New to Type 2!

[TashaG]

Hi All

New round here...
Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes on the 14th Feb - Happy Valentines Day to me!

I'll be honest, I'm struggling a bit with the information on what foods to stay clear of and what I can have.
I have been trying to cut carbs down to just one meal a day and obviously cut down on the sugars.

Thought I was doing OK until yesterday.....
I got what my family lovingly call the 'diabetes rage' when I quite suddenly got really angry and annoyed over nothing.
I then felt really faint and dizzy whilst in the shower about 15 mins after the 'rage' started.
My poor partner got home to me sat in the shower - I don't know who was more shocked, me or him!
I was too scared to try and stand up and get out so stayed there until he got home.
A quick call to my Mum (also a diabetes sufferer) told me that my sugar levels had dropped too low.
Has anyone else experienced this? It was horrible and a bit scary.

I used to have a meal replacement shake for breakfast, and its something I want to continue, but I'm really struggling to find a brand that is low carb and low sugar, but is good enough to keep me full until lunchtime whilst also aiding weight loss.
Has anyone tried any that have worked for them?

Thanks all in advance for your help!

 

[Docb]

Hi Tasha and welcome. Obvious first questions, do you know what your blood glucose reading were on diagnosis and are you on any medication?

 

[TashaG]

Hi Tasha and welcome. Obvious first questions, do you know what your blood glucose reading were on diagnosis and are you on any medication?

Thanks for your reply 🙂
I am on metformin, 2 tablets twice a day.
My levels were 73mm/ol on diagnosis!

 

[trophywench]

By no means awful on diagnosis Tash.

Are you testing your blood at home? You'd be well advised to do so - in order to sort out WHY and prevent it if it was a 'real' hypo. But - what if it isn't just a hypo? (it's most likely a false hypo and nowt to worry about - but myself I'd rather know that for a fact cos I'm more than a bit of a control freak and it's necessary to have that tendency sometimes!)

 

[TashaG]

By no means awful on diagnosis Tash.

Are you testing your blood at home? You'd be well advised to do so - in order to sort out WHY and prevent it if it was a 'real' hypo. But - what if it isn't just a hypo? (it's most likely a false hypo and nowt to worry about - but myself I'd rather know that for a fact cos I'm more than a bit of a control freak and it's necessary to have that tendency sometimes!)

Thank you for your advice! I might see if I can get a testing kit, so i can try and keep an eye on it myself.
It used to happen before my diagnosis quite often, hence it was one of the many reasons I got checked out.

Glad to hear my diagnosis wasn't awful - the nurse pulled a face at me when she read it out at my appointment.....

 

[Drummer]

You might be rather shocked at this - but I eat a normal meal for breakfast - meat or fish or shellfish, often with salad - a bag of green stuff, tomatoes, coleslaw, celery, radishes a bit of beetroot maybe - I even have bacon and eggs - but then don't feel hungry until evening.
Trying to do the 'healthy' thing has never worked for me.
Doing low fat made me feel dreadful, so did low calorie.
When first diagnosed I went back to my best diet ever, Atkins, and ate no more than 50 gm of carbs a day, all from low carb foods rather than trying to eat small amounts of dense carb foods. It got rid of the diabetes, normal test results, weightloss, lots of energy and feeling really cheerful.
Having tried diets from B to Z, I have never found one to beat Atkins or low carb - however it is called it is the same logical method of reducing not just weight but metabolic problems.

 

[Docb]

Doubt of you had a proper hypo, that is blood glucose falling below 4, on metformin. Could be that your blood glucose is beginning to drop and your body is reacting to the drop as if you were hypo even though you are not. Its called a false hypo, or so I have picked up from comments on this forum, never having experienced it myself. The 73 reading will be your HBA1C and although well into the diabetic range, its not breaking any records. It is saying that something needs to be done otherwise you are likely to have big problems sometime in the future.

