Newly diagnosed T2

[7of9raf]

Hi Everyone

This is probably going to be the same story for all the newbies so I apologise in advance . I was diagnosed last Wednesday and started on metformin, the nurse I saw told me that she didn't have much experience with diabetes, she printed me off some information, did a foot check and then sent me to see the doctor, by which time I was in a daze, :crazy: I had no idea I had diabetes before that! I went to the doctor a week before because when I went to a gym my blood pressure was high, doctor told me to monitor it and said have a round of blood tests. Blood pressure has been fine but the day after the tests the surgery range and said I needed an urgent appointment with the nurse to talk about diabetes :shock: My fasting test (can't remember the proper letters and numbers) was 12.9. Anyway the doctor wants me to test my bloods so I have an appointment today to see the same nurse. She has also put me forward for a DESMOND course but until then I feel like I have just been left too it. Fell ill with the metformin, sick, dizzy, stomach ache, upset stomach, headache. It was half term last week so that was ok, back to work on Monday (special needs teacher) yesterday I felt awful sick and dizzy, same today. Confused over what I should eat, carb with every meal? what carbs are good? no carb? low gi? Had porridge today and yesterday, is that making me feel worse?????

Please help!!

I feel so stupid, i should be able to work out what I should eat but I can't seem to do it!!

Thank you

 

[Grazer]

Hi 7of9 and welcome! Don't worry, it get's better! Metformin makes lot's of people feel bad. It normally wears off as your body get used to it after a couple of weeks. If you still feel bad, there is a slow release version which doesn't have the same side effects. It's more expensive which is why they don't prescribe it to start! But insist if you continue to feel bad.
Daisy will be along soon with dietary advice for new members whgich is great advice, so no point in me going into it, other than to say that in general terms you will need to reduce the total number of carbs you eat per day, and cut down (or out) on the starchy ones. So no white bread, white rice, pasta, flour products like pastry, cake and batter. You can eat a little basmati rice, wholewheat pasta or the tri-color ones in small quantities, boiled new potatos but not old pots mashed, boiled or jackets (roast is not so bad, the fat slows the absorption of and conversion to glucose in the blood) Multi grain bread (not wholemeal) is not SO bad, but lots of us eat Burgen soya and linseed bread from tescos and sainsburys. No sweeties!
How many carbs you can eat in a day depends on your level of diabetes. I eat about 50% of normal GDA for a male, so about 150 grams a day (125 is a women's equivalent) many have a lot less. You can only find out how many you can eat by testing - but that's another story! I've said enough to get on with I think!
Good luck and ask lots of questions.

 

[xyzzy]

Hello 7of9 (brilliant we have a diabetic Borg :lol: ) and welcome to the forum.

Daisy will be along with the info pack soon I expect but in the meantime...

Following on from Grazers sound advice.

This is turning into my standard post for new members...

For a good place to start cut down on carbohydrates especially the starchy ones rice, pasta, potatoes, bread and pastry. Cutting drastically or better still stopping completely anything sweet with a high sugar content is taken for granted. Sugar is just a refined form of carbohydrate.

You may find the advice I've given you will conflict with later advice you may get from your NHS dietitian but you will have to believe that the vast majority of people on this forum believe that cutting carbohydrates is the key the only real debate we have is by how much. If you were Swedish or in one of the more enlightened countries this advice would be told to you on diagnosis however the NHS still relies on diet info that is now nearly 40 years old and is very out of date.

Try halving all of the starchy carbohydrates you currently eat. That's bound to make you hungry so replace what you drop with meat, cheese, eggs, fish and especially vegetables. Try to eat vegetables that grow above ground rather than below although many of us find carrots to be ok. If you like fruit then a small amounts are fine and the ones ending with "berry" are the best. Things like yoghurt should be fine in moderation as well.

On the half you have left try the following

Change white rice to brown basmati rice
Change white bread to wholemeal or better Burgen soya bread
Change white pasta to brown or green or the tri colour stuff

Never eat mashed potatoes it's the one form of potatoes that nearly all diabetic have real problems with. Believe it or not the best potatoes for diabetics are roast ones.

I was diagnosed just 10 weeks ago with extremely high blood sugar levels and by following the great advice I found on this forum I now have my blood sugar levels back to nearly being in a non diabetic range at all times of the day. Cutting carbohydrates is not a cure but will allow you to get control of things and will certainly make you feel a lot better.

I must be truthful and say doing this has been hard work but it gets easier everyday. Also I must be truthful and warn you that cutting your carbs by half may not be enough as many of us on here have found. I still get to eat some of the things I've warned you about but in no where near the quantities I used to. Saying that 10 weeks down the line I hardly miss them now.

Welcome and keep asking as many questions as you need to.

BTW - did your nurse mention anything about testing your own sugar levels. That's a really important thing that most of us do. If you need any advice just ask.

 

[daisy1]

Hi 7of9 and welcome to the forum In addition to the advice that Grazer and xyzzy have already given you, here is the information we give to new members. I hope you will find this helpful. You will also benefit a lot from the DESMOND course - I hope your date is soon. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like as I'm sure you will have many. There is usually someone who can 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.