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Newly diagnosed help

C

CindyT07

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
just found out I have diabetes and I have no idea where to begin! Dr wants me to start with diet first and poke my finger but I don’t know how to lower my sugar when I have a spike! I’m just lost with all this any info or support would be appreciated thank you!!
 
The trick is to find out those foods, or the amounts of foods which cause the spike and then either avoid or reduce them.
Once you have raised your level you can't do all that much about it - maybe taking exercise will bring it down faster, but the main idea is learning to avoid rather than trying to deal with spikes.
 
Welcome

I'm sure you'll get a lot of info by looking at some of the threads here
 
You have come to the right place. Your doctor has basically told you you can control yours with diet. Excellent. Most of us have had great success in reducing blood sugars with a low carb way of eating. Carbs turn to sugar. Everyone of us is different too. So what might spike you I might be able to cope with so investing in a blood glucose monitor is essential. Using one of these can help you quickly stop spikes. You can get some free online. And if you can watch dr jason fung reversing diabetes video on you tube. His book the diabetes code is a winner too. Have a good look around the forum, lots if great info, friendly and knowledgable people who have had amazing success in regaining health (see success stories link).

Ask as many questions as you like.
 

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@CindyT07
Hello Cindy and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 147,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.
 
Nutshell
Carbs...think alcohol.

We all have our own measure of what amount affects us.
A little tipsy, very tipsy and full on out of control falling over drunk .

None of us want to be that, so we measure what, how much and how often we drink.
As that all impacts on how well we tolerate and behave with those levels of alcohol inside us at any one point.

Same for carbs.
Meter lets you test before food, PLUS 1 to 2 hours after to measure the affect those carbs/foods had on YOU.

Scores help you tell how well YOU are controlling your intake of carbs.

Lots of info on boards..early days I tested every meal...now not so much as I have a good understanding what that food does to my bgs...new foods or recipes..I test until happy I can eat without little impact..

Good luck finding what way works for you
 
Problem is some of us quite like the 'falling over' option from time to time Lol
 
Traceymac23 said:
The beer in your hand in your profile pic was the culprit m'lud
Click to expand...
Dammit.....guilty as charged, your honour.

And I'd like to plead the mercy of the court and ask for 21 days of other offences to be taken into account....
 
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