Hello diagnosed type 2 two weeks ago

[yay]

Hello everyone

I was diagnosed type 2 two weeks ago after a long term test reading of 52. My world has totally changed since. I am 56 years very very overweight caused by eating too much chocolate and ice cream. I have yo-you dieted all my life - always regaining what I have lost.

Anyhow I am taking this very seriously and the idea is to control with diet. I am however finding things not very straightforward. I immediately started a weight loss plan and reduced simple sugars, focusing on complex carbs. But still had quite a big portion of ice cream at home after my meal each night. Week 1 and Week 2 I was able to use a testing machine whilst at work in the daytime and throughout the day the readings were around 3.8 to 5.8.

I then ordered my own machine (the codefree one) so I could also take readings in the evening too and have been using that since Friday. I was able to at last test my evening meal plus large portion of ice cream and this gave a reading of 14.1 on the new machine. So obviously the ice cream has gone. Now my calories are much reduced to around 1200 - 1400 a day and my daytime readings on the new machine are higher and it seems eating ryvita with cheese, tiger nuts and pumkin seeds reduces it (sometimes marginally increases it)

Now evening meals. 2 microwave curries - 1 jalfreizi a few nights ago up to a 7.1. Same make but Madras last night 9.5. And it seems to stay high until i eat something in the morning (usually 10am/11am). Homemade beef, veg and lentil broth with new potatoes 10.1. Chicken, new potatoes and veggies 7.2. Seems very hit and miss.

In the day time once i have started eating - since using my new machine I am now 5.1 to 7.5 (compared to 3.8 to 5.8 on the previous machine).

Am thinking - are the test strips for my new machine inaccurate (i bought an extra 50 and mixed them up with the original 10 that came with the machine)?

Is this because I am eating less so there is less to absorb the sugar?

Or is this just how diabetes is??

Oh have lost 7 pounds in the last 2 weeks so chuffed with that...

Sorry to have gone on...
Thanks

 

[grovesy]

Sometimes it is not only what you eat it how much you eat!

 

[yay]

Sometimes it is not only what you eat it how much you eat!

Yes I realise that

 

[Northerner]

Hello everyone

I was diagnosed type 2 two weeks ago after a long term test reading of 52. My world has totally changed since. I am 56 years very very overweight caused by eating too much chocolate and ice cream. I have yo-you dieted all my life - always regaining what I have lost.

Anyhow I am taking this very seriously and the idea is to control with diet. I am however finding things not very straightforward. I immediately started a weight loss plan and reduced simple sugars, focusing on complex carbs. But still had quite a big portion of ice cream at home after my meal each night. Week 1 and Week 2 I was able to use a testing machine whilst at work in the daytime and throughout the day the readings were around 3.8 to 5.8.

I then ordered my own machine (the codefree one) so I could also take readings in the evening too and have been using that since Friday. I was able to at last test my evening meal plus large portion of ice cream and this gave a reading of 14.1 on the new machine. So obviously the ice cream has gone. Now my calories are much reduced to around 1200 - 1400 a day and my daytime readings on the new machine are higher and it seems eating ryvita with cheese, tiger nuts and pumkin seeds reduces it (sometimes marginally increases it)

Now evening meals. 2 microwave curries - 1 jalfreizi a few nights ago up to a 7.1. Same make but Madras last night 9.5. And it seems to stay high until i eat something in the morning (usually 10am/11am). Homemade beef, veg and lentil broth with new potatoes 10.1. Chicken, new potatoes and veggies 7.2. Seems very hit and miss.

In the day time once i have started eating - since using my new machine I am now 5.1 to 7.5 (compared to 3.8 to 5.8 on the previous machine).

Am thinking - are the test strips for my new machine inaccurate (i bought an extra 50 and mixed them up with the original 10 that came with the machine)?

Is this because I am eating less so there is less to absorb the sugar?

Or is this just how diabetes is??

Oh have lost 7 pounds in the last 2 weeks so chuffed with that...

