Hello - New T2 here :-(

[FredX]

A small handful of almonds only has about 3g of carbs Fred
I tend to get the munchies late evening and a few nuts satisfies the urge.

Yes, you're right it's only a few grams.

I have some Brazil nuts in the cupboard. if (WHEN) I get a hunger pang.

I have just remembered, I have some sugar free Werther’s originals in the car. urm...

I must get some accurate kitchen scales the one we have only has markings a 25g intervals.

I measured my lunch at work using our counting scales, it has a digital display and a resolution of 0.1g

 

[Leadinglights]

Yes, you're right it's only a few grams.

I have some Brazil nuts in the cupboard. if (WHEN) I get a hunger pang.

I have just remembered, I have some sugar free Werther’s originals in the car. urm...

I must get some accurate kitchen scales the one we have only has markings a 25g intervals.

I measured my lunch at work using our counting scales, it has a digital display and a resolution of 0.1g

Inexpensive ones can be found easily on line which will be accurate enough. Ones big enough to take a bowl or plate are useful but not too big to keep on your worktop.

 

[FredX]

Inexpensive ones can be found easily on line which will be accurate enough. Ones big enough to take a bowl or plate are useful but not too big to keep on your worktop.

I am looking at them now, i will pick one up on the way home tomorrow.

 

[pjgtech]

Hi Fred and welcome. I see you have had lots of good info already.
You seem to be getting to grips with it all, theres a lot to take in initially!

Not sure if you have one, or want one, but there are a few good cheap blood glucose monitors (some sold on the diabetes uk website) and IMHO they are handy to have and use. NB: they only come with a few test strips and lances, so you may need to buy extra, some are cheaper than others.
They require you to finger prick and then put a spot of blood on a test strip, which is then put into the BG monitor which then gives you a BG reading. So, they show you what your BG is doing at any one time.
Whereas, the three monthly blood test (HbA1c) gives a three monthly average of your BG levels) so is slightly different and arguably more accurate. Some Dr's advise against peeps doing their own home testing, but most on here think its a reasonable thing to do.

You don't need to get obsessive about BG testing, don't need to do it every day, etc. But it is a handy tool to use occasionally to see how your BG levels are doing.

Testing first thing in the morning when you get up shows your fasting BG level.
Testing just before eating, then two hours after a meal tells you whether that meal/food has spiked your BG and to what level. So within a short length of time, you can get an idea of what meals you can eat and what meals to avoid.

General guidance for T2's is an average BG level of between 4 and 7 (or 8).
When testing after meals you generally want to see it rise no more than 3, and ideally 2.
So if you test before a meal and BG is 6, when testing 2 hrs after the meal, you want it to be less than 9, and ideally less than 8.
But, peoples BG levels do go up and down throughout an average day, and lots of things (not just food) can affect your BG levels, eg: what you are doing, the environment, whether you are ill or not, stress, etc, etc.

Hope the info is of use to you.... keep us updated with progress..... cheers

 

[FredX]

Hi Fred and welcome. I see you have had lots of good info already.
You seem to be getting to grips with it all, theres a lot to take in initially!

Not sure if you have one, or want one, but there are a few good cheap blood glucose monitors (some sold on the diabetes uk website) and IMHO they are handy to have and use. NB: they only come with a few test strips and lances, so you may need to buy extra, some are cheaper than others.
They require you to finger prick and then put a spot of blood on a test strip, which is then put into the BG monitor which then gives you a BG reading. So, they show you what your BG is doing at any one time.
Whereas, the three monthly blood test (HbA1c) gives a three monthly average of your BG levels) so is slightly different and arguably more accurate. Some Dr's advise against peeps doing their own home testing, but most on here think its a reasonable thing to do.

You don't need to get obsessive about BG testing, don't need to do it every day, etc. But it is a handy tool to use occasionally to see how your BG levels are doing.

Testing first thing in the morning when you get up shows your fasting BG level.
Testing just before eating, then two hours after a meal tells you whether that meal/food has spiked your BG and to what level. So within a short length of time, you can get an idea of what meals you can eat and what meals to avoid.

