Wasn't expecting that!

Hi @Craig1980 ,

Welcome to the forum.

What medication has been prescribed?

Ping @daisy1 for the welcome.

@Craig1980 welcome to a whole new world of exiting and interesting food!
As someone who doesn't eat like a rabbit, I think you are worrying a bit more than you need to.
Probably you will end up ditching most of the yummy carbohydrates in your diet like chips and bread (mmm...chip butty) but after a bit it won't hurt that much and you will be a lot fitter.

Why you? Luck of the draw, so not much point in blaming anyone including yourself.

Don't panic. It will probably take you 3-6 months to come to terms with what you have and what you need to do about it. Expect confusion, indignation, wild enthusiasms, more confusion, depression, excitement, more confusion.

It isn't the end of the world.

Craig1980 said:

I have not been feeling myself recently so i went to the doctors and was shocked when he did my blood sugars and the reading was 29.4. I don't understand how this has happened. So i am not the healthiest person but I'm better than others who don't have diabetes so why me. Along with my high blood pressure and now diabetes I'm going to have to eat like a rabbit. No sugar no salt food will never be the same. But whst can i do other than learn to live with it.

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welcome here it is almost always a gigantic shock to be diagnosed to be a diabetic.. depending on which kind of diabetes there is actually a lot one can learn and do to keep as healthy as possible, and as a type 2, many times get ones blood glucose totally down to normal levels ...

type 1 will always have to learn to use insulin ... type 2 usually can avoid having to use adding insulin and have by the way many times a level of insulin that is many times the healthy level, but their body can somehow not use insulin as effective as they could before becoming diabetic.

if you are a type 2 diabetic it helps you a lot to count your amount of carbs in your foods and stay low in carb intake and stay under 150 grams of carbs in total in a day or even stay under 100 grams in total in a day... some go even lower and many times thereby loses all their overweight when going very low in carbs

it is just another way of eating, and meat and fish and cheese and avocado and other veggies grown over ground are okay to eat a lot of.. some berries and cream , fullfat yoghurt ... the low carb eating style, it is not that bad when one has learned what to eat...

to avoid is sugar , white bread , bread in general , potatoes and fruits... sugary drinks like cococola anb alike , juice

here is a link to a great site of recipes..https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes

and by the way, buy a blood glucose meter, and do use it every day... no matter if the GP and nurse says it is not necessary this will be one of the keys to gain total control and learn which foods raise you too much and to measure if your daily morning blood glucose is in the normal level preferably under 5.8 mmol.... or lower... , initially you could be satisfied with a bit higher level untill your level gets down in a month or two..

Funnily enough one of the first things I said when given the diagnosis of T2 was 'I'm not going to eat rabbit food or stick pins in myself all day long!'. Well, I was right about the rabbit food, my lifestyle does not revolve around salads. I eat good hearty meals that are tasty and satisfying and they do not make my blood glucose levels go nuclear.
I do stick pins in myself, though

Welcome to the forum Craig!
I don’t think rabbits eat bacon and eggs or strawberries and cream! Metformin will only have a small effect so you’ll need to lower your carb intake too but please don’t think it is boring. I was diagnosed in May ‘17 and in four months by low carbing and self monitoring along with Metformin I was back down to non diabetic levels which I have now maintained for over a year. If you decide to self monitor which I strongly advise we can point you in the direction if the most cost effective meters and testing strips.
My Sunday lunch btw was roast chicken, mixed vegetables, one tiny roast potato with gravy thicken with ground flax seed followed by sugar free jelly and cream.

Rachox said:

Welcome to the forum Craig!
I don’t think rabbits eat bacon and eggs or strawberries and cream! Metformin will only have a small effect so you’ll need to lower your carb intake too but please don’t think it is boring. I was diagnosed in May ‘17 and in four months by low carbing and self monitoring along with Metformin I was back down to non diabetic levels which I have now maintained for over a year. If you decide to self monitor which I strongly advise we can point you in the direction if the most cost effective meters and testing strips.
My Sunday lunch btw was roast chicken, mixed vegetables, one tiny roast potato with gravy thicken with ground flax seed followed by sugar free jelly and cream.

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Snap! Except for the puddin' and I had two roast celeriac 'spuds' with mine. I'm saving my pud for after my second meal.

@Craig1980

Hello Craig and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful and interesting. Ask questions when you need to and someone will help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 235,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

Rachox said:

Welcome to the forum Craig!
I don’t think rabbits eat bacon and eggs or strawberries and cream! Metformin will only have a small effect so you’ll need to lower your carb intake too but please don’t think it is boring. I was diagnosed in May ‘17 and in four months by low carbing and self monitoring along with Metformin I was back down to non diabetic levels which I have now maintained for over a year. If you decide to self monitor which I strongly advise we can point you in the direction if the most cost effective meters and testing strips.
My Sunday lunch btw was roast chicken, mixed vegetables, one tiny roast potato with gravy thicken with ground flax seed followed by sugar free jelly and cream.

