NEWBIE :)

[SarahJW]

Hi, I've recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and looking to learn as much as possible to get on top of this diagnosis and hopefully put it into remission x

 

[Inka]

Welcome @SarahJW 🙂 That positive attitude will stand you in good stead🙂

 

[Drummer]

Hi, I've recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and looking to learn as much as possible to get on top of this diagnosis and hopefully put it into remission x

Hello and welcome.
If you are an ordinary type two all you really need to know is that the problem is the carbohydrates. By reducing the amount of carbohydrate eaten, blood glucose goes down and things become more normal.
A blood glucose meter helps to show if meals are too high in carbs, but once a menu is sorted out it is pretty straightforward.

 

[Barfly]

Hi @SarahJW and welcome.
I was diagnosed last month and have had a steep learning curve.
The first and most important thing to bear in mind, we are all different. What works for one may not work for the next. We have to feel our way around gently to find medications/diet/lifestyle which work for us.
You want to put it into remission, good positive attitude.

You can do it the slow and steady way or try (after consulting with your medicos-do not do it on your own) the Newcastle diet to rapidly get to remission. It may not work for you, my medicos told me in no uncertain terms not to do it as you are virtually guaranteed to lose 15kg weight in the first 3 weeks. It would be very dangerous for me as I have a BMI (body mass index) very close to normal.
If your Dr and your surgery is anything like mine you just got a 'phone call in which he dropped the bombshell and I was just left to get on with it. No referrals, no nurse, no nothing. I kicked up a stink and they said I could see a nurse 5 weeks down the track.
So left to my own devices I came here and struck gold. Everyone here is super helpful and respectful, no nasty posts people are real ladies and gents here.
There is so much information it is easy to be overwhelmed, just itty bitty steps and you will feel confident in your T2 diagnosis.
Here imho is my list of things for newbies to get their heads around.

1. Get information about your tests, the most important is the HbA1c test. A normal range is about 41-48. This test screens your blood for the average range of HbA1c for the last 3 months. 3 Months is the test frequency because the cells they look at in the laboratory die off and are replaced every 3 months. Note: you are legally entitled to this information from your surgery free of charge, they are not allowed to withhold it.
2. Look at getting a blood glucose tester. Without one you are in the dark about what meals are doing what to your blood glucose. Instigate a regime of just before meals and 2 hours after each meal. Start with breakfast, most people eat the same every day so it is easy to see what happens to your BG levels with minor changes to your breakfast.
3. Forget most of the conventional wisdom with regard to diets. Most, including the NHS recommend a heavily-laden carbohydrate diet. You need to drastically reduce your carb intake to - at first less than 100gm a day, aiming for less than 30 eventually.
4. come here for advice.

Best of luck Sarah.

 

[SarahJW]

Thanks guys for your warm welcome and info very much appreciated 🙂

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @SarahJW
I am glad that you have found the forum.

Your positive attitude will stand you in good stead with managing your Diabetes.
You have already had useful information from others with T2, so I will just encourage you to keep asking questions, here and to your health care team. There is plenty of experience to tap into on here and people will help in any way that they can. It is then a case fo finding what works for you. In some cases making simple swaps to lower carb options in your diet and/or reducing portion sizes is all that is needed. It all depends on your starting point, so that brings us back to advice from @Barfly , know your numbers. What were the tests that they did and what were your figures.

Keep in touch and ask away with any questions that arise.

 

[goodybags]

Hi @SarahJW welcome to the forum
well done on finding the forum so early on after being diagnosed
youve already got some great advice posted already from @Drummer @Barfly on reducing carbs and testing.

I would def recommend self testing along side eating lower carb

were you told what your Hba1c numbers were ?

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @SarahJW I see that people have already mentioned Low carb eating and Blood Glucose testing but have not gone into much detail.
The 2 most used BG meters (because of quality at low price - especially the cost of test strips) are:
SD Gluco Navii
Spirit Healthcare TEE2

You will probably need about 3 pots of test strips initially (= 150 test strips in total) which testing each meal and allowing for waste due to not enough blood on them, should last around 20 days.

