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Newly diagnosed by accident...

ExoticBehemoth said:
I’ve been using a sucralose based sweetener for ages, pre diagnosis, but when I read the label now 100g of it is 94g carbs. Does this mean I can’t use it?
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Well, I certainly wouldn't .. the 94grams of carbs will turn to sugar in your body .. so you might as well just eat 100grams of pure sugar
I suggest you read the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum .. together with the following Diet Doctor websites, which will give you all the info that you need on what and what not to eat ...
Low Carb Intro and Information and Low Carbs in 60 Seconds
 
Sweeteners are a bit of a minefield - for several reasons:

- the carbs listed can be very misleading. Not all carbs are absorbed and used by the body, and this is the case for some of the sweeteners available. I use Erythritol which is white, granular and looks like sugar (in baking and hot drinks), but it has absolutely NO IMPACT on my digestive tract and blood glucose. It is also more 'natural' than some of the others. Of course, this also makes it one of the most expensive!

- other sweeteners have been demonstrated in studies to raise blood glucose, cause digestive upset and other reactions. But the tolerance for them varies hugely across the population. Always best to check your own reaction using your meter. There are people on here who use sweeteners that give me headaches and digestive upsets, so it is a case of try them and see.

- plus there is another factor which plays a surprisingly large part. The taste. As in the sweet tooth. I mean, sugar is universally known to be a problem for people with glucose intolerance. Generally speaking, the more we eat, the higher our blood glucose goes. But the hidden problem there is that the sweeter we have our food, the sweeter we like it, because we are used to it as an acquired taste. Cutting out sugar is a no-brainer with type 2 diabetes. Although the extent to which we do it is a personal choice. But if we replace that sugar with things that are equally sweet, then our body and our taste buds stay stuck in the sugar-craving and we miss our sugar fix. On the other hand if we gently transition down to less sweet and even less sweet, then our tastes adjust.

There was a point where I thought I would have to give up chocolate, because I only liked milk chocolate. It took a while but now I think milk chocolate is disgustingly sickly, cloying and lacking in chocolateyness. 70% cocoa solids and upwards are now The Business. - just a matter of gradually re-training my taste buds.

And I must admit that I enjoy my food more now than I used to. I think the sweetness used to mask half the flavour.
 

I just ate my first piece of chocolate since being diagnosed, and being discharged from the hospital. Actually 1 1/2 piece of Lindt 85 %. It was very nice, right combination of bitter sweet. I researched it before trying it.

I agree things are way to sweet in our world. I was such a sugar addict, I use to love coke and other sweet fizzy drinks. But I wasn't tasting things well, or sometimes at all. I'd drink a pop and it would barely have any flavor. Or I'd be out having sushi and I'd would be able to taste the wasabi if I had to much sugar in my body. Sugar will dull your sense of taste absolutely. I knew that it was because I was consuming to much sugar, and if I stopped things would taste much better.

Now, I been pretty good about sticking to my diet. I haven't really craved any sweet fizzy drinks. I've stuck to water, milk, tea, and coffee mostly. I have to admit food tastes amazing now, I'm tasting it properly again, and it is like I'm discovering food and eating again for the first time. I did have half an apple for lunch the other day, and I have to admit it tasted amazing. I know we have to be careful of fruit. But the diet plan I was given suggested half an apple with a meal was okay.
 
ExoticBehemoth said:
Thanks for all the quick responses. A lot to think about. A high fat diet seems counter intuitive with the high cholesterol...
lots of research needed.
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Welcome to the forum and you already have some great advice. As you might see by my sig below, I was high everything, and brought it down in three months with a few little tweaks.
I will admit I balked at the HF element of LCHF because the GP’s words of “lay off the full fat dairy”was ringing in my ears. I did try fat free Greek Yoghurt which looks and tastes like grout!!! I went back to normal Greek yoghurt, berries, and shifted from high GI foods to low GI foods which helped me stabilize. Now with my cholesterol in more normal ranges I feel a little more confident in aiming for a low carb dinner in the evenings.

You have to test, and I believe the codefree options you have been given are great value for money. I opted for a flash glucose monitoring system which measures your BG using a sensor in your arm, but they are hella pricey. But finger pricking multiple times a day when you are a writer is not the most feasible option!!!

Wish you all the best with your journey, and this is the best place to be.
 
Sorry to add more questions. My question didn’t really fit into the topic headings.

So diagnosed 4th October based on a random level of 16.7 mmol/l mid September and then HbA1c of 104 at the end of September.
Started on Metforim 500mg three times a day (and statins) by my GP and given vague dietary advice, added to by the lovely people here.

I had my initial appointment with the diabetic nurse yesterday. She had no other blood results. I had a further HbA1c at the hospital on Monday but she didn’t know how to access it. ( I had mistakenly been booked into a short slot so this was very rushed).
I have noticed a massive improvement in how I feel as I have lost my massive thirst and feel less tired but she didn’t ask this.
I mentioned that I am due scheduled surgery in two weeks time which seems likely to be cancelled because of my unresolved symptoms.

So the query is, she has increased my metformin to 1000mg twice a day and started me on glicazide 40mg twice a day as a temporary measure to reduce my blood sugar rapidly. She did give me a blood testing kit which is a bonus.

I have serious doubts about starting the glicazide:
- I’ve made radical changes to my diet and the impact hasn’t been assessed and it’s only two weeks.
- I doesn’t feel like the impact of metformin alone has been tested.
- I drive for a living and if I start the glicazide
I have to notify the DVLA and test a lot to demonstrate I’m not going hypoglycaemic.
- No one wants to take unnecessary meds.

Would it be fair to delay starting glicazide until my next appointment in November? I would hate to be labelled a non compliant patient.

I’ve been testing for less than 24 hours but my results don’t seem that horrendous to me:


Any thoughts or advice?
 
Guzzler said:
Welcome to the forum. Yes, buy a blood glucose monitor, this will prove even more useful than your bp machine. I will tag @daisy1 who will post invaluable information to all those newly diagnosed.
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Hi. A BG monitoring system is important. I do not have a BP monitor at home though. Do not think BP monitors are necessary.
 
By way of an update I went back to the diabetic nurse today for a follow up where she checked my feet and gave me an immunisation.

I explained to her that I had made the decision not to commence the glicazide, I took the increased metformin but more significantly had made some big dietary changes.

In fairness to her she said that the changes I had made were not recommended but when I showed her my testing record she was pleased with the results and said that there was indeed no need to take glicazide.

She also indicated that after my next Hb1Ac if I remain stable she thinks I should stop testing.

I don’t plan to do that because I find having the feedback of getting positive results helps keep me on track - keeping my numbers low reduces the temptation to be bad. I feel like already I am doing much better due to fairly simple advice on here.



My next step is reducing my weight as at the moment with the high fat component it seems to be creeping up.
 
Your bgl looks fine to me, but I am no expert. I really dont understand the aversion to testing from the nhs. Although I think your gp is paying for yours? If thats the case then perhaps they will not give you repeats for the strips.
You have done so very well. Do you have much weight to lose? There is a weekly friday weigh in thread that I belong to and have found very helpful. See you there?
 
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