First principles. Your GP should have put you on their diabetic register. This means you should have a check over by a diabetic nurse who should become your friend. Between you, you should work out a plan to get your blood glucose down. This will be a mix of meds and diet. You will need to work out a monitoring regime so you can check on progress.

Again first principles. Blood glucose comes from the carbohydrates you eat. More carbohydrate, more blood glucose and if your insulin production is not working at full tilt then the blood glucose can build up and you become diabetic. So when it comes to diet the objective is to reduce carbohydrates. Simple sugars are carbohydrates. Complex starches are also carbohydrates. All are turned into glucose and you need to take all into account. Cutting out carbs is a good idea but doing it without without thinking about it is not a good idea. If you are not overweight then low carbs is good for your diabetes but you will need to up other things to keep your calories up - you do not want to become underweight.

Again first principles. If you are overweight then loosing some weight is likely to be beneficial. The reason it is said is that it is fat in the pancreas that impairs its function and getting rid of that fat will get it working better. Some say you can reverse diabetes by doing this and probably for some you can. Anyway if you need to loose weight (a good idea if your BMI is in the obese or overweight category for reasons other than controlling diabetes), then working out a diet which targets weight loss by reducing carbs is an obvious way to go. You need to do it in a structured fashion - trying to dump all carbs overnight or just stopping taking sugar in your tea are not good enough. The first will make you feel rotten and the second will have no effect. Depends on how enlightened your GP surgery is but you might get to see a dietitian who can help.

More first principles. Medication. First thing to try is metformin which is said to help your insulin to work better. Works well for some, does not work at all for others. Can get up to a dose of 2000mg/day but many find the side effects of the higher doses make it unacceptable. If the metformin does not help then the next move is use pills that stimulate the panceas into making more insulin - gliclazide being a common one. Get this wrong with a low carb diet and then you can go hypo, so it is something that has to be done with care. If they don't help then its insulin but that is a long way down the line and should be resorted to when all else has failed.

Final first principles. Welcome to the club nobody wants to join. Diabetes is something that needs to be managed and can be managed successfully and the reality is that you have to be the manager. So don't panic, what looks confusing will slowly begin to make sense. You can then work out what will work best for you. A good start is to read some of the contributions on this forum.

There's a start from someone who a few months ago was sort of where you are now - without the shower incident! Now getting things under control.

 

[Drummer]

As you are on Metformin you might also have been put on a statin - watch out for memory problems.
After just 5 weeks taking that combination I was in an awful state and have had to relearn so much - fortunately I was writing down my songs for my daughter, but relearning over 300 folk songs is no joke.
I knew there was something very wrong when I went to the supermarket and found that I had already done the Christmas shopping - it was all in the back of the car when I opened the boot a couple of days later. Over two years later the originals are coming back - but I still have not tried to play my guitar.

 

[TashaG]

You might be rather shocked at this - but I eat a normal meal for breakfast - meat or fish or shellfish, often with salad - a bag of green stuff, tomatoes, coleslaw, celery, radishes a bit of beetroot maybe - I even have bacon and eggs - but then don't feel hungry until evening.
Trying to do the 'healthy' thing has never worked for me.
Doing low fat made me feel dreadful, so did low calorie.
When first diagnosed I went back to my best diet ever, Atkins, and ate no more than 50 gm of carbs a day, all from low carb foods rather than trying to eat small amounts of dense carb foods. It got rid of the diabetes, normal test results, weightloss, lots of energy and feeling really cheerful.
Having tried diets from B to Z, I have never found one to beat Atkins or low carb - however it is called it is the same logical method of reducing not just weight but metabolic problems.

Thank you for this. I’m not a great breakfast eater but have been forcing a piece of toast down each morning so I can take my tablets.
I’ll get a bit of research done on Atkins!

