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not got a clue

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Jjames

Jjames

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hello everyone, newly diagnosed as type 2, take metaformin 1000 slow release. I have regular lows and almost pass out. I have not really took much notice of any advice in the past but now I need to take this seriously. any help with diet plans or when is best to take blood sugar readings? do I avoid sugar at all costs? any help would be appreciated.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum, glad you found us. Do you have a blood sugar testing kit? If so, what numbers are you getting when you feel low? Usually newly diagnosed Type 2s tend to have the opposite problem and have higher blood sugars.
Testing your blood sugar, other than to find out how low you are if you are feeling funny, is about finding out which foods you can eat without raising your blood sugar too much. Thus it is good to test your blood sugar before you eat, and then 2 hours after. You are looking for no more than a rise of 3. You need to pay attention to all carbohydrates and find ones that suit you best. For example, some people can eat porridge for breakfast, others find it sends them sky high.
Others will no doubt come along and give lots of helpful advice and links, but I just wanted to say hello.
 
stephknits said:
Hi and welcome to the forum, glad you found us. Do you have a blood sugar testing kit? If so, what numbers are you getting when you feel low? Usually newly diagnosed Type 2s tend to have the opposite problem and have higher blood sugars.
Testing your blood sugar, other than to find out how low you are if you are feeling funny, is about finding out which foods you can eat without raising your blood sugar too much. Thus it is good to test your blood sugar before you eat, and then 2 hours after. You are looking for no more than a rise of 3. You need to pay attention to all carbohydrates and find ones that suit you best. For example, some people can eat porridge for breakfast, others find it sends them sky high.
Others will no doubt come along and give lots of helpful advice and links, but I just wanted to say hello.
Click to expand...
stephknits said:
Hi and welcome to the forum, glad you found us. Do you have a blood sugar testing kit? If so, what numbers are you getting when you feel low? Usually newly diagnosed Type 2s tend to have the opposite problem and have higher blood sugars.
Testing your blood sugar, other than to find out how low you are if you are feeling funny, is about finding out which foods you can eat without raising your blood sugar too much. Thus it is good to test your blood sugar before you eat, and then 2 hours after. You are looking for no more than a rise of 3. You need to pay attention to all carbohydrates and find ones that suit you best. For example, some people can eat porridge for breakfast, others find it sends them sky high.
Others will no doubt come along and give lots of helpful advice and links, but I just wanted to say hello.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply, I have a testing thingy. My levels range from 4-9 currently 8.7 (just tested 5 mins ago) I don’t even know what is a normal number? I have started to do the training on the site, it is quite good. Thanks again for your help
 
Hello Jjames, there is certainly a wealth of information and support here. I arrived, not so long ago, feeling very confused and quite despondent, with no real direction from my GP. Coming here helped me find my feet and I am learning new things every day and most importantly, I feel I can manage this condition and ask for guidance, as I frequently do🙂
 
Hello and if you go on diabetes.org.uk site you will get lots of information which can help you make sense of diabetes. Don’t be scared to ask questions. No question is daft, just one someone else also wants answer too
 
Hi @Jjames and welcome! Yes there is lots of support on here so do keep asking questions. As people have mentioned, its about carbohydrates rather than sugar (it's almost impossible to avoid sugar altogether as it naturally occurs in many places, like fruit and dairy products).

What sort of things are you eating? You have mentioned that you are regularly low, rather than high? It may mean that you need to think about how much carbohydrates you are eating and when you go low. Some people find keeping a food diary can help, to understand the readings you are getting better. You can check out the Food/Carbs board as well for inspiration on what other members are eating 🙂

There are quite a few resources for type 2 in this thread too in the - https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes.10406/
There is lots of info in the Diabetes UK site as Carolg mentioned, or depending on what you prefer, we now have the learning zone which are videos tailored to your type, level, experience etc.
 
Those numbers look pretty good to be honest. Anything below 4 is a low blood sugar / hypo. As your numbers are not too low it might be that your faintness is due to what is known as a false hypo. This is where your body reacts as if it is going low because it is used to you having higher numbers. As you continue to get numbers in range as you are, the symptoms should subside. Otherwise the symptoms might be something unrelated to the diabetes so might be worth getting checked out.
 
Hi and welcome 🙂 I agree with @stephknits, your numbers don’t seem bad. A good target is between 5 and 6 but remember it will depend on what you have eaten and when you are testing. I started with a bg of 22 so as I started my journey of changing my diet and lifestyle, I tested first thing in the morning, 2 hours after breakfast, before lunch and again 2 hours later, same at dinner then before bed. I also kept a food diary and mapped my number as I went, this showed me what foods worked well for me and what didn’t. I decided to go low carb so I cut out all rice, pasta, potatoes and the only bread I eat is Burgen, a soy and linseed low carb option. My numbers now are usually a steady 5.5 but recently went up to 6 when we had the high temperatures as I couldn’t go for my walks. Read as much as you can from the posts here, you will find all you need to know. Ask anything as you go, no such thing as a stupid question 😛 p.s I now only test a couple of times a week just to keep me on track ...
 
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