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My friend and the diabetic nurse

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
M

Maz2

Well-Known Member
One of my friends has recently been diagnosed pre-diabetic/borderline diabetic (hba1c 45). She recently saw one of the diabetic nurses at her surgery. Unbelievably, she was told off about eating chocolate and spoken to like a child. I asked if she had been told to eat bread, pasta, potatoes and rice etc at every meal. She said she had.

I did advise her it was best not to do this. I have sent her the link to this Forum so I am hoping at some stage she will join.

She is not a patient at my surgery I hasten to add.
 
Such ignorance is quite disgusting really. :(
 
Maz2 said:
One of my friends has recently been diagnosed pre-diabetic/borderline diabetic (hba1c 45). She recently saw one of the diabetic nurses at her surgery. Unbelievably, she was told off about eating chocolate and spoken to like a child. I asked if she had been told to eat bread, pasta, potatoes and rice etc at every meal. She said she had.

I did advise her it was best not to do this. I have sent her the link to this Forum so I am hoping at some stage she will join.

She is not a patient at my surgery I hasten to add.
Click to expand...
There is no excuse for that advice, especially when delivered in such a patronising manner :( That nurse needs her diabetes knowledge updating, and her people skills refreshing! :(

I hope your friend joins so we can help her prove the nurse wrong! 🙂
 
Sounds dreadful @Maz2!

Your friend is lucky to have someone around them like you who can give them some hints and advice that are actually helpful!
 
Unfortunately some people in the medical profession abuse vulnerability in others and love to keep the relationship unbalanced. I’ve only had this happen once following my diabetes diagnosis when a nurse at the surgery (not a diabetic specialist nurse), told me ‘I was taking it too seriously’. I actually laughed and said, ‘I can see the advice I need is beyond your pay grade’.

They rely on the fact that patients won’t fight back but sometimes we need to stop them and actually say, ‘don’t you realise you’re being patronising and unhelpful.’
 
Maz2 said:
One of my friends has recently been diagnosed pre-diabetic/borderline diabetic (hba1c 45). She recently saw one of the diabetic nurses at her surgery. Unbelievably, she was told off about eating chocolate and spoken to like a child. I asked if she had been told to eat bread, pasta, potatoes and rice etc at every meal. She said she had.
.
Click to expand...

Hi, I don't mean to hijack Maz2's thread, but I have to ask !
Although I hate the red part in the quote, I don't understand why the blue part is so bad. This is pretty much same as what my dietician said when I was diagnosed in 2010. (T1 then T2) Her stance was, you should do low carb diet, but you still need starchy food for energy. So should eat small amount of carb with low GI number at every meal. Since then, I've been eating either:

2 small pcs of wholemeal / seeded bread
40g (dry weight) of pasta
1 small potate
3 small new potatoes
OR
3 tsp of brown rice, with every meal.

My question is if low carb diet has become more drastic and now it is almost NO starchy food allowed? or not at every meal? I must admit that I haven't updated my method / knowledge about diet for a while since my doctor said the diagnosis with D was a mistake. (But my BS is high again, that's why I'm here on the forum) 🙂
 
I can't touch bread, potatoes or rice without an absolute high bg. If I had them at every meal I'd be consistently high. Vegetables have carbs in, you don't need all that white carb stuff I don't think. Just my opinion, ymmv. 🙂 Wouldn't even touch pasta!!! Sends bg up for hours.
 
KayC said:
Hi, I don't mean to hijack Maz2's thread, but I have to ask !
Although I hate the red part in the quote, I don't understand why the blue part is so bad. This is pretty much same as what my dietician said when I was diagnosed in 2010. (T1 then T2) Her stance was, you should do low carb diet, but you still need starchy food for energy. So should eat small amount of carb with low GI number at every meal. Since then, I've been eating either:

2 small pcs of wholemeal / seeded bread
40g (dry weight) of pasta
1 small potate
3 small new potatoes
OR
3 tsp of brown rice, with every meal.

My question is if low carb diet has become more drastic and now it is almost NO starchy food allowed? or not at every meal? I must admit that I haven't updated my method / knowledge about diet for a while since my doctor said the diagnosis with D was a mistake. (But my BS is high again, that's why I'm here on the forum) 🙂
Click to expand...
The answer is that....there is no one solution that suits everyone - you need to test in order to assess your tolerance for your various food choices. Current thinking is that the unique microbiome that everyone possesses (all the 'good bacteria' in our gut) can play a substantial role in determining these tolerances.Also, particularly in Type 2, insulin resistance may play a lesser or greater role. So, for example, one person might be fine with porridge in the morning, but another might find their levels going sky high and need to avoid it.

The general rule of thumb is that all carbs will raise blood sugar levels to a greater or lesser degree, but you need to discover your own personal experience of things in order to tailor your diet to suit you as an individual 🙂 No point in excluding things you like from your diet if you tolerate them well, in my opinion - it gives you a far more sustainable and flexible way of life. Some people do cut out most carbs and are able to sustain it - and manage their levels well - but others may not need to cut back quite so much 🙂
 
I might give porridge another whirl. What levels are acceptable then? How high should bg go after porridge and how quickly should it come down for it to be okay to have porridge daily? I do miss porridge!
 
