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Hello!

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greebstreebling

greebstreebling

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hello!

I was diagnosed officially with Type 2 earlier this week so am still very new and trying to figure everything out. I haven't actually been given any advice from my GP and have an appointment booked to see the person in the surgery who is responsible for diabetes but that isn't until the beginning of August so I am a bit lost.

I've had a look at the post with recommended books and links and looked at Maggie Davey's letter - are those links and book recommendations still current? Is there anything useful I could be doing whilst I wait to hear from my surgery?

Thanks
 
Hello @greebstreebling
Welcome to the forum, and yes the links you mention are still current.
Another link that you may find helpful is the 'Learning Zone' tab at the top of this page.

Diabetes is a serious disease, but it can be positively managed and in many circumstances, you can do a lot to help yourself
There are 3 main things to consider:
Firstly, healthy eating, and the right solution for you to lower your blood sugars, and if you are overweight, loosing weight will help a lot. Secondly increasing exercise, and thirdly medication, if prescribed.

There is no single solution, we are all different and so are the solutions.
So it is good to take time to read around the options available and maybe start to try out what will work for you.
Keeping a food diary and working out what would be good to change is also a useful place to start.

Please ask any questions you may have and we will always try to help.
 
Welcome to the forum Greebstreebling from a fellow T2. It's been a while since I've seen one of those cool profile pics.
There is a tendancy to lack of information & guidance.
My advice is to self test before and after eating. This will show you what affect food has on your BG, along with any changes you make.
Keep a food diary, along with a record of your levels. Hopefully, after a couple of weeks, you'll start to see a pattern.

It's not food that makes our BG rise when we eat. It's carbohydrates in particular. (Pasta, bread, potatoes, breakfast ceriel (which is particularly bad) etc.) It is possible to eat some. Which, how much and what with is where the self testing comes in.
 
Hi greebstreebling, and welcome to the forum.

Without knowing exactly which books I would say, in general yes - they are. Type 2 Diabetics have an intolerance to carbohydrate foods (which turn into sugar when digested).
So although many doctors still say eat whole grains, fruit etc.
That is like saying to somebody with a peanut allergy that they should continue to eat peanuts!

Many of us have put our T2 Diabetes into remission, lost weight and reduced our Blood Pressure and even depression by eating a Low Carb 'Way Of Eating'.

The way I did it was through buying a Blood Glucose meter (a Tee2 because of the low cost of the test strips) and testing before and then 2hrs after first bite of meals until I knew which food to avoid - those which spiked my blood glucose by more then 2.00 mmol/L or pushed the peak Blood Glucose beyond 8.0 mmol/L.

Unfortunately nobody can tell you which foods are OK for you and how much of say berries you can eat since it varies from person to person due to genes and gut biome. The only way to find out is to test for yourself.
 
The SD Code Free was regularly suggested, as it has some of the cheapest strips. (Consumables). Meter ~£13, strips £8 for 50, no postage.
There might be a newer/replacement model. Off hand I don't know what it is.
 
It's replacement is the 'SD Gluco Navii' meter and strips. Also only available to buy online.
 
Thank you! Does anyone know the reasoning behind the NICE guidelines to not test blood glucose levels for T2?
 
We are told it has no value for us.
As time goes by it will become far too obvious that they are wrong, but they cling to their policies with grim determination.
 
Hello and welcome. 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum @greebstreebling

You have already had loads of useful ideas and advice from very experienced T2s, so I will just add my encouragement to just keep asking questions. Nothing is considered silly on here.
 
Hello GREEBSTREEBLING and welcome to the forum!

In the past couple of weeks several people have asked the same sort of questions as yourself, and for the same sort of advice
I think some good advice would be for you to look at previous Threads in the Newcomers, Weight and Food & Carbs Sections while you are waiting for your appointment

You'll get useful advice on diet, reducing carb intake, choosing & using a blood glucose meter, and general background on diabetes.
 
Well, I have just had a very confusing conversation with the Diabetes Pharmacist at my surgery. Apparently, I'm not officially diagnosed as diabetic. I need to try some dietary changes for three months and go back to have another Hba1c test and if that is out of normal range, then it will be confirmed. Which is not what my GP said. I've had a HbA1c and two fasting glucose tests. And also no blood sugar testing is required apparently. I am very confused!
 
greebstreebling said:
Apparently, I'm not officially diagnosed as diabetic. ...and go back to have another Hba1c test
Click to expand...
Diabetic Pharmacist!? That's a new one on me.
Do have results for an HbA1c test?
Ranges for this test are:
30(?) - 41 are "normal"
42 - 47 is called pre diabetic.
48 and above gets you a diagnoses of diabetes (even if it goes down below this, you're still down as diabetic).
To confuse matters, there is an old scale that some people still use. This has smaller numbers.
48 = 6.5 in old scale.
 
Well the Pharmacist bloke is partially agreeing with us lot anyway regarding Diet, except he isn't giving you any clues how or what to do, which is pretty stupid really - NBG at all.

So - I strongly suggest you follow what has been suggested here including investing in a meter and strips. Then - you will know how well or poorly you are doing, won't you? One of the first questions you asked on this thread was 'How do I figure out what needs changing?', wasn't it !

The results you get on that meter with tell you if something isn't quite right, and to begin with we're quite prepared on here, to help you interpret the numbers it tells you.

Use this method https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html - because it works!
 
Thank you all! I bought a meter online yesterday so will wait for that to come. I read about testing regularly at the beginning and it made a lot of sense to me so will be writing down what I eat and what my levels are and will go from there and try not to get too hung up on official diagnoses for now.

I really appreciate everyone's support, thank you
 
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