Hello
@JAHiggins , welcome to the forum. Firstly try not to panic ok,
Once you have the right info and make some changes, Diabetes is a condition that can be well managed !
How is your toe now .
Is anything going to be done about your gall bladder.
What was the result of your Hb1ac, it’s a blood test usually from the arm.
Are you on any medication for your diabetes.
13 is rather high but it also depends in when you tested, also you need to do lots of testing to see the patterns.
This will seem strange, It is not good to bring your blood glucose ( BGs) down too quickly as that can cause some unpleasant symptoms and affect your sight, though this is often temporary.
It’s good to hear you have a glucose meter, which one do you have as the test strips can be rather expensive with most of them and initially you need to do lots of testing .
It is carbohydrates that we can no longer handle too well. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate and is already included in the carb content on the nutritional label usually on the back of pack and tins, so you don’t have to worry about checking sugar content.
I don’t bother looking at the traffic light system on the front of packs as it doesn’t give me the info I need.
We are usually fine with protein in all it’s forms and providing we don’t have a condition that requires us to reduce it , good fats too.
Keep an accurate food diary along with the results of your own tests.
To start you off .
Slightly reduce your portions of starchy carbohydrates, till you find good substitutes, fill up on vegetables, protein and if it’s ok with your gall bladder problem , some good fats.
We test ourselves to see how the various carbohydrates affect us by
Testing directly before eating then two hours after the first bite, if you are no more than 3 higher than your pre meal level then that meal was fine. Don’t worry if it’s up in the teens , it the difference between the pre and post meal that’s important, gradually your pre meal (pre prandial) will start to come down.
Oh dear I do seem to have gone on a bit. I hope it’s not too much info for you to take in initially.
Ask all the questions you need to about diabetes and we will do our best to help.
