• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Diagnosed Last Week

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
I

itsgenetic

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi all!

Just found out last week that I have Type 2 diabetes.
Still coming to terms with having it. I love bread (white, naturally!) as well as biscuits and chocolate. Finding it hard to really stick to not having either of those.
My maternal grandmother and 2 of her sisters were diabetic so finding out I was as well was on the cards.
I don't drink anymore which I know is a help.
How does everyone incorporate having diabetes into their regular, daily lives? Like when you're eating out?
I've gone off meat (ham seems to be ok at the moment!), am cold most of the time and really tired. I've eczema already but having itching quite often.
I love baking - I still want to bake for others as well as bake things that are good but sugar free.
Any advice would be wonderful!

Laura
 
Hi Laura
Sorry about your diagnosis but welcome to the club!
I too was big on bread and sweets/chocolate and I can't say it is easy to give them up but I feel better for it and once you cut them out for a few weeks the craving stops. I do have the odd square of 75% dark chocolate which isn't as moreish as milk chocolate and I have plenty of low carb treats available like nuts and cheese and olives for when I get the munchies. I hardly ever eat out and if I do, it is about making an informed decision. Of course as a Type 1 diabetic I can inject insulin to cover what I eat but balancing it can be tricky and personally I prefer to eat low carb and use the minimum insulin necessary.
Many type 2s here on the forum who are not supplied with a Blood Glucose meter, self fund them as it really helps to see which foods cause you the most problem and reduce or eliminate them from your diet. Our gut biome is very individual so some people will break down foods more easily than others and a BG meter will enable you to tailor your diet to your own system and tastes rather than cutting right back on all carbs. Meters are relatively cheap to buy (approx. £15) but the on going cost of purchasing test strips for them is where the cost tots up, so buying a meter which has the cheapest test strips makes sense. For that reason the SD Codefree is recommended on the forum as the strips are just £8 for a pot of 50 as compared to £20+ for some other brands. I believe it is available on Amazon.

Do you know your HbA1c reading? This is the test which is used to diagnose diabetes. It gives us an idea of where on the diabetes scale you are.... for information 42-47 is pre diabetic and 48+ is diabetic. Many people are just over the threshold and need to make just moderate changes to their diet to get back into the normal range. Others are in excess of 100 which is when it becomes a bit dodgey. Hopefully you are in the former group and will manage to push it back into remission relatively easily.
 
Hello! Thank you - I am seeing the diabetic nurse on Monday. Then I can have a chat about everything. My reading was 57, and having been taking meds for 10 days.
I stopped drinking over 2 years so know that in theory cutting out bread and sweets should be easy. But I love them so much! I will have to find something that I can switch them for - hopefully the dark chocolate will do the trick.
I was wondering about the tests but thought I'd speak to the nurse Monday! x
 
Health Care Professionals often advise against using a meter but that is partly because the NHS can no longer afford to fund test strips for everyone and also because they are concerned that people will become obsessed with checking their blood. Of course there are people who will be susceptible to that, but most of us just want to manage our BG levels effectively. The analogy of driving without a speedometer is sometimes used to describe the situation. It is far better to be able to see your reading and moderate your speed or diet than wait 3-6 months and risk getting a speeding ticket through the letter box or high HbA1c from the doctor. Diabetes is a condition and we as patients are responsible for the day to day management of it with support from our HCPs. Having the tools to do that effectively makes a big difference.
Of course it is important to discuss this with your nurse but only you can make the decision as to what is the best course of action in your situation.
 
You could try Livlife bread - I get mine from Waitrose, and Asda have a protein bread. Both are only 4 gm of carb per (small) slice, but fill a useful slot in the menu. I only eat a small amount - I like the Livlife when I eat kippers, but the keep well in the fridge.
 
Hi Laura, welcome to the forum. 🙂

Barbara has put things very well, so no need to add much! :D
I too used to love bread, I am sure it was my downfall, along with the pasta and rice. I use Nimble bread, which is only 8.1g of carbohydrates a slice, small slice but nice. I had a much higher initial reading than you, but got it down into a normal level in under six months, so I am sure if you are determined, you will manage it soon too. I am afraid though that you will have to make changes to your diet and stick with them, there is no alternative and it is far better than the alternatives. I miss all that bread and pasta I used to have, but not as badly as I thought I would. 🙂
 
I find a little is okay as it is the long term blood sugar that is what causes the health issues. I eat wholemeal bread and dark chocolate two or three times a week and my level was 45 at my last visit down from 130 when first diagnosed.
I have also lost about 3 stone in weight.
Obsessing over your day to day sugar levels will cause you stress which is bad for your health as well.
Cutting stuff you love out of your life completely will make sticking to your diet just that much harder. If you eat healthily and exercise daily you will be amazed how quick your levels come down. You can then find out if you can control your levels with diet and exercise alone or if you need medication as well.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum @itsgenetic. Good to have you here. When i was first diagnosed, the dr simply said cut out all sugar and watch portion size. I did that, was ok. but had a little wobble over Xmas which pushed my Hb1Ac back up. Since then i have made special efforts (got myself a home Blood Glucose kit & started to monitor myself - that was an eye opener!) It's invaluable. It really shows what does and doesnt suit us, individually, carb wise. (its sugar AND carbs you need to really cut back on) --- this year i have baked chocolate cake, vanilla cream cake (Hubby who isnt diabetic had sweetened up Chantilly cream on his slice - and he loved it, asking if i could bake it again!). Same has gone for the 'cauliflower rice/mash - we loved those too. I still do have an occasional high cocoa piece of chocolate (or two) with no ill effects - its all about controlling the beast!

Diabetics are very resourceful. We have wonderful threads on here :-
Food/carb queries + recipes
You will find plenty of inspiration there im sure. Happy hunting and munching!
 
Last edited:
Look for recipes which use ground almonds instead of 'normal' wheat flour for baking. You can make sweet and savoury goodies with it and the other savoury ingredients prevent those items tasting or smelling almondy.

You know - like the 'cakey' filling of a bakewell tart. If you've had your bag of ground almonds a fair while (you know, store cupboard item which gets shoved to the back of the cupboard cos you don't use it all that often!) then it will smell and taste very almondy. So if you find a recipe or 3 you fancy trying - treat yourself to a new bag! Lidl used to be the cheapest but not sure now.

Low calorie they are NOT. But low carb - YES!
 
I made a garlic 'bread' for the first time the other week - It was surprisingly good! But couldn't eat too much of it (its quite filling) Would have prob finished the whole lot had it been a normal one. But me and hubby were pleased with the results - will make it again in sure. ( I found a big 500g bag in Sainsburys for £5 - good value i thought, as almonds are expensive) I also made a cake but split between the ground almonds and some coconut flour - turned out good! 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum @itsgenetic

Hope you are doing OK after your first few months.
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top