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AJJ

AJJ

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi everyone. I've recently been diagnosed type 2 and have altered my diet. All going well. Lost a few pounds already and eating really well. I've just discovered a micro bakery in the next street from me which makes amazing sourdough loaves. They can supply me with seeded wholemeal bread but the flour ratio is 80% wholemeal to 20% unbleached white flour. All organic with absolutely no additives.
Is it okay to have this as l'm using 3/4 slices of full wholemeal a day at the moment? Thanks for any advice.
 
Hi AJJ, welcome to the forum 🙂 Do you have a blood glucose meter? It's the best way to discover whether something is OK for you to eat. People have very individual tolerances for things, and these tolerances can also vary according to the time of day, so testing will tell you how you react. Have a read of Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S - it will explain the principles behind this and how to test efficiently. If you don't have a meter, the cheapest option we have come across is the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50. If you are lucky, you might be able to persuade your doctor to give you a meter and prescribe the strips for you, although many are reluctant to do this.
 
Thanks for that Northerner. No l don't have a meter at present. My dedicated diabetes nurse at my GP'S said that l won't need one as yet. She's been brilliant. I was diagnosed 4th Jan and have had weekly appointments with her since and things are improving already. She told me not to buy one as she would supply one if needed.
Have to say l've been very impressed with her care. Lots of info, eye scan and podiatry appointments made with loads of encouragement and reassurance.
 
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It does confuse me when people are told they won't need a meter, and not every healthcare professional would say that - it's a shame they can't be more consistent! Logically, using a meter is the only way you can determine what elements of your diet you should either reduce in portion or exclude, and what items will result in slow, steady and small increases in your blood glucose levels. Without using a meter, you are just guessing, I'm afraid, so whilst your nurse might be excellent in all respects, I would challenge her on her reasoning over this 🙂 Maybe she intends to give you one down the line, after you have 'settled in' a bit - still very early days for you! 🙂 Just bear it in mind as a useful and proven strategy 🙂
 
AJJ said:
Thanks for that Northerner. No l don't have a meter at present. My dedicated diabetes nurse at my GP'S said that l won't need one as yet. She's been brilliant. I was diagnosed 4th Jan and have had weekly appointments with her since and things are improving already. She told me not to buy one as she would supply one if needed.
Have to say love been very impressed with her care. Lots of info, eye scan and podiatry appointments made with loads of encouragement and reassurance.
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Hello there.

There is no doubt that it's great you have a diabetes nurse you obviously feel you can work with.

When I was newly diagnosed, I was literally a couple of weeks away from leaving on an overseas trip scheduled, at that point, to last 9 months, so it was all rather inconvenient! I was similarly advised about a meter, but I went ahead and acquired one anyway. (Always the rebel, me. 🙂 ) My rationale was that by using my meter to measure my reaction to everything I ate or drank, I would soon begin to understand how I could manage things to stay healthy and improve as much as I could.

To say testing was enlightening would be a bit like saying Hurricane Katrina was a bit breezy. Whilst I am certain my diabetes nurse, in the brief meeting I had with her, believed that wholemeal bread, unsweetened cereals and wholemeal pasta would be fine for me, the meter readings, shortly after eating, screamed a very different story. Having learned what "good numbers" were I rapidly realised I'd be better avoiding the wholemeal bread, unsweetened cereals and wholemeal pasta, at least for the time being.

When I returned, briefly to UK for a review, four months post-diagnosis, I had reduced my diagnostic HbA1c test score from 73 to 37, and in the intervening period to date, my HbA1c has never been above 34. Bearing in mind the diagnostic threshold is 48, I think you will appreciate the change.

In that four months (and to date) the heftiest weapon in my armoury was everything I ate and drank, closely followed by my trusty blood glucose meter, giving me immediate feedback on my progress.

I do urge you to acquire a meter and strips if you can. If your medics won't sponsor testing, then I urge you to consider buying the supplies yourself. For me, it was a life changing purchase.
 
I was told no meter as type 2's don't need to test! I bought my own (SD codefree). It has been invaluable in helping me to find out how different foods affect my BG.

Oh! I forgot to say welcome to the forum :D
 
AndBreathe said:
Hello there.

There is no doubt that it's great you have a diabetes nurse you obviously feel you can work with.

When I was newly diagnosed, I was literally a couple of weeks away from leaving on an overseas trip scheduled, at that point, to last 9 months, so it was all rather inconvenient! I was similarly advised about a meter, but I went ahead and acquired one anyway. (Always the rebel, me. 🙂 ) My rationale was that by using my meter to measure my reaction to everything I ate or drank, I would soon begin to understand how I could manage things to stay healthy and improve as much as I could.

