Where To Find Basic Guides ?

Hi @Cranfield The best place to start is for @daisy1 to provide you with the basic information all newly diagnosed receive. Everyone is here to help so ask as many questions as you like, and welcome to the forum.

Cranfield said:

I am recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes with IFCC 63, so hopefully not too bad.

In the 8 weeks I have cut down carbohydrates (no bread/spuds/cake) and reduced my massive fruit intake (no tropical fruit), I have lost a noticeable amount of weight (still heavy).
So things could be working

I am not a deep thinker, nor do I intend to let diabetes take over my life.
I am not keen to regularly test myself and the diabetes nurse said I don't have to ( her level of support seems restricted to the Paulacarr info pack).
All I need is a list of do's and don'ts , what I can eat and what I can't, I'm good at following a regime.
At them moment all I find is contradictions, like, "don't eat tropical fruits, esp pineapple", then diabetes.co.uk list pineapple in their, "12 foods to eat every week".
Branded food recommendations seem to be more to do with sponsorship than honest advice, or perhaps I am just being cynical.

Is there an alphabetical (or similar) list telling me good from bad ?
Like, can I eat Marmite ?
Whats the best bread, (sold by someone other than Sainsburys) ?

Having re read what I have posted it does seem a bit "blunt", I don't mean it to be, but I do feel as though I am cast adrift to find my own way home.

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Dietdoctor.com is a good place to start, or bloodsugar101.

Paulacarr? I am guessing you are in mid kent
Lidl do a high protein roll which is relatively low carb. Just remember fruits come from natures tuck shop, they might be natural but they are sugar all the same.
The finest piece of advice I got (from here) was get a meter and test, test, test! Your meter will tell YOU what sends your blood sugars high and what doesn't. You can then adjust your menu to suit you. We all respond differently. I can only manage a haldf of the lidl roll, others none, and some have no problem at all

This site's low carb program is also a good place to start: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/lowcarb/

Hello and welcome,

May I ask why you are not keen to test yourself? To be perfectly frank, it is the only way to discover which foods suit you and which don't. We react differently to different foods, and we don't all react in the same way because our bodies are unique. I could say never eat potatoes, but if potatoes are part of your life it would be hard, and you could deprive yourself of a food you love only to find your meter tells you that potatoes are OK for you personally. I can manage 2 or 3 small spuds (no more than that) but others can't manage any at all. If you eat to a meter you can't go far wrong.

I agree with bluetit, to test regular has helped me in lots of ways. By testing it has helped me identify what foods spike me then I can eliminate that food.

Hi @Cranfield and welcome. Boy can I relate to your desire to find a lexicon of what to/ what not go eat. Unfortunately, my understanding of this bizarre illness/ condition (call it whatever you fancy) is that everyone is different. For example, I can eat berries of any kind with no effect but give me a banana and my bg spirals into hyperspace. Yet some on here seem able to attack them as though they are reincarnated orangutans.

It's a far from perfect answer but one option is to make sure most of what you eat is low GL. Now this approach is very far from perfect so like previous posters I would strongly urge you to test. It doesn't have to dominate your life, only takes z minute or so and can give you a lot of peace of mind. I would be lost without my test kit.

But does being "diabetic" take over my life? Nah ... birdwatching, photography, music, chatting with friends, bring with family - that takes over my life. Today I feel I have control of my diabetes, it doesn't control me.

@Cranfield

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want 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 210,000 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 free 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.

Good luck with the dietician then. Never found much joy there myself

It is about doing what you feel is right for you not what is right for someone else because we are all different . the only right is what works for us personally What you are doing now is obviously working so well done you have lowered the carbs...most important thing.. and congratulations on the weight loss sounds like you are doing well

I agree with @Serena51 and @dawnmc. Start with www.Dietdoctor.com before you see a dietician.

Cranfield said:

Thanks for the helpful comments, I have found dietdoctor.com to be very helpful with eating suggestions and recipes and bloodcount101 is also very informative.

I am beginning to understand it appears that we are all different with regard to what is good, or bad, for us, which makes the whole situation even more confusing and probably explains the contradictory advice everywhere.
One man's meat certainly seems to be another man's poison.