To control your Blood Glucose using 'Eating to your Meter' do the following:
1. Keep a food diary of exactly what you eat at a meal and roughly how much. Also record your pre-meal BG reading and the BG reading 2hrs after 1st bite. You want to be aiming for the meal not increasing your BG by more than 2.0 mmol at the 2hr mark.
2. Try to eat no more than 3 meals per day and don't snack. Just eat until comfortably full.
3. If the BG spike from a meal is more than 2.0 mmol, either reduce the portion size of the most carby food, or use a lower carb substitute for it.
4. Get the meals sorted (breakfast is usually the easiest since we often have the same thing for breakfast every day. So if you are eating eggs or cheese or cold cuts or even Full Fat plain Greek style yogurt with a handful of berries. You should only need to test that a couple of times to be confident it is OK for you. Then start aiming to get the maximum BG reading you see down to 8.0 or below.

Once you can do this you are on your way to remission.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @SarahJW

Hope the hints, experiences and suggestions from forum members give you some encouragement, and inspiration to find your own way through the maze.

There are lots of different approaches, and while there may be some similarities, in the end what will matter is your discovering a long-term, sustainable, enjoyable, flexible approach that you can stick to, and that meets your outcome goals.

When it comes to managing your diabetes, it’s best to make changes to your menu and activity levels gradually - partly because they need to be sustainable long term, but also because very rapid and sudden changes to blood glucose levels are harder on the fine blood vessels, and changing things more gently will give your body time to adapt.

I second the idea of starting with a ruthlessly honest food diary. Keep a note of everything you eat and drink for a week or two, and make a reasonable estimate of the total carbohydrate content (not just the ‘of which sugars’). It will involve some packet squinting and perhaps a few raw-ingredient-internet-searches, and might feel like a bit of a faff, but actually investing that time to gain an understanding of the obvious, and not so obvious, sources of carbohydrate in your menu will be really helpful in the future.

There are lots of things that have green ‘traffic light’ flags, but which have the capacity to rapidly and significantly raise your blood glucose, so focus on ‘total carbohydrate’ as your guide.

We have a fair few members who have very successfully managed their diabetes, by finding the approaches that work for them as an individual, including those who have started with an HbA1c in 3 figures, and now live without the need for diabetes medications.

Good luck, and let us know how you are getting on 🙂

 

[SarahJW]

Hi @SarahJW and welcome.
I was diagnosed last month and have had a steep learning curve.
The first and most important thing to bear in mind, we are all different. What works for one may not work for the next. We have to feel our way around gently to find medications/diet/lifestyle which work for us.
You want to put it into remission, good positive attitude.

You can do it the slow and steady way or try (after consulting with your medicos-do not do it on your own) the Newcastle diet to rapidly get to remission. It may not work for you, my medicos told me in no uncertain terms not to do it as you are virtually guaranteed to lose 15kg weight in the first 3 weeks. It would be very dangerous for me as I have a BMI (body mass index) very close to normal.
If your Dr and your surgery is anything like mine you just got a 'phone call in which he dropped the bombshell and I was just left to get on with it. No referrals, no nurse, no nothing. I kicked up a stink and they said I could see a nurse 5 weeks down the track.
So left to my own devices I came here and struck gold. Everyone here is super helpful and respectful, no nasty posts people are real ladies and gents here.
There is so much information it is easy to be overwhelmed, just itty bitty steps and you will feel confident in your T2 diagnosis.
Here imho is my list of things for newbies to get their heads around.

1. Get information about your tests, the most important is the HbA1c test. A normal range is about 41-48. This test screens your blood for the average range of HbA1c for the last 3 months. 3 Months is the test frequency because the cells they look at in the laboratory die off and are replaced every 3 months. Note: you are legally entitled to this information from your surgery free of charge, they are not allowed to withhold it.
2. Look at getting a blood glucose tester. Without one you are in the dark about what meals are doing what to your blood glucose. Instigate a regime of just before meals and 2 hours after each meal. Start with breakfast, most people eat the same every day so it is easy to see what happens to your BG levels with minor changes to your breakfast.
3. Forget most of the conventional wisdom with regard to diets. Most, including the NHS recommend a heavily-laden carbohydrate diet. You need to drastically reduce your carb intake to - at first less than 100gm a day, aiming for less than 30 eventually.
4. come here for advice.

Best of luck Sarah.

Thank you for your advice...yes I was told over the phone by a nurse and to look at this site for info so really stumbling around in the dark atm, tbh but trying to take it as a wake up call to eat and take care of myself better. I was diagnosed on the 6th and have stopped eating carbs since but struggling with what I can eat as regards to meals especially being on a tight budget...they certainly do not make it easy to be healthy lol.

