New and needing educating!

[Noonoo2]

Good evening,
I had a phone call from a nurse today to confirm that after a year of constant unexplained symptoms including balance disturbance, extreme fatigue, blurred vision and brain fog, it looks like I am diabetic with a very high result of 98?!

I have an appointment with a diabetic nurse next week, but in the meantime I am overwhelmed and clueless. What do I eat/do between now and then? Do I cancel my weekend plans and afternoon tea this weekend or do I carry on until I know more? Any advice, tips and directions very welcome please!

 

[Drummer]

I stated off at 91, but I had done low carb before so just dove in and reduced my carbs to no more than 50gm a day - but I'd not recommend it if you are unfamiliar with how to eat on an Atkins type regime.
It did return my readings to normal very quickly, as an ordinary type 2.
Assessing where your carbs are coming from and organizing some lower carb foods, stocking up the freezer and fridge would be a good start. Planning a slow decrease/substitution menu would be a good idea.
I don't eat potatoes these days but do use swede for mashing and making bubble and squeak to eat with bacon - known as bubble and squeal here.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Noonoo2

Sorry to hear that your diagnosis took a while, and your HbA1c wasn’t checked earlier

One of the biggest questions when trying to get to grips with your diabetes is often ‘what can I eat’ and 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.

That doesn’t mean that you have to avoid all those things entirely, but reducing portion sizes, and looking for sources of carbs that release more slowly and steadily for you (which can vary quite a lot from person to person!) are useful strategies.

Regarding your afternoon tea… are you going out somewhere? Or having friends round? There are recipes for lower carb cakes and biscuits that lots of members enjoy on a website called ‘sugarfreelondoner’ which you could try?

 

[Noonoo2]

I stated off at 91, but I had done low carb before so just dove in and reduced my carbs to no more than 50gm a day - but I'd not recommend it if you are unfamiliar with how to eat on an Atkins type regime.
It did return my readings to normal very quickly, as an ordinary type 2.
Assessing where your carbs are coming from and organizing some lower carb foods, stocking up the freezer and fridge would be a good start. Planning a slow decrease/substitution menu would be a good idea.
I don't eat potatoes these days but do use swede for mashing and making bubble and squeak to eat with bacon - known as bubble and squeal here.

Thank you. I have started to reduce carbs straight away and I had started to make some swaps like cauliflower rice as I had wondered if diet might be a factor in my symptoms - we thought it might be chronic fatigue syndrome. I’ll see if I can stock up the freezer a bit more and reach for the right carbs before seeing the nurse and getting a full plan in place. Thank you for your advice!

 

[Noonoo2]

Welcome to the forum @Noonoo2

Sorry to hear that your diagnosis took a while, and your HbA1c wasn’t checked earlier

One of the biggest questions when trying to get to grips with your diabetes is often ‘what can I eat’ and 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.

That doesn’t mean that you have to avoid all those things entirely, but reducing portion sizes, and looking for sources of carbs that release more slowly and steadily for you (which can vary quite a lot from person to person!) are useful strategies.

Regarding your afternoon tea… are you going out somewhere? Or having friends round? There are recipes for lower carb cakes and biscuits that lots of members enjoy on a website called ‘sugarfreelondoner’ which you could try?

Thank you, I’ll cut the sugary and salty things out straight away and try and get some alternatives in. There are so many diet plans out there so I might see if I can find one that fits in the meantime before I can get in and see the nurse. It feels daunting but I feel relieved that we now know what it is and I might feel better soon.

The afternoon tea is out for someone’s hen do, and there’s not much on the menu that isn’t sugary or carb heavy! Can I balance out in some way with what else I eat that day perhaps or hope that one day won’t make it worse until I know more?

Thank you for your response and advice.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you. I have started to reduce carbs straight away and I had started to make some swaps like cauliflower rice as I had wondered if diet might be a factor in my symptoms - we thought it might be chronic fatigue syndrome. I’ll see if I can stock up the freezer a bit more and reach for the right carbs before seeing the nurse and getting a full plan in place. Thank you for your advice!

That is a good swap to make and hopefully reducing carbs will help with your symptoms. The suggested amount to aim at per day is no more than 130g carbs not just sugar as a starting point. It is often better to reduce carbs gradually if you have had a very high carb diet previously.
I suspect with the level you are at you will be prescribed some medication, the first one to try is usually metformin, the slow release version is kinder on the stomach though many are ok with the normal one. The dose is started gradually increasing over a few weeks.
However diet is all important so have a look at this link for some ideas. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/. A low carb approach should be fine with just that medication.

