Newly diagnosed type 2

High blood sugar levels can cause blurred vision as the sugar swells the eye lenses. If you can reduce your blood sugars with a low carb diet the blurred vision should disappear after a few weeks.

The best advice is to get a blood glucose meter to check which foods spike your blood sugar. Test before and two hours after eating. Avoid high carb foods such as breakfast cereals, bread, potatoes, rice and pasta. Also avoid fruit juice and fruit such as bananas and grapes.

You need to be careful when buying a meter. You only need one meter, but you do need thousands of test strips and the cost of these strips varies from around £7.50 to £30 for 50 strips. Some meters are given away free, but do check the cost of the strips before you order one.
Many on here use the Codefree or the Tee2 because the strips are the cheapest.

Try here for the Codefree meter
http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/

and here for the extra strips
http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/

Pharmacies don't sell them. There are discount codes if you buy in bulk and don’t forget to check the box that you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free.
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833

The Tee2 is here. The meter is free and the strips are only slightly more expensive than the Codefree.

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/

If money isn't an issue, I recommend the Accu Chek Mobile as it is the most convenient of all the meters with no handling of test strips (they come in cartridges which are inserted inside the meter). However, the strip cartridges are expensive.

Hi and welcome, there are a lots of great guys on the forum with loads of experience and info who will answer any questions you have. Only been diagnosed T2 for 12 weeks myself and have got my numbers down from 48 to 37 with the help and advice from the forum .. LCHF has worked for me to lower my levels and weight ....

Bobbisoxs said:

Thanks a lot I have just ordered the tee2, also I have really bad itching all over and constant buzzing in my ears is this normal? And when I take the metformin it's worse???

Click to expand...

Well done for ordering the meter. I hope you can learn from it.

The itching can be a sign of high blood sugars. I can't help with the buzzing in the ears.

Bobbisoxs said:

Hi I'm really struggling to understand it all to me honest, had blood tests at doctors last fri got phone call on mon to go in weds and told my blood result was glucose 8.9mmmol/l is this high? And then told I have type 2 given my meds.

Click to expand...

Do you know which test you had? Was it a fasting plasma test, a finger prick test, an HbA1c? Without this knowledge we can't say for sure. If you don't know, you need to ask, and you need to also ask for a print out of the test results so you can see for yourself exactly where you are right now. You will be having regular blood tests now for probably the rest of your life, so you need all this information. I'm not just talking about blood glucose levels, but also cholesterol, lipids, liver and kidney functions etc. These are all important for us. Don't rely on the doctor saying "all fine" because you may be teetering on the edge of not being fine, and need to know.

Tagging @daisy1 for some new member advice for you.

@Bobbisoxs

Hello Bobbisoxs and welcome to the Forum To help you along, here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and, as you have already seen, you will get lots of replies.


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 250,000 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.

Bobbisoxs said:

Hi I'm really struggling to understand it all to me honest, had blood tests at doctors last fri got phone call on mon to go in weds and told my blood result was glucose 8.9mmmol/l is this high? And then told I have type 2 given my meds and to try to lose so weight as I'm overweight .

Click to expand...

Much the same, blood tests one week, phone call for another blood test, few days later phone call to see doctor, diagnosed T2. Came home in shock and started to browse the forum for information, link to dietdoctor and the LCHF way of eating, starting with 80g to 100g carbs a day shared over three meals and have lost two stone. Checkout the nutritional values on food packets on the back, you will see carbohydrates, you need the full amount including "with sugars" and you should be able to work out the carbs in there for your meals. Would cut pasta, rice, bread and potatoes, they are quite high sugars. A lot to take in I know but it does get a little easier with a lot of reading.