Its also obvious trawling through this Forum that everyone seems to have had different experiences with the professionals they have come in contact with.
My Diabetes Nurse is not impressive and I was hoping the Dietician might be better, it also seems that the GP doesn't get involved any more, once you are diagnosed and passed on to the Nurse.
There is also mention of Diabetes Clinics, which sound like helpful places, but that hasn't been mentioned to me, perhaps they are just for Type 1, or more serious cases.

I will reconsider my thoughts on self testing , if only to find out if I can have Marmite and Diet Coke.

It would still be good if there was a basic brand name product guide for the day to day stuff we eat.

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You do need to get your eyes done at the hospital, so when your appointment comes, please keep it. It involves drops in your eyes to dilate them, then a picture of your retina is taken. They can see then on an annual basis if your eyes have changed.

Just about everyone has covered anything I might add. I would however like to say that without testing I would never have learnt what foods do to my blood glucose levels, I would never have got the readings down to where I want them to be for the reasons of avoiding diabetic complications. I do understand about not wanting to get hooked on testing but once you go through the process and find what is good for you personally and no one but you can find that out, then you won't need to keep testing if you do not wish to. For myself I can manage no more than 2 very small potatoes in just one of my meals a day, I cannot tolerate any bread apart from the protein rolls from Lidl's. All fruit right now does not work for me and rice and pasta are again a no for me.

All any of us here can do is give you what works for us - because with type 2 diabetes none of us react the same we cannot advise on what to eat because it might be fine for us and not for you - hence the need to test.
Many of us were informed there was no need to test and to eat complex carbs with every meal - we have chosen not to follow this advice because we have discovered it does not work - sugar levels remain high and this leads to more meds and the risk of developing complications.

It is your decision no one can make it for you. Sorry do not intend to sound so negative but trying to help you understand the issues as to why none of us can tell you what to eat or whether to test or not.

Good luck for the future no matter what you decide to do and I wish you well.

Cranfield said:

Thanks for the helpful comments, I have found dietdoctor.com to be very helpful with eating suggestions and recipes and bloodcount101 is also very informative.

I am beginning to understand it appears that we are all different with regard to what is good, or bad, for us, which makes the whole situation even more confusing and probably explains the contradictory advice everywhere.
One man's meat certainly seems to be another man's poison.

Its also obvious trawling through this Forum that everyone seems to have had different experiences with the professionals they have come in contact with.
My Diabetes Nurse is not impressive and I was hoping the Dietician might be better, it also seems that the GP doesn't get involved any more, once you are diagnosed and passed on to the Nurse.
There is also mention of Diabetes Clinics, which sound like helpful places, but that hasn't been mentioned to me, perhaps they are just for Type 1, or more serious cases.

I will reconsider my thoughts on self testing , if only to find out if I can have Marmite and Diet Coke.

It would still be good if there was a basic brand name product guide for the day to day stuff we eat.

Click to expand...

There should not be problem with Marmite lots here have it I couldn't live without it I have been eating it for over 70years Diet drinks are fine to some people can't tolerate the sweeetner in them others find they are ok

Very steep learning curve! The only way for me was testing! Some big suprised like Incan have 8 Haribos and it does nothing! 2 potatoes and its through the roof! So it's all trial and error with testing. I did it for 6 months which gave me good info. I still test daily and if I have anything new. It gets easier as we understand it better! Good luck.

Cranfield said:

Thanks for all your help , especially the good news on the Marmite and Diet Coke.

From all the reading I have done on this site, it has surprised me how ignorant I am of the whole issues surrounding diabetes.
The fact that its effect on sufferers varies so much between individuals, is something I never appreciated.
Like most things, until you are actually involved in it, you don't really know anything.

I have come to (reluctantly) accept that I will have to self test to end up with a personalised "can and can't" regime , once I have the basics sorted I can then hopefully cut the testing down.

Is there a preferred Blood Glucose Monitor machine, how many strips and lancets is recommend and do I need anything else ?

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Don't worry. a few days on here and you probably know more about the individual nature of D, and the relevance of testing, than most health care professionals you will ever meet.

Good luck with finding a dietician who talks sense. They are rare beasties.

Most blood glucose monitors are roughly comparable for accuracy.
Not so price.
If you are self-funding (as most T2s on here are), then many of us go for the SD Codefree from Amazon, eBay or Homehealth (the manufacturers). Some places give away free machines, then fleece you on the repeat orders of test strips. Homehealth charge about £13 for the meter, and then brilliantly low prices for the test strips - which you repeat purchase regularly. Bargain.