Hi everyone.

[DaveK]

I was diagnosed with Type 2 on 21st December following a routine blood test a couple of weeks beforehand. They'd called me back in for a retest, so I wasn't shocked when they confirmed it to me. I'm not very active, at least a couple of stone overweight and I'd been googling potential reasons for my toes feeling a bit numb for a couple of months. I think my actual response to the nurse when she told me was "I thought I might be".

They have me on metformin (and I have to start taking statins this weekend). I had a kidney abscess about 15 years ago resulting in its removal, and whilst my remaining kidney is functioning like a trooper, I obviously need to be much more careful now.

So, I've been searching this forum for various things during the last few weeks and I'm working my way through the Learning Zone on the main site (which has been brilliant for me so far). I'm very fortunate to have a supportive partner that likes to cook and try new recipes and she's helping me to change my eating habits. I have mild rheumatoid arthritis which makes me dread exercise, so I'll be retrieving my bike from the shed in the coming days to help shed the surplus pounds. I actually lost a few pounds over the Christmas period which I'm quite pleased about, first time that's ever happened!

So, that's me. I just wanted to say hi, and also thanks for this wonderful resource. I dare say I'll be here quite a bit whilst I'm finding my feet.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Ljc]

Hi @DaveK , welcome to the forum. What a Christmas prezzy you had. WOW you lost weight over Christmas.

To be honest I found that many of the recipes on the main site were too carby for me.
You might want to look at these threads on the forum, apologies if you have already found them.
For future reference you’ll find them in the food carb queries forum .

This one is a long running thread , we include our sins here too.
what-did-you-eat-yesterday

We have some great innovative cooks on here who create delicious recipes
recipes

Ask all the questions you need to about diabetes, we’ll do our best to help.

 

[DaveK]

Thanks @Ljc

At first I thought "what a great christmas present", but in truth the timing was good as I have/had two weeks off followed by a week at home to absorb it all and figure out what I need to be doing. So I'm not bitter!

I have seen a few of the threads already, and also invested in a couple of cookery books - so I have plenty to be going on with for now - I've no doubt that I'll pick up some great ideas on this forum too. Truth be told, my diet was so bad that I can't fail to make some sort of improvement just by using some common sense, lol.

One question if I may - how do you know if something is "too carby". Is that something you can "feel" or do you test your own BG? Sorry if that's a dumb question but I'm wondering how you know 🙂

 

[Ljc]

Many here have found that the dx (diagnosis) though obviously a horrible shock at the time , was the wake up call they needed and are now actually healthier and fitter than they have been for a long time.

It’s not a Dumb question at all if fact it’s actually a very sensible one.
For people who are not on medications that can cause hypo’s, We recommend self testing to find out how the various carbohydrates affect us.
Also after awhile when your body has become used to normal BG levels again you should start to feel when they are going high.

As for knowing what is too carby, imo that’s a matter of personal choice as well as going by what your glucose meter tells you. We follow a range of different dietary regimes on here
Some LCHF (low carb high fat) which is actually normal fats
Myself I try to keep to under 100g of carbs a day and normal fats which I consider to be medium carbs
Others follow, Keto , Paleo , Atkins etc.
Their is really no one size that fits all , it really is what works best for you.

 

[Ljc]

If you would like to self test, its highly unlikely you will be provided a glucose meter.
It’s the ongoing cost of the test strips you have to watch out for. High street brands test strips cost £15+ for a pot of 50 and when your initially testing just before and two hours after starting to eat, cost is important
The SD Codefree meter has strips that cost around £8 for 50: it’s only available online directly from Homehealth, sorry I have lost the link for that or from
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Codefree-Glucose-Monitor-Monitoring-Testing/dp/B0068JAJFS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1506485682&sr=1-1&keywords=sd%2Bcodefree%2Bmeter%2Bmmol%2Fl&linkCode=sl1&tag=xfm-21&linkId=f39210144fdc26c27738e45b6d957003&th=
You’ll need to buy more pots of test strips @nd one box of lancets as they only provide 10 in starter packs

 

[Wirrallass]

A warm welcome to the forum @DaveK Lots of experience here and a wealth of knowledge so feel free to ask as many questions as often as you need/want to.

If you don't have the book CARB & CALORIE COUNTER then I'd recommend you get yourself a copy. It's a very useful book to keep in your kitchen. There is also a pocket size version that you can take with you when you dine out. Almost all the forum members have a copy and wouldn't be without one now. They both help you to count the carbs in the food & drink that we consume.

www.amazon.uk
Tap to expand

I've posted several low carb meals and recipes in the recipe thread ~ here's the link :~

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/forums/food-carb-queries-recipes.4/

There you will find some very tasty meals ~ snacks ~ lush puddings and cakes etc You're fortunate to have a partner who loves cooking, some of us are less so.