 

[SarahJW]

Welcome to the forum @SarahJW
I am glad that you have found the forum.

Your positive attitude will stand you in good stead with managing your Diabetes.
You have already had useful information from others with T2, so I will just encourage you to keep asking questions, here and to your health care team. There is plenty of experience to tap into on here and people will help in any way that they can. It is then a case fo finding what works for you. In some cases making simple swaps to lower carb options in your diet and/or reducing portion sizes is all that is needed. It all depends on your starting point, so that brings us back to advice from @Barfly , know your numbers. What were the tests that they did and what were your figures.

Keep in touch and ask away with any questions that arise.

I contacted the docs because I had bad swelling under my right rib with a lot of pain and after having blood tests and a scan I was then told (over the phone) that my Hba1C is 62...my cholesterol is 5.8. My Liver has swollen and has fatty deposits. So a lot to get my head around to be honest. But I am determined although its hard and I'm trying to do as much research as possible but its a lot lol.

 

[SarahJW]

Hi @SarahJW I see that people have already mentioned Low carb eating and Blood Glucose testing but have not gone into much detail.
The 2 most used BG meters (because of quality at low price - especially the cost of test strips) are:
SD Gluco Navii
Spirit Healthcare TEE2

You will probably need about 3 pots of test strips initially (= 150 test strips in total) which testing each meal and allowing for waste due to not enough blood on them, should last around 20 days.

To control your Blood Glucose using 'Eating to your Meter' do the following:
1. Keep a food diary of exactly what you eat at a meal and roughly how much. Also record your pre-meal BG reading and the BG reading 2hrs after 1st bite. You want to be aiming for the meal not increasing your BG by more than 2.0 mmol at the 2hr mark.
2. Try to eat no more than 3 meals per day and don't snack. Just eat until comfortably full.
3. If the BG spike from a meal is more than 2.0 mmol, either reduce the portion size of the most carby food, or use a lower carb substitute for it.
4. Get the meals sorted (breakfast is usually the easiest since we often have the same thing for breakfast every day. So if you are eating eggs or cheese or cold cuts or even Full Fat plain Greek style yogurt with a handful of berries. You should only need to test that a couple of times to be confident it is OK for you. Then start aiming to get the maximum BG reading you see down to 8.0 or below.

Once you can do this you are on your way to remission.

Thank you for this advice.
I don't get paid until the end of the month so will be looking into purchasing one then. All this is completely new to me and I do not know anyone with diabetes to fall onto for advice...luckily the nurse who told me my results over the phone told me to come onto this site for advice... so I have been reading up on here and thought I would buy some books that have been recommended. I did ask the nurse about testing and she told me not to....to cut out everything processed, sugars, exercise and go back in 3 months to see where I'm at....but, I really do not want to go onto meds and have cut out all main carbs straight away, but I am struggling with what to eat as I did not realise veg and fruit contained carbs aswell...it is such a minefield to be told and then left to figure it all out on your own.......but I am determined ...and I can already see there are lots of people ready to help so thank you 🙂

 

[Drummer]

Foods suitable for low carbing don't have to be expensive. Eggs and cheese in a salad for instance, or a pack of chicken thighs which will do several meals - I make chicken curry with cauliflower, roughly chopped, rather than rice.
I buy pre prepared salad, frozen vege mixes and stir fry as there is no waste. I am growing my own courgettes this year.
I have frozen berries and make sugar free jellies - berries are fairly low carb, but I check the back of the packet to see which are the best options.
If you don't eat anything processed you might need to add salt to your cooking - there is so much salt in processed food as a rule, so it is a surprise to find out how essential it is, particularly in warm weather.

 

[SarahJW]

Welcome to the forum @SarahJW

Hope the hints, experiences and suggestions from forum members give you some encouragement, and inspiration to find your own way through the maze.

There are lots of different approaches, and while there may be some similarities, in the end what will matter is your discovering a long-term, sustainable, enjoyable, flexible approach that you can stick to, and that meets your outcome goals.

When it comes to managing your diabetes, it’s best to make changes to your menu and activity levels gradually - partly because they need to be sustainable long term, but also because very rapid and sudden changes to blood glucose levels are harder on the fine blood vessels, and changing things more gently will give your body time to adapt.

