New to type 2

[Alister]

Newly diagnosed,
Determined to adopt good eating habits, all suggestions welcome

 

[Brando77]

Hallo Alister, welcome from a newbie, couple weeks diagnosed here! Stick around, check out the food forum and learn what's good, these folks seem to know 🙂

 

[Pine Marten]

Hi Alister, welcome to the forum. As Brando (love that name!) says, have a look at the food & recipes threads as there are good ideas posted there, especially if you like to experiment. Basically most of us eat low carb, ie reduce or eliminate high starchy carb things like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. Lots of green leafy veg is good, as are eggs, cream, cheese, and good quality meat. Fruit can be tricky, but berries are pretty good - blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc. A blood glucose meter is invaluable in finding out which foods can be tolerated well (we are all individual in our tolerances) so if your GP won't give you one you can get a cheap but reliable Codefree meter & testing strips from Home Health or Amazon.

I'm sure others will be along shortly to welcome you and have other suggestions 🙂

 

[Alister]

Fortunatly the NHS issued me with a meter - who say the NHS doesn't work?
I have already found that bread has a big affect on me & seen lots of new studs that say cut carbs & fats are not as bad as they have been made out.
my best lunch time reading was after a breakfast of scrambled egg & bacon so I can rally live with that 🙂
I have always used wholemeal pasta & rice so hopefully they are not so bad for me.
the biggest change i have made so far is to start eating Breakfast & Lunch (Yes I know previous behaviour was very bad & probably contributed to my current condition :-( )as well as reducing the size of my evening meal to compensate.

Many thanks for the speedy feed back so far, indicates that this forum is well frequented.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Welcome Alister from a fellow T2. Are you getting the strips too? (How many?) Or do you have to self fund those too.

 

[Wirrallass]

Hi Alister and a warm welcome to our friendly and supportive forum from another Type2. There are many folk here who are diabetes experienced and knowledgeable so if you need answers then do please ask ~ as often as you like ~ we never tire of helping Newbies or answering their queries. Got It?!🙂

I advocate the book CARB & CALORIE COUNTER (Photo attached) It contains over 1700 photos of a wide range of popular food and drink items. The carborhydrate ~ calorie ~protein ~ fat ~ saturated fat ~ and and fibre values are clearly displayed in colour-coded circles below each photo.

This highly visual approach makes it incredibly quick and easy to see the nutrient content of the food and drink you consume. CARBS & CALS is the perfect support tool for Carborhydrate counting in Diabetes ~ Weight management ~ Portion control and general healthy eating. The book can be purchased from Amazon for approx £10.49. It is a book that is well worth buying IMO. Many folk here have found it extremely helpful and abide by it. There is a pocket size version too which is handy for when you are dining out if you don't want to take the larger book with you. Approx £6.99. Again from Amazon.


You will find some more helpful information in the following thread:-

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes.10406/

Also if at any time you need help with your diabetes (Or anything else related to diabetes) you can contact the following:-

Email: helpline@diabetes.org.UK
Tel: 0345 123 2399 (9am ~ 6pm. Mon-Fri)

I'm really pleased you have been provided with a test meter kit as without testing bgls (Blood glucose levels) you will not be aware of which food you can or cannot tolerate. Try to eliminate from your diet: White flour: White bread: Rice: Cereals: Pasta: Potatoes (Including mashed) and veggies grown below ground level: 2~3 baby new potatoes are fine. Many on here substitute mashed potatoes with mashed Cauliflower (You'll get used to it🙂) Grapes are 'sugar bombs'😱

You'll find the following link handy in respect of carb-queries and recipes:

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/food-carb-queries-recipes.4/

So sorry about the length of my post Alister ~ I tried to keep as short as I could ~ but didn't win!
Take care and remember, you are not alone with your diabetes as we will accompany you on your diabetes journey.
WL

Dx Type2 April 2016
Diet & exercise only.

 

[Alister]

ralph , test strips & lancets also on prescription so no charge (make sure you have applied for your prescription exemption)

wiralass - all is welcome, already sensing a grate atmosphere here

 

[grovesy]

ralph , test strips & lancets also on prescription so no charge (make sure you have applied for your prescription exemption)

wiralass - all is welcome, already sensing a grate atmosphere here

Unfortunately not all Type 2 get strips or if they do get restricted number of strips, on prescription.