 

[TashaG]

As you are on Metformin you might also have been put on a statin - watch out for memory problems.
After just 5 weeks taking that combination I was in an awful state and have had to relearn so much - fortunately I was writing down my songs for my daughter, but relearning over 300 folk songs is no joke.
I knew there was something very wrong when I went to the supermarket and found that I had already done the Christmas shopping - it was all in the back of the car when I opened the boot a couple of days later. Over two years later the originals are coming back - but I still have not tried to play my guitar.

Ah no statins for me as cholesterol was bang on where it needed to be, but good to note if anything changes!
Good luck with the re-learning of your music.
Hopefully you’ll soon pick up your guitar again

 

[TashaG]

Doubt of you had a proper hypo, that is blood glucose falling below 4, on metformin. Could be that your blood glucose is beginning to drop and your body is reacting to the drop as if you were hypo even though you are not. Its called a false hypo, or so I have picked up from comments on this forum, never having experienced it myself. The 73 reading will be your HBA1C and although well into the diabetic range, its not breaking any records. It is saying that something needs to be done otherwise you are likely to have big problems sometime in the future.

First principles. Your GP should have put you on their diabetic register. This means you should have a check over by a diabetic nurse who should become your friend. Between you, you should work out a plan to get your blood glucose down. This will be a mix of meds and diet. You will need to work out a monitoring regime so you can check on progress.

Again first principles. Blood glucose comes from the carbohydrates you eat. More carbohydrate, more blood glucose and if your insulin production is not working at full tilt then the blood glucose can build up and you become diabetic. So when it comes to diet the objective is to reduce carbohydrates. Simple sugars are carbohydrates. Complex starches are also carbohydrates. All are turned into glucose and you need to take all into account. Cutting out carbs is a good idea but doing it without without thinking about it is not a good idea. If you are not overweight then low carbs is good for your diabetes but you will need to up other things to keep your calories up - you do not want to become underweight.

Again first principles. If you are overweight then loosing some weight is likely to be beneficial. The reason it is said is that it is fat in the pancreas that impairs its function and getting rid of that fat will get it working better. Some say you can reverse diabetes by doing this and probably for some you can. Anyway if you need to loose weight (a good idea if your BMI is in the obese or overweight category for reasons other than controlling diabetes), then working out a diet which targets weight loss by reducing carbs is an obvious way to go. You need to do it in a structured fashion - trying to dump all carbs overnight or just stopping taking sugar in your tea are not good enough. The first will make you feel rotten and the second will have no effect. Depends on how enlightened your GP surgery is but you might get to see a dietitian who can help.

More first principles. Medication. First thing to try is metformin which is said to help your insulin to work better. Works well for some, does not work at all for others. Can get up to a dose of 2000mg/day but many find the side effects of the higher doses make it unacceptable. If the metformin does not help then the next move is use pills that stimulate the panceas into making more insulin - gliclazide being a common one. Get this wrong with a low carb diet and then you can go hypo, so it is something that has to be done with care. If they don't help then its insulin but that is a long way down the line and should be resorted to when all else has failed.

Final first principles. Welcome to the club nobody wants to join. Diabetes is something that needs to be managed and can be managed successfully and the reality is that you have to be the manager. So don't panic, what looks confusing will slowly begin to make sense. You can then work out what will work best for you. A good start is to read some of the contributions on this forum.

There's a start from someone who a few months ago was sort of where you are now - without the shower incident! Now getting things under control.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.
That’s so informative and has definitely made me feel better.

I saw the diabetes specialist who unfortunately rushed me through my only appointment so i’m going to book another to follow up on a few things with her.

I’m waiting for my dietitian appointment to come through so hopefully they’ll give me some guidance.

Thanks for your help and reassurance.
It may be the club that no-one wants to be in, but seems to be a club full of people with knowledge and understanding

 

[Drummer]

Thank you for this. I’m not a great breakfast eater but have been forcing a piece of toast down each morning so I can take my tablets.
I’ll get a bit of research done on Atkins!

