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Pulling my head out of the sand...!

T

type2Simon

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I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about a year ago (maybe slightly over a year now) and to be honest i was in denial, i didn't think i should let the disease control me and wouldn't even give it the time of day. After a few failed attempts at testing my blood i gave up - my reading about that time was 10ish. My finger pricker really wouldn't work well for me and i found it hard to get any blood out (i think i may have had a couple of faulty lancets because now i have no probs at all)

Over the last year i've had a fair few problems - my feet are numb which i've been to the doctors about (they gave me these pads for my shoes), i've also been given Viagra to help with ED (shakes fist at self in mirror!) which is a great drug but has horrible side effects. also i started having red/black/brown dots in my eye line. I've read up on it and it seems its to do with the diabetes. i'm going to a clinic / eye test in a couple of weeks so hopefully they will be able to shed some light on it.

Recently i thought i would test my blood again and see what my levels are - after not doing it for months it seemed like a good idea. sadly my batteries had died in my meter, so i've got to get some new ones soon. although i have found out that holding the batteries in my hands for a few mins seems to bring them back to life for a short while.

my first new reading was 14.5, after working hard to reduce it over the last couple of weeks my blood this morning was 12.5 (it may have been slightly higher or lower than that but it was 12 something).

the good news is that my eye dots seem to have mostly gone, so i must be doing something right.

my next task is to go for a check up at the doctors and get some new batteries for my monitor

Drugs - Metformin 2x500mg per day
 
You may find this advice useful, we usually give it out to newly diagnosed Type 2's. See what might be of use.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics.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.

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.

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 affect 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 !!

As a Type 2 the latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l.
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.
If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

Ken/Sue.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Simon and welcome. :)

Do follow the above advice because you will feel so much better! Explore and have a really good read around and ask any questions you need to as there are always folk on here happy to help. :)
 
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