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Just diagnosed

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Stan78

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Type 2
Hello All

Been reading this forum and finally taken the courage to post. Got diagnosed with type 2 recently. Came as a bit of a shock initially but deep down I knew it was always coming with the bad diet and all. It’s been a difficult time emotionally but have come around and made some real changes in my life.

I’ve absolutely knocked all sugars on the head so no Coca Cola and no fried foods. I’ve upped the exercise and the weight has reduced by about 5lb.

My first blood test result was 54 and the second was 53. These were in July and I’ve made the changes since. Overall the nurse at the GPs was not supportive. I felt like she was giving me a prison sentence. A colleague at work mentioned I should look at support forums like this. Hoping people will be able to advise and support.

I think my main issue is what to eat and what not to eat. I am determined to get my diabetes in remission but will need support.

Many thanks for reading this and replying if you do so
 
Stan78 said:
Hello All

Been reading this forum and finally taken the courage to post. Got diagnosed with type 2 recently. Came as a bit of a shock initially but deep down I knew it was always coming with the bad diet and all. It’s been a difficult time emotionally but have come around and made some real changes in my life.

I’ve absolutely knocked all sugars on the head so no Coca Cola and no fried foods. I’ve upped the exercise and the weight has reduced by about 5lb.

My first blood test result was 54 and the second was 53. These were in July and I’ve made the changes since. Overall the nurse at the GPs was not supportive. I felt like she was giving me a prison sentence. A colleague at work mentioned I should look at support forums like this. Hoping people will be able to advise and support.

I think my main issue is what to eat and what not to eat. I am determined to get my diabetes in remission but will need support.

Many thanks for reading this and replying if you do so
Click to expand...

Hi that's not a bad starting point my reading was 95 at diagnosis in May,it is a shock at first but there are so many people in this situation now,with a little bit of knowledge about food and carbohydrates I'm sure that you will do well,you've come to the right place though,the forums offer great advice and support
 
Welcome to the forum Stan. Glad that you have found us.

Well done in starting to make the changes. As Diabetes is the inability to manage the glucose in our system, it is worth finding out how much glucose you are creating. This will be coming from all carbohydrates that you eat. There is also the glucose that your liver dribbles out to keep you ticking over. When diagnosed I had to start injecting straight away, for any carbs I ate. I knew nothing about carbs at that time, and it was a steep learning curve, but I know that our diet has improved as a result of this.

The carbs come from sugars, but also from rice, potatoes, pasta.... when we calculated the carbs we were eating at each meal, we decided to reduce these. In some cases we just reduced the portions size (we also just started to use smaller plates ( It somehow looked better). Working out the carbs involved weighing portions and using the info on the back of packets. It becomes second nature in the end.

We also did some switches using a simple rule of thumb:
- veg that grow under the ground are high carb
- veg that grow above the ground are medium carb
- veg that grow on the ground are low carb
Using this we swapped some of the high carbs to medium ones.

I hope that helps
 
Welcome to the forum Stan78, if it wasn't for my arthritic knees I am would probably be the luckiest person on the forum.
 
Thanks for the great welcome people.

Did anybody have problems with their hands? I initially went to GPs as my hands are absolutely killing especially in the mornings. The bloods were clear for rheumatoid etc but I’m wondering if it’s the lack vitamin d, e etc.

Thanks.
 
First of all ...
Welcome Stan78 to the club no one wants to be in...
As others have said it’s carbs that we have problems with, not only the simple sugars found in cakes, biscuits, sweets, sugary drinks etc but also the more complex starches found in wheat , rice, oats, potato and other grain products such as bread, pasta , pastry etc etc..
Conversely meats, fish , chicken, leafy green veg grown above ground are low in carbs.
So counter intuitively instead of Cornflakes for breakfast, bacon @ egg might be better for you..
You may wish to invest in a Blood Glucose meter which will give you an idea of which foods spike your blood sugars and the ones you can get away with in small quantities..
Anyway on initial diagnosis I was at 77 m.mol/mol since then following the forum advice, I haven’t been above 35 m.mol.mol in over a year..although that might not be possible for you as our bodies are all different..
Best of luck ..
 
unless you are frying carbohydrates there is no reason to avoid fried foods - in fact a beef steak mushroom, green sweet pepper, tomato, courgette, onion etc frying pan meal is an excellent choice - as are chicken thighs roasted on a rack over low carb vegetables.
 
Hi Stan78! it's great that you're making these changes I think the hardest part can be finding a starting point. As others have said getting used to choosing lower carbohydrate options can be a great starting point and trying to have a lower intake of even complex carbohydrate like oats or grain products. I have found this works really well for my glucose readings as I don't have high spikes.
Good luck!
 
Hi Stan. I was where you are (HbA1c 54) less than 12 months ago.
If you read the report I just typed up under "I should have seen it coming" thread you will see that there is a way forward.
Basically, despite family predisposition to T2, I lost a stone and cut out free sugars, reduced carbohydrate intake and am now at Hb1Ac of 45 without any medication.
All to play for.
Graham.
 
Overwhelmed with all the supportive messages.

Understanding more now about how carbs affect things and have already reduced my weakness of fried food. Have lost about 5lb but more importantly stopped the sugar in tea and stopped drinking Coca Cola.

I’ve got bloods again in 3 months to see if levels have come down.

Can anybody advice if their hands also hurt due to diabetes or could that be to do with something else??

Many thanks

Stan
 
Dunno about hands, my feet hurt and are tingly though. :( A recent thing.

I am reading yet another diabetes book and the author says our muscles or tendons get shorter because of it. Never rains but it pours.

My long time diabetic sister has terrible trouble with her hands. She also has https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/dupuytrens-contracture/ which she's been told is hereditary.
 
Thanks Ditto.

I’ve heard about the feet but not hands hence why I’m worried. Blood tests did show nothing in terms of rheumatoid etc.

Had an MRI so waiting for results.
 
Hi Stan just because you have painful hands doesn`t mean it is D induced. Blood sugar levels are important and it looks like your working well at it, well done. Your MRI scan may produce a result hopefully, Osteoarthritis comes to mind especially if you do heavy manual work but can affect anyone really. No way am I a medically trained person so what I tell you is from personal experience, put your hands in warm water in the morning before you do anything. I would suggest getting a blood test meter with strips, it will enable you to understand how your blood glucose levels are reacting to your daily regime especially food. I hope this helps but wait for your MRI results, you may be lucky enough to get a meter from your Dr or DSN, take care.
 
Thanks Karnak.

Hopefully mri results will tell more.

My main aim is obviously to get sugar levels down and never start any medication.

I’m going to look into getting any mechanisms like machines etc to test levels.
 
The more you read the more things get confusing. I was wondering how my weight seems to fluctuate up and down. Then I read about the body losing water weight etc and so I’m thinking have my changes made a difference. In total I’ve lost about 8lb/9lb with a better diet and exercise and actually feel better for it. The stomach does feel a lot flatter...lol but I’m wondering is that the water weight I’ve lost??
 
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