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Hello! And a bit clueless!

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Shaun Barry

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi Everyone! I'm 47 and was only diagnosed with type 2 last Thursday..

Strange one.. I hadn't been to the doctors for many many years (I don't like to make a fuss plus I don't like needles much).. Anyway I have a massive chalazion in my eye and 9/10 it needs a surgical procedure so I pops along to the GP to get a referral..

Blood pressure was 183/120(Pills and now it's 131/93).. Wants me to go for a blood test and results come back and had to go for another one as he thought it was Diabetes. Turns out he knows more than me and it is..

Bit like going for a toothache and end up having something far worse yet the original issue (Eye) isn't as important (Thats another issue! NHS e-refferal service!! Wow it's shockingly bad!)

Was quite shocked but not surprised as for a while I'd been struggling to get up in the morning and felt thirsty and lost quite a lot of a weight.. Have my "New Diabetic nurses appointment" on 15th February.. Thing is.. I have no clue what to do about eating.. No diet sheet, nothing?

I've cut out white bread.. Dropped sugar in tea/cofee (also dropped to 1 a day).. Cut out white pasta and rice and have a new obsession with green grapes.. Doc said i'm on a diet controlled version but it was nice of him to actually not tel me what diet to choose 🙂

I'd like to say it's nice to join the club, but it's not really is it? :/
 
Welcome Shaun...

A lot to take in at first, but stick in there it'll become second nature. One thing to suggest it that you start testing, probably have to be self funded; people advise the SD Codefree from Amazon... You will probably find that those little green sugar bombs are not something to become obsessed with.
 
Hi Shaun - it's ALL the carbohydrates, whatever colour they happen to be - and sugar itself, along with fructose in all fruit (and there's one helluva lot in grapes, even in dead sour wine grapes growing on chalky hillsides in the Champagne region!) is simply, just another form of carbohydrate.

But to get there, it's important not to try to restrict everything at once otherwise you'll have terrible carb withdrawal symptoms! - seriously. So cut down the carbs a bit at a time - slow but sure will get you there quicker.
 
Hi Shaun, Welcome to the group. You will find lots of useful advice on here, if in doubt, ask.

My top tip would be cut the carbs, all forms and colours, that includes fruit (especially juices), bread, pasta rice of all colours. This new diet will take a lot of getting used to. I am still learning after a year. But there are compensations, red wine in moderation is on the good list!! 🙂
 
Hello and welcome to the club no-one wants to join! Lots of good advice given already so I won’t repeat it. Have a look at the links at the top of the newbie section if you haven’t already done so. A low carb diet does take a bit of getting used to - I still miss the huge amount of fruit I used to eat - but the satisfaction will come as you soon start to see your levels coming down. Whatever your healthcare team says, most of us find self-testing is invaluable.
 
Welcome to the forum, as Jenny said grapes are loaded with carbs along with ripe bananas, I love grapes too and are my weakness. A friend was told he had diabetes and instantly cut out a lot of high carb foods and drinks, and he was ill with the sudden change in their intake of carbs. Slowly slowly works better on occasions especially if they were on a very high carb diet.
 
The idea is actually not to completely give up eating whatever - but gradually see how much of whatever your body will now tolerate - cos if the body tolerates it well, why would you pack it in?

Most people are more intolerant of carbs early in the day - so don't eat 'stodge' for breakfast - eat protein - eggs, bacon, a cheese omelette - please yourself!
 
Welcome Shaun from a fellow T2
 
Hi Shaun ... I’ve been Type 2 for two and a half years and I’m still learning .... mostly off these guys. Currently going through change of meds so BG all over the place but I am determined to control it and not the other way round. You too will gain control and quite frankly feel better for it X
 
Hi, Welcome from a recently diagnosed T2 - 4 months down the road from where you are with it now

Did you get told what your blood results were? Over 48 is diabetic, mine was 101 back in September

Agree with advice above to cut right down on carbohydrate in your diet, I aim for 30-50g per day with occasional 'cheats'
Check the carb content of all your food either from the label or via the internet
Also, important to get a meter, also as advised above so you can test before meals and again 2 hours after - so you can see the effects that each meal has and adjust accordingly.
Targets should be <7mmol/L before meals and <8.5mmol/L after
Just been given the results of my latest blood tests and they are now in the 'non-diabetic' range so testament to what you can learn on here.
 
JimPD said:
Just been given the results of my latest blood tests and they are now in the 'non-diabetic' range so testament to what you can learn on here.
Click to expand...

Wow, Well done, that is amazing!!
 
Hi Shaun, welcome to the forum.

Second what other have said here. Getting to grips with being diabetic definitely take time so don't worry if the next few months are all over the place with your diet, readings etc... you're in it for the long haul and it takes time to get it right. There's so much information to take in that it takes a fair while to assimilate it.

Low carb is definitely the way to go - we all tolerate carbs differently so it takes a bit of experimentation and time to get an idea of what you can tolerate and what you can't. Like Jim up there, I cut my carb intake down, to about 100-120g after diagnosis, and I went from a reading 107 to 46, so it can definitely be done. I really looked at my portion sizes as well, as this helped me to get a handle on my carb intake. I still struggle a lot with my diet and my levels aren't as good as I want them to be, but I'm in a lot better shape than I was so it's worth taking the time to get it right for you. Any questions at all, the forum is the place to ask!
 
It can be quite simple, if you are lucky.
Reduce the carbs you are eating, and it is highly likely that your blood glucose will go down - using a meter can help to get into normal numbers and see Hba1c in the low 40s or even 30s in a few months if you are really serious. I took 6 months but wasn't really trying hard as I was not in the diabetic range after just 80 days.
Increasing exercise can help - but something like regular walking, or in my case dancing seems to help.
 
trophywench said:
Hi Shaun - it's ALL the carbohydrates, whatever colour they happen to be - and sugar itself, along with fructose in all fruit (and there's one helluva lot in grapes, even in dead sour wine grapes growing on chalky hillsides in the Champagne region!) is simply, just another form of carbohydrate.

But to get there, it's important not to try to restrict everything at once otherwise you'll have terrible carb withdrawal symptoms! - seriously. So cut down the carbs a bit at a time - slow but sure will get you there quicker.
Click to expand...
Hi there I was told by my DN no more than 6 grapes a day
 
Being as grapes, the same as cherries are addictive - I mean who can stop at one when there's a bunch there? - I simply don't have em in the house and haven't for years.

However I did eat ONE grape the other evening at a 'do' with a buffet where there were cubes of cheese paired with either pineapple or grapes on cocktail sticks - in fact the only things missing from that particular 1960s treat was the half a grapefruit to form the hedgehog's body! LOL - but it was the first grape I've eaten for years and years.

I find cherries easy to resist in view of their price, ridiculously expensive now, so I somehow kid myself that's why - not because I really shouldn't!
 
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