General guidance for T2's is an average BG level of between 4 and 7 (or 8).
When testing after meals you generally want to see it rise no more than 3, and ideally 2.
So if you test before a meal and BG is 6, when testing 2 hrs after the meal, you want it to be less than 9, and ideally less than 8.
But, peoples BG levels do go up and down throughout an average day, and lots of things (not just food) can affect your BG levels, eg: what you are doing, the environment, whether you are ill or not, stress, etc, etc.

Hope the info is of use to you.... keep us updated with progress..... cheers

Hi @pjgtech

thank you for the info, very useful.

I have been wondering about this.

The nurse didn't mention anything about this but i have been wondering if it is a good idea.

A few colleague who are T1 have a sensor on their arm, looks like you only prick yourself once.

i was wondering if a continous monitor would save me all that finger pricking or is this a bad idea at the moment, especially as i about to start swimming 2/3 times a week.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi @pjgtech

thank you for the info, very useful.

I have been wondering about this.

The nurse didn't mention anything about this but i have been wondering if it is a good idea.

A few colleague who are T1 have a sensor on their arm, looks like you only prick yourself once.

i was wondering if a continous monitor would save me all that finger pricking or is this a bad idea at the moment, especially as i about to start swimming 2/3 times a week.

A CGM can be useful but at a early stage a finger prick testing regime will give you very useful information and be a lot cheaper. CGMs can often make people over react to the data.
It is a different story for those who are Type 1 and will be reliant for their blood glucose management.
Finger pricking really is a painless and quick procedure and gives you control over managing your condition. Many find it a vital tool.

 

[Drummer]

Yes, you're right it's only a few grams.

I have some Brazil nuts in the cupboard. if (WHEN) I get a hunger pang.

I have just remembered, I have some sugar free Werther’s originals in the car. urm...

I must get some accurate kitchen scales the one we have only has markings a 25g intervals.

I measured my lunch at work using our counting scales, it has a digital display and a resolution of 0.1g

Watch out - even though sugar free they are 87% carbohydrate!!

 

[pjgtech]

Watch out - even though sugar free they are 87% carbohydrate!!

Yep, I always have a few walnuts, almonds or pecans around, as they seem to be the most suitable nuts to eat for T2's.

 

[harbottle]

Watch out - even though sugar free they are 87% carbohydrate!!

They are, but it's 'isomalt' which is a sugar alcohol and these generally don't affect blood sugar.

 

[Drummer]

They are, but it's 'isomalt' which is a sugar alcohol and these generally don't affect blood sugar.

I get the worst of all reactions though - I get a weird 'out of it' sensation whilst my blood glucose goes up and my gut flora goes on a wild bender so I look bloated and feel explosive - and then I need the loo.
It is almost as bad as the Haribo bears.

 

[Snikta63]

Hi I was diagnosed T2 just before Christmas with a HbA1c of 51 and have to go back I’m March for another test. I’m following the Freshwell sheet the nurse gave me and am finding it difficult to find food I can eat with what ever fish or meat I have so any advise would be greatly appreciated. The nurse said I could get away with having sourdough bread which I now have a small amount of, does anyone else have this or do you totally avoid it? I do treat myself at the weekend to a couple of new potatoes and a couple of bits of parsnip. On the whole I do seem to have more energy now though and have lost some weight.

Does anyone else find that if they have something like a bit of bread it makes you want to go to sleep after you’ve eaten it?

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi I was diagnosed T2 just before Christmas with a HbA1c of 51 and have to go back I’m March for another test. I’m following the Freshwell sheet the nurse gave me and am finding it difficult to find food I can eat with what ever fish or meat I have so any advise would be greatly appreciated. The nurse said I could get away with having sourdough bread which I now have a small amount of, does anyone else have this or do you totally avoid it? I do treat myself at the weekend to a couple of new potatoes and a couple of bits of parsnip. On the whole I do seem to have more energy now though and have lost some weight.

