Thanks for accepting me in the group, I live in France and the support isn't great, along with the language barrier so I'm really hoping to get some advice on this group as I have just had to make an appt today for a neuropathy test which is very scary
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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.
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- Thread starter charlieM
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rebrascora
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Hi Charlie and welcome.
Would you like to tell us a bit more about your diabetes and how you manage it.... Things like how long you have been diagnosed, what medication if any you have been given to manage it, what dietary changes you have made and if you know it, your most recent HbA1c result. That gives us an idea of where you are with your diabetes so that we can offer appropriate advice and support.
As regards neuropathy, if you are newly diagnosed this may improve once you get your BG levels more stable in the normal range. If you have been diagnosed a while and this is a progressive problem then managing your BG levels as best you can is the first thing to target. After that I think it is mostly about pain management but I don't have any medical training, so that is just a lay persons understanding of it. What are your symptoms and have you had them for a while?
Would you like to tell us a bit more about your diabetes and how you manage it.... Things like how long you have been diagnosed, what medication if any you have been given to manage it, what dietary changes you have made and if you know it, your most recent HbA1c result. That gives us an idea of where you are with your diabetes so that we can offer appropriate advice and support.
As regards neuropathy, if you are newly diagnosed this may improve once you get your BG levels more stable in the normal range. If you have been diagnosed a while and this is a progressive problem then managing your BG levels as best you can is the first thing to target. After that I think it is mostly about pain management but I don't have any medical training, so that is just a lay persons understanding of it. What are your symptoms and have you had them for a while?
Thank you Barbara for your message
I am female 49 years old 4ft11 weighing 40kg ( very thin) I feel, I was diagnosed a couple of years ago and put on metaformine which I now take 3 a day, Im not sure about HBA1c, as im in france I think it may be different my last blood count was 7.4, I am really struggling to get my diet right, I am pescatarian and a very fussy eater, i feel hungry all the time and crave sugar, this is why I have joined your community to see if I can get some help to understand diabetes better
In the last 2 weeks I have been getting numbness and pain in my hands and feet so my doctor is sending me for some tests for neuropathy and my skin is also very painful
I am female 49 years old 4ft11 weighing 40kg ( very thin) I feel, I was diagnosed a couple of years ago and put on metaformine which I now take 3 a day, Im not sure about HBA1c, as im in france I think it may be different my last blood count was 7.4, I am really struggling to get my diet right, I am pescatarian and a very fussy eater, i feel hungry all the time and crave sugar, this is why I have joined your community to see if I can get some help to understand diabetes better
In the last 2 weeks I have been getting numbness and pain in my hands and feet so my doctor is sending me for some tests for neuropathy and my skin is also very painful
rebrascora
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Hi. Thanks for the extra information.
If you are on Metformin then it could be as simple as a Vitamin B deficiency as that can cause numbness or tingling I believe and Metformin is known to potentially reduce the body's ability to absorb it from food.
Since you are very slim, it is also worth considering that you might not be Type 2 but possibly a slow onset Type 1 which often happens with Type 1 in more mature adults. This type of diabetes will often initially present as Type 2 and can initially respond to Type 2 medication and/or dietary changes but eventually the pancreas is no longer able to produce enough insulin to cope and levels start to increase. Sometimes it is quite a slow steady increase and with other people it can be a sudden and dramatic rise.
I am guessing that you don't have a Blood Glucose monitor to test your levels at home? Many people find this the single most useful bit of kit to help them understand their body's response to foods and enables them to tailor their diet to their tastes, food choices but most importantly their body's inability to metabolize carbohydrates. A basic meter is relatively inexpensive to buy @ approx £15 but you go through a lot of test strips and lancets so it is these consumables which can rack up the costs. For this reason we recommend getting a meter which has the cheapest test strips as they are not universal. The two found to be most cost effective and reliable by forum members who self fund are the SD Gluco Navii and the Spirit Healthcare Tee2 The test strips for these cost about £8 for a pot of 50 whereas some other meters can be as much as £25 or more. Being able to see what meals are doing to your BG levels makes managing your diabetes so much less hit and miss and gives you control. It also helps to discourage you from eating the naughty stuff when you can see what it does to your levels.
