Here goes, first post and already a question! I am newly diagnosed with type2 diabetes. I am on Metformin. My pharmacist has asked what my daily blood sugars have been as I have been feeling a little under the weather. As yet I have not been issued with a monitor - is this normal? I am fairly daunted by it all at the moment.
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Self Management?
- Thread starter LouiseG
- Start Date
daisy1
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Hi Louise and welcome to the forum 
You may have to ask for a meter and strips, and they may either give them to you, or more likely tell you that you don't need them. They are however necessary to control diabetes and you may have to buy them yourself. The SD Codefree uses the cheapest strips. When you get it test before and 2 hours after eating aiming for a similar figure by choosing carefully what you eat. Cutting down the carbohydrates is the most important thing, although they may tell you to eat lots of starchy carbs, which is not recommended.
Here is the information we give to new members which I hope you will find helpful. Ask more questions and someone will be able to answer.
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:
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
You may have to ask for a meter and strips, and they may either give them to you, or more likely tell you that you don't need them. They are however necessary to control diabetes and you may have to buy them yourself. The SD Codefree uses the cheapest strips. When you get it test before and 2 hours after eating aiming for a similar figure by choosing carefully what you eat. Cutting down the carbohydrates is the most important thing, although they may tell you to eat lots of starchy carbs, which is not recommended.
Here is the information we give to new members which I hope you will find helpful. Ask more questions and someone will be able to answer.
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
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
The above info is spot on, you need to test and record the results, note and record what you ate or drunk to produce that test result. Slowly you will build up the knowledge you need to avoid certain foods and eat what is good for your BGs.
Don't expect things to change overnight, it takes time and patience.
H
Don't expect things to change overnight, it takes time and patience.
H
Daibell
Master
Hi. Yes, you need to obtain a meter and as most surgeries will not provide one you can either ask one of the manufacturers for a free one or order the SD Codefree one from Amazon etc. The latter has low cost test strips. Don't expect Metformin to work miracles; it should reduce your sugars by something like 1-2 mmol. If you are an overweight 'typical' T2 then Metformin is a good start together with a low carb diet. Do come back with further questions as a diagnosis of diabetes is a shock to all of us but you soon get the hang of it.
visit: www.homehealth-uk.com and get the SD Codefree and strips VAT free direct from the people who sell it on Amazon and Amazon won't be getting a cut.
Thank you for all your replies,it has been very helpful.
The other thing I'm confused about is my doctor gave me a booklet that said I needed to bulk up on carbohydrates, although I have been trying to lose weight for some time.so off I went to the supermarkets and filled up with lots of carbs.since then I've felt awful and bulked up.this forum seems to tell me the opposite,can anyone put me straight. I am most grateful
The other thing I'm confused about is my doctor gave me a booklet that said I needed to bulk up on carbohydrates, although I have been trying to lose weight for some time.so off I went to the supermarkets and filled up with lots of carbs.since then I've felt awful and bulked up.this forum seems to tell me the opposite,can anyone put me straight. I am most grateful
xyzzy
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LouiseG said:
Well loads of us reduce our carbs as our primary means of getting safe levels. That means we cut out most forms of sugar so obvious things like sugar in teas, non diet drinks, cakes, biscuits, even pure fruit juice etc. Importantly we also cut down on starchy foods so rice, pasta, bread, cereals, potatoes and other flour based products which act on your levels nearly as badly as sugar. We replace with eggs, cheese, fish, meat and safer carbohydrate sources such as loads of green veg. For the starchy food that you keep swap to brown varieties so brown basmati rice, brown or tri color pasta and try Burgen soya bread that you can get from most supermarkets.
The problem in the UK is that there is a one diet fits all recommendation regardless of if you are a diabetic or not. That diet stems back to the early 1990's so its now over 20 years old and there is no distinction made for a diet more suitable for a T2. In other countries lower carbohydrate diets are THE recognised way of helping a T2 based on research done in the 21st century.
My doc (a diabetes specialist GP) knows I do a low carbohydrate diet and says "you have put your diabetes in remission" (notice not cured which is quite correct). He and my DSN encourage me to continue what I am doing and he gives me hints like "I have a friend who does the same as you" but obviously he won't officially go against official NHS policy.
Hi louise
A tip - dont think of this as a diet. It's so not!
On a diet you can fall off the wagon - I know I've done it all my life!
This is a new way of eating for life because your body cannot process carbohydrates in the way it used to be able to. You really can't afford to fall off the wagon (well not til you've got to grips with it and then only occaisionally )
If you are feeling hungry, eat more often the things which are ok per your meter. Avoid low fat/low sugar foods. Eat plenty of salad and veg and have healthy fats (butter,cream,cheese) to satisfy you.
Mary x
A tip - dont think of this as a diet. It's so not!
On a diet you can fall off the wagon - I know I've done it all my life!
This is a new way of eating for life because your body cannot process carbohydrates in the way it used to be able to. You really can't afford to fall off the wagon (well not til you've got to grips with it and then only occaisionally )
If you are feeling hungry, eat more often the things which are ok per your meter. Avoid low fat/low sugar foods. Eat plenty of salad and veg and have healthy fats (butter,cream,cheese) to satisfy you.
Mary x
xyzzy
Well-Known Member
- Messages
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- Type of diabetes
- Other
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Undeserving authority figures of all kinds and idiots.
Mary is entirely right.
The better word to use is regime i.e. you are going to adopt a low carbohydrate regime. It's important you get control of your levels. When I was first diagnosed getting control was all that mattered so don't let yourself get hungry. Remember you need to REPLACE the starchy carbs you drop with other food. To be honest most of us found when we did that we all lost weight anyway. In my case I didn't lose a pound for around 3 weeks but then over the next 6 months I lost 4 stone without really trying.
The better word to use is regime i.e. you are going to adopt a low carbohydrate regime. It's important you get control of your levels. When I was first diagnosed getting control was all that mattered so don't let yourself get hungry. Remember you need to REPLACE the starchy carbs you drop with other food. To be honest most of us found when we did that we all lost weight anyway. In my case I didn't lose a pound for around 3 weeks but then over the next 6 months I lost 4 stone without really trying.
