Zero tolerance seems to be working

sotyred

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello

I thought I would share my short experience of diabetes. Short in that I was only diagnosed with type 2 in January.

To say that the diagnosis came as a shock was something of an understatement. I went to my GP for an annual health check up and she was worried about my blood pressure – so was I as I hadn’t suffered from it before. I was sent off for a blood test after two weeks on meds for the BP and duly went back to see my GP. The results:
- BP still high
- Cholesterol high (another first)
- Blood glucose level higher than normal (***!)

So it’s off for a second blood test to check and, sure enough, the blood glucose was higher than normal. And also higher than the first test. At 8.6 it is a lot lower than what some of you are experiencing but it was still a worry to me. But at least this explained why I had been feeling like utter **** for the past couple of years and had to struggle to stay awake in the afternoon. And there was me thinking it was sleep apnoea!

My GP agreed to give me three months to get the diabetes under control with diet and exercise. The exercise part was easy as I am a very keen cyclist, often riding 50 – 60 miles each weekend and doing part of my commute to work by bike. The advice from my GP (and then my diabetes nurse) was simple. No sugar. None. In any way, shape or form.

Being new to all this, the weekly grocery shop took twice as long as every packet was read to see if it had the demonic ingredient ‘sugar’. And the chances are, if it came in a packet, it did. Even something as simple as cheese and onion crisps contain sugar. The only breakfast cereals I could find (and can still only find) without sugar is shredded wheat and porridge. And it is surprising how much you fancy a piece of fruit when limited to three portions a day (apart from bananas, where I can only have three a week!). No white bread, no cake, no puddings and, worse of all, no beer. And being a lover of real ale, this was a toughie! Still, the nurse said that I could have wine and spirits, subject to responsible drinking levels of course.

When out for long bike rides, I had always used energy drinks and bars to keep me going. No more though as these are almost pure glucose.

So, six months on how had I done?

I won’t deny it hasn’t been tough. A raw carrot just doesn’t replace carrot cake. And man have I fancied a pint now and then. But I have been determined to keep to a zero tolerance regime.

So, here are the latest figures:

- HbA1c - 44
- Cholesterol – 4.2 (way down)
- BP a little high but averages at 130 / 80
- I have lost 24lb in weight and gone down a trouser size
- do not have take meds for diabetes.

Plus my cycling is better than ever!
 

Andy12345

Expert
Messages
6,342
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Doctors
well done :) congrats, your regime is obviously working for you :)
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi sotyred and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will come along and 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 30,000 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.