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new to it all

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Meliss2202

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Type 2
Hi all, 31 and recently been told I'm type 2 diabetic! found out 6 days ago! prescribed metformin 500mg once a day with evening meal, feeling ok about it all - goals for this year and next is to lose a lot of weight, change my lifestyle and aim to get rid of diabetes.
11 days ago was having a family Sunday meal and done my blood sugars as everyone did...18.5!!! shocked me so much knew I needed to visit the GP the next day, it also opened my eyes, I have not had a single full fat sugary drink since then. Go me!! I feel very tired since I started the tablets or is it just coincident?? anyone have side effects??
 
Welcome ! It is more likely to be the high blood sugar than the tablets!
 
Hi Meliss2202, welcome to the forum 🙂 Your tiredness may be due to a number of things, quite possibly blood sugar levels swinging high and low which is often the case when people are newly-diagnosed. I don't think it's a particular side effect of Metformin, that tends to be more to do with gastric upsets and it will take a little time to become 'established' before you see any effects from it.

The main thing to bear in mind is that diabetes is about ALL carbohydrates - sugar is just one type of carb, although one that will hit your levels faster and harder than most. I would recommend having a read of Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter, and getting a copy of Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker - these will all give you a good grounding in understanding diabetes and help you set about tackling it 🙂 Start a food diary, recording the amount of carbs (in grams) in everything you eat and drink - use the information on packaging to work this out, or google things that don't have the information e.g. carbs banana 🙂 This will help you to understand where you are at the moment with your carb consumption, and help you to identify whare you can make changes to improve things 🙂

Please let us know if you have any questions, there are lots of friendly, experienced people here who will be happy to help out
 
Hi Meliss, welcome to the group....

Meliss2202 said:
family Sunday meal and done my blood sugars as everyone did
Click to expand...
Just interested if you have a family history of D?
 
Hello and welcome from a fellow T2
 
Martin Canty said:
Hi Meliss, welcome to the group....
Just interested if you have a family history of D?
Click to expand...

Hiya Meliss! I agree with Martin, sounds like you do, cos non-D people (we call em Muggles LOL) don't test their BG before lunch LOL

Have you been armed with a meter and sufficient strips to be useful?
 
Hi Meliss and welcome to the forum. I'm also type 2 and on 1 metformin daily and try hard to keep diet as low carb as possible and do lots of walking.
Good luck on your journey 🙂
 
Hello Meliss and welcome. Upon diagnosis I adopted the same attitude as you. I decided to do everything in my power to get my condition under control and my health back on track. You've already been given some excellent advice re carbs. Ask any question and this forum will do its best to give you the answers and support you need.
 
Hi Meliss and welcome to the forum.😛
 
Welcome to the forum.

A minor point from me. You will never be free of diabetes itself. But, your goal is the right one to get rid of the diabetes symptoms.

It is a pedantic point, perhaps, but I have been symptom free (I am diet and exercise controlled for 7 years now) since sorting my weight and lifestyle out. But over the last two years I have slackened off. My weight increased and my BG levels have been getting slightly worse (not so bad, but there is a definite decline). So, the warning us clear! Diabetes is always around, but it can be controlled.

Oh, by the way, I am back on track to getting myself to my preferred weight and my levels are also improving again.

Andy 🙂
 
thanks for the welcome everyone, still all very new to this being a diabetic and posting on forums!
the reason I done my blood sugars that day was mother in law is diabetic and she was doing hers so I thought I'd see what mine was glad I did. got myself my own testing equipment, just done them and I'm 5.9 after lunch does that seem right? I've got an appointment with the diabetic nurse next week so will learn more about when I should be doing blood sugars and things. thanks again for the welcome 🙂
 
It depends on what you was before lunch and what you ate. But 5.9 is excellent (wish I had a number like that occasionally!)
 
Stitch147 said:
It depends on what you was before lunch and what you ate. But 5.9 is excellent (wish I had a number like that occasionally!)
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at 9.30am I was 10.9 for lunch I had 2 wholemeal brown thins with 2 slices of wafer thin chicken on each with a packet of ready salted French fries and a litre of water infused with kiwi
 
Meliss - Stitch meant what was the reading actually before lunch, however you have answered that and said that you didn't do it. To see what a particular amount of a particular foodstuff does to your blood glucose, you need to test both before you eat and at approx. 1 to 2 hours after.

5.9 is excellent though so looks like whatever you ate today doesn't increase your glucose level too much anyway!

Unless you do it the way I've described, you won't know in future what it's going to be absolutely OK to eat and what it isn't, will you?
 
trophywench said:
Meliss - Stitch meant what was the reading actually before lunch, however you have answered that and said that you didn't do it. To see what a particular amount of a particular foodstuff does to your blood glucose, you need to test both before you eat and at approx. 1 to 2 hours after.

5.9 is excellent though so looks like whatever you ate today doesn't increase your glucose level too much anyway!

Unless you do it the way I've described, you won't know in future what it's going to be absolutely OK to eat and what it isn't, will you?
Click to expand...


Ahhhh I see so do my bloods right before lunch then an hour - 2 after? I'll get use to it I'm sure o_O can I ask I now fruit is good for you but also know it contains good sugars so as a diabetic is it ok to keep eating fruit?
 
What fruit you can eat will depend on what it does to your BG Meliss - the body does not discriminate between different kinds of carbohydrate to any useful degree - ALL sugars are carbs.

Some people can eat bananas OK for instance - but many of us can't. Some people can eat porridge fine without getting an adverse effect and some it will send their BG absolutely soaring - despite people including a lot of medical staff telling us that 'porridge is a really good thing for diabetics to eat'.

Every one of us is different in exactly what our body will tolerate and what it won't!
 
There are a few readings you should be looking at, FBG (when you wake up & before you have anything to eat or drink), this establishes a baseline for the day.
Reading before eating then reading about 2 hours (may be sooner) after eating, the BG rise should be no more than 2-3 MMol, if it is then there was something in the meal that doesn't agree with your D, time to investigate & consign that food item to history
 
right ok, I really do need a food diary will have to invest in one today or in the morning. I have my medication with evening meal is it best to do blood sugars every meal time for a while so I can counter out foods I shouldn't be having or can have? with my reading for today's lunch 5.9 I'm guessing that lunch time meal was ok? or would you suggest i try something different to see if it comes lower again? sorry for all the questions
 
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