Newly diagnosed

[drrnsctt]

Hi All,

Firstly, I would like to thank whoever set this site up, as somebody who is newly diagnosed there are so many conflicting pieces of information its good to find somewhere reliable.

I am still in the process of being diagnosed for diabetes, I am still awaiting the results of my glucose tolerance tests. I have had the results of the HPC??? test and my average was 9.4 - which I understand is high. I have had no symptoms at all, this was picked up during a routine medical.

Now my questions, for the last few years I have been an original lucozade addict, averaging 12 - 15 500ml bottles a week, I understand this would most likely not cause diabetes however cutting this out shoul (i hope) lower my average below 9.4.

Can anybody give me advice on the best way of lowering my blood sugar level with diet and exercise, I have purchased my own monitor and am testing mysely regularly to see how my body reacts to different food and drink and exercise - I have had hardly any information from my doctors at this point which I am not happy about.

Can anybody give me advice on this, and your thoughts on whether I should be able to control my diabetes through diet and exercise alone.

FYI,
I have been testing myself when i wake, before lunch and before bed - my readings have ranged from 5.2 - 7.5

 

[daisy1]

Hi drr and welcome to the forum This is a good site that you have found and you will find all the information you need here. Whatever you need to know just ask and someone will answer you. The test you have just had was the HbA1c test, and 9.4 is high. You need, with diet and exercise, to get this down to around 6.5. It is quite frequent to have no symptoms at all on diagnosis - I didn't have any.

You really should give up the Lucozade - this would have been responsible for your 9.4. Try giving it up and replacing it with another drink that does not contain any sugar.

You have done well to have started testing but you need to test 2 hours after meals as well - only then can you see what effect certain foods have on you. Unfortunately we cannot tell you if you can control your diabetes with no medication but diet and exercise will certainly help.

Here is some information that the Forum Monitors have written for new members which should help you to control your diabetes as well as possible.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.