As regards you being pescatarian that sounds like a very healthy choice. We are all encouraged to eat more fish and particularly oily fish. I guess it depends on what you are "fussy" about eating after that. Eating less carbohydrates and more vegetables is the best advice for us and if you need to put on weight or maintain weight then incorporating more fats and olis is a good way of filling you up... Fat takes longer to digest and therefore keeps you feeling full for longer and provides slow release energy. Carbs are broken down very rapidly and hit the blood stream quickly. This leads to a spike in BG levels and then a drop meaning that about 2 hours after a carb rich meal, we may well find ourselves hungry again and looking for a snack. Eating more fat.... like cream in your morning coffee and full fat milk/yoghurt and avocados and olives and nuts helps to fill you up and replace the calories you lose from reducing your carb intake.
Hope that isn't too much information at one go.... apologies if it is... Anyway, hope your nerve problems is easily rectified and that some of what I have typed above is helpful.
Feel free to ask if there is anything you don't understand or need help with. Please let us know how you get on with the neurologist.
If you are on Metformin then it could be as simple as a Vitamin B deficiency as that can cause numbness or tingling I believe and Metformin is known to potentially reduce the body's ability to absorb it from food.
Since you are very slim, it is also worth considering that you might not be Type 2 but possibly a slow onset Type 1 which often happens with Type 1 in more mature adults. This type of diabetes will often initially present as Type 2 and can initially respond to Type 2 medication and/or dietary changes but eventually the pancreas is no longer able to produce enough insulin to cope and levels start to increase. Sometimes it is quite a slow steady increase and with other people it can be a sudden and dramatic rise.
I am guessing that you don't have a Blood Glucose monitor to test your levels at home? Many people find this the single most useful bit of kit to help them understand their body's response to foods and enables them to tailor their diet to their tastes, food choices but most importantly their body's inability to metabolize carbohydrates. A basic meter is relatively inexpensive to buy @ approx £15 but you go through a lot of test strips and lancets so it is these consumables which can rack up the costs. For this reason we recommend getting a meter which has the cheapest test strips as they are not universal. The two found to be most cost effective and reliable by forum members who self fund are the SD Gluco Navii and the Spirit Healthcare Tee2 The test strips for these cost about £8 for a pot of 50 whereas some other meters can be as much as £25 or more. Being able to see what meals are doing to your BG levels makes managing your diabetes so much less hit and miss and gives you control. It also helps to discourage you from eating the naughty stuff when you can see what it does to your levels.
As regards you being pescatarian that sounds like a very healthy choice. We are all encouraged to eat more fish and particularly oily fish. I guess it depends on what you are "fussy" about eating after that. Eating less carbohydrates and more vegetables is the best advice for us and if you need to put on weight or maintain weight then incorporating more fats and olis is a good way of filling you up... Fat takes longer to digest and therefore keeps you feeling full for longer and provides slow release energy. Carbs are broken down very rapidly and hit the blood stream quickly. This leads to a spike in BG levels and then a drop meaning that about 2 hours after a carb rich meal, we may well find ourselves hungry again and looking for a snack. Eating more fat.... like cream in your morning coffee and full fat milk/yoghurt and avocados and olives and nuts helps to fill you up and replace the calories you lose from reducing your carb intake.
Hope that isn't too much information at one go.... apologies if it is... Anyway, hope your nerve problems is easily rectified and that some of what I have typed above is helpful.
Feel free to ask if there is anything you don't understand or need help with. Please let us know how you get on with the neurologist.
SB2015
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- Type 1
Welcome to the forum @charlieM, I am glad that you have found us, and hope that we can help with any questions that you have.
As @rebrascora has said many on here find it useful to use a test kit at home. By testing before and again 2 hours after a meal you can monitor the impact on your glucose levels of specific foods. This then gives you the chance to do swaps to lower carb options and/or reduce portion sizes.
Do come back with any questions that you have, and also you might want to look at the Learning Zone on this website (possible a tab at the top of your page or in the three dot menu) and ask anything that arises from that.
I look forward to hearing more from you.
As @rebrascora has said many on here find it useful to use a test kit at home. By testing before and again 2 hours after a meal you can monitor the impact on your glucose levels of specific foods. This then gives you the chance to do swaps to lower carb options and/or reduce portion sizes.
