Type 2 whats with all the numbers & things on peoples posts???

@daisy1 will provide some info for you.

Yes, generally people are discussing their instantaneous blood glucose levels (in mmol/L) or their HbA1c (in % or mmol/mol), which represents approximately the last three months of blood glucose levels.

Yes, it's a good idea to know your numbers so you can track your progress back to normalcy. Most of us have blood glucose meters so we can self test. You should also get printouts of all your lab results. Just ask for them.

If you have an inclination to read up on type 2, I found this web site is a great place to start:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/

If you read it all you will likely know more about type 2 than your GP.

Welcome and good luck!

Hi there, the numbers you mention are the results of the poster's HbA1c tests which give average blood levels for previous 3 months also cholesterol levels. Most people with diabetes have these tests done at least annually. I'll tag @daisy1 who will be along with lots of useful information for you shortly. I'm the mum of a 26yr autisic man and can completely empathise with your stress-induced diabetes and high blood pressure, my doc reckoned that's what caused my diabetes too - like you, I lost a lot of hair etc! Best of luck @baglady you'll get lots of help and encouragement here x

baglady said:

thank you for all the info. so now at least i know one. my mmol/L was 9% now down to 7.4% but clearly i don't know the bottom number! i take my tablets like a good girl & manage my diet but i try not to over think it if i did what with high blood pressure too i would constantly be worried i was about to stroke out with Finn left to fend for himself. the hair loss from the metaformin has been my first inkling that my body may be finding 3 tablets a day too much. being a veggie (yes i'm one of those...) i have upped my B vits....but no carbs????? what are you insane??? seriously how do you get through a day??? i would cry & have the shakes!!! i mean its all wholegrain ones for me. no white bread or white rice. but i like a full satisfied tummy. what no pasta? potatoes? i've lost weight just from eating lot less of the devils food as i call it....all the 'c's...chocolate, cookies, cake, chips, crisps BUT the one 'c' i've realised i could never ditch (yet could chocolate???) is cheese....i luv it. english Cheddar, Leicester, Gloucester....French Brie....Dutch Emmental.....could go on. i eat rice cakes when a snack attack happens with some cottage cheese on or a little jam if i'm craving something sweet....rather that than my eight in chocolate lol....

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No, I'm not insane. Why don't you eat meat? Meat is a perfectly healthy food for humans. And I don't have "snack attacks" or crave sweet food any more. Carbs are addictive. I also don't take metformin any more as I gave up all those carbs and reversed my type 2. Most people are like you when it comes to giving up carbs - they can't imagine life without them. But, after about a week without them you lose your desire for them.

@baglady

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members, referred to by 2 members. I hope you will find this useful. You don't have to cut out carbs completely - just keep them down. Test yourself and you'll be able to see the effect on your levels particular foods have. Ask questions 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

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.

baglady said:

you can tell i'm new to this. i'm guessing your blood sugar rates or something? but i don't recognise as anything to do with what i have seen at my GP's. i think i was past 9 a few months ago then down to 7.40 ish. if that means anything??? i'm on three 500mg metformin tablets a day. tummy queasy sometimes but major problem is really terrible hair loss. re the numbers etc am i supposed to know mine??? i had my original tests etc @ GPs then since been back for a 3 month follow up when i was told slight improvement in my liver function, cholesterol & blood sugar, thats pretty much it. my blood pressure was off the charts until recently & very pleased its finally coming down. it had hit 260 systolic at one point. diastolic of 115. now its somewhere between 150/100. so yes, diabetes, high blood pressure & high cholesterol. they're like the trifecta of carers conditions. i'm a single parent carer for my youngest son who has autism.

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Hello and welcome, baglady, I love your avatar, just ace

RRB

baglady said:

thank you for all the info. so now at least i know one. my mmol/L was 9% now down to 7.4% but clearly i don't know the bottom number! i take my tablets like a good girl & manage my diet but i try not to over think it if i did what with high blood pressure too i would constantly be worried i was about to stroke out with Finn left to fend for himself. the hair loss from the metaformin has been my first inkling that my body may be finding 3 tablets a day too much. being a veggie (yes i'm one of those...) i have upped my B vits....but no carbs????? what are you insane??? seriously how do you get through a day??? i would cry & have the shakes!!! i mean its all wholegrain ones for me. no white bread or white rice. but i like a full satisfied tummy. what no pasta? potatoes? i've lost weight just from eating lot less of the devils food as i call it....all the 'c's...chocolate, cookies, cake, chips, crisps BUT the one 'c' i've realised i could never ditch (yet could chocolate???) is cheese....i luv it. english Cheddar, Leicester, Gloucester....French Brie....Dutch Emmental.....could go on. i eat rice cakes when a snack attack happens with some cottage cheese on or a little jam if i'm craving something sweet....rather that than my eight in chocolate lol....

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Here are my favourite C's for low carb vegetarian eating...

Cauliflower - can be made into so many things
Curry - creamy kormas shouldn't trouble your bg levels
Chili - covered in cheese!
Cheese - nowt wrong with cheese
Chocolate - such as 85% cocoa choc
Cashews - and other nuts
Cream
Celeriac

I am sure there are more. Welcome @baglady

Hi
It seems that on the whole you are doing low carb and have cut out the worse ones so that is good.. Nothing wrong with cheese any cheese though.. bit of an addict myself with that... it is a great snack maybe on a rye cracker rather than a rice cake As you are a vegetarian I think some other vegetarians here will be along to give you some tips on food something us meat eaters can't do, Well done on loosing the weight

I know @baglady my boy was the same re sleep, he had cycles where he would be awake for three days straight and upset with it, I can totally relate to your story-because mine is the same. Food was my "drug of choice" to keep me going and I too was a size 10 until I gave up work to look after David when we got his diagnosis. Does Finn speak? Our David has no language just "speaks' with his eyebrows!☺ I steadily put weight on over the years until I was 6 stones heavier but I'm now losing weight steadily following the low carb high fat diet- 3 1/2 stones to go. You can lose your weight if you take all the help offered here, I recommend the Lo Carb diet threads I'm never hungry on this diet - unIke every other diet I've been on! Hugs x