I have been on dapagliflozin for about two and a half months, I have lost a stone and I now go swimming at least twice a week but my hba1c is still 9.7 ???? I am very down. I have read others using dapa have had fantastic results.
That's so interesting
Sorry guys, I realised that my comment was off topic, and deleted is ASAP - but not fast enough, cos you both read it!@Brunneria that will be a straight calculation of mmol.s to calorie equiv and then to fat. It will only be a rough estimate because everybodies Hb lives different lengths of time, but it does make sense.
Hi mac and welcome to the forum
Here is the information which we give to new members (referred to by @alliebee ) and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will 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 100,000 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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.
- 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 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.
Hi @Mac2002 - you can be no more fussy than me and I still am but I have managed to turn it around without the eat massive amounts of veggies and nothing else type diet. Have a read of my journey in the link in my signature and it may give you some ideas. It is all about finding what you can/will eat which does not completely cause you to progress towards losing that limb and getting a chance to try barbecued Mac in a bun (sorry I mean raise your BG levels in my sadistic way)
The other things that is just as important to food (may be even more so for me) has been exercise - going for a walk for 30 mins between an hour and 2 hours after eating.
I loved all those foods too. But I realised if I kept eating them my bgs would never get down. I also didn't want to face complications like losing my sight or terrible neuropathic pain or amputation in a few years if I did nothing. So I've learned to enjoy my new diet and I know I'm low risk now for any complications
Hi Mac, I know its all a bit scary in the beginning, but if you have a meter and your see the results first hand you will start to understand what all the fuss about carbs is about. A lot of people find that simply by reducing the amount of carbs (not giving them up completely) helps. I am experimenting between the two... So it may be that you cut your breakfast down to 1 slice of wholemeal toast (not white) and that you have an open sandwich for lunch... and a smaller amount of potatoes or pasta with your dinner.
Unfortunately the only way to get the results you want is to make some changes. For me any bread or substitutes are a no - because they spike me too much.. I can get away with a couple of new potatoes or a small amount of mashed potatoes with cheese or cream in on a shepherds pie (my fav dinner) or a tablespoon of pasta... anything more and my bloods go berserk!
Everybody is different and the great thing about this site is there are lots of people trying lots of different things... who can offer you some fabulous advice, so good luck
I find bergen linseed and soya bread much less of an issue than wholegrain bread. Try it out - you can get it from many supermarkets. My wife buys it from Sainsburys for me. Have you tried something like raw carrots. They are filling and replace those nasty carbs that are causing you issues. You can also crunch on them whilst you are walking to work.Hi Andrew
Thank you for advice. I have read some of your messages and well done for weight loss/blood glucose levels. I do go swimming and walk part way to work as I don't drive. I know my problem is what I eat not quantity but choice of foods. I have decided to change to wholegrain and be more aware of what I am eating. Hopefully this will help.
Thank you for all your repliesI know my diet is poor and I am in denial that it is affecting me. I suppose at nearly 50 years old I also know how difficult this is going to be because I have always been a fussy eater. I will look on line to find some recipes and ideas to change my eating habits. Wish me luck as this is going to be really hard
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