Hello!

[Newbie31]

I've just been diagnosed. I have a test every other year due to having gestational diabetes 6 years ago, apparently I was prediabetic in 2019 but was never told.
This time my reading came back at 55. GP wants to retest in 6 weeks to confirm but he says he's never seen a reading of 55 to come down to 48 or less in 6 weeks.
I need to lose weight, it's something I've always struggled with. I've started tracking my food using Nutracheck the past few days, basically cutting out everything 'naughty'.
I'm unsure how many carbs I should be aiming for each day though, different sources seem to say different amounts. Can anyone help?
Gp said or concentrate on diet and exercise over the next 6 weeks but no other advice.
Thanks!

 

[Drummer]

Surely what you need to do is deal with your diabetes?
By eating fewer carbohydrates you can lower your blood glucose levels and your Hba1c will also reduce. As you can't deal with the amount of carbs in your diet at the moment, carbs are not naughty, they are dangerous.
You might find it easiest to work out what you can cope with by getting a blood glucose meter and supply of test strips so you can test after eating and see what your level actually is.
Your present levels are not going to be shy high, but if not sorted out diabetes can be rather nasty.
Why your doctor thinks that you would not revert to normal levels in the next six weeks is rather puzzling, as low carb eating is very effective in sorting out type two diabetes. Just a couple of weeks was enough for me to see numbers dropping down into single figures from the 17.1 I was diagnosed at. My Hba1c went from 91 to 47 in 80 days.
It isn't about the number of carbs you need to stick to though, it is sorting out what you need to do to have normal levels of blood glucose.
I have been told that if you contact Spirit Healthcare and ordered several sets of strips for their Tee 2 meter they will throw in their testing kit froo.
With your Hba1c in the diabetic range you might well qualify for no VAT.

 

[Newbie31]

Yes, I realise diabetes can be dangerous. I asked my gp about testing, he said no need yet.
I realise that different food effects people differently (I tested when I had gestational diabetes so I know how it works) but gp said to concentrate on eating healthily, and lowering sugar/carbs which is what I've been doing this week. I'm just not sure if there is an amount of carbs I should be aiming for daily as a starting point.

 

[Newbie31]

I would be happy to test, but just going off what the gp said.
I am tracking everything I eat using the nutracheck app which is why I wondered if there was an amount is carbs I should be aiming for to start with. I will look into buying a bg monitor. Thanks

 

[grovesy]

There is no standard definitions for what is classed as Low Carb. Anything under 130 grams is classed as Low Carb, some eat much less than that.
You have to find what way of eating that you can maintain long term and suits you.

 

[Drummer]

Yes, I realise diabetes can be dangerous. I asked my gp about testing, he said no need yet.
I realise that different food effects people differently (I tested when I had gestational diabetes so I know how it works) but gp said to concentrate on eating healthily, and lowering sugar/carbs which is what I've been doing this week. I'm just not sure if there is an amount of carbs I should be aiming for daily as a starting point.

If given that advice I'd have trotted out my usual response - why not take the speedometer out of your car? You'll know if you have been speeding because there will be fines to pay, so that will be OK won't it?
Eating healthily - what did he mean by that? If it is lowering your levels then good - but supposing, like me you have the ability to get more carbs that there ought to be from a food? I saw really high spikes from peas and beans - I checked several time - always the same. My meter showed it, so I changed what I ate.
I really will not accept anything but normal numbers - I want to see them on the meter whenever I check, nothing else will do. It is important.

 

[Newbie31]

As I have already said, I am lowering my carbs, as advised by the Gp.
I also said in a previous post that I realise different food effects everyone differently.

I registered on this forum as I thought it would be a friendly place to ask for advice, I didn't expect to be made to feel silly. I saw my gp on Monday, I've not had much time to process everything since and I am just following the advice given to me by my Gp.

I will be requesting to close my account.

 

[grovesy]

I was only pointing out that there was not standard defination of Low Carb.

 

[Lucyr]

As I have already said, I am lowering my carbs, as advised by the Gp.
I also said in a previous post that I realise different food effects everyone differently.

I registered on this forum as I thought it would be a friendly place to ask for advice, I didn't expect to be made to feel silly. I saw my gp on Monday, I've not had much time to process everything since and I am just following the advice given to me by my Gp.

I will be requesting to close my account.

It’s a shame that you’re leaving but I totally understand why you feel like that as I feel the same. Some of the fans of low carb are way too aggressive in their responses. If you can somehow ignore those people there is benefit to be gained from having people to talk to about diabetes, but totally understand if you leave as I’m feeling exactly the same as you after a few responses to me lately.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

As I have already said, I am lowering my carbs, as advised by the Gp.
I also said in a previous post that I realise different food effects everyone differently.

Well done on the positive steps you have been making so far @Newbie31 - sounds like your GP is on the ball if they are recommending a lower carb approach.

Unfortunately as others have suggested, there are no definitive terms of reference for what constitutes a low or moderate carb diet, nor what amount of carbs might work well for different people - diabetes can be frustratingly fickle! Many on the forum begin by aiming for 130g a day or less, but others find they do better on less than 100g or even less than 50g a day.

Many GPs only really consider BG monitoring as appropriate for people on medications likely to cause hypoglycaemia, so may try to deter newly diagnosed people with T2 from using strips (in case they are worried and upset by seeing high levels or are not sure how to interpret them).

But conversely, lots of members here find that BG monitoring before and after meals can give them really helpful information about how their body is responding to different meals, and then adjusting and reviewing to improve post-meal outcomes.

Of course it’s a very personal thing, and you may prefer to just reduce your carbs a little over the next few weeks or months and see how things are going at your next HbA1c 🙂

 

[Drummer]

I can't see anyone here trying to make you feel silly - just warning you that the advice to reduce carbs is not always helpful as we all react differently to carbs - I can extract far more carbs from beans and peas than their carb content would imply, but I would never have known that without testing. Some people can eat them and not see a spike. Some can eat porridge for breakfast and not see a spike, I'd be up in the high teens.
We really do need a meter to get the best outcome and so we think your doctor is wrong advising that you do not test.