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Very confused newbie

bopeep12300

Active Member
Messages
41
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello everyone, I was diagnosed as type 2 only a few days ago. I'm on Metformin & was told that I don't need to test my blood each day.
I'm really confused as I don't have a clue about which foods are safe, apart from the obvious cakes & sweets etc. how do I know if I'm doing the right thing? I was given a couple of booklets & was told I' could attend a meeting about food, but that's not available till next year.
In the meantime I've switched to wholemeal stuff as much as I can but I really don't know what to do. Any advice would be so much appreciated. Thanks.
 
Hi bopeep and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I think you will find it helpful. I am sure you will have many questions, so just ask 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 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 ... 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.
 
bopeep12300 said:
Hello everyone, I was diagnosed as type 2 only a few days ago. I'm on Metformin & was told that I don't need to test my blood each day.
I'm really confused as I don't have a clue about which foods are safe, apart from the obvious cakes & sweets etc. how do I know if I'm doing the right thing? I was given a couple of booklets & was told I' could attend a meeting about food, but that's not available till next year.
In the meantime I've switched to wholemeal stuff as much as I can but I really don't know what to do. Any advice would be so much appreciated. Thanks.
bopeep, don't be a sheep.
IMHO you need to test to see what different foods (and amounts) do to you!
When you get your course possibly Xpert or DESMOND you will find about the importance of testing in a controlled manner. Once you know how your body interacts with different foods you can ease of on testing a bit.
Most strip manufacturers will GIVE you a free tester (inc usually 10 "trial strips" and strips can be sourced from manufacturers or from the internet far cheaper than the "high street chemists".
It is interesting how much 2 slices of toast (even wholemeal) or muesli raises your BG compared to a low carb breakfast such as an egg.
 
Dear BoPeep12300.
Welcome to the Diabetes Forum. It can be quite a shock to discover that you have diabetes and getting you head around all the strange words and what to eat/avoid can be very confusing. Don't panic, take things steady, learn a little more about your condition each day and you'll soon understand what this diabetic thing is all about.

Just a warning, having been prescribed Metformin you may find there are a few unpleasent side effects to start with, so you might like to try weaning yourelf onto this medication by cuttting the tablet in half and going on half measure for a day or so before taking the full amount.

As for a meter and diet, well yes, it's very worthwhile (essential) but read and study more from this site on carbohydrates (carbs) and types of meters and when to test before commiting yourself at this stage. One thing at a time is best.

Please feel free to ask if you have any other questions, we're all her to help one another.
 
Hi boPeep

If you are interested in lowering your carbs I love the book Crabs and Cals. It opened my eyes to potion sizes and calories. I never paid much attention to carbs before but lowering the carbs in my diet and weight loss has really helped me.

Ask as many questions as you need you'll find lots of advice and opinions
 
Just a point bopeep if your Metformin is SR or MR or prolonged release you must take the while tablet and not break or crush it
Take time to read Daisys advice and you will learn a lot ,that and this forum and others with good advice really helped me when I was first diagnosed and very confused
CAROL
 
Thank you everyone it's nice to know I have people who understand. I've looked at the Desmond page & it's very interesting & I'm going to sign up for the type 2 training course that runs alongside it.
I read somewhere that pastry is very bad for you? Is this true? Also the other evening I had an Indian takeaway meal, chicken Tika masala with pilu rice & a peshwari naan bread. Although the food was heavenly & I enjoyed every morsel, a short time later I began to feel unwell. I developed a thumping headache that lasted all through the night despite taking two lots of painkillers. And I came over extremely tired & all I wanted was to go to bed as I was struggling to keep my eyes open, literally. The next morning I had a general feeling of just being unwell although it gradually wore off as the day went on.
Somebody mentioned that I was probably having a reaction to the food I ate as it was prob too much sugar.
Can any of you tell me if this was likely? I don't have a testing kit so I couldn't test my blood levels to see if it was high. I'm worried in case it happens again with something else. Thank you x
 
Yes you could possibly be reacting to the food you ate. The four worst sinners are sugar, flour, potato and rice. You should, at least, reduce the portion size of these. For some of us avoiding sugar and flour products is essential.

Because of the above, pastry certainly can be a problem and anyone who wishes to eat cake will probably find that they have an even greater problem.

Things are not as bad as they seem since you may find that eating less of the above ingredients is ok but it is also possible that you may have to cut one or two of them from your diet entirely.
 
All of the advice written here so far is very good. I personally do not have diabetes, but work in diabetes research and do a lot of patient education with regards to diet, plating, and carb counting. I deal mainly with people that have to inject insulin and have more complicated issues with their diet, but I can give you a few tips that are helpful.

1. If you are going to eat a snack between meals, and that snack is a carbohydrate, it is best if you pair it with a protein as eating a carbohydrate by itself will spike your blood sugar quickly, if you eat a protein with it, it slows down that reaction and gives your body time to control your sugars with the insulin it does produce (or inject if you have to give yourself insulin). For example, if you want to eat an apple, you should pair it with a tablespoon of peanut butter or a piece of string cheese to help your body better control your sugars.

2. In general, it is good practice to learn how to plate a meal. You should take a 9 inch plate and first divide it in half. Half of the plate should be filled with salad or non-starchy vegetables. Then divide the other half in half again. On this side of the plate, one piece should have a carbohydrate, and one should have a protein. Perhaps you would have chicken breast, rice, and a salad or green beans. The important thing to take away from this is that mixed type meals help promote better glucose control.

Just work on your diet and exercise. It is possible you will be able to control this with diet, exercise and metformin and may never have your diabetes progress further. Good Luck!
 
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