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not able to exercise

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Sueduck

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Hi , I am newly diagnosed type 2 , I have had symptoms for about 6 weeks and am worried because I am in wheelchair , with several other health issues and although my weight is dropping I am worried about losing weight as I can't exercise . Every thing I have read seems to indicate that exercise is important . Will I be able to lower my bg without exercise, just by diet and medication? It seems such a silly thing but its worrying me
 
Hi Sue and welcome to the forum :) Everyone is different and some people can lose weight more easily than others, whether they can do exercise or not. If your weight is dropping that is a very good thing and if you keep on doing what you are doing already you should be able to carry on losing some weight. This will be very helpful to your levels. Diet and medication in addition to the weight you are losing, will also be very helpful to you to keep good BG levels even if you can't exercise. Here is some information we give to new members to give you an idea of the sort of diet that will be helpful, plus lots of other useful information. If you have any questions, go ahead and ask as there is always someone here who will be able to answer you.

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 30,000 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 ... rains.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 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
Click to expand...
 
Thank you for replying , I am reading every thing I can , but am still very unsure about anything ,although this seems to be normal the more I read.
 
Hi Sueduck - welcome from me too.
It is possible to reduce your blood sugars on diet and possibly medication as well. As daisy said, its important to test your blood sugar before and after meals. This way you will find out which foods you need to cut back on or maybe even cut out completely.
I know its very confusing at first, so dont be shy, ask as many questions as you need to, there is always someone here to give you advice, support and encouragement.
You say that you are not able to exercise because you are in a wheelchair, have you considered looking at specific exercise routines for people in wheelchairs? You would be surprised how much you probably can do, dont forget that any movement is beneficial, even fidgeting counts as exercise, any movement is good; perhaps you can devise a exercise plan to suit you or there are some DVDs and books available to give you some help regarding this matter. For example Rosie's armchair exercises, even if you cannot do them all, doesnt matter, any movement will help circulation and well being.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosies-Armchair ... 0951851179
All the best
Judith
 
Hi Sueduck, yes it is perfectly possible to lose weight through diet and or diet and medication, I have degenerative arthritis of the lower back and although not confined to a wheelchair find I am unable to do anything but the lightest of exercise. Depending on the pain levels I am experiencing I can walk 1/2 a mile to a mile on a good day but I will usually pay for it when I do by not being able to walk further than the kitchen for a day or two afterwards. I still managed to lose over 4 stone :D

Great post by WhitbyJet, any light exercise is going to be good for you even moving your arms up and down if you are able, but the key to losing weight lies in cutting back on the the amount of food you eat especially the carbohydrate portions which will have the added benefit of helping you control your blood glucose at the same time.

Daisy's Basic Info is a very good place to start, good luck :D

ps I just had a quick look on Youtube and if you have upper body movement then there are lots of videos on seated/wheelchair bound exercise programs from the simple to some which appeared quite extreme :shock:

Heres two from both ends of the spectrum, you will see many others in the links to other videos here as well.

Easy :) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAQFi_l2r_o

Mad :o - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqILrBTl ... re=related
 
Hi, i gave up on the treadmill. the spondylosis bet me. it just made it worse. but im finding that although im getting out more (my nephew takes me when the weather is decent enough...too many floods around right now though.) but we dont walk a lot. a few mins here a few there. and im getting worse cos hips start aching quickly now. going into town with my daughter....the traffic fumes are now affecting my COPD/ASTHMA so again my walking is being limited.
i am gradually losing weight though. stopped smoking 5 years ago. went to 14st.1lb. now down to 12st 8lbs. am a prediabetic. FBS between 4 (this morning..lowest so far) and 7.6 though the results in the 7s are about once a week or less.). am testing FBS now only because im buying everything myself...strips,etc.. my doc dont think i need to so wont prescribe them. I cant afford to test after every meal (I did it in the 3 weeks of summer we had when my FBS went up into the 10s. took a full box of 50 strips...i cant afford to do that) however. ive just taken my BS twice. as i said my FBS was only 4 this morning. have changed my breakfast contents today from cereal to toast..(last few days my bowels have been loose within short time of eating breakfast or a skimmed milk decaf or original coffee. so think milk might be affecting me). so no coffee either this morning. just 2 slices of ordinary bread (not my normal weight watchers which goes too crisp for my liking when toasted) and a smear of jam on both. tea ,drop of skimmed milk in it.that was between 10-10.30am (late riser these days) BS taken 12.15pm = 10.2 and again at 12.50pm = 12.8
why is it up further more than half an hour later? thats over 2 hours after breakfast.?
i dont want to use this bread regularly as ill end up putting weight back on.but at the mo i havent got food in to do anything else plus whatever i have has to be quick to prepare cos by the time ive got up dressed taken meds etc its about half an hour gone and im so hungry i havent time to boil eggs or do bacon or whatever.and that is same whatever time i get up.besides which i simply cannot afford the amount of protein foods i would need if i cut back further on carbs. i can barely afford proper dinners as i have to have ready meals and the better ones with more than peas and carrots for veg have gone up so much it now costs the same for 1 weeks meals as it did for a months 5 years ago.. cant stand to cook very often now.so limited there too. and fruit is out. my body doesnt tolerate it very well.
i was doing so well too but this problem started soon after changing my cereal from rice krispies to ready brek. yes the weight started coming off again but after a couple of week or so i get this bowel prob/. not on metformin .diet only. coffee has done this before on me ill admit but not for some time andit was the original not decaf.
any suggestions please? or an answer to the between meals question
 
just tested again at 13.06. its down 8.7
 
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