Do come back with any questions that you have, and also you might want to look at the Learning Zone on this website (possible a tab at the top of your page or in the three dot menu) and ask anything that arises from that.
I look forward to hearing more from you.
Cherrelle DUK
Much missed Online Community Coordinator
Hi charlieM, welcome to the forum.
Just popping in to say hi, glad that you've found us. A lot of people are just given a diagnosis and just left to their own devices.
The French system does sound different but there are calculators that can translate the numbers if needs be so do try and obtain the unit of measurement they use as there are a few different types of numbers that will be floating about.
We're here full of questions an advice so don't worry about being alone, we're just a question away.
Just popping in to say hi, glad that you've found us. A lot of people are just given a diagnosis and just left to their own devices.
The French system does sound different but there are calculators that can translate the numbers if needs be so do try and obtain the unit of measurement they use as there are a few different types of numbers that will be floating about.
We're here full of questions an advice so don't worry about being alone, we're just a question away.
- Relationship to Diabetes
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Welcome to the forum @charlieM
As far as I am aware, France uses mg/dl as units for capillary blood glucose monitoring, which might suggest that the ‘blood count’ of 7.4 you mentioned was an HbA1c expressed in the old percentage units 7.4% would be 57mmol/mol in the new IFCC units, where 48mmol/mol (6.5%) gets you a diagnosis with diabetes.
www.diabetes.org.uk
Of course… I am guessing slightly there.
As far as I am aware, France uses mg/dl as units for capillary blood glucose monitoring, which might suggest that the ‘blood count’ of 7.4 you mentioned was an HbA1c expressed in the old percentage units 7.4% would be 57mmol/mol in the new IFCC units, where 48mmol/mol (6.5%) gets you a diagnosis with diabetes.
What is HbA1c?
HbA1c is your average blood glucose (sugar) levels for the last two to three months. If you have diabetes, an ideal HbA1c level is 48mmol/mol (6.5%) or below. If you're at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, your target HbA1c level should be below 42mmol/mol (6%).
Of course… I am guessing slightly there.
Thank you so much for your knowledge and information is all very helpful, I have ordered a glucose monitor and now trying to figure out the best foods for me to eat, its a mindfield so the last 3 day i have had mushroom and spinach omelette with a slice of trout and some avocado and beetroot but can't live on that everyday, thanks again for all your help and wish you all a nice weekend
Toucan
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Hello @charlieM and welcome to the forum.
Your food choices sound very healthy, but I guess the problem for you is finding other things that will fit into your style of eating.
A book that I have always found very useful is Carbs & Cals - a guide for counting -Diabetes UK shop - Diabetes UK Shop
This gives well illustrated info on many foods, and a flip through usually triggers ideas of things to try when I need a change.
Your food choices sound very healthy, but I guess the problem for you is finding other things that will fit into your style of eating.
A book that I have always found very useful is Carbs & Cals - a guide for counting -Diabetes UK shop - Diabetes UK Shop
This gives well illustrated info on many foods, and a flip through usually triggers ideas of things to try when I need a change.
Leadinglights
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If you have a look at the thread What did you eat yesterday, you will get an idea of what people have for meals. Bear in mind that some people will have more carbs than others because of being Type 1 or Type 2 but on various medication regimes or some by choice to go very low on carbs but as long as you bear that in mind then you might find it useful.
Just think about basing your meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese and veg and salads with small portions of any high carb foods. My mouth is watering at the thought of all the fab French cheeses and cooked meats to choose from. 🙂 Pity about the nice fresh crusty bread though
.Thank you Toucan I will definitely get this book, if I can source it from France, that's helpful Leadinglights, I will certainly have a look at that thread, unfortunately I'm a pescatarian which is why the choices are a bit harder, one question I wanted to ask is if I went for fish and chips once every so often or just have something I shouldn't would that be ok to not, thanks again for your replies happy sunday
Leadinglights
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Plenty of good fish I recall in France. many years ago went for a meal and the people on the next table had a massive platter of fruit de mer which took them the entire evening to plough through.
Obviously the fish is fine but it would be the batter and the chips so maybe only have some of the batter and some of the chips as a treat every so often.
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