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Newly diagnosed trying to manage by diet.. help please!

D

DeeCVee

Member
Messages
11
Hi all,

I was diagnosed with Type 2 early November and was told to trial management by diet, with absolutely no guidance whatsoever. I was also told to keep a food diary and I would be reviewed after 4 weeks. That was in November!

Having chased my GP re the referrals to a dietician and the Diabetes Clinic, I finally have appointments in the next two weeks. However, in the meantime I have been struggling to keep my BG below 12, as an average. Earlier this week, it crept to 16 the morning after eating pineapple as dessert the night before.

I've tried not eating complex carbs for a few days but found that I was really hungry. Having only returned to work on Monday since being diagnosed (I was pretty much a mess when I was diagnosed), I've found this week very hard.

I've found it reasonably easy to give up cakes etc (although December was very difficult but I did manage to reduce portion size rather than refuse). What I'm having difficulty with though is everyday meals and fruit!!

If I stick to a low-carb meal plan, what can I snack on? I've dropped 2 dress sizes in 3 years, to begin with very slowly but more noticeably over the last 12 months (to November). My weight seems to have stabilised but am concerned with the double figure BG readings. My GP is useless.

I really want to manage by diet, as I'm only 35 yrs old and would like to delay medication for as long as possible. I'd love some advice on types of meals to cook, how often to eat (3 meals a day or little & often).

Also, what should I expect from the dietician and Diabetes Clinic and what questions should I ask?

Ta very much,

DeeCVee
 
I'll try to help
firstly you may not be able to doit. not everyone c\n, so don't feel disheartened if you have to go onto medication. It's NOT you failing, it's the condition.

I've tried not eating complex carbs for a few days but found that I was really hungry. Leaving the carbs at the lowest possibl level is a good thing to try, but you need to eat fats to prevent hunger.Fats are your friend now. They NEVER were your enemy

I've found it reasonably easy to give up cakes etc (although December was very difficult but I did manage to reduce portion size rather than refuse). What I'm having difficulty with though is everyday meals and fruit!!

If I stick to a low-carb meal plan, what can I snack on? I've dropped 2 dress sizes in 3 years, to begin with very slowly but more noticeably over the last 12 months (to November). My weight seems to have stabilised but am concerned with the double figure BG readings. My GP is useless.
Low carb is good, but it doesn't have to be low calorie. If you need to drop some weight, whicch many of us do, Low carb will help and the lighter you are, the easier control will get.
Nuts are the ideal snacks and there are specialist foods which you can buy, but they tend to be expensive. Google the Low carb Megastore and AVIDLITE.

I really want to manage by diet, as I'm only 35 yrs old and would like to delay medication for as long as possible. I'd love some advice on types of meals to cook, how often to eat (3 meals a day or little & often). Eat meat, fish, eggs cheese, salads green veggies. many of us find cauliflower a wonder food. and search our recipes.
Then get a regular exercise routine. It doesn't have to be the gym or cost anything. Walking upstairs and leaving the car at the far end of the carpark are good beginnings, as are walking to work or running for the bus.
Little and often would be a good eating programme.
You are very young. Are they certain you are a type 2 ?
Do you have a meter to check your blood sugar?
you need to be certain you are not a T1, before yyou embark on diet control. Also if your Bg goes up a lot( above 20) and you feel unwll, go to A&E promptly.

Also, what should I expect from the dietician and Diabetes Clinic and what questions should I ask?
DDiabetic clincs vay and I don't know what yours is like. Keep asking questions and if you can't see the reason for an answer, ask for an explanation Take a notebook and write things down. Then if there's any more you want to know, get back to us. There's a lot of expertise on this forum. Someone will be able to answer practically any question
 
DeeCVee said:
Hi all,
I really want to manage by diet, as I'm only 35 yrs old and would like to delay medication for as long as possible.
DeeCVee
Click to expand...

