Scottish lassie in Czech Republic says hi

[Lily-Anne]

Hello everyone,

I'm Lily-Anne and currently live in the CZ (previously Poland and China and originally from Scotland). I was diagonsed with type 1 just over a year ago although it seems that I was probably undiagnosed for quite some time.

I guess it's no harder being diabetic in a foreign country (and my CZ is pretty awful) than anywhere else - maybe just a bit more confusing so I hope this site can help me make some contacts with people who can really understand what a pain it can be.

I teach English as a foreign language, train teachers(when I have time) write for teaching websites, examine and study as well as doing zumba, playing badminton, swimming occassionally squash, hillwalking and reading and studying so life can be pretty hectic at times.

In general I haven't changed my life that much (actually, my friends disagree with that) but my doc, although she likes me, is not overly happy with my progress and the language barrier does impede.

She has recommended that I go to the insulin pump ( I know there is a forum specifically for this) and now I'm looking at all the options.

However, enough said. I am busy so not the world's best correspondent but would love to become a regular on this forum and get in touch with some of you.

 

[MaryJ]

Hi Lily-Anne

Welcome to the forum

Mary x

 

[daisy1]

Hi Lily-Anne and welcome to the forum
Since you are fairly newly diagnosed, this information which we give to new members should be helpful to you. Some of this information applies only to the UK. Ask any questions you like as we are all here to help you. I live in Switzerland by the way and I am a Type 2. Good luck with the insulin pump. There are many pump users here.

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.
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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.

 

[Lily-Anne]

Thanks to both of you for your reply My biggest problem is that (apart from drops etc) , I feel great then my test results say different!! It's good that I've been diagnosed but also bloody annoying! However - I like my life and am gonna enjoy it. i hope to speak to both of you again and meet more people through this forum. In the next week I will prob be on the insulin pump forum I guess.
Have a good week.