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Type 2 living in France, lots of questions

D

DBora

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Morning all,

After a reluctant visit to the Doctor, & a subsequent blood test I was diagnosed with type 2. This should have come as no surprise really, 2 pregnancies with GD & the first one wasn't diagnosed but was suspected after my baby arrived nearly 7 weeks early weighing in at 8lbs 2oz!!! AND, I have 'just not been feeling right' since the new year.
Anyway, so here I am......... My Doctor has told me to test my sugars twice a day & put me on the French equivalent of metamorfin. Any thing on the TV re Diabetes (we watch UK TV) I have been watching as I had suspicions, & I recently saw an interview with Gloria Hunniford who is pre diabetic & she was told to cut out carbs. Now, this confused me as when I had GD I noticed how they made my blood sugars spike, but I was told both in the UK & here, that you shouldn't have to cut out any food group!!! I also looked online & they said if you cut them out you can risk going into hypoglycaemia!!! I asked the Doctor yesterday, & he said yes, I could eat them but with vegetables!!! He gave me no real guidance other than to cut out sugar, alcohol (well, I can have this but in moderation!!! lol It IS France!!! ) He has put me on medication & need to go & have another blood test in two months. Also my cholesterol is high, although he said this isn't too high & there is an issue with my Thyroid which could change once we have the Diabetes under control.
So my main questions are-
1) When do I take my 2 blood sugar readings?? I assume the first on rising, and the second??
2) Carbs or no carbs??
3) What should I be eating/ drinking?? Are diet drinks OK or not??
4) I know fruit juice is a no-no, but is fresh fruit OK?? Also, fruit yogurts??
5) I also know I am overweight, & losing this would also help.... Are low fat products OK???

Sorry for all of the questions & thank you in advance for any help x

P.S. I am sure I will have lot more once I finish this post!!!! lol
 
hi and welcome to the forum :)

1 when to test -- if you are limited to 2 then once in the morning and vary the other test ( but 2 hours after a meal would be my preferred option on only 2) can you discuss increasing testing with your doctor in france for the next few months as you learn what foods do what to your blood sugar ??

2 restricting carbs will certainly help blood glucose readings -- loads of great recipes in low carb section on forum

3 diet drinks are ok -- coffee ,( black or with single cream) tea infusions ( without milk) , L'eau minerale (haha they drink loads in france anyway ) as for foods have a read round and others will reply soon as well

4 see point 1 -- eat to your meter ---- generally bananas , pineapple are the worst -- fresh berries tend to be the best ( a bit subjective this answer - some peeps may be able to get away with banana's )

5 see the LCHF ( low carb high fat ) section -- opposite to low fat diets to lose weight ( and maintain lower blood glucose readings

all the best !
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Welcome @DBora

There is so much confusing and different information around particularily when you are first diagnosed it can make your head spin
I have tagged @daisy1 who will post a great information pack that is really worth a read. I endorse @himtoo answers to your questions and encourage you to post any other questions you may have as I have found this place to be my no 1 resource
 
Hi. Ref testing times, just be aware that early morning tests can be affected by overnight liver dumps of glucose so take more note of the 2 hour post-meal reading. Keep the carbs down and diet drinks are fine. Real whole fruit is fine but as another poster said minimise tropical fruits. You don't need to have low-fat products as fat is OK to have and many have added sugar. Low-fat is OK as long as there is little or no added sugar; virtually all fruit yogurts have added sugar. I have Irish yogurts no-added sugar ones which use sweeteners.
 
@DBora

Hello and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members which should complement the excellent answers you have received to your questions. Ask as many more questions as you like and someone will be able to help.

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 over 150,000 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-and-whole-grains.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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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 bloodglucose 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.
 
Thank you all for the advice. I have low carbed before & felt really good on it, although very restricting in 'real life' especially with a family of 3 hungry kids!!! I also have another issue going on here, I am also allergic to all mammal meat (recently diagnosed) so now, low carbing will be particularly difficult. So, I have decided to eat 'healthy carbs' so I can include beans & pulses, a good source of protein, without limiting my choice too much.
I think I will also keep the low fat diary products, as the low fat fruit yogurts here do not have added sugar' & am contemplating doing the 5:2 diet so the lower fat products would be handy for keeping the calories down on these days as my weight is a key factor I believe with my diabetes.

Again, thank you for the help, I have a few other questions but I will post these in the questions section :D
 
DBora said:
Morning all,

After a reluctant visit to the Doctor, & a subsequent blood test I was diagnosed with type 2. This should have come as no surprise really, 2 pregnancies with GD & the first one wasn't diagnosed but was suspected after my baby arrived nearly 7 weeks early weighing in at 8lbs 2oz!!! AND, I have 'just not been feeling right' since the new year.
Anyway, so here I am......... My Doctor has told me to test my sugars twice a day & put me on the French equivalent of metamorfin. Any thing on the TV re Diabetes (we watch UK TV) I have been watching as I had suspicions, & I recently saw an interview with Gloria Hunniford who is pre diabetic & she was told to cut out carbs. Now, this confused me as when I had GD I noticed how they made my blood sugars spike, but I was told both in the UK & here, that you shouldn't have to cut out any food group!!! I also looked online & they said if you cut them out you can risk going into hypoglycaemia!!! I asked the Doctor yesterday, & he said yes, I could eat them but with vegetables!!! He gave me no real guidance other than to cut out sugar, alcohol (well, I can have this but in moderation!!! lol It IS France!!! ) He has put me on medication & need to go & have another blood test in two months. Also my cholesterol is high, although he said this isn't too high & there is an issue with my Thyroid which could change once we have the Diabetes under control.
So my main questions are-
1) When do I take my 2 blood sugar readings?? I assume the first on rising, and the second??
2) Carbs or no carbs??
3) What should I be eating/ drinking?? Are diet drinks OK or not??
4) I know fruit juice is a no-no, but is fresh fruit OK?? Also, fruit yogurts??
5) I also know I am overweight, & losing this would also help.... Are low fat products OK???

Sorry for all of the questions & thank you in advance for any help x

P.S. I am sure I will have lot more once I finish this post!!!! lol
Click to expand...
Hi,

I was just searching the forums for diet info and came across your post. I live in France too, and have just started taking steps to lower my blood sugar as I'm borderline type 2 at the moment. I've gone low carb high fat (or at least higher fat) and have begun testing my blood glucose with a meter before and after meals. It's quite a big change. Not sure where I'm going with this but if you'd like a diabetic buddy in France then feel free to message me!
 
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