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Newly diagnosed from Scotland

I still eat bread, oats, rice, pasta etc.....I find it tough to cut them out completely and just try to eat them less often.
I have oats with plenty nuts with Alpro sugar free version.
I have the odd biscuit at work most days, but try to snack on a cracker (very low sugar) and cheese if I have to. If I do have biscuits I pick the ones that are 2% or less. I always look at labels.
I eat potatoes, but half of what I used to at any sitting.
We make our own stir fry (chicken) and with a home made sauce straight out of the diabetic book once a week.

I am trying hard, as is the wife to help me, but I'm just not clued up on whats what with carbs etc.

Ian.
 
Ian-J said:
I still eat bread, oats, rice, pasta etc.....
Click to expand...
that's where your problems lie, as diabetes progresses you may find you cant tolerate what you used to be able to at the beginning so you need to review and make further adjustments xx
 
Carbs are the starches and sugars - so the bread rice oats biscuits potatoes crackers and pasta are the sources of the glucose in your blood.
Something low sugar is not necessarily low carb, and I'd check just how low carb the sauce you make is - some recipes are just not suitable for a type two, even if it is in a book with diabetic in the title. I find it a lot easier to have food which is low carb to start with rather than try to eat small amounts of high carb - it just seems to cause cravings for more just having a taste, for me.
 
Is there a good resource of low carb foods.....a nice list for instance. It would help me and the wife when shopping (she does most of it). I find that I read one article that might say one thing but are the opposite.

I am 5ft10".......but at 66-68kg and really pretty slim and have been told by family not to lose any more weight......pretty hard when it's difficult to eat.

What do you guys eat for evening meals?

Ian.
 
I've just noticed your from Stoney, nae far fae me!

I am type 1 but I eat relatively low carb so evening meals I'll have a 3 egg omelette with corned beef and mushrooms with green beans and a treat of a 25g bar of Aldi's Moser Roth 85% chocolate, chicken breast with roasted veg I tend to go with brussel sprouts, mushrooms, tenderstem broccoli, asparagus that kinda things, mince bulked with mushrooms and an egg dropped in when heating at tea time, tonight was a couple of minute steaks again with roasted veg

xx
 
Low carb means that you can have any meat, fish, seafood, eggs, cheese - and most veges which grow above ground - plus salad stuff, though sweetcorn is a grain and should be avoided.
I have packs of mixed veges in the freezer to add to casseroles or make soups - I check the back to find the lowest carb - you can get packs of fresh stir fry stuff, whilst you are working up to launching out on your own.
 
Hi all,

Thanks all for advice.

Saw dietician via NHS, so got a few things straight about my diet. My HBA1C had gone from 43/46 to 55 and now down to 43 again after sorting things out.

However, new problem........I noticed when standing barefoot on flat floor it's like my left foot has something under it, near ball of foot. Almost like a sock stitch.

Sensation is still there but maybe very very slightly lower in sensitivity compared to right foot. The tickle sensation is very slightly subdued I'd say.
Sometimes I walk about it feels fine, next minute it's there.

Got doctor appointment 8th Jan about it.

What next! It's all rather depressing, diagnosed 3 years ago, I'm 55 and nervous as hell for the future.

Btw, I am also on the LENS medical trial......hopefully it will help all of us.

Ian.
 
I hope that the foot problem can be resolved.
Now you are clearer about what to eat I hope that you'll see continued improvements in Hba1c.
I have been low carbing for three years now and it has done me a lot of good to be able to maintain low blood glucose levels.
 
Hi Ian,

Sounds like early signs of neuropathy. It may not be but is suspicious and warrants investigating. I have the same thing in my feet too. It did improve very slowly once blood sugar was controlled with great vigour. Here's the kicker though. Good control of HbA1c may not be enough as shown by the following research article.
https://dmsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1758-5996-6-139
Short durations of high glucose levels won't be captured by HbA1c as it tends to average out the bumps. These short duration excursions in BG levels can be damaging to peripheral nerves. It then becomes necessary to use the tried tested method of measuring blood sugar before and after meals with anything you're not sure about. Since I've followed this regime of keeping BG down even with low HbA1c it has slowly improved to the point that while still there is not generally noticeable.

Good luck with it.
 

Could it be as simple as something like a corn? I have two on the hall of my foot. I’ve had several since diagnosis despite the same comfy shoes. If so I’d recommend Compeed Corn Plasters. They don’t have any ointment in them so Ok with diabetes. Little dimples to put over the corn and over time disappear.
 