Does anyone else find that if they have something like a bit of bread it makes you want to go to sleep after you’ve eaten it?

Most of the recipes can work with whatever meat or fish you might have but you don't need to follow the 'sheet' to the letter and can adapt making substitutions to your own preference as long as you are keeping within the spirit of low carb and trying not to go higher than the suggested 130g per day.
You might find more ideas by looking at the Freshwell site rather than the perhaps more restrictive sheet you were given. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
Some people can tolerate bread, a small amount and find the seeded breads are lower carbs per slice. There is no reason why you can't reduce your HbA1C in the next couple of months, I went from 50 to 42 in 3 months following the Freshwell principals, basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy and vegetables and salads and fruit, mainly berries.

 

[Snikta63]

Most of the recipes can work with whatever meat or fish you might have but you don't need to follow the 'sheet' to the letter and can adapt making substitutions to your own preference as long as you are keeping within the spirit of low carb and trying not to go higher than the suggested 130g per day.
You might find more ideas by looking at the Freshwell site rather than the perhaps more restrictive sheet you were given. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
Some people can tolerate bread, a small amount and find the seeded breads are lower carbs per slice. There is no reason why you can't reduce your HbA1C in the next couple of months, I went from 50 to 42 in 3 months following the Freshwell principals, basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy and vegetables and salads and fruit, mainly berries.

Thanks that’s encouraging to know

 

[Drummer]

Hi I was diagnosed T2 just before Christmas with a HbA1c of 51 and have to go back I’m March for another test. I’m following the Freshwell sheet the nurse gave me and am finding it difficult to find food I can eat with what ever fish or meat I have so any advise would be greatly appreciated. The nurse said I could get away with having sourdough bread which I now have a small amount of, does anyone else have this or do you totally avoid it? I do treat myself at the weekend to a couple of new potatoes and a couple of bits of parsnip. On the whole I do seem to have more energy now though and have lost some weight.

Does anyone else find that if they have something like a bit of bread it makes you want to go to sleep after you’ve eaten it?

As you are still on the lower slopes, with HbA1c of 51 then you are probably going to be able to cope with some carbs - but I do advise testing just to be sure. Your nurse, I am 100% certain doesn't know what you can or can't eat and 'get away with'. Feeling sleepy after eating a high carb food would seem to indicate that you can't cope with it and have high blood glucose.
There is no shortage of things to eat which are lower carb than bread, or potato.
I have mushrooms, celery tomato aubergine swede celeriac cucumber lettuce bock choi cabbage beetroot radish courgette carrot small servings of peas and beans, unless they are in pods when I have normal amounts
I do have parsnips from time to time. There is a lot to choose from.
I have small amounts of high cocoa chocolate, cream in my coffee, I make sugar free jelly with extra gelatine and frozen mixed berries. The two lower carb frozen stir fry mixtures from Lidl are good, I almost always have some in the freezer, also mixed veges without sweetcorn, and of course meat and fish.

 

[FredX]

Hi Fred and welcome. I see you have had lots of good info already.
You seem to be getting to grips with it all, theres a lot to take in initially!

Not sure if you have one, or want one, but there are a few good cheap blood glucose monitors (some sold on the diabetes uk website) and IMHO they are handy to have and use. NB: they only come with a few test strips and lances, so you may need to buy extra, some are cheaper than others.
They require you to finger prick and then put a spot of blood on a test strip, which is then put into the BG monitor which then gives you a BG reading. So, they show you what your BG is doing at any one time.
Whereas, the three monthly blood test (HbA1c) gives a three monthly average of your BG levels) so is slightly different and arguably more accurate. Some Dr's advise against peeps doing their own home testing, but most on here think its a reasonable thing to do.

You don't need to get obsessive about BG testing, don't need to do it every day, etc. But it is a handy tool to use occasionally to see how your BG levels are doing.

