Struggling and confused

[Martin Canty]

Welcome, Elle, sorry to hear that you are confused & overwhelmed... There is a lot to take in, particularly in the early stages, one thing to remember is that you are not alone. Listen to this forum; unlike the nurses & GP's we actually live this disease & therefore have real life experience of living with D daily. As to what to eat, personally I avoid all cereals, grains & starchy foods. It was mentioned in another post but don't sweat about fat, it's not the enemy the establishment thinks it is. Use good quality ingredients in your cooking & try to avoid all processed foods (particularly pre-packaged meals).

Wish you the best of luck

 

[trophywench]

It isn'tsimple like 'never eat a spud again as long as you live' - because you may be able to tolerate some spud.

It's important to realise that not only is every diabetic not equal - neither is every spud! New potatoes have got less carbs than old ones. Mashed old spud hit's your blood stream like an express train - a couple of boiled new ones, in their jackets - will be less carbs for starters and hit your blood stream a lot slower too.

One slice of pineapple for example contains a hell of a lot of sugar - whereas a handful of berries (Blue, straw, rasp - whatever) is far less. So it isn't a matter of just give up all fruit - it's what works for YOU that matters in YOUR diet. And the only way to find that out - is - to test!

 

[robert@fm]

I wonder how Tesco much has a say in it's opinion?

Tesco idiocy — the rest of that thread also makes sobering reading. 🙄

Apart from the use of the wrong adjective (ready meals aren't alive hence cannot be healthy; the correct term would be "nutritious" if it were applicable), I for one don't see how a meal which contains 40g carbs (that's equivalent to 10(!) teaspoons of sugar) can be at all beneficial to health, regardless of the red herring of "low fat". Indeed, long before A**hole Ancel Keys launched the "starchy carbs good, fat bad" nonsense that precipitated today's obesity crisis, it was well-known that an excessively lean diet (such as trying to live exclusively off rabbit) is very dangerous; do a web search for "rabbit starvation", it isn't pretty.

As for "no shellfish", that's a new one on me. Why are they supposed to be off the menu?

 

[Martin Canty]

Tesco idiocy — the rest of that thread also makes sobering reading. 🙄

Apart from the use of the wrong adjective (ready meals aren't alive hence cannot be healthy; the correct term would be "nutritious" if it were applicable), I for one don't see how a meal which contains 40g carbs (that's equivalent to 10(!) teaspoons of sugar) can be at all beneficial to health, regardless of the red herring of "low fat". Indeed, long before A**hole Ancel Keys launched the "starchy carbs good, fat bad" nonsense that precipitated today's obesity crisis, it was well-known that an excessively lean diet (such as trying to live exclusively off rabbit) is very dangerous; do a web search for "rabbit starvation", it isn't pretty.

As for "no shellfish", that's a new one on me. Why are they supposed to be off the menu?

That's why they recommend eating the rabbit brain as well.... increase that fat ratio (a little).....

 

[Neety41]

Just remember that everyone is different, what one person can eat will have a different effect on another person. Porridge is a good example of this, I can tolerate porridge and it helps bring my levels down in the morning, but it will send other people bg levels soaring.

Porridge brings my levels down too! I was surprised to see them in the 5's after a bowl with chopped banana!!

 

[Northerner]

Porridge brings my levels down too! I was surprised to see them in the 5's after a bowl with chopped banana!!

This has always been one of the best examples for me, reading people's experiences here over the years, of how different we all are and why it's important to discover your tolerances so you don't unnecessarily restrict your diet by excluding things that are fine for you, and that you enjoy 🙂 Porridge really does appear to be a bit of a dividing line - I suspect it may be something to do with an individual's gut bacteria 🙂

 

[Elle321]

Good to hear Elle 🙂 The one good thing about diabetes is that it is something that you can learn to manage well, and hopefully the adjustments you make will result in a happier, healthier person 🙂

What about exercise? Any regular daily exercise can work wonders - many people find that a brisk walk after eating can really help with blood sugar levels as it makes you more insulin-sensitve. Plus, of course, there are many other benefits to be gained 🙂

 

[Elle321]

My iPod is updated and ready to go. I've started going for a brisk half hour walk daily with the plan to gradually increase activity. I've felt so exhausted with constant headaches from high blood pressure that I just wasn't able to. After changing my diet and staring metformin, my BP has dropped from 195/140 to 145/85. This is after months of meds. I can't tell you how much better I feel today after all of your positive and reassuring messages yesterday. I felt so lost. Today is another day and I feel as though I have an action plan. I can't wait to get my meter so I can find out what works for me. My BP changed in 1 week of diet change/metformin. Thank you all so much.

 

[Northerner]

My iPod is updated and ready to go. I've started going for a brisk half hour walk daily with the plan to gradually increase activity. I've felt so exhausted with constant headaches from high blood pressure that I just wasn't able to. After changing my diet and staring metformin, my BP has dropped from 195/140 to 145/85. This is after months of meds. I can't tell you how much better I feel today after all of your positive and reassuring messages yesterday. I felt so lost. Today is another day and I feel as though I have an action plan. I can't wait to get my meter so I can find out what works for me. My BP changed in 1 week of diet change/metformin. Thank you all so much.

That's really excellent news Elle! 🙂 I hope you enjoy your daily walks - look, the weather just got better especially for you! 😉 The exercise should also help with your blood pressure, so win-win 🙂

 

[trophywench]

Porridge brings my levels down too! I was surprised to see them in the 5's after a bowl with chopped banana!!

