Newbie

[everydaybattle]

Hi - diagnosed two years ago with HbA1c of 6.9. Was told to improve this with change in diet. No advice given and no referral to a dietician either (I am also vegetarian and coeliac who suffers also with IBS, chronic migraines and IIH). So I struggled along myself (I have zilch confidence in cooking) and was told a month or so ago that my HbA1c was now 9.7 and started on Metformin 250mgs twice a day. The Doctor told me to have another Hba1c in two months which I did last week. It is now 10.3.

I can not get ahold of my GP through any means and no longer have any medication left. The messages I HAVE left don't seem to be going anywhere within the practice. I also made a verbal complaint on Monday which they said they were going to address as I haven't seen a GP for any of my conditions since lockdown for covid first started. I'm also on a variety of other meds for other conditions too.

Please be gentle but how can I help myself as I am not getting any help from anyone. Like I say I have a fear of cooking and just tend to eat pasta or rice dishes for main meal with a sandwich for lunch with biscuits, cereal bars, crisps inbetween.

Thank you for reading,

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum, what a pity you have not been offered better support as you will have a juggling act to manage your condition with other health issues.
But the examples of the foods you are having indicate that it is those which are doing you no favours as they are all high carbohydrate foods which most people with Type 2 diabetes will avoid like the plague.
A better understanding about how important diet is will be a good start on brining your blood glucose levels down.
Have a look at this link for some helpful do's and don'ts and some ideas for changing your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
Metformin only helps the body use the insulin it produces more effectively but diet is just as if not more important.
The link is for a low carbohydrate approach and the suggested amount of total carbs per day is less than 130g.
Keeping a food diary of everything you eat and drink estimating the amount of carbohydrate not just 'sugar' will help you see how far you are from that and where you need to cut out of down on those high carb foods you are having.

The book or app Carbs and Cals is a useful resource for giving the carb values and portion sizes of a whole range of foods.
Basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy vegetables, salads and fruit like berries still give options for tasty meals.

Since diagnosis I have not eaten rice, pasta, biscuits, I do have a small amount of bread and low sugar granola.

 

[everydaybattle]

Welcome to the forum, what a pity you have not been offered better support as you will have a juggling act to manage your condition with other health issues.
But the examples of the foods you are having indicate that it is those which are doing you no favours as they are all high carbohydrate foods which most people with Type 2 diabetes will avoid like the plague.
A better understanding about how important diet is will be a good start on brining your blood glucose levels down.
Have a look at this link for some helpful do's and don'ts and some ideas for changing your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
Metformin only helps the body use the insulin it produces more effectively but diet is just as if not more important.
The link is for a low carbohydrate approach and the suggested amount of total carbs per day is less than 130g.
Keeping a food diary of everything you eat and drink estimating the amount of carbohydrate not just 'sugar' will help you see how far you are from that and where you need to cut out of down on those high carb foods you are having.

The book or app Carbs and Cals is a useful resource for giving the carb values and portion sizes of a whole range of foods.
Basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy vegetables, salads and fruit like berries still give options for tasty meals.

Since diagnosis I have not eaten rice, pasta, biscuits, I do have a small amount of bread and low sugar granola.

Hi, thank you for commenting. I will look in to this all in more detail, thank you for the information 🙂 x

 

[42istheanswer]

Hi @everydaybattle are you in the UK? Just because your HbA1c numbers aren't how they're usually presented here so wondering if you're in another country. (Usually in UK they are given as mmol/mol which are whole numbers and above 47 is diabetic. If yours are the percentages then they would convert to 50, 83 and 89 I think)

https://www.wchc.nhs.uk/content/uploads/2019/11/DiabetesSmart_dietary_approaches.pdf shows the different dietary approaches which people may try. It seems like your normal diet has been the first suggested option of "low fat" and that clearly has not been working for you, so reducing carbohydrates seems like it may work better. You may not feel as much like eating them as it gets colder, but salads are an easy meal that need not require much if any cooking, and can be easily made low carb. There are also some commercially available special low carb breads if you find it very hard to give up bread but it triggers your blood sugars to be too high. I found my IBS improved when I reduced high carb foods - even though I was then eating more vegetables I have had fewer episodes of loose stools.

