Newly diagnosed

Hi @gowlanj 19 mmol/L is quite high. It will reduce if you are following a low carb diet and exercising. But it does take time. 3 weeks isn't very long. It isn't possible to say how long it will take to see your bgs falling. Our bodies are all different and behave differently.

I do wince a bit when I see a diet described as 'healthy'.
I ate a really unhealthy diet to start with, a week of roast pork and roast chicken, steak and minced beef, with a few onions and mushrooms, and a few bags of salad - and sugar free jelly with cream to cheer me up.
It lowered my blood glucose wonderfully and really fast.
I don't think that Metformin will lower BG - it did not increase mine when I gave it up in disgust at the side effects.

@gowlanj

Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. 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 well over 235,000 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.

gowlanj said:

Hi can anyone help me please? I have been prediabetic for years but suddenly my blood sugar levels are high. I've been put on metformin for type 2 and taken it for 3 weeks but nothing seems to be bringing my levels down (currently 19) I'm following a fairly low carb healthy diet and exercise 30 mins a day (walking) . I have other symptoms thirsty, needing to pee, losing weight, blurry vision. My doctors aren't very supportive and I'm worried. How long does it take to see improvement in bloods? Thank you

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How low is your "fairly low carb" diet? Are you still eating rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, cereals and flour? Are you careful with your choice and amount of fruit? Perhaps you could tell us what your typical meals are in a day and we may spot something.

Metformin does very little to reduce BS levels. It can help, but only to a limited extent and is mainly an appetite suppressant. It also takes a while to accumulate in your system. It isn't the key to control. Diet is the key.

gowlanj said:

Thank you so much everyone. It really helps to feel that I'm not so alone. The low carb diet I have been following is under 100g of carb per day split Between 3 meals, and those carbs mainly beans or new potatoes as I'm not good with grains. I will persevere for a few more weeks as I guess Rome wasn't built in a day . Thank you everyone xx

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If you are eating beans and potatoes you are not eating low carb. And definitely no grains. Most of us follow a Low Carb High Fat diet and keep our carbs to under 50gm per day (some even lower). Read some of the other threads, especially the low carb diet threads, they have great ideas of foods you should be preparing.

I found that the source of carbs was important - for instance, I can't swap beans for salad and have the same results in blood glucose levels even if they were the same amount of carbs.
I need to avoid grains, potatoes, legumes other than small amounts of green beans or peas and try to keep to foods which are under 11 percent carb.
I could not eat 100 gm of carb per day even before diagnosis, without putting on weight rather rapidly.
My preferred diet was about 60 gm of carb a day during the winter and 80 gm in good weather.

Just one day?
That does promise good results quite quickly if you can do that.
You might feel a bit wobbly as your readings drop towards normal - that is only to be expected as it comes as a bit of a shock when the nice warm sugary bath your brain has been having suddenly changes, but I found that just a few grapes - like 3 or 4 would get me back to normal for a while - I needed to repeat that several times to have it fade away, and it has not come back.
Another thing which could happen is your vision go a bit blurry - your eye lenses are affected by the concentration of sugar in the fluids around them, but that should soon even out and normality be restored.
You do need to count everything - you'll find that carrots begin to taste really sweet when you have been avoiding sugar for a while. That is why carrot cake was devised during rationing and later recipes had sugar added, as they no longer tasted like they used to once sugar was available again.

gowlanj said:

It really has cheered me up seeing the numbers come down so quickly, and they can only improve as my knowledge grows. I have felt wobbly but found that sitting down with a glass of water has helped. Despite the giddiness I have to say that I do feel better than I have done for months. Good riddance to the sugar and starch. This is a really steep learning curve for me but I am determined to give it a go and I am inspired by your results that you have posted on here. Thank you so much

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The odd giddy feeling doesn't last. The improvement does. There will be ups and downs, and don't get discouraged when things seem to go the wrong way for a short time. If you continue and 'keep the faith' the overall trend will be right.

Well done on getting them down so quickly!

Good evening @gowlanj my friend and well done keep at it

Yes, well done. I was similar numbers at the start. My current numbers are in my signature, you can get there too! I had one week where I didn't vary things and started to get bored, but it didn't take long to get back to a lovely varied way of eating. Oh and I'm now in he 5s and 6s for the most part. 6.1 after dinner this evening.