Hi, newbie, need advice please

[Mflack1]

Hi all my names Martin , I’m 52 and diagnosed 2 months ago with type 2 diabetes, so far I’ve had eye test and feet checked, I’ve also been put in metmorfin 20 mg. I’m awaiting weight loss surgery (long before being diagnosed!) and been big for about 10 years!. My question is the last 8-10 months I’ve been hungry ALL the time and I mean have a meal and be as hungry 10 mins after eating! I dream about food , and non stop thinking about it!! I’m thirsty most of the time ,.. and a new worry is I wake up and my mouth is bone dry!! I also pee more than most!, most of these things I understand is part and parcel of diabetes but the weight thing and dry mouth is really getting me down?,, any advise or guidance would be gratefully recieved,,, I’ve got an appointment in 2 weeks with my diabetic team , thanks in advance , Martin

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum, the symptoms you describe are very typical of high blood glucose as the body is trying to get rid of all the excess glucose floating around by increasing the frequency of loo visits, thirst and dry mouth. Those symptoms will reduce as you get your blood glucose levels down. The metformin will help with that but the most significant thing you can do is to modify your diet to reduce carbohydrates as that is what converts to glucose. Many people find reducing the carbs and increasing protein and healthy fats will be very effective and also helps to reduce hunger. It becomes a vicious circle of feeling hungry, eating carbs which results in feeling hungry as the pancreas overproduces insulin to cope with all the excess carbs people eat but the body cannot utilise it effectively and is referred to as insulin resistance.
This link may give you some ideas for modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi Mflack1, welcome to the forum.

Have you been given your HbA1C number? It's the average of your blood sugar levels over a three month period and is typically used to provide a diagnosis.

It might be worth asking your diabetic team what the number was when you were first diagnosed and what it is now so you know whether things have changed and whether your numbers are still high enough to explain your symptoms.

Hopefully, as your numbers settle down, so will your symptoms. It might also be a useful time to look at the meals you're eating and your water intake. A food diary can be really useful to see where you can add / swap some more filling meals or meals that release energy over time.

 

[Vonny]

Many people find reducing the carbs and increasing protein and healthy fats will be very effective and also helps to reduce hunger. It becomes a vicious circle of feeling hungry, eating carbs which results in feeling hungry as the pancreas overproduces insulin to cope with all the excess carbs people eat but the body cannot utilise it effectively

Absolutely, this was my trouble before diagnosis. Despite not eating much sweet stuff I was a complete carb monster having many carbs with every meal and feeling ravenous the whole time. Within 2 weeks of giving up bread, rice, potatoes and pasta the hunger pangs had disappeared, and never returned.

Word of warning, it is best to reduce carbs gradually to avoid problems with your eyesight. I just went cold turkey and was very fortunate that my eyes didn't suffer. If I was doing it again, I'd drop the carbs a bit at a time!

 

[Leadinglights]

Absolutely, this was my trouble before diagnosis. Despite not eating much sweet stuff I was a complete carb monster having many carbs with every meal and feeling ravenous the whole time. Within 2 weeks of giving up bread, rice, potatoes and pasta the hunger pangs had disappeared, and never returned.

Word of warning, it is best to reduce carbs gradually to avoid problems with your eyesight. I just went cold turkey and was very fortunate that my eyes didn't suffer. If I was doing it again, I'd drop the carbs a bit at a time!

Yes I wish I had seen about reducing carbs slowly as I had problems with my vision for 7 months. So a good piece of advice.

 

[Cap67]

Apart from having a very sweet tooth, I've also been a lover of carbs....chips, roast spuds, rice, pasta...all of it! As newly diagnosed, (63mm/mol)... would you suggest maybe reducing these carbs intake by 50% it so to begin with?..

 

[Leadinglights]

Apart from having a very sweet tooth, I've also been a lover of carbs....chips, roast spuds, rice, pasta...all of it! As newly diagnosed, (63mm/mol)... would you suggest maybe reducing these carbs intake by 50% it so to begin with?..

People find it useful to keep a food diary and note everything they eat and drink with an estimate of how much carbs in everything you have, info can be found on food packets, shop websites, or google food x total carbs usually given as per 100g so a bit of arithmetic to work out for the portion you have. A pair of digital sales comes in handy as it is easy to under estimate the weight of things. Once you have done that then maybe reduce by one third for a couple of weeks then another third until you get to where you need to be.
The book or app Carbs and Cals is very helpful as it gives carbs for various portion sizes of a whole range of foods.
Sadly most of the things you mention are not too good for blood glucose levels.

 

[Cap67]

Thanks Leadinglights.... I'll take your advice onboard. With hindsight (a wonderful thing!), I wish I'd gone for full blood test much earlier, as I've been very lethargic for a long time, & up 3/4 times a night for a pee!

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks Leadinglights.... I'll take your advice onboard. With hindsight (a wonderful thing!), I wish I'd gone for full blood test much earlier, as I've been very lethargic for a long time, & up 3/4 times a night for a pee!

We all suffer from hindsight, classic symptoms but now you know you can tackle it.