Newly diagnosed-Be kind please

[ladybird64]

I joined this site last year and I posted about my insulin dependent daughter but am now posting about myself.

I went to the doc about something totally unrelated to Diabetes last week and after a blood test, heard back that my glucose levels were raised, I went to see the doc today.

Now for reasons I won't go into, I find it practically impossible to take medication of any kind. Doc has said I do have type 2 and the ideal scenario would be for me to get started on medication, including statins..this is my nightmare situation.

Is it really impossible to try and manage this by diet and exercise alone, he said although it could improve things, the Diabetes would continue to get worse.

It may seem a stupid question to ask here but I hope that I won't get a harsh reception, I really feel very disturbed about all this.

Many thanks to anyone who answers.

 

[daisy1]

Hi Ladybird and welcome to the forum If you want to try and control your diabetes with diet and exercise alone so perhaps you won't need medication, you could perhaps follow the advice I am posting here and see how it goes. This is information written by Sue and Ken, the former Monitors, for new members.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.

 

[ladybird64]

Thank you Daisy, I will have a good look through this.

I have told the doc that I will not be taking medication so have got to step up to the plate and try and get myself sorted out, I'm a full time carer to my daughter and am stuck at home most of the time so it will be a challenge!

Thanks again.

 

[anna29]

Hi, poor you, bet you're still stunned... your post echo's mine in lot of ways. I too cant tolerate tablets n meds well at all. So I went about it all the long way round, tried my best to do it alone with a diet n excercise regime no success had to give in n resort to the peptides glp1 and glp4 that amazingly my body and system would tolerate still no success in getting my BS levels down enough now am on the insulin as nothing else worked n as yet still with high BS levels. Its so frustrating and stressful to be doing more than your best to get BS down n its just not happening. Though we are all individual n different, what dosent n hasnt worked for me may well work with you. Found the peptides I tolerate well. Other meds not at all. Why cant you tolerate meds? [do you know what you can actually tolerate?] I can only tolerate "sterate based tablets" [its how they make the compounds n formula I react to ]certain manufactorers use a sterate base n add the drug to it others dont. The fact that you went through it with your child is so different to actually having to deal with it so personally as its now for yourself. It will be and feel such a different journey now. Yes the risks are as real for you as they were n still are for your daughter. Some people so successfully manage to control it very well with diet n excersise alone, with fantastic results too. All you can do ? is give it your best efforts n see how you go, at least its a positive starting point as we all have to start somewhere. You are probably still in shock n in a whirl yet, its not your fault this has happened n you must go easy with yourself, take it all a step at a time, n be gentle n take good care of yourself too in the next few days. Let us know too how you go on also. Anna.x