Hi. Fairly new to all this.

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susie q

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I found myself not being able to see very well so self tested ( with dia sticks) and then went to the GP to tell him. Unfortunately my ketones were off the scale so when he tested me i got sent to hospital. I felt a right fraud in hospital as although my blood sugar was 26 and my ketones were high I felt fine. They made me stay in for two days, but I could go for a walk once I was off the insulin drip. I nipped down for coffee at the cafe and grabbed a magazine at the shop. I felt okey and then read all the info stuff they give you... then I was scared. Docs thought I was a type 1 , but as ketones came down they agreed I was a type 2 - they do like to argue these docs!

Ok - I have lost three three stone since August, dropped my blood pressure to 128/80, my cholesterol from 4.6 to 3.6 and have an A what's it test result of 5.8.
However - I went on a STEPS course before Christmas and I am doing it all wrong! I need to lower my carb intake, stop drinking so much milk and eat much smaller meals. I need to cut down on my fruit and eat more veg.

I am now struggling a bit - and I had thought I had it sussed !

How does anyone cope? My meals should be the size of a saucer and no snacks. Also I can't cheat anymore as it still does damage - for example I was having something like a big slice of choc cake then doing exercise to combat effect. I tested my blood before cake and 2 hours later after exercise ( blood levels almost the same). The sugar will still damage me - oh bum !
 
Hi Susie, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sorry to hear of the difficulties you are having, but please don't be scared or thinking you have got it all wrong! It takes quite some time to adapt to the 'new you', and it sounds to me like you have already made good progress with the results you have been getting and that terrific weight loss! 🙂

It sounds as though you are getting good support from your doctor, since you have been on an education course and have been provided with test strips. What you need to do now is really get to grips with your diabetes and discover what works for you as an individual.

By following a methodical programme of testing you can determine over time what types of food, and in what quantities, you can tolerate without having too adverse and effect on your blood sugar levels. This will be very individual to you, so although there are guidelines and some things are very obvious (like don't drink treacle!), you may find that some foods will send you levels high, but others you thought might, could be OK. And it may still be able to have some of the chocolate cake, but the key is in being careful of the portion size and making sure you only have what your body can deal with properly. I would suggest starting a food diary and recording everything you eat for a week or two, in particular the carb content and your blood sugar readings before and one or two hours after eating. This will help you spot patterns or obvious no-nos.

I would suggest that you have a read of the following: Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter. I would also recommend getting a copy of Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker - highly recommended by many of our members, and something you can dip into whenever you wish.

Are you on any medication for your diabetes? Please feel free to ask any questions you may have, you'll find everyone very friendly and helpful 🙂
 
Hi Susie and welcome to the forums.

I think you are being very hard on your self - your HbA1c and cholesterol levels are good so you must be doing something right.

Hope you find the forums helpful to you.
 
Welcome to the forum Susie. Your numbers talk quite eloquently about how well you are doing.

YOU ARE DOING FINE!

If anyone tells you otherwise then they are talking through their boots! (I'd say something harsher, but this is a family forum!).

The odd piece of cake will not harm you especially as you know precisely what effect it had on you BG levels. It's that which counts not some 'general catch-all' dogma.

Andy 🙂
 
Hi Susie!

It can seem quite daunting at first so i can empathise with you as can probably everyone else on this forum!

There's so much to take in and try and understand and just when you think you know a fair bit you read something else. One thing that I found out is that everyone is different so in a lot of cases, it's a bit of trial and error. For example I've learnt that I can handle a single slice of pizza if I'm out in a restaurant (any more and I get very, very grumpy and my bg levels shoot up) but if I have pasta such as spaghetti my bg levels stay quite level. For other Diabetics this may be the oposite way round or both could be a 'no no' for them.

Chatting to people on a forum like this one can help, so I hope you post any questions or queries here as there is a wealth of knowledge and experience just waiting to be tapped in to!

🙂
 
Hi Susie a warm welcome to the forum from me
 
Welcome to the forum Susie Q 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum susie q 🙂
 
Hi Susie, welcome. Your efforts so far sound pretty good to me, and as regards your treats, well perhaps try a smaller slice and that may make you feel better and not so guilty.🙂
 
Thank you everyone. x

Thank you everyone. I was getting a bit grumpy as I thought I was doing okey! I had a word with my friend ( a nurse ) and she said I should chill out a bit! I CAN have treats but need to be realistic and if I want really naughty things it is best to develop an exercise plan to combat it. ( She was talking to the diabetic nurse at her hospital as I was moaning about not being able to eat jacket potatoes anymore).

Anyway, I am rambling !

Thank you for your replies. I had to buy my strips and needles as they only give you one lot in Southend. The NHS guidelines tell you to only need to test for the first two months- nah to that!

Friends are amazed with my weight loss as I eat well ! But being diabetic is quite an incentive as I am sure you know. I swim 5 days a week for atleast an hour and if i don't swim i walk for 5 miles instead. I think this helps a great deal as if I don't do this my blood sugars go up a bit. The trick is to do this and eat less to lose more weight ! 😉
 
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