lots more questions still really do need your help please

[jonny the hog]

hi everybody this is only the second day of being on the forum .I feel I have a mountain of questions to ask .and not quite sure in which order to put them in .so I will just fire them out at random and hope they can be answered along the way .1) what is the daily amount of carbohydrates I should be having ,will the amount of carbs in my food I have a day keep my daily reference intake of other elements such as sugar , salt , fat ,saturates balanced .
2)are there different types of carbohydrates ,what are they and where can they be found .
3) my doctor put me on medication straight away without any discussion about weather I can put my diabetes into remission through my diet ,or how advanced my conditions is , the medication he gave me is metformin 500g and a cholesterol tablet Lipitor .I don't know if this will give an indication to how bad my diabetes is .
4) my biggest nemesis alcohol . WOW I think I have just discovered that I may have an issue with alcohol I am a binge drinker and I am so because I drink for the effect not taste .I would drink an average 30-40 units a week 0ver 2-3 days I didn't think that was bad but when using other people as bench mark that doesn't work so any tips would be very appreciated .
5) its coming a lot warmer now and the air is full of the wonderful smell of barbeques .should you , can you indulge in the food and I suppose drink .
I will leave it there for now as I don't want bombard people with questions from me thanks in advance for all your help
kind regards
jonny

 

[Docb]

Some ideas...

1. Daily amount of carbs. No fixed answer, but having diabetes means a good start is eating less carbohydrate than you eat now. Keeping a food diary and doing some carb counting is a good way of seeing where you are at and giving you targets for things to cut out.

2. Yes there are different types of carbohydrate but they all can finish up as glucose in your bloodstream. Don't worry about it for now, just look at total carbohydrate which includes everything.

3. 500mg metformin is the minimum dose so presumably you are just over the threshold for diagnosis. Next time you have contact with your GP ask for your HBA1c result - should have been done for diagnosis to be given - and make a note of it. That number tells you where you are on the diabetes scale. NICE guidelines say that diet and exercise should be the first stage of treatment, maybe your GP has a reason for bypassing it. Easiest way to find out is to ask them.

4. Ah booze. I'm not teetotal but never seen the need for it simply because anybody with half a brain can see on balance it does far more harm than good. Cut it back before the grip gets too strong.

5. No. Indulge in food and drink and you will become a fat alcoholic with a lot more health problems to add to your diabetes. Seriously, get to understand food types and how your system handles them. Good quality in small amounts is what you need, not binging on junk.

There are the bare bones of some starters for you. Read around the forum and things will begin to make sense and keep on asking the questions.

 

[jonny the hog]

hi thanks docb for the advice and I will contact my doctor .I think he just bypassed the diet and put me on the meds either because of the current situation or I am becoming that fat alcoholic .lol joking aside I am going to look at my alcohol intake and the reasons why I do it . and I will start a diary of my carbs and where I can reduce them .
kind regards
jonny

 

[Pine Marten]

Hi @jonny the hog, welcome to the forum.

I agree with Docb that reducing carbs from now on will help greatly - ones to avoid are starchy ones like potatoes, pasta, bread, rice, and some fruits. More green leafy veg, cheese, eggs, good quality meat, fish, are all fine. There is lots more info about food and recipes if you want to have a read around the forum 🙂

 

[Deleted member 27171]

Hi @jonny the hog welcome to the forum.
Exactly how many carbs you should be eating is a tricky question but on the whole most people find reducing them helps with diabetes, but may also help if you have any weight to lose. You can eat healthily and barbecue so you shouldn’t need to avoid them on that front, if you are more concerned from a social aspect and that leading to overindulging and drinking too much then that might be trickier. Is the drinking a social thing too or do you find yourself drinking to excess even at home? Have you told your GP about the amount you drink? Metformin doesn’t generally cause hypos but can if combined with a lot of alcohol, so if they don’t know it is important you mention it.
It may be that there are a lot of changes to your lifestyle which would benefit you, but all at once may be a little overwhelming so maybe think about 1 or 2 things you want to change and focus on them to begin with.
There is also a link to the Learning Zone at the top of the page (orange tab) which you can work though at your own pace to get a bit more understanding. Eventually though, you may find it helpful to speak to a dietitian who can advise you about diet from a more individual perspective, you can ask your GP for a referral.

 

[Ralph-YK]

1 Amound of carbs, I've no idea. I do know that breakfast ceriel is a particular problem. Mini Shredded Wheat (no sugar) took me from 6 to 10.6/11.7. The same as multu grain hoops (which does have sugar). I dropped ceriel altogether.
I'd suggest self testing. Test before, and 1 - 2 hour after. This will show you what affect food (and drink) has on your BG. Along with any changes you make.
As Docb says, keep a food diary. Along with a record of your levels. After a couple of weeks hopefully you should start to see a pattern.

3 Typical behaviour from what I've seen and heard. Doesn't really tell you anything. Though there can be some variation. I was started without cholestoral tables, and no mention of them. Until a couple of months later I was in hospital with my heart.
4 It's still very much a drinking cultor round where I live. Achole can affect your BG, both up (because of the sugar in it) and down (because of your body processing the achole!). Also, the carolies you get from achole are 'empty', they have no nutrional value. How much to actually drink, again.
5 From a diabetic point of view, meats and fats are no a problem. So you could eat the the burgers, salard etc. Limit the bread buns. The "General, Healthy Living" thing is a different matter.

