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Newly Diagnosed Type 2 - head in a spin

Daibell said:
Hi and welcome. You have already had good advice. Be careful when you see the nurse as some NHS nurses still push out the 'eat carbs with every meal' mantra which is out-dated and harmful to us. Keep the carbs down. BTW If the Metformin stomach issues don't disappear with a week or two then do ask the GP to swap you to Metformin SR (Slow Release) which is much better.
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Daibell,

Thank you for the advice about the Metformin SR. Seeing the nurse and my doc on the 26th, if things haven't cleared up by then I will ask for the SR instead.

One good thing about metformin, it kills the appetite stone dead - at present I am eating to live and not the other way round.
 
Providence 62 said:
Thanks for this Kimbo, I am trying to go cold turkey on the chocolate front, but this is useful if it all gets too much for me. :)
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Try 85% plain chocolate from Green & Black, or even the 100% chocolates from Hotel Chocolat - you won't need more than a small piece!
 
I was also diagnosed on jan 6th and put on 1000 mg a day to be increased to 2000 mg. Bit of a shock to be told I had type 2 when I only went to doctors with heartburn. Stomach ache that I initially felt have gone thanks to taking my medication with main meals ie. Breakfast and dinner. Great forum
 
darren scott said:
I was also diagnosed on jan 6th and put on 1000 mg a day to be increased to 2000 mg. Bit of a shock to be told I had type 2 when I only went to doctors with heartburn. Stomach ache that I initially felt have gone thanks to taking my medication with main meals ie. Breakfast and dinner. Great forum
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Hi Darren, we are twins!

I am having a bit of trouble with the medication - my stomach is a bit gippy. Good to hear that you are feeling good. Yes, that must have been a bit of a shocker after going to the doctor with a bit of heartburn.

~P~
 
Absolutely. Couldn't believe it but hopefully things will be ok for us and its great to read all the stories on the forum from fellow suffers. Things could be a lot worse. Thanks for replying and look forward to hearing how to are doing in the coming weeks and months
 
Hello everyone,

Have not been idle. My meter is on order and I have been checking out lots of things and reading a book about low carb eating.

I tried to start the day low carb the other day (mozzarella and tomato salad) and to be honest felt absolutely dreadful. Since then I have been starting the day with carbs (a couple of slices of linseed and soya bread, proper butter, cheese and a sliced tomato). Lunchtime I am taking the carbs down and in the evening trying to have something as low carb as possible.

It is quite difficult, in fact more difficult than when I low carbed before (I remember the Atkins flu all too well). Could this be because of the metformin? or is it just the changeover?

I would be grateful for a bit of guidance. When I used to low carb, I managed to keep my carbs under 20 a day. What is considered a sustainable level of carbohydrate for a low carb diabetic?

Many thanks.


~P~
 
You have found the best place possible, I was diagnosed T1 in October and without this place would have been a jibbering wreck by now.

Get comfy, read tons, ask questions and move forward. The people and knowledge on here is amazing, you could spend days talking to doctors and not get 1/4 the good advice you'll get on here after a night of reading.

It's not the end of the world and it doesn't have to change your life.
 
Providence 62 said:
Hello everyone,

Have not been idle. My meter is on order and I have been checking out lots of things and reading a book about low carb eating.

I tried to start the day low carb the other day (mozzarella and tomato salad) and to be honest felt absolutely dreadful. Since then I have been starting the day with carbs (a couple of slices of linseed and soya bread, proper butter, cheese and a sliced tomato). Lunchtime I am taking the carbs down and in the evening trying to have something as low carb as possible.

It is quite difficult, in fact more difficult than when I low carbed before (I remember the Atkins flu all too well). Could this be because of the metformin? or is it just the changeover?

I would be grateful for a bit of guidance. When I used to low carb, I managed to keep my carbs under 20 a day. What is considered a sustainable level of carbohydrate for a low carb diabetic?

Many thanks.


~P~
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Doubt if it is the metformin ... more likely the change but you'll get accustomed to it. As for the carbs, that sounds a little low for my liking but others will comment
 
britincali said:
You have found the best place possible, I was diagnosed T1 in October and without this place would have been a jibbering wreck by now.

Get comfy, read tons, ask questions and move forward. The people and knowledge on here is amazing, you could spend days talking to doctors and not get 1/4 the good advice you'll get on here after a night of reading.

It's not the end of the world and it doesn't have to change your life.
Click to expand...

Thanks Brit,

It was a bit of a shocker to get diagnosed, but I am relatively confident in my doctor and my ability to sift through all the information - some of it conflicting!

Everybody seems very nice and helpful and hopefully I will start to settle down as the time goes by.

It must have been quite a change for you having to deal with T1 - and I am so glad to hear it's not the end of the world :)

~P~
 
Mike D said:
Doubt if it is the metformin ... more likely the change but you'll get accustomed to it. As for the carbs, that sounds a little low for my liking but others will comment
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Yes Mike, I think that 20g is not at all sustainable - great for getting weight off, but not for a sustainable daily diet.