Hi DeeCVee, I am 36 and was diagnosed in November 2008. Like you I was given very little info and had to get on with it. Low carb has been good for me so far, I've lost 2 and a half stone since November 20th without really trying, I've certainly not restricted my intake, although as a natural consequence of low carb I find I am now eating less and not feeling hungry. Yes the hunger will diminish, the first few weeks are tough, then it really is easy!

As for the medication, I felt the same way as you, but actually I've come to the conclusion that medication is my friend, especially something like Metformin which aids insulin sensitivety. By taking Metformin, hopefully the beta cells in my pancreas will not burn out so quickly and I can put off taking insulin a bit longer.

By the way my numbers were similar to yours since I've cut out starchy carbs, and most fruit, they have plummeted. Make sure you up your saturated fat intake to replace your carbs, but eat good fats (saturated animal fats, olive oil, flax seed oil, oily fish, coconut oil). I take coconut oil in my coffee three times a day, I feel this has been crucial in sustaining my energy levels.

Try to absorb as much info as possible. It is overwhelming at first but there is light. You WILL achieve lower numbers by limiting your carbs and it isn't even a chore!
 
Hi All,

Thanks for the responses - they've been very helpful and very supportive :)

Doczoc said:
As for the medication, I felt the same way as you, but actually I've come to the conclusion that medication is my friend, especially something like Metformin which aids insulin sensitivety. By taking Metformin, hopefully the beta cells in my pancreas will not burn out so quickly and I can put off taking insulin a bit longer.
Click to expand...

I did feel that I'd be a failure if I was put on medication, so found this advice very helpful. Thank you.

hanadr said:
Low carb is good, but it doesn't have to be low calorie. If you need to drop some weight, whicch many of us do, Low carb will help and the lighter you are, the easier control will get. Nuts are the ideal snacks and there are specialist foods which you can buy, but they tend to be expensive. Google the Low carb Megastore and AVIDLITE.
hanadr said:
Leaving the carbs at the lowest possibl level is a good thing to try, but you need to eat fats to prevent hunger.Fats are your friend now. They NEVER were your enemy
Click to expand...

Eat meat, fish, eggs cheese, salads green veggies. many of us find cauliflower a wonder food. and search our recipes. Then get a regular exercise routine. It doesn't have to be the gym or cost anything. Walking upstairs and leaving the car at the far end of the car park are good beginnings, as are walking to work or running for the bus. Little and often would be a good eating programme.
You are very young. Are they certain you are a type 2 ? Do you have a meter to check your blood sugar?
Click to expand...

I saw the Diabetes doctor, nurse and dietician today. They're peeved that I've fallen through the net and aren't convinced that I'm T2, as I'm not overweight and my BGs are telling them a different story. They think that I could be pre-T1 or an in-between. I'm p***ed off with my GP, as I asked her 2 weeks ago whether she was able to confirm a diagnosis, since I hadn't been told and she told me I was T2. I'm seeing them again in 2 weeks. In the meantime they're going to speak to the Endocrinologist about me and consider me an "interesting" case. They may start me on metformin or gliclazide but they need to do more blood tests.

Since diagnosis, I've been eating a lot of home-made veg soup, using beans and pulses to bulk it up. My BG was 11.9 on waking this morning. I had lamb mince stir-fried with red peppers, mushrooms, celery, onions, garlic, chilli, tomatoes, peas and coriander. Had a mixed leaf salad on the side, with a tbsp of hummus. A clementine was my dessert. I had wholemeal toast x2 with peanut butter and a cup of tea, with one tsp of sugar when I got in from work at 5pm. I can't stand the artificial taste of sweeteners, so if you can recommend one that tastes like sugar, I'd appreciate it. I'm trying to re-train my palate to not love sweet foods, so that it's easier for me to reject temptation. I know that the odd slice of cake or glass of red wine won't harm me. I'm having sardines with salad and whole wheat crackers tonight.

