Newbie

[mikemillar84]

Hey All

I'm a newbie to both the fourm and Living with T2 Diabetes

I had a blood glucose level of 34 and a HbA1c level of just under 140 yep 140

I'm taking 40mg of Gliclazide morning and night and my scores now sit about 6 to 7 and my HbA1c is down to 80 in the space of 4 weeks so it's heading in the right direction

However Im utterly confused when it comes to diet

Any help would be appreciated

 

[Eddy Edson]

Hi & welcome!

Great HbA1c and BG reduction in just a few weeks - and no doubt your HbA1c is tracking lower than 80, given that it's based on what your BG has been like over the last ~12 weeks or so.

Diet is obviously a big subject & what's best for you at any point in time is a very individual thing. For getting your BG under control I think there are only a few "generic" recommendations which are worth following:

- Unless you're very thin it's likely that losing some weight will make a difference.

- It's worth getting a handle on which carbs do what to your BG, by testing before and 1-2 hours after eating. This is a really individual thing. Take any "don't eat/do eat this or that specific carb" recommendations with a pinch of salt, as suggestions for you to try out rather than absolute rules.

- BG improvement is maybe your biggest issue right now, but don't ignore cardiovascular etc factors. Eg: Replacing carbs with unsaturated plant-based fats (nuts, seeds, avocados) is a good bet. Replacing unrefined carbs (eg wholegrains, fruit) with saturated fats (eg bacon) is a big risk. And make sure you get enough fibre. At least, that's what most expert nutritionists would say.

 

[HOBIE]

Welcome mikemillar84. Lower carb is good things like chicken, fish or salads.🙂

 

[Ljc]

Hello @mikemillar84 , welcome to the forum. You’ve done very well in reducing your levels already so I am sure your next Hb1ac will be much lower .

How did you come to be diagnosed

I am sure you will find this info helpful.
maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2s

test-review-adjust by Alan S

You will find the above and more on the top of the newbies forum on the thread called , useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes.

As you are on Gliclazide I suggest you don’t reduce your carbohydrate too quickly asit might cause hypo’s (low blood glucose)

Feel free to ask any questions about diabetes, we’ll do our best to help.

 

[Madeline]

Welcome 🙂

 

[mikemillar84]

Hello @mikemillar84 , welcome to the forum. You’ve done very well in reducing your levels already so I am sure your next Hb1ac will be much lower .

How did you come to be diagnosed

I am sure you will find this info helpful.
maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2s

test-review-adjust by Alan S

You will find the above and more on the top of the newbies forum on the thread called , useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes.

As you are on Gliclazide I suggest you don’t reduce your carbohydrate too quickly asit might cause hypo’s (low blood glucose)

Feel free to ask any questions about diabetes, we’ll do our best to help.

Hey thanks for your comment,

I had an insatiable thirst, regular bouts of thrush over a two week period.
A work mate did a prick test and sure enough it was in the 20s

Booked an appointment with the Docs and her words were "I'm astonished you've not been hospitalised yet"

 

[Drummer]

By eating a low carb diet I don't need any medication, and I have been in the non diabetic range since 80 days after diagnosis.
Since stopping the high carb low fat diet my cholesterol has gone down - I suspect that for me, saturated fat is an ideal food. I eat meat, fish, shellfish, eggs and cheese, cream and low carb veges, some berries once in a while, but other than dark chocolate occasionally I limit my foods to those with 10 percent or less carbs.