frenchie60
New Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Good morning, my name's Neil newly diagnosed with type 2', any advice on how to
deal with?
deal with?
-
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.
Hello
- Thread starter frenchie60
- Start date
- Status
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi Neil, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, how did it come about? Have you been given any medication for it?
The good news is that, now you have a diagnosis, you can set about learning how to bring your blood sugar levels under good control. Once you have learned how to do this then diabetes does not have to have a negative impact on your life and should not prevent you from doing the things you want to do. Indeed, many people find that the adjustments they make to their diet and activity levels results in them feeling much happier and healthier than the have for quite some time prior to their diagnosis, so hopefully you will find this too - there's no better incentive to keeping up the good work required! 🙂
Firstly, you need to be patient. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution to this as we are all different, but that doesn't mean that you won't be able to benefit from the advice and experiences of others, simply that you need to take from them what actually works for you as an individual. I'd suggest starting by reading Maggie Davey's letter, which will give you a good overview and lots of information about how to set about improving your situation. I'd also highly recommend getting a copy of the excellent Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker, which is a positive and very well-written guide through these early months and beyond.
The main thing to consider in relation to diabetes is carbohydrates - how much, what type, and how often you consume them, and what your tolerances are for the different types and quantities. To find out these tolerances the only way really is to test your blood sugar levels using a home self-testing monitor - read Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S to understand how this process works. If you haven't been given a monitor and test strips by your nurse/doctor then it is worth getting your own - you won't need to test forever, but it is of enormous benefit whilst you find out how your blood sugar levels are affected by your food choices, and allows you to tailor your diet so that you reduce or replace items you don't tolerate well with better alternatives, but also are able to retain items that you do tolerate well and give you the maximum flexibility 🙂 A good example might be porridge - some people find that they tolerate this well, whilst others find it sends their blood sugar levels very high, so need to avoid it. The only way to find this out is by testing - you cannot simply rely on what you or anyone else describes as a 'healthy' diet.
The cheapest option we have come across is theSD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns! There is a lot to take in to begin with, but take your time to absorb and understand, this is a marathon not a sprint, and the changes you make now will set you up for the rest of your life 🙂
The good news is that, now you have a diagnosis, you can set about learning how to bring your blood sugar levels under good control. Once you have learned how to do this then diabetes does not have to have a negative impact on your life and should not prevent you from doing the things you want to do. Indeed, many people find that the adjustments they make to their diet and activity levels results in them feeling much happier and healthier than the have for quite some time prior to their diagnosis, so hopefully you will find this too - there's no better incentive to keeping up the good work required! 🙂
Firstly, you need to be patient. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution to this as we are all different, but that doesn't mean that you won't be able to benefit from the advice and experiences of others, simply that you need to take from them what actually works for you as an individual. I'd suggest starting by reading Maggie Davey's letter, which will give you a good overview and lots of information about how to set about improving your situation. I'd also highly recommend getting a copy of the excellent Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker, which is a positive and very well-written guide through these early months and beyond.
The main thing to consider in relation to diabetes is carbohydrates - how much, what type, and how often you consume them, and what your tolerances are for the different types and quantities. To find out these tolerances the only way really is to test your blood sugar levels using a home self-testing monitor - read Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S to understand how this process works. If you haven't been given a monitor and test strips by your nurse/doctor then it is worth getting your own - you won't need to test forever, but it is of enormous benefit whilst you find out how your blood sugar levels are affected by your food choices, and allows you to tailor your diet so that you reduce or replace items you don't tolerate well with better alternatives, but also are able to retain items that you do tolerate well and give you the maximum flexibility 🙂 A good example might be porridge - some people find that they tolerate this well, whilst others find it sends their blood sugar levels very high, so need to avoid it. The only way to find this out is by testing - you cannot simply rely on what you or anyone else describes as a 'healthy' diet.
The cheapest option we have come across is theSD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns! There is a lot to take in to begin with, but take your time to absorb and understand, this is a marathon not a sprint, and the changes you make now will set you up for the rest of your life 🙂
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I eat a low carb diet and avoid anything over 10 percent carbs - but by doing that I have normal readings and don't need medication.
A healthy cholesterol lowering diet pushed my weight up to about 19 stone and my Hba1c to 91 - so I have a slightly jaundiced view of carbs which are good to eat. Even now, two years later, although my tests are good for diabetes, a few extra carbs and I see my weight increase - but that is how it has always been.
A healthy cholesterol lowering diet pushed my weight up to about 19 stone and my Hba1c to 91 - so I have a slightly jaundiced view of carbs which are good to eat. Even now, two years later, although my tests are good for diabetes, a few extra carbs and I see my weight increase - but that is how it has always been.
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome to the forum Frenchie .
I would encourage you to keep asking questions on here as there a plenty of helpful people with loads of experience one reason. No question is considered silly, so just ask.
There are loads of different threads including ideas about foods that may help you, exercise and so much more. Keep in touch.
I would encourage you to keep asking questions on here as there a plenty of helpful people with loads of experience one reason. No question is considered silly, so just ask.
There are loads of different threads including ideas about foods that may help you, exercise and so much more. Keep in touch.
- Status