I was on a hen weekend in Dublin and got back on Sunday night. My fasting BG level on Sunday morning was 8.2 and when I got home at 7:30pm, it was 14.8. I'd had a small bowl of muesli, a fried egg, 2 sausages, baked beans and one slice of wholemeal soda bread for breakfast at around 9:30am. Then at 12:30pm, I fancied a chocolate hit so had a cafe mocha. Didn't get any lunch, ( I know... stupid) but had to get to the airport and thought I'd buy a meal on the flight. However, we were allowed to board on time, and were then told there was going to be a 1 hour delay. They didn't serve anything during this delay and when they took off and did start serving food, they'd run out of sandwiches by the time they got to me. So from 12:30pm to 7:30pm, I'd had the cafe mocha, an apple, a handful of mixed nuts and a small pack of plain Pringles. I didn't understand the reason that my BG had shot up to 14.8, when I hadn't eaten a meal for 6 hours!!! So then I was "sod it", and had a pizza and slice of cheesecake for dinner.

The dietician said that I'm eating the right foods (low GI carbs, meat, fish & lots of salad, veg and portion-controlled fruit) but until they've confirmed which type of diabetes I have, she told me that it's of little point giving me any further advice. Luckily I haven't lost any more weight since I was last weighed in December. I'm now 56.5kg and am 5'2" short :)

What kind of fats? I'm guessing those found in oily fish, olive oil etc and not butter, cheese, red meat (i.e. sausages, bacon) etc.

I had lost weight from 2005 to 2007 (went from a size 12 to size 10) but I was aware that I had little appetite, having just ended a long-term relationship and mending a broken heart. So, although I wasn't consciously trying to lose weight, I could attribute the weight loss to the fact that I wasn't eating much. However, within a short time-scale from 2007 to 2008, I went from size 10 to size 8 and at this time was eating normally again, i.e not bird-size portions. I've always eaten healthily, as I cook at home much more than eating out or buying in ready-meals etc. I'm not one for diets, as I love my food and don't have an unhealthy obsession with my figure. I do have a sweet tooth but was conscious of this and did not indulge on a daily basis. When I did I stuck to one helping, sometimes lapsing and having 2 helpings :D Of course, I did have lapses but this wasn't on a regular basis. I don't do sweets or fizzy drinks, snack on chocolate bars or crisps regularly. I've also never been a big drinker of alcohol. I did drink alcohol but on the odd occasion that I went out with the girls. I'm on water at home or fruit juice (before diabetes diagnosis). My fiance is teetotal and since we got together, (June 07) the small amount of alcohol I did consume reduced even further.

Right now, I feel like screaming!

I got engaged 2 days before my diagnosis and am close to confirming a venue for the big day. However, I haven't found any wedding insurance that covers T1 Diabetes. Managed to find a couple of companies that cover T2 but as my diagnosis hasn't been confirmed, I can't go ahead with booking the venue or wedding insurance. I'm feeling really depressed that we might have to abandon our wedding venue because neither of us want to risk losing so much money if we can't find insurance and have to cancel due to my health. We both have very large families and are very close to our families, but if we can't find insurance, then we might just have to have a wedding with our parents and my fiancé's sibling only. That's not a bad thing but we both wanted a bit of a dream wedding and had saved the money for it. I hope we can find insurance, as we'd both love to celebrate such a happy occasion with all our family and close friends :(

Can anyone recommend an insurance company and keep me from going insane?

A depressed DeeCVee
 
What kind of fats? I'm guessing those found in oily fish, olive oil etc and not butter, cheese, red meat (i.e. sausages, bacon) etc.
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Actually Dee the more natural the fat the better.So butter,cheese,red meat etc are better than anything that has been processed.Saturated fats are not the bad guys,the bad guys are hydrogenated fats and complex carbs.
 
sugarless sue said:
Actually Dee the more natural the fat the better.So butter,cheese,red meat etc are better than anything that has been processed.Saturated fats are not the bad guys,the bad guys are hydrogenated fats and complex carbs.
Click to expand...

