Not doing very well !!!

[Kathleen68]

Hi all
I was diagnosed T2 diabetes , steroid induced , last month. I’m only 7lb overweight so I guess I’m a TOFI . My hba1c was 53. GP told me “don’t worry , you’re only just over the normal range”, we’ll test you again in 3mths. Practice nurse rang and told me to go on low carb diet and left a “lose weight, reverse diabetes “ cookbook for me to collect from the surgery . All well and good but I’m struggling to maintain the low carb thing, some days I’m really good and others I munch far too much ....... I’m on a maintenance dose of 5mg prednisolone daily (for asthma) which makes it difficult to lose weight anyway , plus I don’t want to lose a huge amount or I’ll look like a beanpole!! I mentioned testing my blood sugar myself to the nurse but she said it was unnecessary at this point. Feel very miserable and a bit lost , please can I have some advice and a push in the right direction?? Thanks

 

[pm133]

Hi Kathleen, welcome to the forum.

Low carb diets are like every other diet - a complete nightmare to stick to.
First of all, it's very important not to beat yourself up over this. You've just had the shock of the diagnosis and then you are having to cope with dieting and a whole heap of worry and stress.

If you are able to at least cut back enough to lose the necessary weight overall, that would be a great first goal. Even if you overeat a little on some days, as long as overall you were cutting back that would help you I think.
Aiming for perfection at this stage probably isn't too helpful.

 

[Drummer]

Hopefully eating low carb foods will help you to keep your blood glucose low.
To do that you need to test to find out what you can eat and what is going to cause spikes.
If you don't control the BG then all the weightloss possible is not going to help one jot.
There are meters available that are cheap to use, so you can test until you see good numbers.
If your diabetes results from taking steroids, how can losing weight help? It doesn't make sense.

 

[Vonny]

Hi @Kathleen68, my nurse said exactly the same thing about self monitoring, but I have to say my single best purchase this year was my SD Gluco Navii (other makes are available!). I started out at 76 in April and came down to 37 by early September, and I put this down to regular monitoring to see what food I can and can't eat. One of the problems of diabetes is that there is no "one-size-fits-all". Everyone's body reacts differently to foods. Eg I'm fine with a stack of strawberries, but other people might find their sugar levels going sky high. I cannot eat any refined carbs apart from 1 slice of wholemeal bread or 2 spoons of wholegrain rice without my BG soaring. With the aid of the monitoring and a food diary I know what I can and can't eat.

Low carb / high fat seems to be the way to go, although I keep an eye on fat levels because I still have a stone to lose, but if you're not bothered about that then that may be the best way.

However, I'm not sure whether the fact your T2 it is steroid induced makes any difference to your diet. I'm sure there will be someone more knowledgeable than me along soon 🙂 As @pm133 says, don't beat yourself up, you will do the best you can and it does take time to settle into a new eating regime.

 

[grovesy]

Hi all
I was diagnosed T2 diabetes , steroid induced , last month. I’m only 7lb overweight so I guess I’m a TOFI . My hba1c was 53. GP told me “don’t worry , you’re only just over the normal range”, we’ll test you again in 3mths. Practice nurse rang and told me to go on low carb diet and left a “lose weight, reverse diabetes “ cookbook for me to collect from the surgery . All well and good but I’m struggling to maintain the low carb thing, some days I’m really good and others I munch far too much ....... I’m on a maintenance dose of 5mg prednisolone daily (for asthma) which makes it difficult to lose weight anyway , plus I don’t want to lose a huge amount or I’ll look like a beanpole!! I mentioned testing my blood sugar myself to the nurse but she said it was unnecessary at this point. Feel very miserable and a bit lost , please can I have some advice and a push in the right direction?? Thanks

How many carbs would you normally eat? Why not just start by cutting them slightly and take it from there. People here range from around 130 grams a day down to 50 a day or some even less.
I am begining to feel that this message lose weight and reverse Diabetes is going to be the new fat shaming of those who don't reverse Diabetes. The research around the losing weight and reversing was only about 50% of those in trail.

 

[eggyg]

Hopefully eating low carb foods will help you to keep your blood glucose low.
To do that you need to test to find out what you can eat and what is going to cause spikes.
If you don't control the BG then all the weightloss possible is not going to help one jot.
There are meters available that are cheap to use, so you can test until you see good numbers.
If your diabetes results from taking steroids, how can losing weight help? It doesn't make sense.

@Drummer I was told to lose weight and I’d had 2/3 of my pancreas removed! I think sometimes the HCPs just say things by rote without engaging their brains!

 

[Kathleen68]

Hi Kathleen, welcome to the forum.

Low carb diets are like every other diet - a complete nightmare to stick to.
First of all, it's very important not to beat yourself up over this. You've just had the shock of the diagnosis and then you are having to cope with dieting and a whole heap of worry and stress.

If you are able to at least cut back enough to lose the necessary weight overall, that would be a great first goal. Even if you overeat a little on some days, as long as overall you were cutting back that would help you I think.
Aiming for perfection at this stage probably isn't too helpful.