... and bananas are another high carb fruit that VERY few diabetics can manage to eat without their meter going on a skyward jaunt!

 

[Carol Robinson]

Hi Elle321, you're in the right place for support, advice and encouragement. Everyone here, is very friendly and only too pleased to be able to help you as best they can. I would be lost without the support I get from this forum! I'm sure you'll soon be feeling a lot more at ease about how to control your diabetes, but it is one hell of a learning curve, isn't it?!

 

[Ginja Gee]

Hi, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after having problems controlling high blood pressure. For the last two weeks I've been struggling to accept it and feel overwhelmed. I saw a diabetes nurse yesterday hoping for advice on what I can/can't eat and was given a low fat diet sheet which says very little about sugar/carb regulation and says fruit juice is fine but shellfish I can only have rarely but also says I can sometimes eat cake and choc. Looking online is overwhelming me. I read so much conflicting advice that I'm now scared of eating anything and will have to wait 3-4 months before I can get on a one day NHS diabetic course. I am on metformin which I'm gradually increasing but I have been told I don't need to check my blood sugar. How do I deal with this for 3-4 months ?

Hi Elle! Your post could have been written by me!! I am very recently diagnosed. I've been put on Metformin and Ramiprill. I'm finding it all a bit overwhelming too but this site is Fab!! They're a really friendly bunch and the information on this site has been invaluable over the past few days. I am also slowly increasing the Metformin but my readings are still quite high and I'm feeling rough but I'm hoping that my readings will begin to lower soon. 😉

 

[Elle321]

I had a crash down to earth this afternoon and cried my eyes out. But I just want to feel healthy again as the last few months has been c**p. Reading everyone's posts helped. This forum is awesome.

 

[Northerner]

I had a crash down to earth this afternoon and cried my eyes out. But I just want to feel healthy again as the last few months has been c**p. Reading everyone's posts helped. This forum is awesome.

Good to let it all out Elle, hopefully things will start getting much better for you from now on {{{HUGS}}} 🙂

 

[Elle321]

Well my meter arrived. I've been eating a low GI diet and I'm now up to 3 metformin tabs daily. I thought I was doing well until I took a reading now ( pre lunch) and it was 15.1. I'm really shocked. Is it usual to take a while to get it down ? And does metformin take a while to work ? I've been going for a 30 min brisk walk daily which is about as much as I can manage as still feel dreadful.

 

[Robin]

Well my meter arrived. I've been eating a low GI diet and I'm now up to 3 metformin tabs daily. I thought I was doing well until I took a reading now ( pre lunch) and it was 15.1. I'm really shocked. Is it usual to take a while to get it down ? And does metformin take a while to work ? I've been going for a 30 min brisk walk daily which is about as much as I can manage as still feel dreadful.

The short answer is, yes, Metformin takes a while to build up in the system and start working, and levels,do tend to fall slowly. This is actually better for you than having a quick crash back to normal levels, as the body can adjust gradually without too much of a shock to the system.

 

[Elle321]

The short answer is, yes, Metrofmin takes a while to build up in the system and start working, and levels,do tend to fall slowly. This is actually better for you than having a quick crash back to normal levels, as the body can adjust gradually without too much of a shock to the system.

Thank you. I got a bit panicked then.

 

[Maz2]

Welcome to the Forum Elle 321. I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis.

I joined last week after being told that, although I am not Type 2 or pre-diabetic, I only have about 0.1 leeway and really have to make changes. I only found out because I had been involved in medical research and the researchers had been checking cholesterol, triglycerides and fructose levels. They did not like the latter and alerted the GP. She did an HBAc1 test and dropped the bombshell on me. I had no idea although, having been on here for a week or so, although I thought I was having a healthy diet, it turns out not so healthy as loaded with carbs.

I felt as though I had been kicked in the stomach and felt sick for a couple of days so I can only imagine how you must feel. I think what is scary is that so many people have no idea. A friend of mine has been Type 2 for 10 years and he had no symptoms so no idea at all until he was diagnosed. He had had heart problems so the GP would have checked him regularly, hence him finding out.

I cannot consider myself an expert on any of this but I was surprised to hear that fruit juice is OK as I thought that was full of sugar. I cannot really understand either why shellfish would be a problem.

I hope you find this Forum useful. I am finding the advice and support absolutely wonderful and it is making me feel so much better.

 

[Mark Parrott]

Fruit juice is full of sugar & is not OK. Shellfish, on the other hand, are fine.🙂

 

[Elle321]

Maz2, I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling that way. I knew the nurse was taking utter nonsense but when I challenged her about fruit juice which I knew was a no-no, her response was 'that's good sugar' and the shellfish 'it's full of bad fat' utter nonsense. I left there not knowing what to do. No advice, no explanations just 'see you in 3 months' I'm pretty sure she wasn't trained and handed me the wrong sheet. I'm struggling with lowering the carbs. As in I'm scared to eat them now. Testing my blood sugar for the first time today and finding it was 17.1 hasn't helped. In fact, I feel guilty eating even when I'm starving hungry. I'm following a low GI diet and hoping this, the metformin and increasing exercise start to help. This forum has been a lifesaver for me and I hope you're feeling better and getting your head around it. I'm finding it all pretty hard.