 

[silentsquirrel]

Alister has posted in the 8 week blood sugar diet thread that he is on insulin, so strips and meter essential. I wonder why they have diagnosed you as Type 2 rather than Type 1, but put you on insulin immediately - not usual for a T2 at diagnosis. Hopefully you have been told about the requirements for testing before driving?

 

[weecee]

Hi Alister and welcome to this friendly helpful forum. Test and test is a mantra as you will learn which food spikes you most and what your own body will tolerate. Practice makes perfect for making good choices

 

[Alister]

not sure why on insulin at present either, but blood tests show I have been quite high for some time. hopefully should be moved to just drugs soon.
(may be because I went to A & E because the pharmacist said i should if could not get to see my GP )
guess they are just being thorough. & yes I know about testing before driving but thank you anyway (better to be told twice than not at all)

 

[Brilliance Within]

Newly diagnosed,
Determined to adopt good eating habits, all suggestions welcome

Hi Alister, I've got some really tasty low carb recipes on my blog https://www.brilliancewithin.com - I've managed to lower my readings from 60 to 45 and keep at the pre-diabetic reading for the last 2 years with low carb diet alone and no medication and still enjoy some really tasty food.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Oh insulin. Interesting. I'm guessing you were possibly quite bad condition when you got seen. Would you care to share details? I hear of one person having high BG (HbA1c of 100) for some time after diagnosis before getting insulin.
What was your HbA1c?

 

[Alister]

Sorry I am unsure of terminology, if that is the 3 month average then it was definitely in excess of 100, the initial test that prompted my diagnosis (@tesco) was 21.7
perhaps you could also advise if my current insulin dosage is low, medium or high (just for curiosity) I take 16 units in the morning & 8 before bed +2 metmorfin per day (breakfast & evening meal)

 

[Drummer]

If you go the usual route of reducing carbs then you'll have to watch out that you don't overdo the insulin - low carb is really effective in controlling diabetes - so much so that my doctor has lost all interest. I have normal results by cutting out high starch and high sugar foods, and sticking to under 11 percent carbs for my normal meals, with just a small amount of anything denser in carbs, and not often.
I have berries - except blueberries as they are twice the level of strawberries, and use a cup as container for them with cream.
On this higher fat diet I have good or ideal or normal ratios of cholesterol. My last triglyceride result was 1.5, and down from the first one, not increased as was predicted by many.

 

[silentsquirrel]

Sorry I am unsure of terminology, if that is the 3 month average then it was definitely in excess of 100, the initial test that prompted my diagnosis (@tesco) was 21.7
perhaps you could also advise if my current insulin dosage is low, medium or high (just for curiosity) I take 16 units in the morning & 8 before bed +2 metmorfin per day (breakfast & evening meal)

Insulin needs and therefore dosage vary widely. Which insulin are you using?
Was it A & E or your GP who decided you were type 2 rather than type 1? Did they give you any indication of their reasons for this diagnosis?

 

[Ralph-YK]

Sorry I am unsure of terminology, if that is the 3 month average then it was definitely in excess of 100

That will be the HbA1c. There's a page on the Diabetes UK website with a little info about the different tests.

 

[Alister]

insulin is Insuman basal
Hospital were not 100% certain but confirmed type 2 after blood tests showed no type 1 antibodies.
one piece of good news was the blood test showed my liver & kidneys were normal 🙂

 

[Alister]

if I was bad to start with after 2 weeks I think my figures are certainly beginning to look better,
5.4 before breakfast 6.1 before lunch 5.6 before dinner. hopefully I can keep this reasonably stable.

 

[trophywench]

Frankly mate - I'd stick with the insulin if I was you for now - many Type 1s are on more insulin daily than you are and T2s tend to get far more insulin resistance than you have which means they have to take FAR bigger doses - sometimes up in the hundreds of units per jab several times every day!

I've noticed (over many years of people telling their own history on forums) that sometimes by giving their own pancreas insulin production a good 'holiday' by using injected insulin - their own body has taken over again for them so I sincerely hope that your body does that for you too!