Well, that's good. I gave up margarine years ago. Can't stand the artificial taste. Surely, though, I should reduce the amount of saturated fats and substitute for mono-unsaturated? I had switched to skimmed milk following diagnosis, but couldn't stomach the coloured water taste, so went back to semi-skimmed. I eat more fish, chicken and veg than red meat, as I'm not a fan of red meat - well, depending on the dish anyway :D
 
TRy asking Diabetes Uk sbout the wedding insurance. That is the kind of thng they are helpful with.
 
DeeCVee said:
sugarless sue said:
Actually Dee the more natural the fat the better.So butter,cheese,red meat etc are better than anything that has been processed.Saturated fats are not the bad guys,the bad guys are hydrogenated fats and complex carbs.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Does that mean I should switch to full fat dairy? I already use butter on toast and in some cooking, and full fat hard cheese, but have been eating no fat pro-biotic yoghurt and low-fat cottage cheese.

What about the effect of saturated fats on cholesterol levels? I'm on 20mg of Simvastatin since diagnosis.
 
Hi DeeCVee,

Don't be deceived by the mythology surrounding cholesterol and health. Here's a quote from one of the directors of the Framingham Heart Study, the seminal work in the study of heart disease.

In Framingham, Mass, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person’s serum cholesterol. . . we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active."
Click to expand...

All the best,

fergus
 
I was on a hen weekend in Dublin and got back on Sunday night. My fasting BG level on Sunday morning was 8.2 and when I got home at 7:30pm, it was 14.8. I'd had a small bowl of muesli, a fried egg, 2 sausages, baked beans and one slice of wholemeal soda bread for breakfast at around 9:30am. Then at 12:30pm, I fancied a chocolate hit so had a cafe mocha. Didn't get any lunch, ( I know... stupid) but had to get to the airport and thought I'd buy a meal on the flight. However, we were allowed to board on time, and were then told there was going to be a 1 hour delay. They didn't serve anything during this delay and when they took off and did start serving food, they'd run out of sandwiches by the time they got to me. So from 12:30pm to 7:30pm, I'd had the cafe mocha, an apple, a handful of mixed nuts and a small pack of plain Pringles. I didn't understand the reason that my BG had shot up to 14.8, when I hadn't eaten a meal for 6 hours!!! So then I was "sod it", and had a pizza and slice of cheesecake for dinner.
If I've done this right, I have marked up for you where the carbs are lurking.
Snacks are often a real problem. Most of the stuff you pick up and eat almost withoutt noticing, is VERY high carb.
Doing some rounded up sums, I calculate that an average sized person only needs to eat about 3 grams of pure glucose o r its equivalent to raise their BG by 4mmol/l ( if they are dependent on induced or injected indulin)That's not much. A square of milk chocolate could do it. One of the professional and still active scientists here might correct my maths. But the principle is right.
You didn't eat meals, but you consumed carbs
 
hanadr said:
If I've done this right, I have marked up for you where the carbs are lurking.
Snacks are often a real problem. Most of the stuff you pick up and eat almost withoutt noticing, is VERY high carb. Doing some rounded up sums, I calculate that an average sized person only needs to eat about 3 grams of pure glucose o r its equivalent to raise their BG by 4mmol/l ( if they are dependent on induced or injected indulin)That's not much. A square of milk chocolate could do it. One of the professional and still active scientists here might correct my maths. But the principle is right. You didn't eat meals, but you consumed carbs
Click to expand...

Well, thanks to you all and all the reading I'm doing, I'm learning a lot. I've still got a long way to go and I have to develop my understanding of what a 'carb' actually is and how the different foods that can be categorised as a carb affect my body. I think the meal I'll struggle the most with is breakfast - today I had 2 weetabix with semi-skimmed milk. For lunch I ate cauliflower cheese and had a few walnuts. I've also got a banana.