I second the idea of starting with a ruthlessly honest food diary. Keep a note of everything you eat and drink for a week or two, and make a reasonable estimate of the total carbohydrate content (not just the ‘of which sugars’). It will involve some packet squinting and perhaps a few raw-ingredient-internet-searches, and might feel like a bit of a faff, but actually investing that time to gain an understanding of the obvious, and not so obvious, sources of carbohydrate in your menu will be really helpful in the future.

There are lots of things that have green ‘traffic light’ flags, but which have the capacity to rapidly and significantly raise your blood glucose, so focus on ‘total carbohydrate’ as your guide.

We have a fair few members who have very successfully managed their diabetes, by finding the approaches that work for them as an individual, including those who have started with an HbA1c in 3 figures, and now live without the need for diabetes medications.

Good luck, and let us know how you are getting on 🙂

Thank you very much for your advice....do you know if there is any type of diabetic app to help with this or is it literally research everything I eat and take it from there? I have cut out all the big main carbs already to give me a kickstart but when looking around the food isle I am a bit stumped...need to look into recipes and go from there I think.

 

[SarahJW]

Foods suitable for low carbing don't have to be expensive. Eggs and cheese in a salad for instance, or a pack of chicken thighs which will do several meals - I make chicken curry with cauliflower, roughly chopped, rather than rice.
I buy pre prepared salad, frozen vege mixes and stir fry as there is no waste. I am growing my own courgettes this year.
I have frozen berries and make sugar free jellies - berries are fairly low carb, but I check the back of the packet to see which are the best options.
If you don't eat anything processed you might need to add salt to your cooking - there is so much salt in processed food as a rule, so it is a surprise to find out how essential it is, particularly in warm weather.

Ok that sounds like a plan.. and well done on growing courgettes...I would love to learn to start growing my own once I have gotten my head around all this lol. I have a good butcher that delivers and I ordered a big pack of chicken breasts and some mince turkey in to get me started as I was also told to cut out red meat.....Eggs, salad and stir fry are great too than you...I wasn't sure about cheese as my cholesterol was high and my liver is swollen at the moment and has fatty deposits so I need to be careful so I can reduce both.

 

[SarahJW]

Welcome @SarahJW 🙂 That positive attitude will stand you in good stead🙂

Thank you..you got to try a...even when you are thrown into a minefield lol 🙂

 

[Christy]

I found the Carbs and Cals book v helpful and Google will tell you the carbs per 100g which you can use based on your portion size. And ask...lots of people happy to help. And hello

 

[SarahJW]

Hello and welcome.
If you are an ordinary type two all you really need to know is that the problem is the carbohydrates. By reducing the amount of carbohydrate eaten, blood glucose goes down and things become more normal.
A blood glucose meter helps to show if meals are too high in carbs, but once a menu is sorted out it is pretty straightforward.

Sooo my readings are Hba1C-62 Cholesterol-5.8 and my liver is swollen with fatty deposits...I have been given 3 months to bring it all down as much as possible and I really want to avoid any meds. So its a lot to get my head around but obviously have no choice..so must face this head on lol.

 

[Drummer]

Ok that sounds like a plan.. and well done on growing courgettes...I would love to learn to start growing my own once I have gotten my head around all this lol. I have a good butcher that delivers and I ordered a big pack of chicken breasts and some mince turkey in to get me started as I was also told to cut out red meat.....Eggs, salad and stir fry are great too than you...I wasn't sure about cheese as my cholesterol was high and my liver is swollen at the moment and has fatty deposits so I need to be careful so I can reduce both.

I changed to Atkins style eating from the moment of diagnosis - full fat - my cholesterol went down, my liver shrank. I have lost 12 inches off my waist (I was almost spherical eating high carb foods supposed to lower my cholesterol).
Chicken breast fillets are so expensive compared with thighs - Lidl sell them at £1.65 for a Kg.

 

[Drummer]

Sooo my readings are Hba1C-62 Cholesterol-5.8 and my liver is swollen with fatty deposits...I have been given 3 months to bring it all down as much as possible and I really want to avoid any meds. So its a lot to get my head around but obviously have no choice..so must face this head on lol.

I had to give up metformin and Atorvastatin after a few weeks I was so ill - but my Hba1c went from 91 to 47 in 80 days, eating 50 gm of carbs a day.