Newly diagnosed

lady

Member
Messages
6
I'm very confused for about 3 years now I have being trying to control through diet, I was told I was borderline, then pre diabetes, then back to normal, which was last year, so I was in shock when I had my annual blood tests done this year and told I was diabetic. I am on metformin, but on low dose in a morning for 5 days, then next 5 days low dose morning and tea time, then 1 full tablet in morning and half evening for a further 5 days, then 1 full tablet morning and evening. This is because I have other health issues, re stomach and bowels.

My diet I was told was ok, until diabetic, then I'm told I cannot eat fruit, cut down on vegetables and carbohydrates, so now I'm really struggling, I have seen a dietician in the past but with IBS, which if I eat for that, it's no good for diabetes.

I eat granary and wholemeal bread, I eat jacket potatoes, new potatoes, pasta, rice, cous cous, occasionally oven chips and roast potatoes but all cooked in actifry. I eat chicken, fish, quite a bit of oily fish as I don't eat much diary so this is instead of dairy, I eat pork occasionally lamb, I eat eggs, but scrambled, poached or in an omelette, cereal I eat weetabix, porridge, crumpets, malt loaf, digestive biscuits, I don't eat chocolate. Fruit I eat oranges, melon, banana, frozen berries made into a drink. I have seeds, nuts, occasional dried fruit, but I do have a 150ml glass of prune juice. I drink black tea, and fruit teas, no coffee, water.

I do gentle exercise 3 times per week, although limited to what I can do with my knee pain. I am overweight, but cannot seem to shift it, I go up and down due to bloatedness. I do have thyroid problem as well, I guess I am scared my diabetes medication might upset me, and interfere with my other medication.

Any help would gratefully be appreciated.
 

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,796
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Hi reducing your carbs and fruits would be the first thing that I would do!
Have a look at the low carb forum and also the success stories.
Hopefully somebody will advise on your other problems.

I've tagged @daisy1 to give you the newcomers welcome information.
 
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daisy1

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

Hello Lady and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. In particular it gives advice on diet and carbs. Ask as many questions as you want 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.
 

Totto

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,831
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I'm very confused for about 3 years now I have being trying to control through diet, I was told I was borderline, then pre diabetes, then back to normal, which was last year, so I was in shock when I had my annual blood tests done this year and told I was diabetic. I am on metformin, but on low dose in a morning for 5 days, then next 5 days low dose morning and tea time, then 1 full tablet in morning and half evening for a further 5 days, then 1 full tablet morning and evening. This is because I have other health issues, re stomach and bowels.

My diet I was told was ok, until diabetic, then I'm told I cannot eat fruit, cut down on vegetables and carbohydrates, so now I'm really struggling, I have seen a dietician in the past but with IBS, which if I eat for that, it's no good for diabetes.

I eat granary and wholemeal bread, I eat jacket potatoes, new potatoes, pasta, rice, cous cous, occasionally oven chips and roast potatoes but all cooked in actifry. I eat chicken, fish, quite a bit of oily fish as I don't eat much diary so this is instead of dairy, I eat pork occasionally lamb, I eat eggs, but scrambled, poached or in an omelette, cereal I eat weetabix, porridge, crumpets, malt loaf, digestive biscuits, I don't eat chocolate. Fruit I eat oranges, melon, banana, frozen berries made into a drink. I have seeds, nuts, occasional dried fruit, but I do have a 150ml glass of prune juice. I drink black tea, and fruit teas, no coffee, water.

I do gentle exercise 3 times per week, although limited to what I can do with my knee pain. I am overweight, but cannot seem to shift it, I go up and down due to bloatedness. I do have thyroid problem as well, I guess I am scared my diabetes medication might upset me, and interfere with my other medication.

Any help would gratefully be appreciated.
Hi Lady and welcome. I know it's confusing in the beginning.

Why do you eat so much carby food? This sure isn't good for blood glucose control. Grain in particular can wreak havoc with BG. Fat, on the other hand, has almost no effect at all but fills you up nicely. As nosher said, have a look around the low carb forum.
 
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Mrsass

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,188
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi @lady you really need to reduce your carbs, I'm surprised you eat so many with having ibs, they all play havoc with mine! Definitely don't cut down the veggies, fruit is best kept to berries as they have little sugar and most people find they don't spike them. The chicken, fish, eggs etc is all great as are the nuts and seeds :)
 

JAY1JAY1

Well-Known Member
Messages
623
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diabetes
Hi and welcome
Low carb will lower your BG don't know why you need to cut out veg ? . I should watch the fat if you have bowel trouble
Get on to your GP I think this is for him
 
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PatsyB

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,956
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Diabetes
hello and welcome to the forum :p
 

4ratbags

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,334
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi welcome to the forum. Definately give LCHF a try, its such a great way to manage your BS
 

Pinkorchid

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,927
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I agree with Jay1Jay1 as you have other medical conditions ie bowel and stomach then you should consult your doctor before making any drastic changes in your diet