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Hi, I’m new, saying hello
- Thread starter Suzanneh
- Start date
- Status
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Ok @Suzanneh That’s a high blood sugar but hopefully things will gradually improve. Do you have a glucose meter? I’d test a few times a day at first just to keep an eye on things and check it’s not going any higher. It’s important to also look at your diet and see where you can reduce carbs. Walking/exercise is good to, particularly after a meal, eg a walk after lunch and evening meal.
Once you’re reassured that your blood sugar isn’t going any higher, then you can start to follow a system of checking before meals and two hours after your meal so you can begin to see how different foods affect you.
Once you’re reassured that your blood sugar isn’t going any higher, then you can start to follow a system of checking before meals and two hours after your meal so you can begin to see how different foods affect you.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I assume that is from a finger prick, it is relevant when you do the test as it will go up and down depending largely on what you eat. So if that is a fasting or before food reading then yes it is pretty high but not unusual when you first get a diagnosis. What is usually used for diagnosis is and HbA1C test which is a measure of your blood glucose over the previous 3 months, anything over 47mmol/mol will be diabetes.
Metformin is usually the first medication but will take a while to have any effect and it is important to also make some dietary changes otherwise it will be an uphill struggle.
Have a look at this link for some good explanation and some meal plans and recipes for a low carbohydrate approach which many find successful. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
People find having a good testing strategy will be very informative and guide you with your diet. Testing before you eat and after 2 hours will tell you if your meal is tolerated if the increase is no more than 2-3mmol/l, if it is then you need to reduce the carbs in the meal. You can also test each morning to give a fasting reading to check progress. Also if you feel unwell.
Thank you for your reply. I was really surprised to be diagnosed. I eat a pretty bland diet , haven’t a sweet tooth either.
I’m hoping to get an appointment through with the diabetic nurse soon.
I have a meter at home, so will keep an eye on it.
It all seems so much to take in. Only found out by phone at lunchtime so I’m hoping things will settle down soon.
I’m hoping to get an appointment through with the diabetic nurse soon.
I have a meter at home, so will keep an eye on it.
It all seems so much to take in. Only found out by phone at lunchtime so I’m hoping things will settle down soon.
Martin.A
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
My first finger prick test was 20.5, so pretty much where yours is, and I was also prescribed Metformin, but by going low carb I was in single figures 2 weeks later and it continued to drop over the next few weeks until I was getting results that were consistently in the target range of between 4 and 7. After a while I was even able to come off the Metformin and carry on managing through diet & exercise (shedding 17kgs also helped).
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I am surprised that you were ot having some symptoms with levels so high. Many people think they have a healthy diet but it may be if not diabetic but sadly not if the body has a problem coping with carbohydrates. It is not just sweet things as all carbohydrates convert to glucose so it is foods like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, pastry, breakfast cereals in fact all those bland foods which are high in carbs.
There is no need to eat bland food unless that is your choice, also no need to avoid low fat unless needed for other medical conditions.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @Suzanneh
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Hope you have been reassured by hearing others have started at similar points and have managed to successfully reduce their glucose levels.
While there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits. The really tricky thing is that blood glucose responses to various foods are highly individual, and it can be impossible to say which types and amounts of carbohydrate will ‘spike’ (rapidly and significantly raise) your BG levels without checking for yourself.
You can use a BG meter, taking a reading before and again 2hrs after eating, to see what the differences are, to identify any carbs that seem to be spiking BG (initially in a way the numbers themselves matter less than the differences between them). Ideally you would want to see a rise of no more than 2-3mmol/L at the 2hr mark. Once you can see how you respond to different meals you can begin experimenting with reducing portion sizes of the carbs where you see bigger rises. You might find that you are particularly sensitive to carbohydrate from one source (eg bread), but have more liberty with others (eg oats or basmati rice) - It’s all very individual! You might even find that just having things at a different time of day makes a difference - with breakfast time being the trickiest.
Over weeks and months of experimentation you can gradually tweak and tailor your menu to find one that suits your tastebuds, your waistline, your budget and your BG levels - and a way of eating that is flexible enough to be sustainable long-term. 🙂
Good luck, and keep us posted with how you get on!
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Hope you have been reassured by hearing others have started at similar points and have managed to successfully reduce their glucose levels.
While there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits. The really tricky thing is that blood glucose responses to various foods are highly individual, and it can be impossible to say which types and amounts of carbohydrate will ‘spike’ (rapidly and significantly raise) your BG levels without checking for yourself.
You can use a BG meter, taking a reading before and again 2hrs after eating, to see what the differences are, to identify any carbs that seem to be spiking BG (initially in a way the numbers themselves matter less than the differences between them). Ideally you would want to see a rise of no more than 2-3mmol/L at the 2hr mark. Once you can see how you respond to different meals you can begin experimenting with reducing portion sizes of the carbs where you see bigger rises. You might find that you are particularly sensitive to carbohydrate from one source (eg bread), but have more liberty with others (eg oats or basmati rice) - It’s all very individual! You might even find that just having things at a different time of day makes a difference - with breakfast time being the trickiest.