Thanks pm133, as you say, it’s a lot to take in as I am dealing with other health issues at the moment , feel a bit blindsided by diabetes diagnosis . I’ve stopped all lucozade (a guilty pleasure), biscuits, pastry , bread , and only allow myself a cube of 70%dark chocolate if I need a chocolate hit. My downfall is pasta and potatoes but I ignore them completely on a good day . I’ll carry on with the best of intentions and keep my fingers crossed

 

[grovesy]

You have to the best you can, as stress can also affect blood glucose levels.

 

[Kathleen68]

Hopefully eating low carb foods will help you to keep your blood glucose low.
To do that you need to test to find out what you can eat and what is going to cause spikes.
If you don't control the BG then all the weightloss possible is not going to help one jot.
There are meters available that are cheap to use, so you can test until you see good numbers.
If your diabetes results from taking steroids, how can losing weight help? It doesn't make sense.

Hi Drummer, I don’t understand the mechanics of steroid induced diabetes - the GP says steroid maintenance (unlike occasional short courses of steroids which I’ve had for many years) causes blood sugar to increase and unless I’m taken off them there’s no chance it will drop so why exactly am I being advised to lose 7lb?? Presumably the low carb diet is to try and avoid it spiking any higher? I shall ring for a telephone consultation next week and see if I can get more info.

 

[Kathleen68]

You have to the best you can, as stress can also affect blood glucose levels.

Thanks grovesy, bit stressed right now

 

[Kathleen68]

Hi @Kathleen68, my nurse said exactly the same thing about self monitoring, but I have to say my single best purchase this year was my SD Gluco Navii (other makes are available!). I started out at 76 in April and came down to 37 by early September, and I put this down to regular monitoring to see what food I can and can't eat. One of the problems of diabetes is that there is no "one-size-fits-all". Everyone's body reacts differently to foods. Eg I'm fine with a stack of strawberries, but other people might find their sugar levels going sky high. I cannot eat any refined carbs apart from 1 slice of wholemeal bread or 2 spoons of wholegrain rice without my BG soaring. With the aid of the monitoring and a food diary I know what I can and can't eat.

Low carb / high fat seems to be the way to go, although I keep an eye on fat levels because I still have a stone to lose, but if you're not bothered about that then that may be the best way.

However, I'm not sure whether the fact your T2 it is steroid induced makes any difference to your diet. I'm sure there will be someone more knowledgeable than me along soon 🙂 As @pm133 says, don't beat yourself up, you will do the best you can and it does take time to settle into a new eating regime.

Hi Vonny thanks for your response, I reckon a monitor is the way forward so I can find what works for me and what works against me. I’m not convinced that either weight loss or diet will necessarily keep the levels down because it’s the prednisolone that’s pushing them up - not me stuffing myself with chips and biscuits. Who knows‍♀️ I guess it’s all trial and error for now .......

 

[grovesy]

Hi Vonny thanks for your response, I reckon a monitor is the way forward so I can find what works for me and what works against me. I’m not convinced that either weight loss or diet will necessarily keep the levels down because it’s the prednisolone that’s pushing them up - not me stuffing myself with chips and biscuits. Who knows‍♀ I guess it’s all trial and error for now .......

It sounds like you have a sensible outlook and approach. Good luck.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear you are feeling a bit low @Kathleen68

I suspect you are doing much better than you imagine 🙂

Is there anything in particular that you are finding tricky about your lower carb meal plan? Is it main meals or snacks? Are you feeling hungry? Or just missing some old favourites?

If weight loss isn’t too much of an aim for you, you may find that increasing your fat content keeps you feeling full and reduces your need for nibbles?

 

[Drummer]

Hi Drummer, I don’t understand the mechanics of steroid induced diabetes - the GP says steroid maintenance (unlike occasional short courses of steroids which I’ve had for many years) causes blood sugar to increase and unless I’m taken off them there’s no chance it will drop so why exactly am I being advised to lose 7lb?? Presumably the low carb diet is to try and avoid it spiking any higher? I shall ring for a telephone consultation next week and see if I can get more info.

The reason for advice given is beyond me too - If steroids are pushing your levels in general higher, hopefully by eating low carb it will either reset your base level further down or perhaps take the highest peaks off so lowering the average - you can only really see what your reaction is by measuring after eating.

 

[NotPink]

Hopefully eating low carb foods will help you to keep your blood glucose low.
To do that you need to test to find out what you can eat and what is going to cause spikes.
If you don't control the BG then all the weightloss possible is not going to help one jot.
There are meters available that are cheap to use, so you can test until you see good numbers.
If your diabetes results from taking steroids, how can losing weight help? It doesn't make sense.

I have eaten a low carb diet for 4 years now and I feel so much better. There are times when I feel hungry but it is manageable and better, for me, than drugs. Dr Michael Mosley writes wonderful and informative easy to understand books and writes blogs/recipes online to help and encourage people to go on low carb.diets.
It is always hard when confronted by a new diagnosis and you need to get your head around it. But try low carb there are still loads of things left to eat. Good luck.