If you don't have a home blood glucose monitor then getting and using one can help you to work out which meals help your body to keep blood glucose more stable by testing before eating and then 2 hours after you start eating. I have found that I can add in a slice of toast with my meal if there is enough fat and protein with it.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi @everydaybattle are you in the UK? Just because your HbA1c numbers aren't how they're usually presented here so wondering if you're in another country. (Usually in UK they are given as mmol/mol which are whole numbers and above 47 is diabetic. If yours are the percentages then they would convert to 50, 83 and 89 I think)

https://www.wchc.nhs.uk/content/uploads/2019/11/DiabetesSmart_dietary_approaches.pdf shows the different dietary approaches which people may try. It seems like your normal diet has been the first suggested option of "low fat" and that clearly has not been working for you, so reducing carbohydrates seems like it may work better. You may not feel as much like eating them as it gets colder, but salads are an easy meal that need not require much if any cooking, and can be easily made low carb. There are also some commercially available special low carb breads if you find it very hard to give up bread but it triggers your blood sugars to be too high. I found my IBS improved when I reduced high carb foods - even though I was then eating more vegetables I have had fewer episodes of loose stools.

If you don't have a home blood glucose monitor then getting and using one can help you to work out which meals help your body to keep blood glucose more stable by testing before eating and then 2 hours after you start eating. I have found that I can add in a slice of toast with my meal if there is enough fat and protein with it.

That is a very good link and lays out some sensible options with explanation which helps people understand the reasoning for each approach.
Pity more GPs or diabetic nurses don't provide something along those lines.

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi everydaybattle, welcome to the forum.

Really sorry to hear that you haven't been given the support you need as it can be a minefield when first diagnosed. As above, your HbA1c is presented in a different way than UK based GPs usually share them. At the bottom of this link there's a handy calculator that'll convert your numbers which may be helpful https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/hba1c.

As a type 2 diabetic, your daily meals have a big impact on your blood sugar levels and the meals that you've shared are going to be challenging with your levels. Carbs and sugars can raise your levels so rice, pasta, bread and so on may need to be reduced/ replaced.

It might be worth writing down what you eat and then seeing if there are any obvious swaps, veg in place of rice, having a salad bowl instead of the bread like subways do or a wrap to start with.

Slow and steady wins the race so it may just be a case of swapping one thing at a time as it's better to be consistent than drastically change things that you may not want to stick to.

We're here to support you so feel free to ask us for any help you may need and keep us updated on how you're getting on.

 

[everydaybattle]

Hi everydaybattle, welcome to the forum.

Really sorry to hear that you haven't been given the support you need as it can be a minefield when first diagnosed. As above, your HbA1c is presented in a different way than UK based GPs usually share them. At the bottom of this link there's a handy calculator that'll convert your numbers which may be helpful https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/hba1c.

As a type 2 diabetic, your daily meals have a big impact on your blood sugar levels and the meals that you've shared are going to be challenging with your levels. Carbs and sugars can raise your levels so rice, pasta, bread and so on may need to be reduced/ replaced.

It might be worth writing down what you eat and then seeing if there are any obvious swaps, veg in place of rice, having a salad bowl instead of the bread like subways do or a wrap to start with.

Slow and steady wins the race so it may just be a case of swapping one thing at a time as it's better to be consistent than drastically change things that you may not want to stick to.

We're here to support you so feel free to ask us for any help you may need and keep us updated on how you're getting on.

Thank you for this information. I am indeed from UK. This is just how the reception staff at the practice told me my numbers. I have converted them in my signature.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you for this information. I am indeed from UK. This is just how the reception staff at the practice told me my numbers. I have converted them in my signature.

I wonder if you maintained your diet or just assumed the metformin would mean you could up your carb intake which would explain the increase as the addition of metformin should have made a bit of difference if not huge.
Maybe try as suggested make a food diary with an estimate of the carbs you are having, remember it is TOTAL cabs not just sugar (which some imagine).
If you would like to post some typical meals then people may spot any issues with some of your foods.