I think I will change over to LC over a weekend when I don't have anything I need to rush out and do.

P
 
Providence 62 said:
Thanks Brit,



It must have been quite a change for you having to deal with T1 - and I am so glad to hear it's not the end of the world :)

~P~
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It was shocking, after 4 days in hospital and a couple of emotional days on the **** I pulled up my big boy pants and said "**** it, life goes on just deal with it."

It's more of an annoyance than anything else, I still get to my second forkful of food before I remember and jump up for my insulin pen lol

I've had friends and family have way worse **** happen to them so I consider myself lucky in a way :)
 
Providence 62 said:
Yes Mike, I think that 20g is not at all sustainable - great for getting weight off, but not for a sustainable daily diet.

I think I will change over to LC over a weekend when I don't have anything I need to rush out and do.

P
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I think closer to the 50 mark would be preferable but we're all different and going straight for the low number might not suit you ... perhaps target that figure later on :)

Mike
 
Providence 62 said:
Yes Mike, I think that 20g is not at all sustainable - great for getting weight off, but not for a sustainable daily diet.

I think I will change over to LC over a weekend when I don't have anything I need to rush out and do.

P
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I slowly reduced my carbs for months until now I'm down to about 30g a day, which is where I've been for about 2 months now. So I have no experience going cold turkey, but I imagine it may be a bit rough but doable.
 
Mike D said:
I think closer to the 50 mark would be preferable but we're all different and going straight for the low number might not suit you ... perhaps target that figure later on :)

Mike
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Judging by what I have eaten the past few days, it has averaged out closer to the 80 g mark! Feeling ok and a lot better than I did, now all I need is for my little meter to arrive so I can take some readings and make the necessary adjustments.

Thanks for your sane good sense Mike, appreciated.

P
 
NoCrbs4Me said:
I slowly reduced my carbs for months until now I'm down to about 30g a day, which is where I've been for about 2 months now. So I have no experience going cold turkey, but I imagine it may be a bit rough but doable.
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I think we all react differently, but cold turkey for me is exactly that! Having slept on it, I think I will be reducing slowly, weeding out the carbs as I go.

I have just looked at your numbers. Very impressive.

Thanks for your advice

P
 
Hi, Providence62, and everyone,

I too am newly diagnosed. I had a health blip (back/disc related) just before Christmas and ended up in A&E, where they did all my obs and my BM was 13.8mmols/L, which was technically random but I hadn't eaten for 14 hours and had only had water to drink - so basically this was a fasting reading.
I had the official blood tests and my fasting was again 13.6mmols/L. I have my appointment with the diabetic nurse on 5th February, which is quite a way off. I have the added complication of hypothyroidism, and my Levothyroxine needed an increase at the same time.

So where am I at?
  • My GP gave me a talk about diabetes being like taking a journey toward a house, where you can turn around at any point on the path etc, until you are in the house - I am on the path apparently.
  • I have cut out all obvious sugars - I was a chocolate fan. I have cut out potatoes, pasta, bread, cakes and biscuits. I had porridge the other morning, and 3 hours later my Bm was 18.8mmol/L so not having that again! My mum is insulin dependent and she advocates the carbs in moderation at every meal - hence the porridge. I have lost a bit of weight (but I am also hungry!)
  • I decided I can't wait until the 5th to see the nurse, I have booked an appointment with the GP for Monday, and will be asking to be prescribed Metformin (fingers crossed that I don't have the antisocial side effects as I work in a small office ;))
  • I have purchased my own glucose test meter thing as I believe my surgery only supplies prescriptions for insulin diabetics now.
I have just finished reading 'reverse your diabetes' Dr David Cavan - he refers to taking Chromium, Cinnamon and Vit D, has anyone got views on these supplements?
Is there anything else I have missed? I know I need to increase my activity, I have been suffering with back problems the past 4 months so I haven't been moving around as much as I should and normally do.

Providence62, it looks as though we are starting this journey together - best wishes.
 
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KLS said:
Hi, Providence2, and everyone,

I too am newly diagnosed. I had a health blip (back/disc related) just before Christmas and ended up in A&E, where they did all my obs and my BM was 13.8mmols/L, which was technically random but I hadn't eaten for 14 hours and had only had water to drink - so basically this was a fasting reading.
I had the official blood tests and my fasting was again 13.6mmols/L. I have my appointment with the diabetic nurse on 5th February, which is quite a way off. I have the added complication of hypothyroidism, and my Levothyroxine needed an increase at the same time.

