Partner Just Diagnosed Type 2 - HELP ! (Esp diet!)

MoroFenrir said:

We're seeing if the doctor will put a prescription in for a glucose test meter
(We're unemployed, so on low income and if we're going to be testing a few times a day until we figure the diet out, it'll start to add up!)
But apparantly as she's type 2 it is down to the doctor's discretion whether they'll put it on prescripton or tell us to buy our own.

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It is worth a try, but you will be very lucky to get one on prescription. I will keep my fingers crossed for you, but be prepared to be knocked back. It must be difficult for the less well off to afford their own, but at the end of the day health has to be a priority.

Bluetit1802 said:

If you are in England, you can ask if the surgery puts test results on line as they are supposed to do, and how to register for this. Otherwise, you are entitled to know the exact results and a computer print out is the best way of doing this. You can ring and ask for one. It isn't just the blood glucose results that are important, it is other tests too that will most likely have been included - cholesterol and lipids, liver and kidney functions and full blood count.

Of course it is important to avoid sugar, but did you know that all carbs turn to sugar once inside the system, including the wholemeal brown versions? That is something for you to think about. Please have a look at the dietdoctor website and the list of suitable foods. It will help you plan the meals.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods#foodlist
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds

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My backward surgery does not put results online, however they are very co-operative about giving you a printed test result if you ask for it ... this is a great way of getting started, and gives you a basis for research. Best wishes.

I wouldn't bother with first thing in the morning. There is something called the dawn phenomenon. The liver helpfully dumps glucose to help us get going in the morning. It is usually the last number to come down.

I would concentrate on finding out what your food is doing to you. Test before every meal and two hours after. Eliminate food that spikes you, identify what foods suit you.

Hopefully you can get some menu ideas for when you have no strips.

Hello there. In June my HbA1c was 89, three months later it was 34. So reducing your exposure to carbs and sugar takes effort and determination but it can be done. I largely eat to my meter. Read all food packaging. Good manufacturers put a sort of traffic light nutrition info on front of packaging but this never lists carb %. As they say, carbs turn to sugar after you eat them. Make sure you know what you are reading. Values should be per 100gms. Sometimes they are not and it can be deceptive. My yardstick is about 10% unless I am having a naughty moment which this evening will be corn on the cob. Great for the gut but a little heavy on carbs.
If you want crunchy then try pork scratchings. Oddly, walkers cheese n onion crisps have little effect on me but all other carbs are bad news for me...including milk. Sometimes you have to decide your priorities and mine is it’s ok to have 2 cups of coffee per day with full fat milk. Full fat less carbs than skimmed. Whipping cream less carby than everything! Cheese is good, meat, I like chicken livers which are pretty cheap. Fried up with onion, garlic and chilli, it’s delicious.
I can’t abide artificial sugars, so diet products are out for me. I use xylitol which is expensive but tastes same as sugar no effect on blood sugar, 40% of calories of sugar. I do all sorts with it.
Beer is very carby but dry red wine not. So guess what I drink of an evening?
I make lemon juice to dilute as a drink. Bung in xylitol I have made into a syrup with boiling water. Actually very nice. Very tasty if you fancy a vodka or rum with lemon.
Veggie soups. Cut down on spuds in it though. Green leafy veg. I can eat baked potato skins (the very best bit!!) if I scrape out the middles. Mash that for beloved if you can...cheese, butter, bacon, eggs, avocado, nuts, olives, fish, chicken but not the coatings of processed grub, it’s all carby. Hamburgers...you can eat hamburgers, just ask no bun, extra salad / cheese if poss. No sauces, they are all sugar based. As is most Chinese nibbles, need to be careful with Indian curries too. No rice, breads.
If you have a sweet tooth, full fat Greek yoghurt with a spoonful of xylitol is nice. Beware fruit, all have fructose, a sugar variant. Blueberries best but only a few.

Everyone is different. Some of us tolerate a bit of carb, others don’t. A few can eat porridge, I certainly can’t. Full English breakfast of eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, sausages (good quality as cheap ones are full of filler carb) maybe black pudding. Best of luck! Test everything until you get an idea of the effects of foods on your bg. Some of us weigh portions, some of us just do it by eye. It’s an adventure.

MoroFenrir said:

I got 100 lancets and 100 strips

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Well done on buying the meter and strips, but you will not need all those lancets. I know the information says use a new one each time you test, but very, very few of us do that. I change mine probably every 50 strips (and only if I remember) or if it becomes so blunt it either stops drawing blood or hurts too much. I think you will find the majority of us do similar.

I agree that it is more important to test each meal until you have eliminated the foods that cause too much of a rise. The morning fasting is by far the least important initially as it is so variable and unreliable. Far more important to sort out the diet first.

MoroFenrir said:

So my partner has just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
She's 31.

The nurse said that usually they'd wait until a second blood test to confirm, but her results were very high so she's very confident it's type 2 , especially as there's a lot of diabetes in her family
(Mother, Aunt & Gradnparents on both sides)

We've got two weeks to wait for a second appointment, (Busy GPs) where she'll have a second blood test and be put on Metformin.

In the meantime, we're sort of floundering.

We know she has to cut out sugar, and that's most important thing
So far we have thought of Sugar Free Pop, Sugar free baked beans & sugar free ketchup and sweetners in tea

We know there's a lot of hidden sugars, like in processed foods and ready meals.

What things do we need to avoid straight away ?

We've been told to swap white bread, white rice and white pasta to the brown/wheat alternatives ?

