Type 2 Newly Diagnosed

help Newly Diagnosed

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Kenhue3501

Member
Messages
10
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi everybody, last thursday I went to hospital for a pre-assessment for a day surgery to remove a mole from my back on the friday. After the blood test on thursday they would not let me leave as my blood glucose was 33. I have had no signs of ill health was feeling great with drinking a little more than normal water. Now I am on insulin and feeling not that great. Been taking insulin for 8 day andI am still not sure what I should and shouldn't eat taking different amounts of insulin when my glucose go up and down. Since home and testing I am around 6/7 and 14 but thats when taking insulin. To get my head around this I am going away for a couple of days next week so can I have a drink when away and will my insulin need to go up or down and what will I need to change on the food I eat. At the moment I am eat healthily but will little exercise due to a disability. Have been on line and information gives different eating habit from different people so help, also will a few pints of guinness be ok
 

Vicky_Salmon

Member
Messages
7
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi everybody, last thursday I went to hospital for a pre-assessment for a day surgery to remove a mole from my back on the friday. After the blood test on thursday they would not let me leave as my blood glucose was 33. I have had no signs of ill health was feeling great with drinking a little more than normal water. Now I am on insulin and feeling not that great. Been taking insulin for 8 day andI am still not sure what I should and shouldn't eat taking different amounts of insulin when my glucose go up and down. Since home and testing I am around 6/7 and 14 but thats when taking insulin. To get my head around this I am going away for a couple of days next week so can I have a drink when away and will my insulin need to go up or down and what will I need to change on the food I eat. At the moment I am eat healthily but will little exercise due to a disability. Have been on line and information gives different eating habit from different people so help, also will a few pints of guinness be ok
I am not sure that I can help you interms of advice, but I certainly can commiserate. I was diagnosed 14 years ago and remember how difficult and frustrating managing my diabetes was. Can I eat this? Will this raise my blood sugar level? I am sure that this web site will help you. Download the app and read some advice while you are taking time out. Vicky
 
Messages
6,107
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
It is not usually easy to give food advice to someone on insulin since changing your diet means you will have to change your insulin dose and I am not sure how adept you are at that after only eight days.

I shall state the well known fact that sugar, flour, rice and potatoes are mostly carbohydrate and will convert to glucose readily so raising your blood sugar levels.

Sorry about the Guiness but since you mention a few pints the sugar in the beer will stack up so it might be better to say a couple of pints instead.

I will also page @daisy1 for her to send you a newbie sheet which explains a whole lot of things.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Kenhue3501

Hello Ken and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions if you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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.