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Newly diagnosed with type 2

wolfie11969

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,974
Location
Dudley, West Midlands
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Diagnosed about 3 weeks ago and having a hard time accepting it. Many of the females in our family have diabetes including insulin dependant. My GP has asked that I look at my diet for 3 months with a view to going on medication after another blood test.

I am overweight and currently following weight watchers. I am thinking of changing to slimming world as they reduce the amount of bread u can eat and boy can I eat bread. My diabetic nurse suggested I try to cut my bread down to 2 slices a day which I have been trying. Some days are easier than others.

It was also advised that I got rid of all my weight watcher bars as they contain a lot of sugar. Also suggested I cut down on the amount of fruit I eat and to increase my vegetables. So I cut out all the high sugar fruits and now eat apples, pears and bananas. My weight watchers bars went in the bin as I had no-one to pass them on to.

I am due a blood test in December to see how the diet only has worked.

I guess I'm slightly in denial. I have had prediabetes problems for years and now at 46 it has caught up with me. Guess after seeing how some of the females in the family have gone I'm wondering if I'm headed the same way.

Any pointers people can give me will be greatfully appreciated. Anything u have found beneficial to cut out. Whether its worth using a meter or not (my friend has one spare that she is going to give me), what impact exercise will have on me, what impact it will have on me if I eat something sugary. These are the types of questions u cant ask ur nurse or gp cus they are always so busy

ty
 
Welcome wolfie, can you tell us what your level was when diagnosed and I afraid some of that 'diet' is not suitable for a diabetic. Daisy will be along shortly to give you a guide to managing. Most of us on here are unable to eat bread, potatoes, cereals etc. Bananas are definitely one thing I cannot eat. Using a meter to test your blood will be the best thing you can do as it will tell you what your food is doing to your blood.
 
Hi @wolfie11969 welcome to the forum. One of the best things you can do is get a Meyer to measure your sugar levels and learn what foods you can and cannot eat. Many on here use the Codefree as the strips are quite cheap. Unfortunately bananas are v high in sugar so you may be best not eating them until you see how they affect your blood sugar. Berries are usually OK though. Sugar levels are affected by carbs which are in bread, cereals, rice, pasta, most fruits, potatoes etc. I know it seems contrary to what most of us have been bought up with but by substituting low for full fat foods you will lower your carb intake. In addition foods such as meat, poultry, fish, cheese and eggs are also low in carbs. When checking labels on packaging look for the Total carb content not just the sugar - lower carb is better. Hope this helps and ask questions when necessary - somebody will be along to answer them!!
 
@daisy1
Hello wolfie11969 welcome, I've tagged daisy1 for you. The info that she gives to new members is a good place to start learning how to get things under control.
 
Hi and welcome. Unless you need the motivation from others at slimming clubs I wouldn't worry about any branded diets but just follow the simple advice on these forums. All carbs need to be kep under control to enable you to reduce weight and blood sugar. Your surgery has already given you good advice. Set yourself a daily carb target, perhaps 150gm to start with and using a meter you can see how you go. Read packaging labels. Proteins, fats and of course veg are all fine. You can get used to reducing the bread when you can have eggs & bacon for breakfast and cheese for lunch etc. Avoid tropical fruits and bananas are very high in sugar so avoid them. Have nuts, berries and cheese for snacks
 
@wolfie11969

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful, especially the advice on diet and carbs in particular. Ask as many questions as you like 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 over 150,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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 and welcome to the forum, you are in the right place to get yourself on track. Definately get the meter of your friend, it is an essential tool to help you manage your diabetes. If you are finding it difficult to give up bread there are many low carb alternatives on the net. It can take time to reduce all the carbs from your diet its what most of us were brought up on. If you have any questions just ask, we are a helpful bunch
 
Hi @wolfie11969 and welcome to the forum. Getting the T2 diagnosis five weeks ago was a shock for me too though I was in most of the high risk groups and my mother had T2. I was in partial denial for 2-3 weeks, but have now come to terms with it, with the help of this forum.
I have lost about 8 lbs since diagnosis by cutting out most of the sugar and sweet things I had been eating, portion control of carbs, more veg and fish, and exercise.