To say testing was enlightening would be a bit like saying Hurricane Katrina was a bit breezy. Whilst I am certain my diabetes nurse, in the brief meeting I had with her, believed that wholemeal bread, unsweetened cereals and wholemeal pasta would be fine for me, the meter readings, shortly after eating, screamed a very different story. Having learned what "good numbers" were I rapidly realised I'd be better avoiding the wholemeal bread, unsweetened cereals and wholemeal pasta, at least for the time being.

When I returned, briefly to UK for a review, four months post-diagnosis, I had reduced my diagnostic HbA1c test score from 73 to 37, and in the intervening period to date, my HbA1c has never been above 34. Bearing in mind the diagnostic threshold is 48, I think you will appreciate the change.

In that four months (and to date) the heftiest weapon in my armoury was everything I ate and drank, closely followed by my trusty blood glucose meter, giving me immediate feedback on my progress.

I do urge you to acquire a meter and strips if you can. If your medics won't sponsor testing, then I urge you to consider buying the supplies yourself. For me, it was a life changing purchase.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for all your replies and info. I'm seeing my nurse next Tuesday and will discuss.
 
Hi AJJ

It is worth adding I think that the meters themselves cost peanuts in fact they are so cheap that they are given away free both to the NHS and to us - BUT it's the test strips that cost the money - and it's from the sale of those they get their investment back.

And you know the NHS has to save money. So there you go. Form your own conclusions!
 
My diabetic nurse came out and told me straight that she agreed with testing but that her hands are tied and they won't prescribe the strips for cost reasons
 
AJJ said:
Thanks for all your replies and info. I'm seeing my nurse next Tuesday and will discuss.
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Good luck with that.

When I asked my nurse if she were diagnosed if she would be willing to be led by another person she met with every now and then, then a blood test in several months time. It went all quite.

If necessary, look her in the eyes and ask the question. I'm not suggesting any form of coercion, more that the look in her eyes will tell you all you need to know.
 
I was told I could only get a meter on prescription if I started on meds. But as I have no plans to go on meds, I bought my own. Found a pharmaceutical website where I can get strips & lancets half the price of Boots 🙂
 
I agree about the meter thing. But to bread... Burgen soya and linseed is slow release carbs and Lidl do a low GI bread and high protein rolls that I find good
 
I eat Burgen. 1 slice this morning with a soya based spread only added 1.9 to my BS (9.5 to 11.4). Would've preferred butter, but got to lower my chol.😳
 
Mark Parrott said:
I eat Burgen. 1 slice this morning with a soya based spread only added 1.9 to my BS (9.5 to 11.4). Would've preferred butter, but got to lower my chol.😳
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Dietary fats don't really add that much to cholesterol levels, it's a bit of a myth. The vast majority of cholesterol is manufactured by the liver, and if you have less dietary cholesterol then it just makes more. More important is probably to reduce carbohydrates in your diet - which you are already doing, and to get regular exercise, which will improve the HDL/LDL split (this is more important than the 'total cholesterol' figure) 🙂
 
Mark Parrott said:
I eat Burgen. 1 slice this morning with a soya based spread only added 1.9 to my BS (9.5 to 11.4). Would've preferred butter, but got to lower my chol.😳
Click to expand...
I totally agree with Northerner. Eating fat does not impact on cholesterol, and indeed many people find their cholesterol numbers improve by reducing carbs, and if necessary upping fats. Of course that's all very counter intuitive.

If you are trying to lose weight, then it's worth keeping an eye on the amount f fat being eaten as it is highly calorific, but if you are reducing carbs and don't want to lose weight, you are likely to find yourself in calorific deficit and losing weight. When I wanted to balance my bloods/weight/diet into a maintenance state I needed to eat more carb to "balance the books".

If you have concerns about fat, Trudi Deakin's book, "Eat Fat" contains some great information. Trudi is a UK dietician. Personally, I'm nnot a big fan of the style of the book, but it gets across the information simply, so I just have to swallow my preferences!
 
Thanks guys 🙂
 
It should also be noted that cholesterol is essential to life - it forms part of the protective myelin sheath around every cell of the body. When I was on statins my total cholesterol went down to 2.3 (not sure what the units are). I asked the doctor what a safe lower limit was and he couldn't tell me, but since it is essential there clearly is a lower limit! 🙄 This answer was one of the things that decided me to stop taking the statins, since I was considered low risk for CVD anyway - nowadays it tends to be around 4.5 total, with a good HDL/LDL split 🙂 If you want to read up about statins and cholesterol , I would recommend 'The Great Cholesterol Con' by Malcolm Kendrick, well worth a read 🙂
 
I'll check that out 🙂
 
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