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Newly diagnosed, fed up and confused

L

Loulabelle

Member
Messages
7
Hello :)
I have been diagnosed as type 2, something I have suspected for a while. I have also been told that my cholesterol is high despite my having followed a low fat diet for some time. I am going through all sorts of feelings, worried, confused, wondering how this will affect me and my children (will they be more at risk in the future). I have been feeling pretty rough (fatigue, feeling hypo and blurry eyes for some time) so in one way I am pleased that if I know what the problem is 8 can get it sorted out. On the other hand I looks as though there will not be much to eat if I am low fat and low carb. I am trying to figure out just what s low carb, also what that means. My head is in a spin and it seems there is an enormous amount I need to learn about diet and diabetes. Until now I have concentrated on low fat and trying to be heathy with lots of fruit, now I realise that the fruit (or some types ) are bad and i feel so confused. I have ordered a monitor so I can try and work out what foods make me have higher levels and if I am hypo when I think I am. I haven't ever tested myself before, hopefully this will be simple. I know that so many people do it so I will be able to soon.
I have read a lot of posts on here and they seem very helpful, sorry to have such a gloomy moan for a first post but :( .
Does anyone else have both high cholesterol and diabetes? Can anyone offer any helpful suggestions to help me through while I figure out what is the right thing for me?
Thank you
 
Hi Loulabelle and welcome :)

I had high sugar, high cholesterol and high blood pressure at my diagnosis last December but all three are now in the past and I'm feeling loads better and back in control of my life ...

If you want to try low carb then as you've already sussed out doing it with a meter is the best way.

When I initially started low carb it meant cutting out all forms of natural sugar so the obvious cakes, biscuits, sugar in tea and coffee, non diet sodas and even pure fruit juices as they have loads of sugar. Next and just as importantly at least halve your intake of rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, cereals and other flour based products. Replace with extra meat, fish, cheese, eggs and especially green veg. Things like yoghurt are generally fine. If you want a small amount of fruit then "berries" are best and I find they won't raise your levels as high if you eat them as a pudding after your main meal. On the rice, pasta and bread you have left in your diet swap to brown basmati rice, brown or tri-colour pasta and the best bread by far is Burgen Soya bread that you can get from most supermarkets.

Try to do some exercise even if it is just walking. My exercise is simply walking the dogs each day.

When you get your meter start by testing 2 hours after you eat. You need to aim to be under 8 mmol/l as regularly exceeding 8 is where you start to risk complications such as blindness and amputations down the line. The NICE guidelines say under 8 mmol/l two hours after eating and between 4 and 7 at all other times.

At the beginning you may find getting under 8 to be really difficult if your levels have been running high for a while. If it is then also test before you eat and aim for the two hour after eating reading to be back at roughly the level of the before eating reading. If you do that then you should see a gradual day by day improvement until all your two hour readings come out safe.

If you can't stop the readings spiking high after two hours then you have a stark choice. Either reduce the rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, cereals and other flour based products some more until your levels respond or if you really can't change your diet further then go back to the gp and ask for stronger meds.

The disadvantage of the extra meds route is many of the stronger meds that stimulate insulin production will make you gain weight as that is one of the primary things insulin does, it lays down fat. Remember that as T2 you are likely to be producing a good deal of insulin but it is not working properly (called insulin resistance). Any fat you put on will make what insulin you produce work even less efficiently as it will raise your insulin resistance further so you can end up in a loop of having to take stronger and stronger medication which in the end will lead you to insulin dependency as while your levels remain unsafe they are also killing of the very cells that actually produce insulin. In the end you end up as an insulin resistant T2 who needs to inject large doses of insulin because their pancreas has completely stopped and that is not a good place to arrive. People on the forum call this the drugs escalator.

The important thing is to recognize that which ever way you choose you need safe blood levels.

Good luck and keep asking questions
 
Hi Loulabelle and welcome to the forum, :)

You will find lots of advice and help on this forum,

There is a lot of things that will go through your brain trying to understand whats best for you.

My simple advice is not to rush out buying expensive things.
Just wait until you have read what other nice people on this forum like yourself , can recommend whats good for you.

Good Luck.

Roy. :)
 
Hi Loulabelle and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask more questions if you need to and someone will be able to 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 30,000 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 ... rains.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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
 
Thank you for the helpful answers. I already exercise a lot, swimming, cycling, Zumba and walking. I am going to keep doing a low carb, low fat diet to try and combat this. It's very helpful to know that others have got past this. I would still be be interested to hear from anyone dealing with both diabetes and cholesterol.
Thank you again
 
Hi. I had high'ish cholesterol at diagnosis, around 6.5, so was put onto statins as well as diabetes meds after a while. As I've gradually reduced my carbs over the years as I've realised how much they affect diabetes, I suspect my cholesterol would be lower now without the statins as cholesterol appears to be just as much affected by high carbs as for high fats. This is contrary to the popular view of fat being the rogue amongst dieticians. My current cholesterol is only 3.5'ish despite me asking for my simvastatin to be halved to 40mg a few years back. So, if low-carbing doesn't get your cholesterol below 4 to 5'ish then try a low dose of statin. It's never given me any problems but obviously stop statins if you have muscle aches etc.
 
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