A warm hello on a cold and windy night

[Irishka]

Hello all,
My name is Irina. I am a newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic. I had gestational diabetes with both of my pregnancies and was told I've got a higher risk of developing diabetes later in my life, and turns out that later is now, when I'm 37, keeping fit and eating reasonably healthy (some changes I stuck with knowing my risks are higher)... as doctor put it- I just got unlucky with my genes...
I am not usually the one for support groups and stuff, but I'm finding myself in uncharted territory, no one else in my family or immediate circle of friends has faced this, although everyone is being super supportive. So I decided to give this a go, especially after reading a few bits of people sharing tips. I think, Ihope, to find more understanding and experienced support here, and will strive to provide the same in return.

 

[trophywench]

Hi there - welcome to the club no-one wanted to join!

Anything you don't know or aren't already aware of - ask ask ASK!

How's reducing carbs in the diet going this time around?

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Irina and welcome.

Sorry to hear of your diagnosis but it sounds like you have a bit of a head start with your gestational experience of the D.

Would you like to tell us a bit more about your current diagnosis.... Like any medication you have been given and/or HbA1c result etc.

Not sure what dietary advice you were given before as many of us feel that NHS advice for control of Type 2 diabetes is a bit behind the times but if you are looking for tips and support on Low carb eating, the forum is a great place to be.
Hope you find it as helpful as I have over the past 22 months since diagnosis.

Feel free to ask any questions that come to mind and make yourself at home

 

[Irishka]

Hi there - welcome to the club no-one wanted to join!

Anything you don't know or aren't already aware of - ask ask ASK!

How's reducing carbs in the diet going this time around?

I'm alright mostly, cut out all the sugary stuff, but in terms of starchy carbs I'm struggling with dos and don'ts. Completely not sure on the portion size. I know starchy foods are necessary in some way for fast energy release, but how much ‍♀️

 

[Irishka]

Hi Irina and welcome.

Sorry to hear of your diagnosis but it sounds like you have a bit of a head start with your gestational experience of the D.

Would you like to tell us a bit more about your current diagnosis.... Like any medication you have been given and/or HbA1c result etc.

Not sure what dietary advice you were given before as many of us feel that NHS advice for control of Type 2 diabetes is a bit behind the times but if you are looking for tips and support on Low carb eating, the forum is a great place to be.
Hope you find it as helpful as I have over the past 22 months since diagnosis.

Feel free to ask any questions that come to mind and make yourself at home

Hi there, thank you for a warm welcome. It is the experience of gestational diabetes that made this diagnosis more hard to swallow, that was temporary and any hard decisions were easy as my kid's life depended on it. Also bringing things under control didnt seem to be as difficult.
I am now on a full dose of metformin and 1 tablet of gliclozide and my levels are still hovering in the low teens. I've managed to get a 9.6 twice before lunch lol and that is the best I can do despite being very good with my diet... been three weeks and it is down from 20 or 30 to 13 or so, but that is all

 

[rebrascora]

Sorry to hear that you are finding it hard to cope with at the moment. Hopefully you will find that your children will provide the motivation again by wanting to stay fit and healthy to see them grow up.
You mention in your other post that you believe starchy foods are necessary but actually they aren't really. Many of us follow a very low carb higher fat diet and have far more energy than we did before. It takes a bit of getting your head around, but things like mashed cauliflower instead of potato (with plenty of cream cheese and a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard mashed in) .... nice with high meat content bangers or used to top a cottage pie (with plenty of grated cheese) and cauliflower rice instead of couscous or rice works well. I just tried celeriac chips the other night for the first time with my steak and salad and cheese coleslaw and they were really nice.

My breakfast porridge was the last carb rich food I gave up to get down into single figures. Now I have creamy (not low fat) Greek natural yoghurt with a few berries and mixed seeds and a sprinkle of low carb granola for breakfast along with my coffee and real cream and that often keeps me going until tea time with maybe a handful of nuts or a small chunk of cheese at lunchtime if I feel I need something. Once you cut out the carbs you stop craving them. I used to be ravenous all the time but now I rarely feel hungry and I eat much less.

