in the diet. BTW if you do happen to be Late onset T1 (aka LADA) then more meds can be added, but see how you go
 
Mike d said:
I asked for good reason. 8 before bed is a good number. The other changes (and they're great) will be reflected in your next Hba1c. Just keep the carbs down. Best of luck
Click to expand...
Thanks mate, I appreciate your input
 
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