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Im new

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Welcome to the forum Sally from a fellow T2.
 
Hi Sally and welcome from me too.

Would you like to tell us a bit more about yourself and your diabetes.... like... How long you have been diagnosed and how you manage it.... diet and exercise or medication and if so which. Do you know your most recent HbA1c result? Is there anything that you need help from the forum with or just looking to touch base with others who understand the frustrations and challenges of living with diabetes?

Feel free to ask anything you need to know. We have a wealth of experience and knowledge on the forum.
Don't feel obliged to reply to every individual post as we can all read your responses on the thread, but obviously if there is something specific you want to respond to then use the quote function for that.

Hope you find being a member here as helpful as I have over the past couple of years.
 
Hello @Sally bbc
Welcome to the forum.
Please let us know if there is anything in particular that you would like to know more about, and we will try to give you some pointers
 
I joined yesterday and thank you for the welcome. I've been asked to say a few things about myself and my T2 condition. Here goes. I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes 13 years ago. I was placed straight onto Metformin and gliclazide. Now because my symtoms were tiredness only I'm sorry to say I didn't take it seriously, not good really as I'm a scientist and should of known better. My weight all the way through has stayed the same until 3 weeks ago when my Ac1 came back at 10.1. That was after all these years my wake up call. I bought a treadmill and sorted a diet plan. Twice a day on the tread mill and sensible dieting I have lost 11 and a half pounds and 22" of fat. 2 and a half pound more and I've done my first stone in a month, 2 stone left to go. My blood pressure is now normal so good news all round.
 
Hi @Sally bbc and welcome. I assume that 10.1 is a % figure which equates to 87 mmol/mol?
 
adrian1der said:
@everydayupsanddowns there are two threads running here. Could you merge them into one?
Click to expand...

Certainly!

I’ve merged your introductory threads to keep your replies in one place, which should make things easier @Sally bbc

Well done on your increased exercise and weight loss - good that you are beginning to give your diabetes a bit more of the attention it deserves 🙂

Has your change in menu involved a reduction in the amount of carbohydrate you are eating?

Obviously you will have wanted to cut out things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks straight away, but you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.

Many members here find that balancing their carbohydrate with any meds they are taking and the level that their metabolism can cope with is a vital part of their diabetes self management.

Don’t give yourself a hard time for having let your diabetes drift for several years. The great thing is that you are starting to focus on it, and have made some really positive changes. Diabetes is potentially very serious, but it is also a condition that can be managed well with a few changes and adaptations 🙂
 
Great to hear that you are starting to take control. There is lots of advice and plenty of inspirational stories of other members' successes here to hopefully encourage you and keep you focused in your journey. Don't be too hard on yourself when you fall off the wagon (we all do from time to time) just climb right back on. It does get much easier and in fact many of us now enjoy our dietary changes so much, we wouldn't swap back even if we could and we feel far fitter and healthier for making the changes.
It sounds like you are making great progress already so many congrats on the weight loss so far and good luck with losing the rest. I can tell you it feels great to be down to a healthy weight and get comfortably back into clothes I bought 30 years ago.... even if they are a bit dated... sometimes fashion comes full circle though.

As @everydayupsanddowns says it is important to understand what a healthy diet is for a diabetic and this can be quite different to what would be considered healthy for a non diabetic. We have problems metabolizing carbohydrates and even the brown/wholemeal/wholegrain stuff will still sometimes spike our BG levels. Fruit and porridge are two more contentious foods which many of us need to restrict quite significantly to manage our diabetes. The interesting thing is that because we cut right back on carbs our body needs an alternative source of fuel and fats, which have been demonized almost all of our lives, provide a good source of fuel for us. This is contrary to NHS dietary advice even for diabetics but many of us have done our own research and feel that eating more fat along with less carbs is a much healthier diet for us. More importantly, fat keeps us feeling full for longer because it takes longer to digest so we don't feel hungry between meals and it makes food taste good, so we enjoy our food, but doesn't tempt you to over eat, which is what carbohydrates seem to do. Most of us had just come to accept that craving snacks between meals was normal, but once you cut back on carbs and eat more fat that mid morning and mid afternoon desire for a biscuit or a chocolate bar or some crisps just disappears. Also many low fat food products contain more carbs than the full fat version. Yoghurt being one of the obvious examples. Most of us buy "creamy" whole milk natural Greek yoghurt because it is lower carb than most low fat versions and tastes so much better.

Anyway, I have rambled on quite enough. If there is anything you don't understand, just ask.
 
Sally bbc said:
I joined yesterday and thank you for the welcome. I've been asked to say a few things about myself and my T2 condition. Here goes. I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes 13 years ago. I was placed straight onto Metformin and gliclazide. Now because my symtoms were tiredness only I'm sorry to say I didn't take it seriously, not good really as I'm a scientist and should of known better. My weight all the way through has stayed the same until 3 weeks ago when my Ac1 came back at 10.1. That was after all these years my wake up call. I bought a treadmill and sorted a diet plan. Twice a day on the tread mill and sensible dieting I have lost 11 and a half pounds and 22" of fat. 2 and a half pound more and I've done my first stone in a month, 2 stone left to go. My blood pressure is now normal so good news all round.
Click to expand...
Hi @Sally bbc , you were diagnosed about the same time I was, and mine was picked up at a routine blood test as I had no symptoms at all... My dear old GP said, Hmm I think you're mildly diabetic, I was given some diet sheets which advised low fat food and starchy carbs at every meal, and that was about it!

I found this place in 2013 and it has helped enormously with information, support and encouragement. I hope you find it equally helpful 🙂
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Certainly!

I’ve merged your introductory threads to keep your replies in one place, which should make things easier @Sally bbc

Well done on your increased exercise and weight loss - good that you are beginning to give your diabetes a bit more of the attention it deserves 🙂

Has your change in menu involved a reduction in the amount of carbohydrate you are eating?

Obviously you will have wanted to cut out things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks straight away, but you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.

Many members here find that balancing their carbohydrate with any meds they are taking and the level that their metabolism can cope with is a vital part of their diabetes self management.

Don’t give yourself a hard time for having let your diabetes drift for several years. The great thing is that you are starting to focus on it, and have made some really positive changes. Diabetes is potentially very serious, but it is also a condition that can be managed well with a few changes and adaptations 🙂
Click to expand...
Yes my menu has changed. Cutting bread even wholemeal has helped my levels, and I'm going to try riced cauliflower as an alternative to potatoes and pasta.
 
Pine Marten said:
Hi @Sally bbc , you were diagnosed about the same time I was, and mine was picked up at a routine blood test as I had no symptoms at all... My dear old GP said, Hmm I think you're mildly diabetic, I was given some diet sheets which advised low fat food and starchy carbs at every meal, and that was about it!

I found this place in 2013 and it has helped enormously with information, support and encouragement. I hope you find it equally helpful 🙂
Click to expand...
I'm finding the site us helping already. No disrespect to my diabetes nurse, but I'm getting more information from here than I get from her.
 
Hi Sally - well almost everyone here has diabetes themselves, your nurse doesn't so she's only going on what it says in the textbook and sometimes, they aren't 100% right !
 
Cauliflower mash is as good as potato mash and quicker to cook and easier to mash. You do need to
drain it well but then just add a good dollop of cream cheese and a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard and mash. Really easy and works great as a topping for cottage pie or fish pie as well as going great with high meat content sausages or gammon.
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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