It sounds like you have a BG meter, so maybe adopting a Test review adjust approach to your meals is something which might prove helpful to help you find the portion size of carbs that your body can cope with....
Type 2 Diabetes - A Personal Journey: Test, Review, Adjust (loraldiabetes.blogspot.com)

 

[daducky88]

Hello all,
My name is Irina. I am a newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic. I had gestational diabetes with both of my pregnancies and was told I've got a higher risk of developing diabetes later in my life, and turns out that later is now, when I'm 37, keeping fit and eating reasonably healthy (some changes I stuck with knowing my risks are higher)... as doctor put it- I just got unlucky with my genes...
I am not usually the one for support groups and stuff, but I'm finding myself in uncharted territory, no one else in my family or immediate circle of friends has faced this, although everyone is being super supportive. So I decided to give this a go, especially after reading a few bits of people sharing tips. I think, Ihope, to find more understanding and experienced support here, and will strive to provide the same in return.

Hello there Irina

I hope you find the forum help and interesting 🙂
DaDucky

 

[daducky88]

Hello all,
My name is Irina. I am a newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic. I had gestational diabetes with both of my pregnancies and was told I've got a higher risk of developing diabetes later in my life, and turns out that later is now, when I'm 37, keeping fit and eating reasonably healthy (some changes I stuck with knowing my risks are higher)... as doctor put it- I just got unlucky with my genes...
I am not usually the one for support groups and stuff, but I'm finding myself in uncharted territory, no one else in my family or immediate circle of friends has faced this, although everyone is being super supportive. So I decided to give this a go, especially after reading a few bits of people sharing tips. I think, Ihope, to find more understanding and experienced support here, and will strive to provide the same in return.

Hello there Irina

I hope you find the forum help and interesting 🙂
Da

Hi there, thank you for a warm welcome. It is the experience of gestational diabetes that made this diagnosis more hard to swallow, that was temporary and any hard decisions were easy as my kid's life depended on it. Also bringing things under control didnt seem to be as difficult.
I am now on a full dose of metformin and 1 tablet of gliclozide and my levels are still hovering in the low teens. I've managed to get a 9.6 twice before lunch lol and that is the best I can do despite being very good with my diet... been three weeks and it is down from 20 or 30 to 13 or so, but that is all

Perhaps you're not a type 2 diabetic. Alot, most? adults >30yrs old with hyperglycemia are diagnosed as T2D initially. Some are later diagnosed as T1D if the T2D drugs haven't lower the sugars. The dr may try a few diff drug combos to check if there are any effective ones. Otherwise you'd need insulin.
Many people are afraid of being a T1D as they worry about injections, but these days there are tiny needles and insulin to a diabetic with high blood sugar is like water to a thirsty person. When you have, you think, thank goodness for that. Although you gotta titrate the dose carefully against exercise, heat, but primarily starchy and sugary foods. But either way, which it you turn out to be, it hope you find your feed and know where to come for reflections and a bit if empathy from us lot 🙂

 

[daducky88]

I'm alright mostly, cut out all the sugary stuff, but in terms of starchy carbs I'm struggling with dos and don'ts. Completely not sure on the portion size. I know starchy foods are necessary in some way for fast energy release, but how much ‍♀️

Get a 0-500g scales on ebay. There about £7 i think.
The back of packets of food tells you the g ChO / 100g food.

I used to eat 40g cho/ meal (breakfast lunch dinner) before i started to try and lower my carb intake. I was 70kg and 5'11" and walked and cycled to and from work some days. Good for the blood pressure, v important for t2d.

 

[trophywench]

Hi there, thank you for a warm welcome. It is the experience of gestational diabetes that made this diagnosis more hard to swallow, that was temporary and any hard decisions were easy as my kid's life depended on it. Also bringing things under control didnt seem to be as difficult.
I am now on a full dose of metformin and 1 tablet of gliclozide and my levels are still hovering in the low teens. I've managed to get a 9.6 twice before lunch lol and that is the best I can do despite being very good with my diet... been three weeks and it is down from 20 or 30 to 13 or so, but that is all

So let's get this straight then - your child's life was important - but yours isn't?