 

[Drummer]

One thing to take into consideration is where you are in the world - fibre is included in the carbohydrate number in the UK, but listed separately in the UK. I have needed to point out that a high number where there is a lot of fibre is better than a low number where it is all from starch or sugar, as that difference can make decisions more complicated than they need to be.
Other intake can pretty much take care of itself - though you might need to add salt if you are avoiding processed foods because of the carbs - a lot of salt is added as well, so you could actually be short of it.
You should not drink and take Metformin - you can be very ill. Not just the normal upset gut, very ill indeed. It is on the information in the box (RTSM will be found close to my heart when I die).
The day after diagnosis I lit the barbecue with the diet sheets from my GP - meat is fine so is salad stuff, a bit of sauce or even a ladle of coleslaw - just don't eat the bread or cheap sausages and burgers. A couple of times I have just filled up a brown bottle with water and no one was any the wiser.

 

[brisr949]

Hi again jonny, in my introduction when i joined here i explained that i became type1 through alcohol abuse, not saying that is the path you will go down but seriously consider your alcohol intake as it affects you in so many ways..im alcohol free now and when i look back there are so many negatives to drinking and no positives..but please consult your doctor, just quitting in one go can be dangerous too.
Adam.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

One thing to take into consideration is where you are in the world - fibre is included in the carbohydrate number in the UK, but listed separately in the UK.

Do you mean the US? The U.K. labels generally list fibre, but don’t include it in the carb content because it isn’t absorbed. In the US folks have to subtract fibre from carbs.

Short version: If in the U.K. just look for ‘total carbs’ which is much more useful in diabetes terms than ‘of which sugars’ or the traffic light system.

 

[Drummer]

Do you mean the US? The U.K. labels generally list fibre, but don’t include it in the carb content because it isn’t absorbed. In the US folks have to subtract fibre from carbs.

Short version: If in the U.K. just look for ‘total carbs’ which is much more useful in diabetes terms than ‘of which sugars’ or the traffic light system.

Wooups - yes - sorry.

 

[jonny the hog]

Hi @jonny the hog welcome to the forum.
Exactly how many carbs you should be eating is a tricky question but on the whole most people find reducing them helps with diabetes, but may also help if you have any weight to lose. You can eat healthily and barbecue so you shouldn’t need to avoid them on that front, if you are more concerned from a social aspect and that leading to overindulging and drinking too much then that might be trickier. Is the drinking a social thing too or do you find yourself drinking to excess even at home? Have you told your GP about the amount you drink? Metformin doesn’t generally cause hypos but can if combined with a lot of alcohol, so if they don’t know it is important you mention it.
It may be that there are a lot of changes to your lifestyle which would benefit you, but all at once may be a little overwhelming so maybe think about 1 or 2 things you want to change and focus on them to begin with.
There is also a link to the Learning Zone at the top of the page (orange tab) which you can work though at your own pace to get a bit more understanding. Eventually though, you may find it helpful to speak to a dietitian who can advise you about diet from a more individual perspective, you can ask your GP for a referral.

hi LucyDUK I don't drink in a social capacity ie down the pub or out with friends I drink at home , I have mention the amount I drink to my GP but was given my diagnosis by a second doctor . I think I should speak with my GP as someone has suggested that my meds can make me ill with alcohol and a dietitian may help thanks for your help

 

[jonny the hog]

1 Amound of carbs, I've no idea. I do know that breakfast ceriel is a particular problem. Mini Shredded Wheat (no sugar) took me from 6 to 10.6/11.7. The same as multu grain hoops (which does have sugar). I dropped ceriel altogether.
I'd suggest self testing. Test before, and 1 - 2 hour after. This will show you what affect food (and drink) has on your BG. Along with any changes you make.
As Docb says, keep a food diary. Along with a record of your levels. After a couple of weeks hopefully you should start to see a pattern.

3 Typical behaviour from what I've seen and heard. Doesn't really tell you anything. Though there can be some variation. I was started without cholestoral tables, and no mention of them. Until a couple of months later I was in hospital with my heart.
4 It's still very much a drinking cultor round where I live. Achole can affect your BG, both up (because of the sugar in it) and down (because of your body processing the achole!). Also, the carolies you get from achole are 'empty', they have no nutrional value. How much to actually drink, again.
5 From a diabetic point of view, meats and fats are no a problem. So you could eat the the burgers, salard etc. Limit the bread buns. The "General, Healthy Living" thing is a different matter.

hi I drink about 40 units a week over 2-3 days so about 18 cans of magners cider I have started a food diary and recording my levels .I have only in the last few weeks started to eat cerials for breakfast as I was told I need to eat three meals a day thanks for the tips

 

[Ralph-YK]

I have only in the last few weeks started to eat cerials for breakfast as I was told I need to eat three meals a day thanks for the tips

You could try boild eggs. I'm careful about mentioning bacon, as that annoys the Diabetic Dietician! A full English can be better for your blood glucose (BG) levels than ceriel.
Self testing will help you see what affect food has on your BG, along with any changes you make. Keep a food diary, along with a record of your levels. After a couple of weeks hopefully you'll start to see a pattern.