Overwhelmed

[CHRISSYFOG]

Good morning

My mum was diagnosed with Type 2 yesterday. It was a shock to us. It was only down to us getting her a blood test that it came to light. She had a blood level of 23 and was rushed to hospital by the Dr.

She's just spent 2 days in hospital and thank god she's now home.

I'm just so confused we left hospital with only a piece of paper about low blood and what to do if it happens but no other information about what she can and can't eat.

I've googled and googled but still getting confused. I know she needs to cut down sugar (approx to 22g a day) and carbs (approx 130g) but what foods should we be buying? We've literally emptied her cupboards so need to go shopping.

Thank you x

 

[Leadinglights]

Good morning

My mum was diagnosed with Type 2 yesterday. It was a shock to us. It was only down to us getting her a blood test that it came to light. She had a blood level of 23 and was rushed to hospital by the Dr.

She's just spent 2 days in hospital and thank god she's now home.

I'm just so confused we left hospital with only a piece of paper about low blood and what to do if it happens but no other information about what she can and can't eat.

I've googled and googled but still getting confused. I know she needs to cut down sugar (approx to 22g a day) and carbs (approx 130g) but what foods should we be buying? We've literally emptied her cupboards so need to go shopping.

Thank you x

What may be suitable will depend to some extent on what medication she has been prescribed but the guidance of no more than 130g carbs per day is good but I should ignore the 22g sugar as sugar is just carbohydrate but generally metabolised more quickly.
Food she needs to have only in very small portions are the high carb ones like potatoes bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals as well as cutting out cakes biscuits and sugary drinks including fruit juice and basing meals on meat fish, eggs cheese, dairy and vegetables and salads.
I would assume they also did an HbA1C test as that is the one used for diagnosis rather than the finger prick but if that was showing as high as 23mmol/l then I suspect her HbA1C will be quite high.
Does she need to lose weight as if so doing that will help manage the condition as will increasing exercise if she is able.

If you were given a leaflet about low blood glucose then she may have been given a medication which has the potential to cause that, in which case she should have been prescribed a blood glucose monitor and test strips and lancets if not then ask.
Have a look at this link as there is good explanation about foods and some menu plans which may suit her. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

Also the book Carbs and Cals is useful as it gives carb values of a whole range of foods and portion sizes so it allows you to compare, I was my bible when first diagnosed and still is.

 

[Ciara DUK]

Hi @CHRISSYFOG and welcome to the forum.

I'm very sorry to hear about your Mum and hope she's feeling a bit better after the hospital stay.

Has she been given any kind of medication - if you're comfortable sharing this information? It can help us best help with further questions to have this context.

Although tailored or specialist dietary information isn't something we can offer (this could be worth your mum discussing with her GP to see if they can support with this such as trying for a referral to a dietitian), we can give some general guidance on diet. You are very welcome to take a look at our website hub around eating when living with Type 2 diabetes linked here, which could be helpful - https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/i-have-type-2-diabetes

As well as this, we'd invite you to give our helpline a call, the number is 0345 123 2399 (Mon-Fri, 9am - 6pm). We appreciate any new diagnosis can come as a shock, and we're here to support you. We can share some general tips around diabetes management, including diet guidance and small everyday tweaks you can support your mum with making to help manage her blood sugar levels.

As well as this, this forum is a lovely place to find recipes, tips, and other users' guidance around what may have worked or not worked for them. Whilst we appreciate diabetes is highly individual and each person's experience will be different, reading suggestions and talking questions through with this community - as you're already doing so 🙂 - is something you could find helpful. We even have a food and recipes thread, if you haven't already seen this, please feel free to take a look here - https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/forums/food-carb-queries-recipes.4/

Finally, our interactive resource bank the Learning Zone has a lot of resources around eating well that you could work through with your mum, if you wish to find out more and also create a free account you can do so by clicking the Orange Learning Zone tab at the top of this page which should take you there.

Hopefully this reply helps you a bit! Please do keep on asking any questions you'd like - we're all here to help 🙂

 

[Inka]

Welcome @CHRISSYFOG and sorry to hear about your mum’s diagnosis. You mention that she’s been given information about low blood sugar - so has she been prescribed medication that lowers blood glucose? It’s hard to give dietary advice without knowing exactly what diabetes meds she has.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @CHRISSYFOG

Sorry to hear about your Mum’s diagnosis, and the shock it has been to you all.

Glad you have found the forum. Hope you find it a helpful resource - we have literally centuries of lived diabetes experience on the boards, and all sorts of people managing their diabetes in different ways, so keep firing away with any questions as they arise.