I rather think, that is about 100% incorrect!

Anyway - dust your BG meter off, ask for some new strips and lancets on prescription - and make proper use of it! If they won't prescribe them for you - treat yourself to a reliable one for which the strips and lancets are reasonably priced. Two of such available online are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Healthcare Tee 2. The strips are roughly £8 for a tub of 50 - which is up to a third of the price of some machines. How to use - read this Type 2 Diabetes - A Personal Journey: Test, Review, Adjust (loraldiabetes.blogspot.com)

You are looking for between 4 and 7 before meals and an increase of no more than 3 by 2 hours post the first mouthful. If the BG increases by more than 3 then that amount of whatever it was, needs cutting down - only your meter can tell you how much to cut down - nobody and nothing else.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I'm alright mostly, cut out all the sugary stuff, but in terms of starchy carbs I'm struggling with dos and don'ts. Completely not sure on the portion size. I know starchy foods are necessary in some way for fast energy release, but how much ‍♀️

Welcome to the forum @Irishka

Well done on the changes you’ve already made, which will certainly be helping. As to reducing carbs (not just sugary things) unfortunately there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach as everyone is different and has different tolerances - which is why members often recommend a period of experimentation, starting with what you eat now, and gradually reviewing and adjusting meals to give you the readings you are looking for.

For many members this will end up being something like 120-150g of carbs a day, for others it will be 80-100g a day and still others will struggle with much more than 50-60g.

You could start aiming for 120g-ish and see how you got on from there?

 

[Irishka]

Wow, thank you all, there seems to be so much information in here, I'm studying everything you've said when I'm feeling better, as f course @trophywench m life matters too... besides which my 4 year old told me I am not allowed to die as she doesnt know how to cook yet! Haha love her.
I am experimenting and measuring the effects, but I do have a question- how long does it take from the moment of diagnosis and then treatment starting to bring the levels down? I really appreciate your help here 🙂

 

[rebrascora]

Wow, thank you all, there seems to be so much information in here, I'm studying everything you've said when I'm feeling better, as f course @trophywench m life matters too... besides which my 4 year old told me I am not allowed to die as she doesnt know how to cook yet! Haha love her.
I am experimenting and measuring the effects, but I do have a question- how long does it take from the moment of diagnosis and then treatment starting to bring the levels down? I really appreciate your help here 🙂

Sorry, but that did make me giggle. Children are so funny.... and practical!!

It very much depends on the treatment. If you are talking about Metformin, it probably takes a week or two to build up in your system to see much of an effect but to be honest it is not a very effective treatment. At the other end of the scale insulin is pretty fast and can start reducing levels in a matter of 20-30 mins or less depending upon the insulin.

It took me about 5 weeks of gradually reducing my carb intake to get a reading in range and that was on Metformin and Gliclazide, but that was cutting my carbs down to the bare minimum and the medication was probably doing little to help because my beta cells were being destroyed by my immune system (I was a misdiagnosed Type 1). That timescale might vary for someone who is genuinely Type 2.

 

[trophywench]

Well they do say 'outs of the mouths of babes ...' - I like your daughter, how very sensible! You can usually rely on them for the truth!

Well Metformin takes 2-3 weeks to build up in your system, to achieve whatever it is able to achieve; but it can't do anything much alone - you have to help it, with diet and exercise. Once it's got to full capacity, only then can you or your doc, see whether it's sufficient or not. Diabetes didn't manifest itself overnight in your body, so you do need to be patient I'm afraid. I'm afraid, cos patience is not a virtue I possess very much of, myself, and thus have sincere sympathy with others who also don't!

Think the Gliclazide is comparatively instant!

 

[Irishka]

@rebrascora and @trophywench thank you!!! Yes, my daughter is quite something lol

I've now been on Metformin for the past 3 weeks and Gliclozide for 3 weeks too (metformin full dose for the past week)

I have drastically reduced the portions of my carbs as soon as I learned about my condition (gestational diabetes experience did come in handy) and now trying to cut these out completely. I have a very active lifestyle, being a teacher in a large-ish secondary, so about 10000 steps a day between all the bubbles... add two active kids on top of that, so like walking up the stairs with a 3 year old in my arms a few times a day I think counts as resistance training... or at least it should.

