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philsbbs

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Morning,

Just like to introduce myself to the forum.
Male/39 from UK

I was diagonsed as prediabetic about nine months ago since then I've so far had hba1c tests every three months. I have myself also been taking random figure prick tests at different times of the day and when my other medicines have changed just to get a feel of my results and its always over 20.

My last hba1ctest had a level of 71 so don't know the % that some places use as only the score is shown on my medical record.

So far I've been told to manage it with diet no other information given by my GP which is another story.

I received the type 2 diabetes book last week and have started to read up to help me understand more, found this forum from a link in the book, which is excellent.

So i'm a newbie to all this but thought I drop by and say Hi.

Phil
 
An HBa1c of 71 puts you into the diabetic zone philsbbs. You need to keep carbs low, by that 130g a day is considered low carb. Things like bread, pasta, rice, most fruit (but berries in low amounts are fine, potatoes will give ypu problems.
 
Hi @philsbbs and welcome to the forum
That 71 is the HbA1C in the current UK measurements. The lower HbA1C levels given in % are the ole measurement version. An HbA1C of 48 is the first diabetic level.
 
Rosalindb thanks for the reply I'm hoping to see a dietican as I have some other health issue and there is overlaps in foods i.e fish might be good for one thing but bad for me in otherways as I say all new to this so learning as much as I can to help me understand. Thanks for your support in this journey.
 
When you have other health considerations it is all a balance to find a regime which works for you. But in essence it is all carbohydrates which convert to glucose so minimising your intake of those by finding substitutes which are lower carb will help.
You may be able to pick the bones out of this low carb approach which might suit you. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
Sadly standard NHS advice often suggests far too many carbs than some can tolerate.
Certainly your random testing indicates your intake of carbs is too high.
A more structured approach to testing might be beneficial, so test before you eat and after 2 hours, no more than a 2-3mmol/l increase indicates your meal was OK.
 
Leadlights thanks for the tip about testing before and after I will try that. I have several months ago stopped drinking any sugar drinks and also stopped putting any sugar on anything i eat i.e ceral, grapefruit etc, The carbs thing will be hard any it seems its in way to many things, but im up for the challenge.
 
philsbbs said:
Leadlights thanks for the tip about testing before and after I will try that. I have several months ago stopped drinking any sugar drinks and also stopped putting any sugar on anything i eat i.e ceral, grapefruit etc, The carbs thing will be hard any it seems its in way to many things, but im up for the challenge.
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As your HbA1C is most definitely in the diabetic zone you might want to change the At risk to Type 2 otherwise it may confuse people.
You mention cereal which for many people is something to avoid as most cereals are high carb even the 'low sugar' ones.
I don't know what medications you are on but some do say avoid grapefruit.
 
Welcome to the forum @philsbbs

As others have mentioned it is important to look at the carbs we eat, it just focus on sugars. Any carbs that we eat gets converted to glucose once inside us. Things with sugar may well get converted more quickly and spike our levels, which makes it harder for the pancreas to release enough insulin to deal with it.

A good step to start with could be to work out how many carbs you are currently eating at each meal. It is a bit of a hassle but worth it to get a grip with this. There is info on packets, and with a bit of weighing you can start to get familiar with the carb amounts in things that you eat regularly. We were surprised when we started to do this and made the decision to reduce our target number of carbs for each meal. One thing we found useful to do alongside this was to reduce the size of our plates so that portions didn’t look so small.

let us know how you get on.
 
Hi philsbbs, welcome to the forum.

Glad to hear that you're speaking with a dietitian soon as figuring out a way of eating that works for you is crucial. Might be worth keeping a food diary for a week so you have a better view of what adjustments can be made.

Testing your blood sugar levels is also a really good way to see the impact your meals are having on you, so I'm glad you're doing this already. You're welcome to have a look at our main site which info on testing and how to make best use of the information you receive from testing. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/testing.

Do give us a shout if there's any specific issue you'd like support with.
 
SB2015 - A food dairy is something I will do. I've already started looking at labels hence shock how many items have carbs/sugar etc. Thanks for the idea.
 
Cherrelle I've been keeping a photo of my blood sugar test results but not got round to put them into a spreadsheet yet. Can you get blood sugar level kits that update a app say via bluetooth, if so love to hear some recommendations.
 
philsbbs said:
Cherrelle I've been keeping a photo of my blood sugar test results but not got round to put them into a spreadsheet yet. Can you get blood sugar level kits that update a app say via bluetooth, if so love to hear some recommendations.
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I think you can but they are generally more expensive and have more expensive test strips which depending on your financial resources could limit establishing a good testing regime if the strips prove too expensive.
 
Oh, I haven't seen that product, but I would avoid it anyway because of :
1. 59gms carbs per 100gms (its carbs that count, not just sugars)
2. Sorbitol - it appears to have more sorbitol in it than actual strawberry. Sorbitol is a laxative.
 
Just applied to be a member and set up direct debit

Once again a big thanks for everyones help and support x
 
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