 

[Noonoo2]

That is a good swap to make and hopefully reducing carbs will help with your symptoms. The suggested amount to aim at per day is no more than 130g carbs not just sugar as a starting point. It is often better to reduce carbs gradually if you have had a very high carb diet previously.
I suspect with the level you are at you will be prescribed some medication, the first one to try is usually metformin, the slow release version is kinder on the stomach though many are ok with the normal one. The dose is started gradually increasing over a few weeks.
However diet is all important so have a look at this link for some ideas. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/. A low carb approach should be fine with just that medication.

Thank you, this is so helpful. I will have a look to get some ideas.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you, I’ll cut the sugary and salty things out straight away and try and get some alternatives in. There are so many diet plans out there so I might see if I can find one that fits in the meantime before I can get in and see the nurse. It feels daunting but I feel relieved that we now know what it is and I might feel better soon.

The afternoon tea is out for someone’s hen do, and there’s not much on the menu that isn’t sugary or carb heavy! Can I balance out in some way with what else I eat that day perhaps or hope that one day won’t make it worse until I know more?

Thank you for your response and advice.

With something like that go and enjoy yourself but go easy on carbs the rest of the day and just do your best with what is there, if there are sandwiches I just leave the crusts.
It is important to find an approach that you enjoy as it has to be sustainable which is why I found the Freshwell approach just made sense and it is my new normal way of eating.
We all need salt so don't cut that out, people are often short of salt as they reduce pre-prepared foods which can be quite salty.

 

[Noonoo2]

With something like that go and enjoy yourself but go easy on carbs the rest of the day and just do your best with what is there, if there are sandwiches I just leave the crusts.
It is important to find an approach that you enjoy as it has to be sustainable which is why I found the Freshwell approach just made sense and it is my new normal way of eating.
We all need salt so don't cut that out, people are often short of salt as they reduce pre-prepared foods which can be quite salty.

Thank you that’s very reassuring and I’m looking at the Freshwell website now. Thank you ☺️

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

There are so many diet plans out there so I might see if I can find one that fits in the meantime before I can get in and see the nurse. It feels daunting but I feel relieved that we now know what it is and I might feel better soon.

You aren’t alone in that! Sometimes there’s a huge relief in knowing what it is you are dealing with. And the good news is, that diabetes is generally something that can be managed well with a few tweaks and changes. It’s something you can learn to live well with.

There are a range of diet plans here that you could browse through

Meal plans and diabetes

Eating nutritious, healthy and downright delicious food is that bit easier with our meal planners. We've created multiple different weekly meal plans to suit all types and tastes. They're nutritionally balanced, are calorie and carb counted, and can help if you want to lose weight. They also...

www.diabetes.org.uk

The afternoon tea is out for someone’s hen do, and there’s not much on the menu that isn’t sugary or carb heavy! Can I balance out in some way with what else I eat that day perhaps or hope that one day won’t make it worse until I know more?

Ah that sounds lovely! The thing about living with diabetes long-term, is that there will always be occasional events and celebrations, that are outside of your ‘regular’ choices and options. So it can be partly a matter of simply making sure these aren’t too often, trying to find (slightly!) better choices, but also importantly to enjoy them!!

 

[Beancounter298]

Good evening,
I had a phone call from a nurse today to confirm that after a year of constant unexplained symptoms including balance disturbance, extreme fatigue, blurred vision and brain fog, it looks like I am diabetic with a very high result of 98?!

I have an appointment with a diabetic nurse next week, but in the meantime I am overwhelmed and clueless. What do I eat/do between now and then? Do I cancel my weekend plans and afternoon tea this weekend or do I carry on until I know more? Any advice, tips and directions very welcome please!

I was diagnosed with hba1c of 98 in November 23 and started to reduce carbs, usually to fewer than 100g per day. Also Mettformin as prescribed. 3 months later my hba1c was down to 55,, so it can be done. Good luck and stay positive

 

[Felinia]

Hello and welcome. Lots of great advice and information above. I would just add to keep an honest food diary, recording all your carbs. I have an app, NutraCheck, which does all the hard work for me. I got it as soon as I was diagnosed and 5 years down the line, I still plan daily, first thing.