With all this my levels are holding between 9 and 13, this is before meals, after meals, carb present meals, carb free meals... I just dont know what else I can do.

Someone above mentioned potential type one, I did go through an unexplained 13 kg weightless, wrote it off to stress as it started at the beginning of lockdown....

I think this is worth persuing with the diabetes nurse when she calls me...

 

[trophywench]

Definitely worth pursuing!! The metformin doesn't have any direct affect on BG, but does help to reduce any insulin resistance your body happens to have. OTOH Gliclazide makes your pancreas produce more insulin, which absolutely should reduce BG so, if it doesn't decrease the BG then it's a bit more of a clue that it's most likely to be trying to flog a dead nag. ie not being able to do anything!

Specific blood tests for C-peptide and GAD antibodies (though you may well not have the latter by now) should indicate whether you are truly T2 or not.

 

[daducky88]

Wow, thank you all, there seems to be so much information in here, I'm studying everything you've said when I'm feeling better, as f course @trophywench m life matters too... besides which my 4 year old told me I am not allowed to die as she doesnt know how to cook yet! Haha love her.
I am experimenting and measuring the effects, but I do have a question- how long does it take from the moment of diagnosis and then treatment starting to bring the levels down? I really appreciate your help here 🙂

Bless you both 🙂

Well what are current levels?

I have t1d 40 years and find its simply a constant optimisation process as one eats diff food daily, conducts diff amounts of physical effort over time, experiences diff temperatures seasonally and has effects of hirmones eg cortisone which show a circadian pattern.

I had said the paras below but see niw you're not on insulin so ignore the stuff below

But really titration of basal, bolus and correction ratios over 4-6 time brackets per day is one way to try to optimise your doses. But dont beat yourself up if you get "wrong". Rake a breadth and address the worst one first eg if hypo at night for a few night, lower either or bith night basal or evening bolus or maybe correction ratios ie give yourself less before bed and overnight. And vice versa if hi give yourself more. Adjustments of 5-10% are what i use.

 

[Irishka]

Bless you both 🙂

Well what are current levels?

I have t1d 40 years and find its simply a constant optimisation process as one eats diff food daily, conducts diff amounts of physical effort over time, experiences diff temperatures seasonally and has effects of hirmones eg cortisone which show a circadian pattern.

I had said the paras below but see niw you're not on insulin so ignore the stuff below

But really titration of basal, bolus and correction ratios over 4-6 time brackets per day is one way to try to optimise your doses. But dont beat yourself up if you get "wrong". Rake a breadth and address the worst one first eg if hypo at night for a few night, lower either or bith night basal or evening bolus or maybe correction ratios ie give yourself less before bed and overnight. And vice versa if hi give yourself more. Adjustments of 5-10% are what i use.

Not on insulin, but I was when pregnant, so kinda get what you're saying... will keep this in mind if the situation develops

 

[Irishka]

Definitely worth pursuing!! The metformin doesn't have any direct affect on BG, but does help to reduce any insulin resistance your body happens to have. OTOH Gliclazide makes your pancreas produce more insulin, which absolutely should reduce BG so, if it doesn't decrease the BG then it's a bit more of a clue that it's most likely to be trying to flog a dead nag. ie not being able to do anything!

Specific blood tests for C-peptide and GAD antibodies (though you may well not have the latter by now) should indicate whether you are truly T2 or not.

This is both useful and reassuring that my thinking is correct! Thank you so much!

 

[rebrascora]

I would agree, now that you have supplied that additional information re lifestyle etc, that you are likely Type 1 and need to push for further testing or a referral to the consultant who will be more likely to sanction the appropriate tests... one of which needs to be refrigerated or frozen (I can't remember which) after the blood sample is taken and there are only a few specialized labs in the country which do the testing so it takes time to get results back. Most GPs and nurses will have no knowledge of this process so best done through a specialist diabetes clinic. Getting a referral may take time and I think you should push to start insulin straight away which the nurse at the GP surgery should be able to sanction.
Good luck getting something sorted and let us know how you get on.