Any startup advice would be great ... we also read to have oily fish twice a week, but she HATES it, is there an alternative, like cod liver oil ?

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I suggest you both watch Dr David Unwin on YouTube: He explains very clearly the sugar load in a variety of foods. He is also a superb speaker!

Good luck in your journey!

lovinglife said:

Hi @MoroFenrir and welcome,

Have a read of the following thread, it has some great tips on low carving on a budget

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/low-carb-on-a-tight-budget.98749/#post-1116149

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Cool avatar

I can eat corn on the cob!! Yayyyyyyyy. Also I always make a chestnut and pork stuffing at Xmas and when I checked, chestnut purée is pretty ok. So sausagemeat and chestnut in equal quantities, squished together in a large bowl (think of 5yr old and making mud pies) put in greased bread tin and then bung in oven. Truly delicious!

MoroFenrir said:

Got the meter!
first reading 6.7 during day
6.4 before dinner and 6.5 after!
Well chuffed

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Chuffed, and rightfully so! Well done!

MoroFenrir said:

Got the meter!
first reading 6.7 during day
6.4 before dinner and 6.5 after!
Well chuffed

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Those readings are the start of a recovery. The key is long term stability but your other half can get there quickly.
The half life of a blood cell is 10-12 weeks. Stop the new ones from being weighed down with sugar and the score (and risk) will come down. Lots of good diet advice above. A few tips:
- if you don't like it don't eat it
- only eat when hungry, stop when full
- stay hydrated
- avoid grains potatoes and sugar
All the best.

Well done to your partner (and her gp) on getting a meter and strips on prescriptions. And on the initial readings.

MoroFenrir said:

Anyway, now we have one in the car and one in the house.

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Please be aware that different meters can show slightly different results. My DN advised me against using my two meters simultaneously, as they are likely to give different readings. However, I doubt the difference is big enough to be all that significant.

MoroFenrir said:

So my partner has just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
She's 31.

The nurse said that usually they'd wait until a second blood test to confirm, but her results were very high so she's very confident it's type 2 , especially as there's a lot of diabetes in her family
(Mother, Aunt & Gradnparents on both sides)

We've got two weeks to wait for a second appointment, (Busy GPs) where she'll have a second blood test and be put on Metformin.

In the meantime, we're sort of floundering.

We know she has to cut out sugar, and that's most important thing
So far we have thought of Sugar Free Pop, Sugar free baked beans & sugar free ketchup and sweetners in tea

We know there's a lot of hidden sugars, like in processed foods and ready meals.

What things do we need to avoid straight away ?

We've been told to swap white bread, white rice and white pasta to the brown/wheat alternatives ?

Any startup advice would be great ... we also read to have oily fish twice a week, but she HATES it, is there an alternative, like cod liver oil ?

Click to expand...

I was diagnosed less than a week ago and this forum has been a life saver. Like you I know *zero* about type2 diabetes, but already, the advice I’ve been getting has been generous, thoughtful and more than anything, tremendously useful.

The blood glucose monitoring is a PITA, but being able to see how each meal is affecting me has made a big difference to my food choices and I’m starting to see that in my numbers. Basically, I’ve cut out as many carbs as I possibly can. I am starting to get more headaches but am hoping that’s just the ‘Keto flu’ a few people have mentioned.

I also started taking Metformin on Monday. 1 tablet with breakfast; I’ll be building up to 3/day but my body is taking some adjusting. The common side effects really are common.

I think someone else suggested getting your partner to sign up. I’d definitely advise the same.

Ps props to you for being so supportive. Will make a big difference if she doesn’t have to deal with it on her own

Shem S said:

I was diagnosed less than a week ago and this forum has been a life saver. Like you I know *zero* about type2 diabetes, but already, the advice I’ve been getting has been generous, thoughtful and more than anything, tremendously useful.

The blood glucose monitoring is a PITA, but being able to see how each meal is affecting me has made a big difference to my food choices and I’m starting to see that in my numbers. Basically, I’ve cut out as many carbs as I possibly can. I am starting to get more headaches but am hoping that’s the ‘Keto flu’ a few people have mentioned.

I also started taking Metformin on Monday. 1 tablet with breakfast; I’ll be building up to 3/day but my body is taking some adjusting. The common side effects really are common.

I think someone else suggested getting your partner to sign up. I’d definitely advise the same.

Ps props to you for being so supportive. Will make a big difference if she doesn’t have to deal with it on her own

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If you are getting headaches you may want to add a bit more salt to your food. Changing from previous ways of eating can mean we end up a bit deficient in salt which often leads to headaches.

bulkbiker said:

If you are getting headaches you may want to add a bit more salt to your food. Changing from previous ways of eating can mean we end up a bit deficient in salt which often leads to headaches.

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That’s good to know. Thank you. I’m a salt fiend so if anything I was concerned I might be using too much and becoming dehydrated. Not to go off topic, but I’m avoiding painkillers cos I want to be sure of my body’s responses to the changes in my diet and don’t want to mask anything.

Shem S said:

That’s good to know. Thank you. I’m a salt fiend so if anything I was concerned I might be using too much and becoming dehydrated. Not to go off topic, but I’m avoiding painkillers cos I want to be sure of my body’s responses to the changes in my diet and don’t want to mask anything.

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With your diet changes you may find no need to increase your metformin.. I couldn't tolerate them anyway so mine went into the bin after three weeks of being tied to the loo!
And being the wicked independent soul I am I didn't ask permission first!
Are you measuring your blood sugars? That's a big help whatever the Health Pro's say.