Testing first thing in the morning when you get up shows your fasting BG level.
Testing just before eating, then two hours after a meal tells you whether that meal/food has spiked your BG and to what level. So within a short length of time, you can get an idea of what meals you can eat and what meals to avoid.

General guidance for T2's is an average BG level of between 4 and 7 (or 8).
When testing after meals you generally want to see it rise no more than 3, and ideally 2.
So if you test before a meal and BG is 6, when testing 2 hrs after the meal, you want it to be less than 9, and ideally less than 8.
But, peoples BG levels do go up and down throughout an average day, and lots of things (not just food) can affect your BG levels, eg: what you are doing, the environment, whether you are ill or not, stress, etc, etc.

Hope the info is of use to you.... keep us updated with progress..... cheers

Hi @pjgtech,

Does BG mean Background Glucose?

A colleague did a prick test on me today, it came back at 5.8, he says 4 to 8 is the normal range.

This was about 9am and I hadn't eaten since 6:20 the previous evening,
so I would assume this is when you would expect the reading to be the lowest.

I have no idea what it would be like after I have eaten or how long it will take to come back down again.

I may just see if I can get a cheap unit just out of the pure curiosity of it.

I see a lot of sources of data and graphs in this.🙂

Well, that's the old science teacher in me...

Science and computers - what fun - what could possibly go wrong

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi @pjgtech,

Does BG mean Background Glucose?

A colleague did a prick test on me today, it came back at 5.8, he says 4 to 8 is the normal range.

This was about 9am and I hadn't eaten since 6:20 the previous evening,
so I would assume this is when you would expect the reading to be the lowest.

I have no idea what it would be like after I have eaten or how long it will take to come back down again.

I may just see if I can get a cheap unit just out of the pure curiosity of it.

I see a lot of sources of data and graphs in this.🙂

Well, that's the old science teacher in me...

Science and computers - what fun - what could possibly go wrong

BG means Blood Glucose.
Inexpensive monitors can be bought on line, GlucoNavii,TEE2 and Contour Blue are ones with the cheaper test strips which is the critical thing rather than the cost of the monitor as some take strips which are 4x the price of those mentioned.

The readings you might expect would be 4-7mmol/l fasting/morning and before meals and you would aim at no more than 8-8.5mmol/l 2 hours after eating or no more than a 2-3mmol/l increase from before to 2hours post meal.

 

[FredX]

Thank you for that.
That give me some contect as to what to expect.

I shall have a look at the monitors you have suggested.
thanks again

 

[FredX]

is there any benefit to having a computer conection to these meters?

does it just download the readings into an excel file?

or can you do more with it?

 

[pjgtech]

Not sure if you can connect the cheap BG monitors to a pc/laptop, have not checked my own one!
I keep a spreadsheet of my own stats anyway, just so I have a record and I can check back, eg: date, BG levels, how many cals, weight, waist measurement, etc. Initially I updated daily, but now its every few days.....
Plus there's plenty of apps to keep check of stats, etc. Free ones tend to only do basic stuff, you tend to have to pay for the more advanced ones.
Not a science teacher, but used spreadsheets a lot in my old job! 😎

EDIT: just checked my BG monitor (GlucoRX) and it keeps data which can be DL'd, but looks like you have to use their own app/program, no info on whether it can export to Excel, etc, as I don't use their app.
So I assume most monitors will have their own app, as I assume it would be too much to hope that they all used the same system!

 

[dannybgoode]

So I assume most monitors will have their own app, as I assume it would be too much to hope that they all used the same system!

Some monitors can be hooked to third party apps which will work with more than one make.

My Accu-chek Instant does it all by Bluetooth to my phone which is handy as I don't have to remember to update a spreadsheet etc.

Is it useful? I think so - graphs etc are a nice quick way of visualising what's going on and being able to look back and compare stats is nice.

Is it essential? No. Not by any means. Disclaimer too - I got given my BG meters by the hospital and strips on prescription as I'm on insulin so price isn't a factor for me. If it was then I'd be looking at an accurate cost effective meter first and foremost and connectivity as a nice to have.