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Exactly the symptoms I had following chemotherapy, well before I had diabetes. It is a very common side effect of chemo because the poison affects the nerves causing peripheral neuropathy. It is the same condition that high blood sugars can cause. The oncologist said it may disappear with time as the nerve endings mend, or it may not. In my case, it did not. It was mild and didn't affect my daily life. It was just annoying. I have solved the problem by taking R-ALA supplements. Apparently on the continent, Germany I think, diabetics with severe peripheral neuropathy are given very high doses of this by infusion. The supplements I take are tablets, just one a day. A couple of years ago I stopped taking them for one reason or another, and the tingling came back. I started them again and the symptoms disappeared completely.

This is where I buy mine from
https://www.healthmonthly.co.uk/swa... Double Strength R-Fraction Alpha Lipoic Acid

You need to be careful to get the R-Fraction ones rather than the plain ALA as they are more effective. There are several others on this forum that take them. You could have a Google round as there is information about them readily available.
 
I took R-ALA for about a year to try and reduce the numbness. It did appear to help. I don't take it now because the numbness is not that noticeable any more. It is certainly worth a shot. It doesn't mean that good BG control isn't important though. It is.
 
Interesting on the R-ALA......I have ordered a couple bottles to try.....on top of further refining diet and excersize.

I have always had (way before diabetes) tingling little fingers and toes. At it's worst a few years ago I would wake in the night and my two little fingers would be completely numb in one or both hands, but would disappear by the time I got up and walked about.....I got tested for carpal tunnel synd. but it wasn't diagonsed 100% as I got scared of an op to fix and told the doc to just leave it. Eventually it kinda went away for the most part.
Even right now my little fingers and toes tingle a tiny bit. I get it in my toes if I sit for too long. Circulation issue probably.

Thanks all for the help thus far.....it will be interesting to see what the doc says on the 8th.

Ian.
 

I hope they work as well for you as they have for me.
 
Update on foot numbness......

Doc this morning says it's not diabetic related but sure its Mortons Neuroma, a growth on a nerve near base of my toes which gives same symptoms.

Can be treated, if gets worse they can op.

Ian.
 
Hi all,

Well despite a few weeks of power walking once a day my HbA1c has gone from 46 to 48.......and I thought I was eating half decently......go figure!
It seems like my HbA1c just wants to hang around the late 40's.

Oh well, I guess it's not bad......but I want it better.

PS. Other results from bloods taken 08/03/2020:-
HbA1c = 48 mmol/mol (6.5%)
Cholesterol Total = 4.0 mmol/L
Cholesterol HDL = 1.4 mmol/L
Cholesterol LDL = 2.1 mmol/L
Triglycerides = 1.0 mmol/L
Creatinine = 92 umol/L
Albumin/Creatinine Ratio = <1 mg/mmol
eGFR = >60 ml/min

Ian.
 
Ian-J said:
Is there a good resource of low carb foods.....a nice list for instance. It would help me and the wife when shopping (she does most of it). I find that I read one article that might say one thing but are the opposite.
Click to expand...
Rather a belated reply, but I see your A1c is still not as low as you would like, so perhaps this info. is still relevant. List of foods NOT to eat, from Dr Bernstein's classic book "Diabetes Solution":
http://www.diabetes-book.com/no-no-foods/
And his list of foods that are OK (in moderation):
http://www.diabetes-book.com/whats-left-to-eat/
Dr B advises 30g carbs daily for a person weighing 140lbs = 10stone, divided between 6g carbs at breakfast and 12g carbs lunch and dinner. Many people have had success with this regime, and many others find it too strict to contemplate.
Good luck!
 
Hi all,

Been a while since I posted.....so here's an update.

My Nov. 2020 HbA1c was 57.....ugghhh!....but thats was down to my fault regarding my diet, I was eating something I thought was ultra safe, and eating plenty of it.........I was wrong.
I fixed that and upped the daily exercize so am hoping all will be well.

However, 2 weeks ago I had an eye problem, I was diagnosd with 3 burst blood vessels in my right eye. I have the hospital this Monday to get it checked out and see if it's diabetes related amongst other things.
Saying that, I have a 15yr history of retinal blood clots etc, long before I had diabetes.....so who knows!
Through all this I got blood tests, and hopefully in a couple days I will get my latest HbA1c results.
Actually, partial blood results are in and it makes hopeful reading!

My Triglycerides have dropped.....and I read online that there is a possible correlation between HbA1c and Triglycerides......so here's my history with both (partial):

Triglycerides / HbA1c
2.7 / 100
1.6 / 46
1.9 / 57

My latest Triglycerides are 0.6........WOW!.......I wonder what my HbA1c will be!

Fingers crossed.

Ian.
 
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