Type 2 newbie

dumpy222

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63
Type of diabetes
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Tablets (oral)
Hi all I'm 36 and just been diagnosed with type 2!! I've been given metformin 500mg tds. I work in a nursing home and luckily my fab nurse work mates have been checking my bm. My question is should I invest in my own machine even though I'm a wimp and hate it when they prick my finger!!
 

Andy12345

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Hi all I'm 36 and just been diagnosed with type 2!! I've been given metformin 500mg tds. I work in a nursing home and luckily my fab nurse work mates have been checking my bm. My question is should I invest in my own machine even though I'm a wimp and hate it when they prick my finger!!



hi, welcome


yes!
diet is the single most effective means of controlling your blood glucose, without testing, you wont know what foods send your bgs up or not so how can we avoid the bad stuff? :)
 

dumpy222

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63
Type of diabetes
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Tablets (oral)
Andy while your here can I pick your brains!!! I've been having funny turns where I go hot and sweaty and suddenly feel sick and generally yuck!! The doctor says it's my diabetes is this correct

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Andy12345

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it could be, those are symptons of both high and low sugar levels, again a great reason to test :) on saying that im not a doctor so anything i say is just opinion of course :)
 

Andy12345

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it sounds awful i certainly wouldnt wish this on you or anyone, but its kinda handy that if you were to learn about db you could pass on your knowledge to your patients, most medical professionals dont have the first clue about it, apart from the murderous advice they give to newly diagnosed dbs

(not all, some are great, but generally)



picking my brains wouldnt take you very long hehe
 

daisy1

Legend
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26,457
Type of diabetes
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Tablets (oral)
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Cruelty towards animals.
Hi dumpy222 and welcome to the forum:)

Here is the information we give to new members which I hope will be useful to you. Ask all the questions you want and someone will help you.


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 70,000 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

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.
 

dumpy222

Well-Known Member
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63
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
When I had my funny turn today my bg was 10.2 (was at work so the nurse did it) all I had eaten was one piece of toast to take my tablet with!!

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 

Andy12345

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When I had my funny turn today my bg was 10.2 (was at work so the nurse did it) all I had eaten was one piece of toast to take my tablet with!!

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App



as you will learn bread is a big no no for most diabetics, its carbohydrate, which basically turns to glucose inside our stomachs, so its not really surprising the toast did that, bread is also my nemesis, its the thing i miss the most, there is a bread that waitrose and some morrisons sell called "livlife" this bread is very low carb (compared to other breads) and seems tolerable to those that have mentioned trying it, including me, but if your into bread its better to go for the whole grain types, but you will have to get used to reading labels
 

dumpy222

Well-Known Member
Messages
63
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Yeah I've been looking on here and discovered that!! Gutted cause when I'm at work its the only thing I can grab on an early!! Will have to investigate further I know!! When will I stop feeling so ill??

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Andy12345

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Yeah I've been looking on here and discovered that!! Gutted cause when I'm at work its the only thing I can grab on an early!! Will have to investigate further I know!! When will I stop feeling so ill??

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App


my food of choice at lunchtimes on the go (which all mine are) is subway salads, for £3 i get a huge salad with meats and a bottle of water, which in this day and age seems pretty reasonable, its enough for 2 people, but thats only good if you have access to one, if your building bound, you can as i do at home, use the same combinations of salads out of the fridge (make your own), they are great for bgs obviously not everyone likes eating them all the time though, im lucky
 

Andy12345

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what tablets are you taking? metformin? how about a handful of nuts?

but you should really be looking for a decent lunch idea anyway, which would automatically be thing to take the meds with :)

id say the temptation when struggling with what to eat is to not eat at all, thats not a good idea imo, its very important to eat regularily if you avoid food to keep bgs down, your liver will dump glucose anyway so you may as well eat something healthy and avoid your body compensating with this unwanted response
 

popsy

Well-Known Member
Messages
522
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Crowds of people, my idea of hell would be a huge gathering of any sort!

Heights, scare me to death!
Liars, cheats. poseurs, any kind of violence, thieves and people who take advantage of others.

The way the world is going to hell in a handbasket.

Global warming, the melting ice caps, whaling..I mean what for?!

Cruelty

Having to give up my eat everything philosophy..and I really really dislike consequences.
It is a nasty shock I have to say to find out that you are diabetic but I must say I was so relieved at first because it explained why I felt so absolutely dreadful! Andy is spot on as usual with his advice. Eating regularly is of paramount importance, you will learn to spot what works for you and what won't but without a meter it would be pretty impossible. My greatest tool is my meter and at first I used it almost constantly.

One of my biggest regrets is that when I was first diagnosed I wasn't offered a meter as being on Metfomin only it is not considered necessary and knowing nothing about anything concerning diabetes I didn't even know what they were! Complete and absolute rubbish imo! I am firmly of the opinion that if I HAD had one I could have controlled my diabetes with low carbing and maybe not had to step up my meds so soon. What's done is done though, that was then and this is now. Get a meter if at all possible.

Come back here whenever you need to, there is always someone who has been there and done that and no concern is too trivial.

Oh and check out the recipe section, there are loads of low carb recipes on there that would probably work for you. :)
 

dumpy222

Well-Known Member
Messages
63
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Ok I'm gonna need a huge overhaul!! My eating habits are awful!! Although better since diagnosed but I've never eaten three meals a day!! Breakfast at work was a slice of toast if I wasn't at work it was nothing till about 4pm in the afternoon! Gonna need a crash course guys!!

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carty

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,388
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I dont recommend Crash! If you make the changes more gradually you are more likely to stick to them and you wont frighten your body too much !! So for instance perhaps you can train your body to accept breakfast if you dont fancy cooked breakfast a piece of ham or chicken or cheese some start the day with greek yoghurt and berries .Home made soup in a wide necked flask is good for lunches there are loads of recipes on here for simple soups You can do it you just have to think out of the box !!
CAROL