There are copies of 'New Diet Revolution' online, though I think that the last edition from 2003 is the best for type two diabetics - toast is not a good idea at any time - I could eat some these days, but as I now put on weight rather than get high blood glucose - why would I do that?
You might very well get some other advice from the professionals - if loads of type twos used low carb and got normal blood glucose levels it would show up all the information on diet for what it has been for decades, just plain wrong.

 

[merrymunky]

Hi and welcome.

I was diagnosed in January with an hba1c of 75 so very similar to you. I’m currently on 2x500mg metformin twice a day plus 1x500mg at lunchtime too.

I haven’t changed my diet too drastically as I am already a fussy vegetarian who follows slimming world. I have just massively reduced the carbs in my diet. The metformin does not always agree with mr stomach and I get really bad episodes. I might have to switch to slow release soon. I can’t change to different medication as the only ones that would be safe going into a subsequent pregnancy for me are metformin and insulin. (Lost my baby at 16 weeks in November then diagnosed type 2 after)

To be honest you will probably learn more accurate information about your diabetes here than through the medical professionals you will see face to face. That being said, I’ve had great dealings with the dietician and the pregnancy nurses who have been very shoooribw and provided me with a testing meter and a prescription for the lancets and test strips. They are very firm with their targets so I am trying to be very good in order to get the green light to try again.

My advice to you would be to look at your carb intake. Reduce what you can. You still need to eat *some* and it is best to do it gradually rather than cold turkey style. A meter would be great for testing kit foods that work for you or not. However they are rarely given to type 2s readily.

I wish you all the best on your journey. It’s scary and overwhelming but you are not alone x

 

[Sharron1]

[QUOTE🙂="TashaG, post: 890514, member: 24563"]Hi All

New round here...
Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes on the 14th Feb - Happy Valentines Day to me!

I'll be honest, I'm struggling a bit with the information on what foods to stay clear of and what I can have.
I have been trying to cut carbs down to just one meal a day and obviously cut down on the sugars.

Thought I was doing OK until yesterday.....
I got what my family lovingly call the 'diabetes rage' when I quite suddenly got really angry and annoyed over nothing.
I then felt really faint and dizzy whilst in the shower about 15 mins after the 'rage' started.
My poor partner got home to me sat in the shower - I don't know who was more shocked, me or him!
I was too scared to try and stand up and get out so stayed there until he got home.
A quick call to my Mum (also a diabetes sufferer) told me that my sugar levels had dropped too low.
Has anyone else experienced this? It was horrible and a bit scary.

I used to have a meal replacement shake for breakfast, and its something I want to continue, but I'm really struggling to find a brand that is low carb and low sugar, but is good enough to keep me full until lunchtime whilst also aiding n weight loss.
Has anyone tried any that have worked for them?

Thanks all in advance for your help!

[/QUOTE]
Welcome. I was diagnosed in July with an HbA1c of 74, given a prescription for Metformin 2 tabs am and pm. Told to come back in 6 months and that was that. This forum has been a godsend. I kept a food diary and bought a blood test monitor. I tested regularly until I knew the numbers and good foods. I do the low carb diet and at first I didn't have a clue but learnt pretty quickly.Breakfast was my main worry but I have sorted that out. My Hba1c on Feb returned 39.9 - a non diabetic level. I consider myself a well-managed diabetic. It is hard work but doable. I only test when I add different foods to the mix. Ask as many questions that you need, everyone is super helpful. Good luck🙂

 

[Leonora]

Welcome tasha. False hypos are horrible. I used to eat toast for breakfast and one day while sitting on the bus I thought my time had come. Got to work. Checked my BG and it was 6.1. Bread is practically sugar and it had dropped from possibly very high to pretty much normal very fast. Ditched the bread and now eat Greek yogurt and berries for breakfast. Couple of hours later I have half a croissant which also doesn't push my sugars up. Don't know why because it's technically bread! Good luck on your journey and if you listen to this lot you'll be ok.