Over weeks and months of experimentation you can gradually tweak and tailor your menu to find one that suits your tastebuds, your waistline, your budget and your BG levels - and a way of eating that is flexible enough to be sustainable long-term. 🙂
Good luck, and keep us posted with how you get on!
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Although it keeps my blood glucose down, my diet is not at all bland, as I use herbs and spices and am willing to try all sorts of exotic vegetables and test all sorts of fruits to see how I can cope with them, so curry is a fairly common dish - just not with rice or other starchy stuff.
Welcome to the Forum. I went pre-diabetic a few years back, returned to the higher side of normal and now back to just pre-diabetic again.
I thought I had a healthy diet as I did not eat biscuits, cakes, chocolate, desserts very often. I thought having muesli and toast in a morning, sandwiches at lunchtime with fruit, snacking on fruit at work and then having potatoes or pasta in the evening and pasta dishes when I ate out was fine. Only by coming here and asking advice did I discover it was a disaster. It was probably the reason I was hungry all the time. I find now since lowering the carb intake I am rarely hungry.
I thought I had a healthy diet as I did not eat biscuits, cakes, chocolate, desserts very often. I thought having muesli and toast in a morning, sandwiches at lunchtime with fruit, snacking on fruit at work and then having potatoes or pasta in the evening and pasta dishes when I ate out was fine. Only by coming here and asking advice did I discover it was a disaster. It was probably the reason I was hungry all the time. I find now since lowering the carb intake I am rarely hungry.
Hi
I’m finding it hard to take in I’m now type 2.
I was told over the phone Tuesday by my doctor. Given a site to look at online and prescribed metformin,
So felt a little bit deflated with it all.
I’ve started to watch my carb intake and record my blood sugars. I applied for the free prescriptions today, only found this out from reading online .
Only taken 3 metformin so far( 1 a day) , it’s lowered my sugar but has gave me waves of feeling sick , jelly legs and a weird head. I’m hoping it settles down as I’m due to up them next week to 2 a day .
Has anybody had any symptoms like this with metformin.
Thank you to everyone that have given lovely words of advice.
I’m finding it hard to take in I’m now type 2.
I was told over the phone Tuesday by my doctor. Given a site to look at online and prescribed metformin,
So felt a little bit deflated with it all.
I’ve started to watch my carb intake and record my blood sugars. I applied for the free prescriptions today, only found this out from reading online .
Only taken 3 metformin so far( 1 a day) , it’s lowered my sugar but has gave me waves of feeling sick , jelly legs and a weird head. I’m hoping it settles down as I’m due to up them next week to 2 a day .
Has anybody had any symptoms like this with metformin.
Thank you to everyone that have given lovely words of advice.
Lucyr
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
You could stay at 1 a day for longer if you need more time to get used to it, before upping the dose
snowball12
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ask your GP to change your Metformin to Metformin Prolonged Release. I had the same problem and am much better on the latter. Good luck on your Type 2 journey
manji
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hi @Suzanneh . Sorry for late welcome. Similar boat to you . Had a stroke a few years ago though. Try not to keep going on about that but I have regular blood tests . Don’t even think about them . I had a phone from the surgery . I’d been out in the garden practicing my walking. Got quite a nice garden , the sun was out . I was feeling great. Came inside to have a rest and the phone went. “ hello we are just phoning you about your diabetes “ WHAT ?
My head was all over the place , didn’t find diabetes nurse very helpful . Again gave me a link to here and told me they will contact me. Thank goodness for this forum I would have gone crazy without it.
Despite the stroke I am in remarkably good health. I thought I eat well . But a lot of my healthy good wasn’t healthy . The Granola I was eating was loaded with sugar and carbs for example.
Thankfully I’m at the lower end of the scale. I don’t do the sugar level thing . That’s just me .
Anyway two months in and I’ve modified my diet . I think quite radically .
I’m not on here that often but it’s like a safe space for me . I’m comfortable asking what I think are “ stupid “ questions
So far I don’t seem have annoyed anyone
My head was all over the place , didn’t find diabetes nurse very helpful . Again gave me a link to here and told me they will contact me. Thank goodness for this forum I would have gone crazy without it.
Despite the stroke I am in remarkably good health. I thought I eat well . But a lot of my healthy good wasn’t healthy . The Granola I was eating was loaded with sugar and carbs for example.
Thankfully I’m at the lower end of the scale. I don’t do the sugar level thing . That’s just me .
Anyway two months in and I’ve modified my diet . I think quite radically .
I’m not on here that often but it’s like a safe space for me . I’m comfortable asking what I think are “ stupid “ questions
So far I don’t seem have annoyed anyone
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