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New here , type 2 diabetic,
- Thread starter Mr Singh
- Start date
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42istheanswer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi, I wrote a response on your other thread. If you have other questions then if you post them here one of us will try to help
Charlotte DUK
Active Member
Hi @Mr Singh and welcome to the forum
I'm sorry to hear that you are struggling a little, a new diagnosis can feel overwhelming with all of the appointments and new information.
Feel free to ask any questions here on the forum and/or give a member of our helpline a call at 0345 123 2399. The helpline is open Mon-Fri between 9 am-6 pm.
I'm sorry to hear that you are struggling a little, a new diagnosis can feel overwhelming with all of the appointments and new information.
Feel free to ask any questions here on the forum and/or give a member of our helpline a call at 0345 123 2399. The helpline is open Mon-Fri between 9 am-6 pm.
Felinia
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi and welcome
I had a look at your other post, and saw your HbA1c was only just in the diabetic range, and that you had been prescribed Metformin. The good news is that you may well be able to reduce your glucose levels with minor adjustments to your lifestyle. I am disappointed that your doctor went thundering in with medication immediately. A lot of GP's now give new Type 2 diabetics, just in the range, the opportunity to reduce their levels with dietary changes and exercise. You might wish to ask your GP if you can try that.
There are lots of tests at initial diagnosis and they will be repeated annually for life, initially more frequently. I looked on it as a well woman check - a good thing. I monitored first thing, just before eating, 2 hours after first bite, repeated throughout the day, then last thing at night. I kept a record of the rises, together with a food diary, and from that I worked out what foods caused my glucose level to spike.
Nowadays I just test for new foods. That enabled me to modify my eating. I also got an app where I input my plan first thing each morning, so I knew just how many carbs and calories I was planning to have. I also weigh most foods, but not salads and above ground vegetables. It is suggested that Type 2 diabetics benefit from eating less than 130gm carbs a day - that does not mean no carbs. Every body is different so it takes some trial and error to find out what suits you best.
You will probably have been advised to avoid or cut back on carbs like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, pastries, cakes, biscuits, sweets, tropical fruits. This can be tricky, but most of us look for substitutes, like soy bean pasta, mashed celeriac, courgetti, roasted squash, cauliflower rice or mash, then bulk up our meals with leafy green and above ground veggies, plus extra protein. If you are not the cook, or have a partner, it might be worth liaising with them over your menu.
Best wishes
I had a look at your other post, and saw your HbA1c was only just in the diabetic range, and that you had been prescribed Metformin. The good news is that you may well be able to reduce your glucose levels with minor adjustments to your lifestyle. I am disappointed that your doctor went thundering in with medication immediately. A lot of GP's now give new Type 2 diabetics, just in the range, the opportunity to reduce their levels with dietary changes and exercise. You might wish to ask your GP if you can try that.
There are lots of tests at initial diagnosis and they will be repeated annually for life, initially more frequently. I looked on it as a well woman check - a good thing. I monitored first thing, just before eating, 2 hours after first bite, repeated throughout the day, then last thing at night. I kept a record of the rises, together with a food diary, and from that I worked out what foods caused my glucose level to spike.
Nowadays I just test for new foods. That enabled me to modify my eating. I also got an app where I input my plan first thing each morning, so I knew just how many carbs and calories I was planning to have. I also weigh most foods, but not salads and above ground vegetables. It is suggested that Type 2 diabetics benefit from eating less than 130gm carbs a day - that does not mean no carbs. Every body is different so it takes some trial and error to find out what suits you best.
You will probably have been advised to avoid or cut back on carbs like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, pastries, cakes, biscuits, sweets, tropical fruits. This can be tricky, but most of us look for substitutes, like soy bean pasta, mashed celeriac, courgetti, roasted squash, cauliflower rice or mash, then bulk up our meals with leafy green and above ground veggies, plus extra protein. If you are not the cook, or have a partner, it might be worth liaising with them over your menu.
Best wishes
I was overwhelmed on first diagnosis of type 2 in 2009. I had very high blood sugars. Like you, I was overwhelmed with everything in the beginning and, like Felinia, I was testing four or five times a day. When the doctor said that I did not need to test so frequently, I thought, "What does he know?". However, as time progressed, I stopped testing when I had worked out what caused spikes. I've been in hospital quite a bit over the past few years for cancer operations. Whilst in hospital the healthcare team test frequently but, apart from that, I rarely test myself. I do make sure I have the annual check ups for the blood pressure, HbA1C, feet etc.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I also am disappointed to hear that as you are just over the threshold for a diagnosis that you haven't first been given the opportunity to make dietary changes before being prescribed medication.