Sorry to have gone on...
Thanks

Hi Yay, welcome to the forum 🙂 Well done on your efforts so far - and especially on the weight loss! 🙂

It's very early days for you, so try not to become impatient if things seem a little confusing at first, it's perfectly natural! 🙂 It's good that you are testing as this is the best method of tailoring your diet so that you only include things that will have a slow and steady impact on your blood sugar levels. Are you keeping a food diary? If not, you should do this, recording the amount of carbohydrates (in grams) in everything you eat and drink. Then, using a routine as described in Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S, record your blood sugar readings before and after eating. Before too long you should be able to see a pattern and this will enable you to discover what things you tolerate well and what you need to either reduce in portion size or exclude from your diet, and what you can safely continue to enjoy. As a guide, ideally you don't want your blood sugar levels to rise by more than 2-3 mmol/l after eating, although this may be difficult to achieve at first - so don't be disheartened! Much of good diabetes control is achieved through knowledge and experience, so think of this more as a marathon than a sprint. Your levels are not particularly high, and nothing drastic will go wrong overnight - you don't have to get everything sorted instantly! 🙂 I would stick with the readings you are now getting from your Codefree meter as they appear very reasonable to me, I don't think you have faulty strips.

I would also recommend reading Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter and getting a copy of the excellent Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker. The more you understand about diabetes, the easier it will be to make the right choices and live a happy and healthy life with it - many people find that the adjustments they make lead to them feeling much, much better than they did prior to diagnosis 🙂

What about exercise? Regular daily exercise can really help, so whatever you can fit in would be really helpful 🙂

Please let us know if you have any questions and we will be more than happy to help! 🙂

 

[Mark Parrott]

Hi Yay, & welcome to the forum. Carbs such as rice, potatoes, bread & pasta will raise blood sugars. Wholemeal versions are better, but still not great. It's best to try & reduce the portion size of these. As for the curries, Jalfrezi is better than Madras, for some reason. Jalfrezi is less carby.

 

[Stitch147]

Hi Yay, and welcome to the forum.

 

[Carolg]

Hi Yay and welcome to forum

 

[Andy HB]

Hi Yay, & welcome to the forum. Carbs such as rice, potatoes, bread & pasta will raise blood sugars. Wholemeal versions are better, but still not great. It's best to try & reduce the portion size of these. As for the curries, Jalfrezi is better than Madras, for some reason. Jalfrezi is less carby.

And wholegrain are even 'betterer' than wholemeal! 🙂

Welcome to the forum Yay!

Andy 🙂

 

[Marsbartoastie]

Hi Yay
I've sent you a message...look in your inbox at the top right of the screen. Any questions...just ask and I'll be happy to help.

 

[Andy HB]

Hi Yay
I've sent you a message...look in your inbox at the top right of the screen. Any questions...just ask and I'll be happy to help.

I don't know whether the 'new' forum software allows messaging for new members. The 'old' forum setup required a certain number of posts before messaging was available.

Just letting you know in case there are problems.

Andy 🙂

 

[Marsbartoastie]

I don't know whether the 'new' forum software allows messaging for new members. The 'old' forum setup required a certain number of posts before messaging was available.

Just letting you know in case there are problems.

Andy 🙂

Thanks Andy. I felt a kinship with Yay (same age, diagnosis, weight problem) and wanted to send her information that I wish I'd had at the outset. My message was quite 'confessional' so a private message seemed more appropriate than the open forum. I hope she gets it.

 

[Northerner]

Thanks Andy. I felt a kinship with Yay (same age, diagnosis, weight problem) and wanted to send her information that I wish I'd had at the outset. My message was quite 'confessional' so a private message seemed more appropriate than the open forum. I hope she gets it.

I've enabled PMs for yay 🙂

 

[yay]

Hi
Thank you all for your wonderful replies, support and advice. And thank you to Marsbartoastie for your lovely message (Have just replied). Sorry I have not been able to get back on here to reply - had a bit of a week work wise.

Will check out and take you advice. Interestingly I have compared my blood monitor with my friends and there is a 1.5 diff (his 3.8 mine 5.3). So either his is too low or mine too high. Have my diabetic foot check on Tuesday so will see if I can do a comparison with the one the nurse will have.

Starting minimal exercise next week. Have had a bad back for the last year and with that and my weight have not been able to walk. So gonna beat the pain and just go for it - increase distance daily (like we are talking starting at 50 yards...). My aim exercise wise is by next spring/summer get back into playing walking football, and the winter after skiing and snowboarding in the Alps.

Blood sugar wise still sorting my evening meal out... day time my levels are very good. But I seem to get a high level when I wake up in the morning (around 8-ish). Which goes down when I eat. Haven't been able to do my post evening meal blood levels as starting work at 5am and thus falling asleep straight after my meal in the evening. This week am introducing omelettes and olives, and will be focusing on more salad, black eyed beans and protein like chicken/fish for lunch.

Anyhow thank you all for your support - I really appreciate it. Will study and try your suggestions.

Karen