I've got my first appointment with Endocrinology on Monday (diagnosed on 3rd November 08), so it will be interesting to see what they say.

I was prescribed 20mg Simvastatin daily after my blood test revealed that I had a cholesterol reading of 7mmol/l. I've read some information about 'statins' and am now confused about whether or not to come off Simvastatin. Any advice?
 
I was prescribed 20mg Simvastatin daily after my blood test revealed that I had a cholesterol reading of 7mmol/l. I've read some information about 'statins' and am now confused about whether or not to come off Simvastatin. Any advice?

DeeCVee
Click to expand...

Are you sure that is your cholesterol reading and not your Hba1c? A few more links for you to read.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5446

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5651

http://www.carbohydrate-counter.org/

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html ... terol.html
 
Doczoc said:
Don't be afraid of saturated fats, in fact they are key to low carbing!
Click to expand...

Not to put too fine a point on it, almost all studies on fat metabolism have been done with high or moderately high levels of carbs. In the absence of the carbs and the high BG and high insulin levels required to process them they are metabolised quite differently. I have found I process sat fats into HDL cholesterol at the expense of LDL, in the absence of carbs and the trigs they are converted to. Not everyone can do this though, monounsaturated fats and adding more Omega 3s are a good plan. Some sat fats (eg. butter) are beneficial, others less so. The dangers are trans fats and the things they are now replacing them with, and an excess of Omega 6s and a lack of O3s.

Hope you get a better response from the endo than your appallingly complacent doctor. Something like 30% of Type 2s are not overweight, and Type 1 in adulthood (LADA) is actually commoner than childhood onset, so you really need to know what you are ASAP. Is there any history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease in your family? Lipids can also give a clue if you had a Full Lipid Panel rather than just total cholesterol which is frankly a waste of money test.

You're well past the numbers where you should have had medication: if you're Type 2 there's a lot of evidence that aggressive initial medication which can be reduced or eliminated later is a good plan. If you're LADA the sooner you start on insulin the longer the remnants of your pancreas will hold out. If you're MODY

http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/diabetesgenes/index.htm

low dose sulphs can be effective
 
Trinkwasser said:
Is there any history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease in your family?
Click to expand...

Trinkwasser said:
You're well past the numbers where you should have had medication:
Click to expand...

My mum is Type 2, diagnosed 8 years ago, by accident. Is on Metformin and Gliclazide. Her 2 brothers are both Type 2 diabetics. None are good examples of how to manage, especially the youngest brother, who was diagnosed many years ago and makes indulging a daily thing.

My dad's brother is Type 2 and their mother was also diabetic, altho I don't know what type and as she didn't control it, (we didn't even know she had it - lived in India - she hid it from the family), it killed her last year.

Fasting BS level this morning was 11.8 :? I had lentil curry (dhal) for dinner without any accompaniment. I guess I need to stop eating dhal :( Forget it's a carb. Still learning but it gets disheartening when I'm trying so hard.

I had weetabix for breakfast. I'm finding breakfast the hardest meal to eliminate starchy carbs, because they're so easy in the morning and I'm finding it difficult to get out of bed due to my high BS levels. I've also got a bad cold this week, so I feel lousy.

I had lunch at the work canteen and substituted fish and chips for fish and a salad of mixed leaves, dressed with lemon juice. Admittedly, the fish was in batter, and I did eat the batter but it tasted good. I'm having prawn curry and pan-fried fish with steamed veg for dinner. Hopefully, this makes a difference to my fasting levels tomorrow.

I've just stocked up on meat (bacon, sausages, ham, pork chops, beef & chicken), mackerel, smoked salmon, cheese, veg (of the rainbow variety), greek yoghurt & nuts.

Endo on Monday. They better do some tests on Monday and not send me home only to come back. I'm fed up but trying to remain positive, although it's hard because I don't know what I'm dealing with. Once I know, at least I can regain control, to some degree, whilst I'm adjusting anyway.
 
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