Newbie to group

[Sammiejo75]

Hi my names Sam and I’ve just joined up. Struggling to get my back under control and feeling useless. Last hbac1 was 80. Need to get it down and desperately want some help, advice and friends who understand me. On metformin twice daily, sitaglyptin daily and gliclazide. Feeling very low, alone and lost. Been told no food is off limits but then read on google low carbs, im so confused!

 

[Drummer]

Hello @Sammiejo75 It can be confusing when you are given such advice - which would be fine for a type 1 diabetic, but for a type two it is of little use to be honest - our problem is carbohydrates so reducing them is how to gain control.
Once you are seeing more normal numbers then you can experiment as you see things improving - but when the drain is blocked and the water rising, first thing is to turn off the tap.
With the medication you are on you need to reduce cautiously as they can cause hypos, but at least you should have been supplied with testing equipment - or at least, I hope you have.

 

[Sammiejo75]

Yes I have a testing kit and am testing what seems quite a lot, on waking, 2 hours after my breakfast and then for each meal before and after and again at bed time. Numbers seem to be all over the place. I just need some really good dos and fonts to help me out. Feel lost and so many different views out there

 

[janw]

Ok. You are doing what most of us do when we first start testing, but it helps you to find out the carbs that make your blood sugar spike. I'm not on meds so I am lost when it comes to those and their effect, but plenty of others can help you there. You will need to lower your carbs to get your BG level down, but don't be drastic as the meds are there to help lower it too and going too low is not good. Check out the Learning Zone - link at top of page - you can get a whole heap of knowledge from there, at your own pace. Don't ever be afraid to ask questions, we all get thrown in the deep end when first diagnosed.

 

[Leadinglights]

Yes I have a testing kit and am testing what seems quite a lot, on waking, 2 hours after my breakfast and then for each meal before and after and again at bed time. Numbers seem to be all over the place. I just need some really good dos and fonts to help me out. Feel lost and so many different views out there

As has been said you need to be careful of reducing your carbohydrate intake too quickly because of the medications you are taking. A good place to start would be to keep a food diary with everything you are eating and drinking with quantities and recording your blood glucose readings from your before eating and 2 hours after eating. That will give a good idea if the meals you are having are being tolerated, you should aim to see no more than a 2-3mmol/l increase and as you get better management a level no more than 8.5mmol/l after meals.
That should help you identify the particular foods, most likely those which are high carbohydrate that are not being tolerated by your body even with the medications.
What might be considered a good healthy diet for a non diabetic is sadly not so for Type 2 diabetics.
Remember it is ALL carbohydrates which will increase your blood glucose, so potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, pastry, cereals, tropical fruit, and starchy veg.
It may seem that there is not much you can eat but basing meals on protein and healthy fats with only small amounts of carbohydrate will still give you plenty of options for tasty meals. Meat, fish, cheese, eggs, dairy, some fruits like berries, veg and salads are all good options.
Have a look at the thread What did you Eat Yesterday in the food forum for ideas of what Type 2 folk have, some will be diet controlled only, some on various meds as well so bear that in mind.

 

[Drummer]

Yes I have a testing kit and am testing what seems quite a lot, on waking, 2 hours after my breakfast and then for each meal before and after and again at bed time. Numbers seem to be all over the place. I just need some really good dos and fonts to help me out. Feel lost and so many different views out there

What would you eat for breakfast, typically, and what sort of numbers do you see before and after?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hi my names Sam and I’ve just joined up. Struggling to get my back under control and feeling useless. Last hbac1 was 80. Need to get it down and desperately want some help, advice and friends who understand me. On metformin twice daily, sitaglyptin daily and gliclazide. Feeling very low, alone and lost. Been told no food is off limits but then read on google low carbs, im so confused!

Welcome to the forum Sam

Sorry to hear you have been feeling so low alone and lost

Great that you have joined us. We have lots of friendly members, who are each finding their own way through the diabetes maze - and you are so right! It can be so confusing with lots of conflicting suggestions and options.

So don’t blame yourself at all! It’s not your fault. A lot of that confusion is pretty much built-in - because diabetes can be so fickle, individual and contradictory. There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach that will work for everyone, no special trick, or secret superfood. There are just options and choices.

And all you have to do is to work through them and see whether they work for you, and whether they fit in with your life. There’s no good embarking on some extreme plan just because it suits someone else, only to find it makes you miserable and doen’t give the same results 🙂

Often the best bet is to start where you are, and see what’s working and what isn’t.

It’s great that you have a BG meter. This can really help.

You’ve got meds in your arsenal too - which will really help your metabolism cope better - but they need to be balanced with other aspects of your approach such as what you are eating, and your level of activity.

It is probably carbohydrate that has the biggest upward impact on your BG levels. Not just sugars, but starchy carbs too. It’s not that you have to try to live without carbs entirely (actually pretty much impossible, there‘s carbohydrate in lettuce!). But you need to balance your body’s ability to cope with carbs, supported by your meds, with some careful carb choices and the right portion sizes.

Sounds like your BG checking is pretty intense right now, and maybe you are finding it hard to see the food from the trees. One approach might be to start with one meal at a time. Maybe lunch? Work out the total carb content of your lunch and take your before and 2hrs after readings, then look at the difference. If it’s more than 2-3mmol/L higher, try the same lunch but reduce the carb content a bit and check again. Keep going making swaps, tweaks and changes until you find a lunch or variety of lunches you enjoy, but that only raise your BG by a smallish amount.

Then move on to other meals.

Don’t make huge changes all at once. Just steadily chip away at it. Gradually reducing your ‘meal rises’. That way your overall levels can come down gently, which is kinder on the fine blood vessels.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on 🙂