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Newly diagosed

M

mycool86

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all, i'm Michael, 30 years old. I got diagnosed with type 2 on friday - I am absolutely devastated right now & just feel **** & angry.
I have been put on 500mg metformin 1 per day for the first month.
I am finding it really hard as I am a very fussy eater & I just cannot eat certain things as they literally make me heave.
I dislike all vegetables so they are all an absolute no go for me! I love my bread/potatos & rice etc but as of now apparently i cannot touch any of it or i am killing myself (as my doctor said). Which has really made me feel nervous & confused on what i can live on! I started checking my blood levels yesterday for the first time, I have been given a graph where i have to list all foods i have eaten along with my levels before & 2hrs after each meal.
Yesterday I was on 6.4 & I purposely got myself a indian takeaway purely to see just how much it effects my levels. & from 6.4 it went up to 8.9 after 2hours. So that has completely put me off wanting any take aways etc.
Since then all iv eaten is scrambled eggs & bacon. Along with much water! & now my levels were 6.3. Then 6.4 2hours after scrambled eggs.
I am now determined to try keep my levels below 7.5/8 max!

Aslong as i stick to the correct food, & have regular exercise should it be ok to have 1 cheat day per week? Either a saturday or sunday of 'bad food' just not so big portions?
Thanks guys :(
 
Hello @mycool86 - Welcome to the Forum :).
@daisy1 will provide you with some basic information that all new members receive on joining the Forum. It will be posted on this thread, so have a good read and ask questions.
 
There are lots of things you could eat which are low in carbs - I can only suggest that you try them rather than declaring them a no go - otherwise what are you going to eat?

If you eat low carb foods, find out how to keep your blood glucose low, and get it into the normal range, then you should, with any luck, feel perfectly normal - but I'm afraid that diabetes is permanent, and the more often you eat the wrong foods the less benefit you get from the low carb foods. If the meal you had contained carbs then the reading was not that bad. I found that eating potatoes or bread, or any grain for that matter put up my blood glucose levels and they remained high for some time, sometimes through to the next day There are consequences when you have high blood glucose, damage to small blood vessels, most commonly in the eyes and feet.
As you have a meter to test with you can try out various foods to see just what you can eat.
I can cope with Lidl protein rolls, but no other bread or breadlike foods, so you might try them and see if you like them. Some people can cope with porridge without too much of a spike, and some find that they can cope with higher amounts of carbs after a time eating low carb, as their metabolism recovers to some extent.
 
Hi @mycool86 .. and welcome
I was in the same position as you and many others when I was diagnosed T2 in early Feb .. pretty shocked with no information and no idea what was happening to me. Since joining this forum, though, the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need .. It's still early for me but, in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly ..

Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I see that @Liam1955 has already tagged @ daisy1 for you and I would suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program in the information that she will soon be sending you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following Diet Doctor websites ...
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

Hope this helps
 
Ok thank you for the replys guys. Is it normal for my levels tp go up overnight with only drinking water? As last night before i went to sleep my levels were 6.4. Now this morning it was 8.6!! I tried another finger & then it went down to 7.3. But that is still alot higher than 6.4 last night.
 
mycool86 said:
Ok thank you for the replys guys. Is it normal for my levels tp go up overnight with only drinking water? As last night before i went to sleep my levels were 6.4. Now this morning it was 8.6!! I tried another finger & then it went down to 7.3. But that is still alot higher than 6.4 last night.
Click to expand...
Yes, perfectly normal.
Your liver is releasing glucose from its store of glycogen in case you need to run after breakfast, or travel some distance to find food and water, or to run away to prevent yourself becoming breakfast for something else.
Evolution is marvellous, but it isn't exactly fast, nor efficient
 
@mycool86

Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Have a look at the Low Carb Program linked to below as it should help you. Ask more questions when you need to 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.
 
We all started somewhere and mindset has a lot to do with it. What aversion and with what vegetables?
 
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