• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Newly Diagnosed Type 2

Choccynix

Choccynix

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Good Morning all you lovely people.

I'm new to the Forum and new to Diabetes.

I was diagnosed 4 weeks ago.
Apparently I'm just over the number I should be so I've been told to change my diet and come for blood tests in 3 months.

I don't remember the numbers Tbh, the nurse was waffling on and I was just thinking 'OMG I'm Diabetic"!.

I was a chocoholic and I work in a chocolate shop, I also took copious amounts of sugar in my copious amounts of tea and lived off carbs.

For the last 4 weeks I've cut out almost all refined sugars and carbs. I've swapped white bread,pasta and rice for wholegrain and cut down my consumption drastically. I've swapped sugar in tea for Stevia and reduced from 3 spoons to one.

I feel tonnes better already, I work on my feet 8 hours a day and I'm no where near as achey and tired at the end of the day now.

Is there anything else I should be doing?

Sorry for the long post

Is there anything else I should be doing?
 
@Choccynix sorry you are here, but a warm welcome all the same. I will ask @daisy1 to post some very useful info for newly diagnosed.
Have a good read, and feel free to ask as many questions as you want, we are a friendly bunch here, and all of us have first hand experience (sadly)
 
Welcome Choccynix - and I love your avatar!

You're doing great, and I'm glad you're feeling so much better. So many of us have symptoms we barely notice, then, post diagnosis and once we've changed our diet, we suddenly realise how exhausted we felt most of the time.

Are you using a blood glucose meter to test your glucose levels before and after eating? They are almost never given, let alone suggested, to T2Ds. I got one because I wanted to grab some control back and I'm so glad I did, as regular testing helped me discover what foods I couldn't eat without causing a rise in blood sugar, and what foods had little effect. I now enjoy a low carb, high fat diet and enjoy a piece of 85-90% dark chocolate a few times a week.

If you're interested in testing, the best-value meter you can get is the SD Codefree. It's popular because its testing strips are far cheaper. I have one and many people on the forum use them too. You can buy the SD Codefree on Amazon or direct from here https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/
 
Hi and welcome to the forum, and also the cat lovers thread apparently :p I agree that a meter is essential and also have a note of caution. Carbs are carbs and it does not matter whether they are brown or white, your insides are color blind. It may well be that you can tolerate them but please don't think that wholegrain is any less a carb than white bread. Once you get a meter test your sugar at first bite and than 1 hour after eating your pasta or bread, you might be in for a shock. I will tag @daisy1 to send you some info. At the bottom you will find a link to the low carb program on this site.
 
Hi and welcome @Choccynix
There will be a lot of helpful advice in Daisy's post.
I found testing the most helpful tool as it showed me what different foods did to my body. I now use the SDcodefree as the strips are the cheapest and that is where the cost mounts up. Details have been posted above. Do ask questions and we will try and help.
 
Thanks for the replies. I only switched to wholemeal because the nurse mentioned it. She said I should opt for slower release carbs with a low gi?.
I'll look into getting a meter, I have no idea what my levels should be though lol.
I was given a leaflet about Diabetes and me workshops in my area and I have to book an eye test. Not looking forward to that.
 
You should be aiming to be between 4 and 7. The highest I ever want to see for myself is under 7.8 which is the level at which it is believed damage starts to occur. It probably is not a problem to go above this occasionally for short periods but being above this routinely is not good. You will hear a lot of bad advice from medical professionals. They will tell you that you need carbs and that you don't need to test. How will you know how you are doing if you don't test? That's like driving with your eyes shut on a busy road. The best place to learn how to control diabetes is from diabetics who are controlling diabetes successfully. You have found us and we are pretty awesome :p:D Soon you will be one of us and that can only increase your awesomeness too right?
 
Hi. Yes, when you do have carbs try to have the low-GI ones. 85% Dark Chocolate is fine; I have Green & Blacks 85% which is very smooth. You are doing all the right things and all should be well. You meter reading should be below 8.5 mmol two hours after a meal.
 
welcome @Choccynix. Well done on your progress so far, keep on going. If you get yourself a meter and start testing your blood 2 hours after a meal you will soon find out what foods you can eat without causing a large rise in your blood sugars. Then you take back control of your own health. A lot of us find that grains of all sorts raise our blood sugars, whether they are whole grain or refined. For a couple of weeks shopping takes longer than usual because you need to read all the small print (it can be interesting to find out what has had added sugars and/or wheat flour) but you soon find a new routine. The good bit is that as you move to a low carb healthy fat diet you can eat cream, butter and cheeses, your blood sugars will drop, you may find that you lose weight gradually so that it stays off and you never feel hungry. People compliment you on how you are looking and you have more energy. Everyone's journey is different but read around, ask questions and best wishes for the future.
 
@Choccynix

Hello and welcome to the forum from another cat lover :) Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions you need to and someone will be able to 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 210,000 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 free 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.
 
Hi have not got a clue Have been told I have type 2 given a shed loads of pills
No one told why I'm tired where to get machine to test blood What machine is best where to get one and what to do
 
Hi. Many people buy the SD Codefree meter from the web as it is low cost and has low cost test strips. If you let us know what pills you have been given we can explain what at least some of them do. If these pills include statins be aware that they have nothing to do with diabetes and you may want to know more about the pros and cons. The NHS hands them out like sweets.
 
Back
Top