newly diagnosed any advice welcome

Welcome to the forum Mike, @daisy has some excellent advice for new members to the forum and I'm sure she'll be along soon to post it for you.

Hello. simple answers for starters ... 1. yes 2. dump the porridge 3. dump the bread. A few people on here can manage small amounts but best stop altogether until you've read our experiences. All will be made clear so don't worry!

Hi and welcome. Be aware that it isn't just sugar that you need to think about but all carbs. Note that porridge isn't ideal and it is better to have muesli with cold milk as the oats aren't broken down so much so a a bit less spiking. Some say full fat milk has less suagr than skimmed. Sweet potatoes are considered better than normal potatoes.

nybrid said:

Hi ,

My 1st post so here we go.

I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago probably type 2 but my doctor says it could be 1.5!?? I am seeing the specialist in 2 weeks. my blood sugar reading was 23 at the time. My only symptom was urinating loads but I felt very well indeed. I now have it down to approx. 6.5 before food and between 8 and 11 after food. I am trying to see which foods make it spike. Can anyone help with the following questions please:-

1 Once I hit 10 on sugar levels I feel unsteady and not fully focused. I just do not feel well but do not have the classic symptoms of thirst etc. Is this common?

2 The only cereal that seems low on sugar is porridge. I go up from approx. 6 to 9 after eating. do you think porridge is the best cereal? if so with skimmed or full fat milk?

3 we have just made some brown bread using brown flour with 62.3g of carbs of which sugar is 1.7g per 100g. My sugar reading within goes up by at least 3 points getting me to around 10. We only use only 1 tablespoon full of sugar to make the yeast rise. Any advice on this or better ways of making our own bread in the machine would be most welcome
.
4 I am concentrating on reducing all carb sugar to the minimum and am eating lots of vegetable's which grow above the ground. I am confused as to whether sweet potatoes and new potatoes are ok particularly as the sugar in standard potatoes is less than sweet potatoes!

Any advise would be great

thanks a lot

Mike

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Hi Mike and welcome,

When testing before and after eating (at 2 hours from first bite) you should aim to have a rise of no more than 2mmol/l. (under 1.5 is ideal but will need some work)

It appears you are looking for foods that contain sugar and avoiding them. That is fine, but carbs are equally important as all carbs turn to sugar once inside the system, so the fewer carbs the better for us. The main offenders are bread of any colour, potatoes, rice, pasta, cereals and anything made with or containing ordinary flour. We also need to be careful with milk and fruit as they are both full of sugar. Whole milk is better than skimmed or semi skimmed as the last 2 have added sugar.

If you want to have spuds, then one or two new boiled, or roasted, may be OK but you would need to use your meter to test them. Some people can manage a slice of heavily seeded bread or soya bread, but not everyone, and most likely no more than 1 slice with a meal that contains no other carbs. Everyone has a different tolerance to different types of carbs, so all you can do is either avoid them completely or try small portions and test them. Keep any rise down as much as you can. Porridge isn't normally a wise choice, although some can manage a small bowl made with water or half milk and water, but again, you need to test it. You have already failed with one lot of porridge, so be careful with portions.

Have a read of this thread, which may help you http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-new-low-carb-guide-for-beginners.68695/

Please have a good read round and come back with any questions. We are all here to help.

Hi Mike,
It's a learning curve. You should probably prepare to be confused and then get ready to face some lifestyle decisions.

You have obviously got a meter. Are you using insulin or do you have a good GP? You have blood glucose at 6.5 before meals - hopefully before all your meals - and I think I would suggest that you hold that (or improve it a bit after reading Daisy's post) until you see your specialist in 2 weeks.

When you get to discuss diet with your specialist (s)he may stick to the NHS recommendation to follow a low fat diet. Then you may read posts here that advocate a low carbohydrate diet, with a good dose of fat. This is where the confusion starts and where you need to make that decision - low fat or low carb. Carbs and fat are the two elements that make a meal feel satisfying, thus limiting snacking between meals. You'll get lots of help on this forum - it's seen me through some awkward times.

The answers to your questions aren't very satisfactory:

1. We are all different. What you feel at 10 some won't feel until 15 - some others may feel lower. We've all been there, and most will say 10 is too high, but again, most of us worry about the other end of the scale - the dreaded hypo. Again we all feel different at different low levels. My diabetes nurse drums into me 'If its below 5 don't drive'. I think the legal figure is less (3.9 or thereabouts) but it's a useful maxim.
Back to your point 1 - The only time I had THAT thirst was before I was diagnosed (autumn 2012). I was drinking diluted orange like it was going out of fashion. Then I collapsed with pneumonia. 5 weeks later when they woke me up they told me it was double pneumonia and I was type 2 diabetic. They put me on insulin and I've never had that thirst since. Urinating though is a different matter. I had that problem too before diagnosis and I've had it several times since. When it starts getting a bit frequent and my blood sugar starts to rise I take samples to the doc. It has always been a bladder infection.