A low carb approach is one many find successful, basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy and vegetables and salads with small portions of higher carb foods. This link has some do's and don'ts as well as some menu ideas. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
There are of course plenty of low carb recipes on the internet or the website sugarfreelondoner is a good place to find low carb recipes. You will probably find there are ways you can adapt your favourites to make then lower carb.
The book or app Carbs and Cals is a useful resource but the are other apps that people use which help people to make better food choices.
A low carb approach is one many find successful, basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy and vegetables and salads with small portions of higher carb foods. This link has some do's and don'ts as well as some menu ideas. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
There are of course plenty of low carb recipes on the internet or the website sugarfreelondoner is a good place to find low carb recipes. You will probably find there are ways you can adapt your favourites to make then lower carb.
The book or app Carbs and Cals is a useful resource but the are other apps that people use which help people to make better food choices.
D
Deleted member 21371
Guest
There is nothing wrong with prescription medication. I was more than happy to take it.
It gave me breathing space and time to decide on a course of action.
I realised my issue wasn't specifically BG, I was overweight, and I focused on that to reverse my diabetes.
It gave me breathing space and time to decide on a course of action.
I realised my issue wasn't specifically BG, I was overweight, and I focused on that to reverse my diabetes.
Thank you all for your support, I have some follow up questions if I may. I was a bit dubious about medication as I have never been on medications before for anything. I took the medication because at the appointment she was talking about amputations, various medical complications and I was just scared to be honest. I have another appointment in march I really want to come of the medication. If it makes any difference my Mum has type 2 my Gran was type 1 so I am not sure if I am just destined to have it.
Felinia
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
At your appointment you were given all the worst case scenarios, if you do not take control. You are young now and I hope you see this as an opportunity to start to follow a healthier lifestyle. Many people have reported the diagnosis as just the wake up call they needed and many have achieved remission. I don't know if there is a genetic component, but you might learn how your mum copes. I found exchanging information with other Type 2 to be very helpful. Type 1 is different and requires different management.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Glad you’ve found it helpful @Mr Singh
Whether or not to self-monitor is a personal decision, but many members on the forum have found it very helpful, especially in the early learning phase when trying to find out which foods, and sources of carbohydrate suit them best.
If you decide to check your levels, it‘s quite likely you will have to self-fund your meter and the ongoing cost of strips. The most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £10 for 50
Checking before and after eating as @Felinia describes gives you a very immediate and direct way to see how your individual body responds to different meals. You can take a reading before and again 2hrs after the first bite of the meal, to see what the differences are. This way you can identify any sources or amounts of carbs that seem to be spiking BG (initially in a way the numbers themselves almost matter less than the differences between them). Ideally you would want to see a ’meal rise’ of no more than 2-3mmol/L at the 2hr mark and gradually work towards the after reading being no higher than 8.5mmol/L.
Once you can see how you respond to different foods you can begin experimenting with reducing portion sizes of the carbs where you see bigger rises. You might find that you are particularly sensitive to carbohydrate from one source (eg bread), but have more liberty with others (eg oats or basmati rice) - It’s all very individual!
Good luck, and let us know how things go 🙂
Whether or not to self-monitor is a personal decision, but many members on the forum have found it very helpful, especially in the early learning phase when trying to find out which foods, and sources of carbohydrate suit them best.
If you decide to check your levels, it‘s quite likely you will have to self-fund your meter and the ongoing cost of strips. The most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £10 for 50
Checking before and after eating as @Felinia describes gives you a very immediate and direct way to see how your individual body responds to different meals. You can take a reading before and again 2hrs after the first bite of the meal, to see what the differences are. This way you can identify any sources or amounts of carbs that seem to be spiking BG (initially in a way the numbers themselves almost matter less than the differences between them). Ideally you would want to see a ’meal rise’ of no more than 2-3mmol/L at the 2hr mark and gradually work towards the after reading being no higher than 8.5mmol/L.
Once you can see how you respond to different foods you can begin experimenting with reducing portion sizes of the carbs where you see bigger rises. You might find that you are particularly sensitive to carbohydrate from one source (eg bread), but have more liberty with others (eg oats or basmati rice) - It’s all very individual!
Good luck, and let us know how things go 🙂
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