So where am I at?
  • My GP gave me a talk about diabetes being like taking a journey toward a house, where you can turn around at any point on the path etc, until you are in the house - I am on the path apparently.
  • I have cut out all obvious sugars - I was a chocolate fan. I have cut out potatoes, pasta, bread, cakes and biscuits. I had porridge the other morning, and 3 hours later my Bm was 18.8mmol/L so not having that again! My mum is insulin dependent and she advocates the carbs in moderation at every meal - hence the porridge. I have lost a bit of weight (but I am also hungry!)
  • I decided I can't wait until the 5th to see the nurse, I have booked an appointment with the GP for Monday, and will be asking to be prescribed Metformin (fingers crossed that I don't have the antisocial side effects as I work in a small office ;))
  • I have purchased my own glucose test meter thing as I believe my surgery only supplies prescriptions for insulin diabetics now.
I have just finished reading 'reverse your diabetes' Dr David Cavan - he refers to taking Chromium, Cinnamon and Vit D, has anyone got views on these supplements?
Is there anything else I have missed? I know I need to increase my activity, I have been suffering with back problems the past 4 months so I haven't been moving around as much as I should and normally do.

Providence2, it looks as though we are starting this journey together - best wishes.
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KLS, thank you so much for this. I have just done my first blood glucose reading on the meter (a doddle!) and my fasting level was 11 mmols/L...so it seems we are in a similar range together. Good for you booking to see the doc, I had a bit of a bad time of it with the metformin but seriously, it only lasted a few days.

Having read around and having successfully lost weight on a low carb diet a few years ago, I am going for the low carb approach even if I have to lie through gritted teeth. The science makes sense and I fail to understand how diabetes can be treated by feeding yet MORE sugar into our systems.

I can't answer on the vitamins and supplements I am afraid. I am starting to use the recipe book from The High Protein Diet by Dr Charles Clark.

It is good to meet up with others who are on the diabetic bandwagon (as my doctor calls it), further up this thread there is a note from a guy called Darren who was diagnosed on the same day as me.

Keep me posted,


P
 
I went straight to about 50g carbs a day without any ill-effects, others have adjusted more slowly, but that seems to be an achievable and sustainable level for most. To be honest though I haven't counted that often since I hit a meal pattern that worked (still test though).
 
KLS said:
Hi, Providence62, and everyone,

I too am newly diagnosed. I had a health blip (back/disc related) just before Christmas and ended up in A&E, where they did all my obs and my BM was 13.8mmols/L, which was technically random but I hadn't eaten for 14 hours and had only had water to drink - so basically this was a fasting reading.
I had the official blood tests and my fasting was again 13.6mmols/L. I have my appointment with the diabetic nurse on 5th February, which is quite a way off. I have the added complication of hypothyroidism, and my Levothyroxine needed an increase at the same time.

So where am I at?
  • My GP gave me a talk about diabetes being like taking a journey toward a house, where you can turn around at any point on the path etc, until you are in the house - I am on the path apparently.
  • I have cut out all obvious sugars - I was a chocolate fan. I have cut out potatoes, pasta, bread, cakes and biscuits. I had porridge the other morning, and 3 hours later my Bm was 18.8mmol/L so not having that again! My mum is insulin dependent and she advocates the carbs in moderation at every meal - hence the porridge. I have lost a bit of weight (but I am also hungry!)
  • I decided I can't wait until the 5th to see the nurse, I have booked an appointment with the GP for Monday, and will be asking to be prescribed Metformin (fingers crossed that I don't have the antisocial side effects as I work in a small office ;))
  • I have purchased my own glucose test meter thing as I believe my surgery only supplies prescriptions for insulin diabetics now.
I have just finished reading 'reverse your diabetes' Dr David Cavan - he refers to taking Chromium, Cinnamon and Vit D, has anyone got views on these supplements?
Is there anything else I have missed? I know I need to increase my activity, I have been suffering with back problems the past 4 months so I haven't been moving around as much as I should and normally do.

Providence62, it looks as though we are starting this journey together - best wishes.
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I'm pretty sure cinnamon won't do anything useful. As for the others, I don't know. I base my meagre micronutrient supplements on recommendations in the book "Grain Brain". As for diet, avoiding carbs is a great method for controlling blood glucose levels. However, I think it's important to eat a healthy diet. A good place to start is the Diet Doctor: http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf. Good luck.
 
Providence 62 said:
I think we all react differently, but cold turkey for me is exactly that! Having slept on it, I think I will be reducing slowly, weeding out the carbs as I go.

I have just looked at your numbers. Very impressive.

Thanks for your advice

P
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Thanks. Yes, we all seem to react slightly differently to foods, etc. I think it has to do with genetics as well as how far our diabetes has progressed. I reduced carbs slowly just because I had no idea what I was doing and believed my first diabetes dietitian that we need to eat carbs. But then I got a meter and saw what even modest amounts of carbs did to my blood sugar, so reduced even more. Then I started reading about a ketosis diet and decided to try that. By then I was already pretty low carb (around 100 to 120 a day). I don't think people need to reduce carbs any where near as slowly as I did, which was about 11 months! I'm thinking a few weeks would be ok.
 
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