2. This is awkward - while I'm trying not to influence your choice of lifestyle. The constituents of food we are interested in are Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fat. Fibre and sodium (salt) are important as are lots of other minerals and vitamins - but here we are talking about blood glucose levels. If you are looking at American figures they add fibre into the total carbs - in the UK we list it separately - find the nutrition panel on the next packaged or tinned food you have to hand. No, not that silly thing that looks like a small keyboard and gives 'sugar' - that's for little girls buying for their kids. The proper nutrition information, often in table form on the back of the package. All carbs convert to glucose (sugar) inside you. Some convert quickly and make your blood sugar spike. Others convert more slowly. Which are which varies between us, but there is a measure - the glyceamic index or GI. I wouldn't worry about that yet. Most of us start from the position that we avoid bread, rice, flour products, potatoes and of course cakes, sugar and beer.
Some of us can get away with porridge for breakfast. I can't - it sends my blood glucose way up. Try eggs and bacon - no carbs

3. Some breads have a lower GI than standard white bread. Some have lower carbs. A slice of white bread might be 18 or so grams of carbs. A slice of wholemeal might be 13 grams of carbs. Weigh out 18 grams of sugar - that's what a slice of white bread looks like to your body. I occasionally allow myself just one slice of wholemeal bread - a week.

4. Apart from saying that there is no such thing as 'carb sugars' - all carbs are sugars - I'd suggest you get hold of the book 'Carbs and Cals'. Alternatively, search for 'nutrition data sweet potato' on the web. The page you find will probably be American. Cabs and fibre are added together there - deduct the fibre to get our version of total carbs Two small new potatoes are about 10 grams of carbs. Don't look up 'Jacket Potatoes' in the Carbs and Cals book - it'll depress you.

All the best - keep us informed.

John

noblehead said:

Welcome to the forum Mike, @daisy has some excellent advice for new members to the forum and I'm sure she'll be along soon to post it for you.

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Sorry @noblehead, but I think you have a TYPO it's @daisy1 I have tagged her now, I expect she will be along in the morningn now.

Neil

@nybrid

Hello Mike and welcome to the forum

To add to all the great advice you have already got here, this is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Keep on asking questions and someone will come and 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 130,000 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.

non starch vegetable frittata is a favorite 'away from home' meal for me. can be precooked and frozen, will thaw in time
a batch of snack ideas
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/snacks.htm

Hello , welcome , a great support forum .

Enjoy reading all personal experiences and choices ...

Information by Daisy is always an excellent starting point .....kat

nybrid said:

Thank you everyone for the detailed replies it really cheered me up .
I am still getting used to the tools in the forum so am not sure if my reply is going to you all but thanks again.
Just 1 more question for the time being:-
As I am going to have to dump bread and I drive around the country lots what do you recommend for a packed lunch along with any snacks?

Have a great weekend on and all

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Sandwiches are very convenient but instead we have to be a bit cunning. My packed lunch starts either with a vacuum flask for soup (home-made because even posh bought soup can conceal sugary things) or with a plastic tub with a good tight lid and a fork. In the tub I put salads, olives, cheese, all kinds of cold meat, Hellmans original mayo or home-made dressing, a bit of tomato, avocado, hardboiled eggs,and I also make almond and cheese "bread" which is more like cake but tasty.
There are sweet snacks like 9-bars (from supermarkets), small pieces of 85% or 90% chocolate, teaspoon of peanut butter ... lots of other things you'll find on here.
Tip: when shopping, look for stuff with less than 10% carbs max, preferably 5% or less, and ignore the sugar content of the carbs.

DeejayR said:

Sandwiches are very convenient but instead we have to be a bit cunning. My packed lunch starts either with a vacuum flask for soup (home-made because even posh bought soup can conceal sugary things) or with a plastic tub with a good tight lid and a fork. In the tub I put salads, olives, cheese, all kinds of cold meat, Hellmans original mayo or home-made dressing, a bit of tomato, avocado, hardboiled eggs,and I also make almond and cheese "bread" which is more like cake but tasty.
There are sweet snacks like 9-bars (from supermarkets), small pieces of 85% or 90% chocolate, teaspoon of peanut butter ... lots of other things you'll find on here.
Tip: when shopping, look for stuff with less than 10% carbs max, preferably 5% or less, and ignore the sugar content of the carbs.

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Do share please what is this bread you mske , I love cheese ....Thank you

I got the recipe from here so thanks again to the original poster

Cheese and Almond Bread
Makes 1lb loaf

300g ground almonds
1tsp baking powder
2oz (sorry, can't do the grams) butter
150g grated cheese
3 beaten eggs

Combine all ingredients in food processor or bowl, quite a stiff mixture, place in loaf tin.
Bake at 180º for 50mins, stand 5 mins, place on rack to cool.

Hi Mike

I'm new here to so I can't comment on many things as I'm still learning (and as confused) as you

But what I can tell you is that everyone here are very knowledgable, helpful and friendly - compared to how I felt last week, I don't feel as alone & lost as I did, and thats 100% down to the nice folks on here

DeejayR said:

I got the recipe from here so thanks again to the original poster

Cheese and Almond Bread
Makes 1lb loaf

300g ground almonds
1tsp baking powder
2oz (sorry, can't do the grams) butter
150g grated cheese
3 beaten eggs

Combine all ingredients in food processor or bowl, quite a stiff mixture, place in loaf tin.
Bake at 180º for 50mins, stand 5 mins, place on rack to cool.

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Now that sounds easy ...Thank you for sharing ...I can't do grams either