You don't have to starve yourself when there's umpteen deeeeelicious meals on offer for you to enjoy. I've never eaten better tho occasionally I do treat myself to my guilty pleasure of tiramisu😛 just once in a while you understand!!🙄

Keep us in the loop won't you as to how you're getting on ~ and good luck in your endeavour to lose more weight. Slowly but surely ~ baby steps to begin with.
We're all here to support you and be by your side on your diabetes journey. Best wishes and take care.
WL

 

[Wirrallass]

Hi again DaveK
Venture into the following link ~ there's a multitude of information therein that you will hold your interest. Once in the link, scroll down to the Type2 Section.
Books of special interest worth reading are:~

Maggie Davey' s letter
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2s.61307/

and:~

Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/type2-the-first--year

Good luck and happy reading!
WL

Edited

 

[Madeline]

Welcome, I’m a fellow newbie (I’m gobby that’s why I show as ‘well known’)

 

[DaveK]

Thanks everyone for the welcomes and advice.

@Ljc I might well splash out for a meter as I'm curious about how things work and how different things will affect me. I also like making graphs

@wirralass I have the Carb and Calorie Counter book (as the nurse recommended it to me) and I agree its excellent. I'll be sure to check out those other threads too.

 

[DaveK]

So! I got myself a CodeFree meter and tested as soon as it arrived just after lunch (9.9), just before my dinner (7.4) and then two hours after dinner (7.5). I read somewhere that you have to be over 11 to have been diagnosed diabetic in the first place (does that sound right?), but I'll try and track down the nurse on Monday and ask what my levels were when diagnosed. I'm hoping that my improved diet in the last couple of weeks is starting to work - but I also realise that you can't take one day / test in isolation. I've started taking my statins today too, I understand that might cause a slight rise in BG - I guess we'll see!

At least I have a reference point now to see how different foods will affect me. I don't intend to test before and after every meal - probably just daily to spot any trends.

Btw - does anyone use the CodeFree software to track their results? I've ordered the cable as it seems like a useful thing to do.

 

[AdeV]

Hi Dave, and welcome 🙂

I got the CodeFree cable and software - it works OK, if you're a software guy like me, then it can be a bit weird e.g. it doesn't actually download the data on the computer, it just reads it at startup, so you have to have the meter plugged in. It's been a while since I used it, so I can't remember all the details. I think it can export to Excel and the like.

Re your numbers, I've always used this site as my reference: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html (apologies for referencing the competition... they come up first in Google is all)

I can only speak for me, of course, but I try to keep my BG levels as low as possible at all times; I'm really looking for "4"s on the meter; I get them quite often these days, which is nice. Meals still give me a BG rise no matter what, but if I have something with low or no carbs, it rarely goes above the mid 6's. Adding carbs can spike me as high as 12, the more carbs the higher the spike. Luckily, my body seems to be fairly consistent about this; YMMV.

Right - I'm getting hungry, so it's time to leave the house and do something, otherwise I'll end up with my head stuck in the fridge....

 

[DaveK]

I got the CodeFree cable and software - it works OK, if you're a software guy like me, then it can be a bit weird e.g. it doesn't actually download the data on the computer, it just reads it at startup, so you have to have the meter plugged in. It's been a while since I used it, so I can't remember all the details. I think it can export to Excel and the like.

I wouldn't call myself a software guy - but I do like to tinker Sounds like it could be of some use, so I'll give it a whirl when the cable arrives. Cheers @AdeV

 

[DaveK]

Hi Dave, and welcome 🙂

I got the CodeFree cable and software - it works OK, if you're a software guy like me, then it can be a bit weird e.g. it doesn't actually download the data on the computer, it just reads it at startup, so you have to have the meter plugged in. It's been a while since I used it, so I can't remember all the details. I think it can export to Excel and the like.

@AdeV It looks like they've made some improvements! It now retains the data on the computer so you can view without the meter connected. It's a shame you can't change the data though in case you forgot to set pre or post meal etc - that kind of distorts the nice pie charts a bit. It spits out a very nicely formatted A4 page of data though - very useful!

 

[AdeV]

Cool! I'll have to download it again... thanks for the info!

 

[DaveK]

I'm not sure if anyone else is interested in this, but I figured I'd type it anyway as a sort of diary as I get to grips with everything!

I just got back from a (requested) trip to the nurse as my blood pressure isn't great, so I now have some new tablets to start taking tomorrow. Always a worry when you've only got one kidney and the nurse hands you a sheet with all sorts of things that can wrong with it on this medicine! But we discussed it at length and she was happy and confident so I'll give them a try! Whilst there, I picked up a copy of my blood results from the time of my diagnosis, so now know that my starting HbA1c was 74.9 (9%), which equates to 11.7 on my little meter - so now I can properly see how I'm progressing.

I've decided to test with the Codefree before and after my evening meal, just to ensure that the trends are healthy - I'll probably do additional tests if I'm going to / have eaten something with mysterious ingredients.

I'm feeling quite pleased with my progress so far. Side effects of the Metformin and statins haven't been too bad (fingers crossed for the BP meds now). I've lost about 5lbs through medication, carb counting (using the Carbs and Cals app) and 10 minutes each morning on the exercise bike. My last 4 meter readings have been in the 6s (before and after food) so maybe, just maybe I'm slowly moving in the right direction!