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How do you do your gravy. Is the flax just mixed in with the meat juices?

There is a genetic component to diabetes. Do you have a family history? Not only does my father have it but I also tested at 23andMe for ancestry and health results, and my genes indicate a greater-than-average chance of developing diabetes.

Craig1980 said:

I have not been feeling myself recently so i went to the doctors and was shocked when he did my blood sugars and the reading was 29.4. I don't understand how this has happened. So i am not the healthiest person but I'm better than others who don't have diabetes so why me. Along with my high blood pressure and now diabetes I'm going to have to eat like a rabbit. No sugar no salt food will never be the same. But whst can i do other than learn to live with it.

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Why you? Well, *obviously* you're a really, really bad person and karma is kicking into action! Nah, seriously, it's just genetics and eating what we are usually told is right and healthy, but really isn't for people who have a predisposition for T2. It happens. To a lot of us. Still, the "Why me?" question is one we've asked at any given time, ourselves, but that's the best answer I've got. So I'm hoping you're not blaming yourself here. You couldn't know, so don't kick yourself around over it.

So, you're here now. And wahey, you don't have to eat like a rabbit. Lucky you. Far as kicking salt to the curb entirely, you'll need at least a little in the time to come, but I'll get to that in a second. As you've probably gathered by now, (practically) all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, not just straight sugars, but starches too. That rules out (or reduces) bread, potatoes, pasta, fruit save for berries, avocado and the odd cherry tomato, rice, cereal and corn. That leaves a lot of meat, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, full-fat greek yoghurt, double cream, above ground veggies and leafy greens (yeah, rabbit food, but not JUST rabbit food. ), and most importantly, extra dark chocolate. The good news: fats slow down the sugar spike, so that's one helpful little component. (I lost over 25 kilo's eating bacon every day. Cholesterol is fine. Bloodpressure a tad low!)

Food changes, as it happens, has a bigger impact on your bloodsugars than the metformin will, and contrary to medication, a change in diet can actually put T2 into remission. (If you go med-only it is a progessive disease. Med and diet, or if all goes well, diet-only, is better/healthier in the long run). Meaning you'd still be a T2, but you wouldn't have complications stacking up, and non-diabetic glucoselevels, as long as you stick with low-carb eating. How low carb? That depends. Get a meter, check before you eat and 2 hours after the first bite. If it went up more than 2.0 mmol/l, the meal was carbier than you can process back out again and needs tweaking. If you do decide to go low carb, that'll mean your body will retain less water. Especially at first, you'll urinate a lot as your body gets used to the new status quo, and that also means you'll lose quite a bit of salt as it flows out with the water. So do keep bone broth and such handy for electrolytes and to keep from getting dehydrated (If you're getting headaches, get some salt and water into you!!!). Odds are your bloodpressure will get better on low carb too, as you're likely to lose weight, which usually has a positive impact on things like BP and cholesterol.

In any case... Welcome. And good luck!
Jo

Craig1980 said:

My problem is I hate everything that has sweetner in I can taste it and it's horrible so I lose all the sugar free alternatives which limits me to a lot of food. I also have high bp which also removes a lot of food choices.

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Ok so avoid sweet.. that will probably be good for you anyway.. eggs and bacon ok? Any meat, fish, green veg, cream, butter, cheese. You want to try and have food cooked from fresh ingredients with very little processed food. if it comes in a cardboard box leave it on the shelf.

Flora123 said:

How do you do your gravy. Is the flax just mixed in with the meat juices?

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A bit of meat juice, a small amount of gravy granules, boiling water and then the flax never the same twice! I just chuck it in!

There is no need to use sweeteners as if you eat things unsweetened your taste will alter and you'll perceive things such as peas and beetroot as tasting sweet.
You can use sachets of gelatin and mix in full fat yogurt once the jelly is cool, then whisk and flavour to make something for dessert - no problem.
We do not just need sugar free but a low carb diet, so sugars and starches should be weeded out - we can eat meat fish or shellfish, eggs, cheese, cream plus what carbs are tolerated without raising blood glucose.
Don't try avoiding salt - you are likely to get the most excruciating cramps if you do not have a small amount of salt each day.
I did a few checks in the last few days as I am coming up to 2 years from diagnosis. My BG levels seem to be around 6 mmol/l on average if I eat low carb foods.