Ditto said:
I might give porridge another whirl. What levels are acceptable then? How high should bg go after porridge and how quickly should it come down for it to be okay to have porridge daily? I do miss porridge!
Click to expand...
The ideal is if your levels go no more than 3 mmol/l higher than your pre-porridge reading, 2 hours after eating, and then return to your pre-porridge levels after 4 hours 🙂 Of course, it might only be advisable if you are starting at around 5-6 mmol/l, and avoid it if you are quite high to start with 🙂
 
KayC said:
Hi, I don't mean to hijack Maz2's thread, but I have to ask !
Although I hate the red part in the quote, I don't understand why the blue part is so bad. This is pretty much same as what my dietician said when I was diagnosed in 2010. (T1 then T2) Her stance was, you should do low carb diet, but you still need starchy food for energy. So should eat small amount of carb with low GI number at every meal. Since then, I've been eating either:

2 small pcs of wholemeal / seeded bread
40g (dry weight) of pasta
1 small potate
3 small new potatoes
OR
3 tsp of brown rice, with every meal.

My question is if low carb diet has become more drastic and now it is almost NO starchy food allowed? or not at every meal? I must admit that I haven't updated my method / knowledge about diet for a while since my doctor said the diagnosis with D was a mistake. (But my BS is high again, that's why I'm here on the forum) 🙂
Click to expand...
To add to Northies good advice, we don't need carbs for energy, when on a very low carb diet, the body will use fat for energy. This is why it's best to increase healthy fat intake when on a low carb diet.
 
Northerner said:
The ideal is if your levels go no more than 3 mmol/l higher than your pre-porridge reading, 2 hours after eating, and then return to your pre-porridge levels after 4 hours 🙂 Of course, it might only be advisable if you are starting at around 5-6 mmol/l, and avoid it if you are quite high to start with 🙂
Click to expand...
I will experiment tomorrow, but will probably be starting from a 7! Not great at the minute. Have no idea why, this year has been dire for readings.
 
Northerner said:
The answer is that....there is no one solution that suits everyone - you need to test in order to assess your tolerance for your various food choices. Current thinking is that the unique microbiome that everyone possesses (all the 'good bacteria' in our gut) can play a substantial role in determining these tolerances.Also, particularly in Type 2, insulin resistance may play a lesser or greater role. So, for example, one person might be fine with porridge in the morning, but another might find their levels going sky high and need to avoid it.

The general rule of thumb is that all carbs will raise blood sugar levels to a greater or lesser degree, but you need to discover your own personal experience of things in order to tailor your diet to suit you as an individual 🙂 No point in excluding things you like from your diet if you tolerate them well, in my opinion - it gives you a far more sustainable and flexible way of life. Some people do cut out most carbs and are able to sustain it - and manage their levels well - but others may not need to cut back quite so much 🙂
Click to expand...
Thank you all for your input, I think Northerner's advice makes sense, 'there is no one solution that suits everyone.' I remember I tested with many kinds of carbs in my early D days, and fortunately I was quite OK with bread / pasta of low GI. Luckily, I can take fruits as well. ( but in moderation) Then, I found that seemingly 'healthy' food like Weetabix gave me a spike, so I haven't touched it ever since. Thanks again, I will do more experiments and find what I can safely eat / I can still enjoy in moderation. 🙂🙂
 
KayC said:
Thank you all for your input, I think Northerner's advice makes sense, 'there is no one solution that suits everyone.' I remember I tested with many kinds of carbs in my early D days, and fortunately I was quite OK with bread / pasta of low GI. Luckily, I can take fruits as well. ( but in moderation) Then, I found that seemingly 'healthy' food like Weetabix gave me a spike, so I haven't touched it ever since. Thanks again, I will do more experiments and find what I can safely eat / I can still enjoy in moderation. 🙂🙂
Click to expand...
This is a very interesting article on the role of the microbiome in determining out individual tolerances 🙂

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/art...on-weight-and-not-others-and-can-we-change-it
 
Northerner said:
This is a very interesting article on the role of the microbiome in determining out individual tolerances 🙂

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/art...on-weight-and-not-others-and-can-we-change-it
Click to expand...
wow it is interesting ! 😱 So, actually, chocolate can be 'good' food for some (lucky) people ! Personalised diet plan is the way forward, isn't it. I'm also interested in if I can change my favourite food which is currently 'bad', to 'good', by modifying gut bacteria. I will definitely use their service if / when it's available. ( Although I feel a bit sorry for the postman about the aspect of 'poo in the post'.....🙄:D🙂🙂)
 
KayC said:
wow it is interesting ! 😱 So, actually, chocolate can be 'good' food for some (lucky) people ! Personalised diet plan is the way forward, isn't it. I'm also interested in if I can change my favourite food which is currently 'bad', to 'good', by modifying gut bacteria. I will definitely use their service if / when it's available. ( Although I feel a bit sorry for the postman about the aspect of 'poo in the post'.....🙄:D🙂🙂)
Click to expand...
Slightly off topic, but the postman is already dealing with 'poo in the post'. If like me you are over 60 you will get a home testing kit for bowel cancer every 2 years, unpleasant, but necessary I think.
 
KayC said:
Hi, I don't mean to hijack Maz2's thread, but I have to ask !
Although I hate the red part in the quote, I don't understand why the blue part is so bad. This is pretty much same as what my dietician said when I was diagnosed in 2010. (T1 then T2) Her stance was, you should do low carb diet, but you still need starchy food for energy. So should eat small amount of carb with low GI number at every meal. Since then, I've been eating either:

2 small pcs of wholemeal / seeded bread
40g (dry weight) of pasta
1 small potate
3 small new potatoes
OR
3 tsp of brown rice, with every meal.

My question is if low carb diet has become more drastic and now it is almost NO starchy food allowed? or not at every meal? I must admit that I haven't updated my method / knowledge about diet for a while since my doctor said the diagnosis with D was a mistake. (But my BS is high again, that's why I'm here on the forum) 🙂
Click to expand...
My GP gave me similar advise about carbs, and although I don't have the carbs at every meal I tend to have around the quantity you mention when I do, so far it is working for me.
 
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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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