I have been walking for at least I hour (about 3 miles) nearly every day. I aim for 10,000 steps per day (about 5 miles). I bought a pedometer to count steps, it also shows distance walked, kcals and grams of fat burned. It arrived Saturday morning and encouraged me to walk more, 8 miles on Saturday and 9 miles on Sunday. Exercise is important not just to burn calories but to help your body to deal with sugars more effectively. I am aiming to lose another 9 lbs before my next blood test in November. I don't want to go on diabetes medication if I can avoid it.
 

Hiya I think my level was 11.6, that has been mentioned so can only assume that's what you were asking for. I am due to go to some classes run by my local health serivce to sort out what I cna and cant eat. My nurse suggested I join this site in the meantime to ask any questions that she might not have time for. I have been told about bananas so will look at replacing them with something else. As I'm so new to all this its a learning curve. I wasnt sure about the potatoes and cereals, my nurse seemed to think they would be ok. SUppose I will be looking for new breakfast ideas hee hee. Ty for replying
 

Ty for replying. Boy thats a list of things I'll have to check if I can eat. I have thought about buying a meter, well asking my kids to buy my one for Christmas whilst I use the one my friend has for me. I will start looking at the food labels, do u know what level of carbs I should be looking for?
 

Hi ty for the advice of a slimming club. I am due to leave weight watchers later this month when my subscription has run out so will look at whether I need to go to slimming world or not. I just thought of them as they reduce the amount of carbs that u need. Another member mentioned about the bananas so i will look to reducing them from my diet. Ty for replying
 

ty for replying. u mention low carb items on the new, could u please tell me where to find them? ty
 

ty for replying. im glad to meet a fellow newbie that also had problems coming to terms with a diagnosis. i dont really want to go on medication either so im hoping my blood test in December shows that my blood sugars have come down. ANd I have a pedometer somewhere I will have to find it out and take myself off for a daily walk
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.
Lots of help here to get on track.
 
When I was diagnosed 5 months ago, my diabetic nurse (at the GP's) told me to apply for a place on the XPERT course - which I think all new T2's are entitled to, and are run in every NHS district. It's a series of 6 sessions, and there are around a dozen people on mine, and it's been way better than I expected. Meeting other T2s in that sort of situation, all different, and all struggling, has been great. But I've also been surprised just how much I've ended up learning - and it's changed some of the ideas I had about how I could best cope with it.
 

Hi yes my nurse has suggested this course to me, just have to wait til they can fit me in.
 
wolfie11969 said:
Hi yes my nurse has suggested this course to me, just have to wait til they can fit me in.
Click to expand...

I had to wait more than 4 months, so by the time it came around, I thought it was a bit late and went to the first session thinking I must by that point have already taught myself all they were going to teach me - and I have to admit I was wrong.
 
I did the X Pert course last year,it had its good points,but realy out of date regards eating.
I realy got all the proper information from the forum and its worked for me.
 
Patricia21 said:
I did the X Pert course last year,it had its good points,but realy out of date regards eating. I realy got all the proper information from the forum and its worked for me.
Click to expand...

I felt the person presenting our course was far from dogmatic about any one diet being 'right' or 'proper', but much more concerned with leading us into teaching ourselves the basics, and us finding out what changes we needed to make, and supporting us - and getting us to support each other. I started to see how for some people, they were so far off understanding some of the basic things, 'prescribing' any particular diet would be pretty much doomed to failure. I think you have to have some understanding of what you're tackling to be able to get yourself through all the tough patches, for example. She's really stressed how much it's not going to be a one-diet-fits-all, which is also what I've realised from lots of browsing here on the forum. So I'd not say the course is super-fantastic (and would that it were), but I was close to scorning it completely and am glad I did actually turn up and go. One effect for me has been to get me to focus week in, week out, on particular goals and changes, for example.
 
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