Overwhelmed!!

[posie]

I've recently been diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. I've felt ill for two years ,so I am assuming I've had it for a while? My problem is, I've just been handed medication and a glucose monitor and been left to it!! I have no idea what I'm doing. My blood sugar seems hi all the time which terrifies me . 8.6 this morning before eating. Is that normal ? What do I eat? What can I eat? I'm very overweight. But not a big eater. I think I've probably had blood sugar problems for a long time. Due to steroids for chronic asthma!
Lord ! I'm rambling on . I just wanted some advice really. Someone to talk to about it all. XxxxxX

 

[Martin.A]

I've recently been diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes. I've felt ill for two years ,so I am assuming I've had it for a while? My problem is, I've just been handed medication and a glucose monitor and been left to it!! I have no idea what I'm doing. My blood sugar seems hi all the time which terrifies me . 8.6 this morning before eating. Is that normal ? What do I eat? What can I eat? I'm very overweight. But not a big eater. I think I've probably had blood sugar problems for a long time. Due to steroids for chronic asthma!
Lord ! I'm rambling on . I just wanted some advice really. Someone to talk to about it all. XxxxxX

Hi, and welcome to the forum. First things first, 8.6 is not especially high although it is higher than the target range of between 4 and 7 for pre-meal. That's also the target range for a fasting test, which is done on waking. What other readings have you been seeing?

You say you were given a glucose monitor so can I ask meds have you been prescribed?

 

[posie]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. First things first, 8.6 is not especially high although it is higher than the target range of between 4 and 7 for pre-meal. That's also the target range for a fasting test, which is done on waking. What other readings have you been seeing?

You say you were given a glucose monitor so can I ask meds have you been prescribed?

Oh thank you . I've been given metformin 2x a day . I've just tested post breakfast and it had gone down to 7.2!
Yesterday it was up and down . 10.1 at one point! Before food in the evening . Xxx

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

We all felt overwhelmed at first so it is very normal but do try to relax a bit. Diabetes is fairly slow moving and making gradual adjustments is better for the body than doing anything too radical all at once. Also stress usually pushes levels up, so that is another reason to try to be a bit chilled about it. What I have found and many others here too is that my diagnosis was actually a turning point to becoming fitter and healthier rather than the opposite. It was the kick up the pants I needed to make some lifestyle changes that I knew I needed but couldn't find the motivation for. This knowledge and support of this forum also helped enormously.

Your morning reading is higher than you would like but not desperately high, so don't panic about it. Ideally you would like it to be between 4 and 7. If it puts it into perspective I was about mid teens at diagnosis 0and went up to 27 one night after I ate something I shouldn't, so there is definitely room for improvement with your levels but nowhere near as bad as it could be.

Which medication have you been given and how long have you been taking it? You say you are recently diagnosed but are we talking a few days or a couple of weeks?

As regards what to eat, it depends to a certain extent on what medication you have been given and what you ate prior to diagnosis as you are looking to make gradual changes. What I did initially was to cut out the obvious sweet stuff like cakes and biscuits and sweets and sugar in general for a couple of weeks and then started to whittle down the starchy carbs like bread and pasta and rice and breakfast cereal after that. It took me about 8 weeks in total to get down to a very low carb way of eating. You may not need to go that low or your medication might need reducing during that time as your levels come down, so slow and steady is the way to tackle it. You have a meter to test which is great and will help you to see which foods cause you the biggest rises and which you can get away with.

One last question.... Do you know your HbA1c result? This is the blood test used to diagnoses diabetes and will be a number in excess of 47 but can be into 3 figures if things are seriously awry like mine was at 114 but there are people who have been significantly higher than that although that is into the danger zone. Knowing your starting point is helpful in tracking your progress with your diabetes management and also having an idea of how much work you need to do to bring it down.

The more info you can tell us, the better we can tailor our advice to your particular situation. Diabetes can be very individual which is why you will find such conflicting information about diet online.

 

[rebrascora]

It is important to understand that BG levels do go up and down all the time, that is normal. How long after breakfast was your 7.2 reading and what did you have for breakfast?

 

[Leadinglights]

Steroids are well renowned for increasing blood glucose and causing weight gain but what dietary changes you need to make will depend on the medication you have been prescribed, but there is no need to panic as there are plenty of options for you.

 

[Leadinglights]

Oh thank you . I've been given metformin 2x a day . I've just tested post breakfast and it had gone down to 7.2!
Yesterday it was up and down . 10.1 at one point! Before food in the evening . Xxx

Ok good you have been prescribed a monitor not many who are Type 2 are.
Have a look at this link for some ideas of ways of modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

 

[posie]

Hi and welcome.

We all felt overwhelmed at first so it is very normal but do try to relax a bit. Diabetes is fairly slow moving and making gradual adjustments is better for the body than doing anything too radical all at once. Also stress usually pushes levels up, so that is another reason to try to be a bit chilled about it. What I have found and many others here too is that my diagnosis was actually a turning point to becoming fitter and healthier rather than the opposite. It was the kick up the pants I needed to make some lifestyle changes that I knew I needed but couldn't find the motivation for. This knowledge and support of this forum also helped enormously.

Your morning reading is higher than you would like but not desperately high, so don't panic about it. Ideally you would like it to be between 4 and 7. If it puts it into perspective I was about mid teens at diagnosis 0and went up to 27 one night after I ate something I shouldn't, so there is definitely room for improvement with your levels but nowhere near as bad as it could be.

Which medication have you been given and how long have you been taking it? You say you are recently diagnosed but are we talking a few days or a couple of weeks?

As regards what to eat, it depends to a certain extent on what medication you have been given and what you ate prior to diagnosis as you are looking to make gradual changes. What I did initially was to cut out the obvious sweet stuff like cakes and biscuits and sweets and sugar in general for a couple of weeks and then started to whittle down the starchy carbs like bread and pasta and rice and breakfast cereal after that. It took me about 8 weeks in total to get down to a very low carb way of eating. You may not need to go that low or your medication might need reducing during that time as your levels come down, so slow and steady is the way to tackle it. You have a meter to test which is great and will help you to see which foods cause you the biggest rises and which you can get away with.

One last question.... Do you know your HbA1c result? This is the blood test used to diagnoses diabetes and will be a number in excess of 47 but can be into 3 figures if things are seriously awry like mine was at 114 but there are people who have been significantly higher than that although that is into the danger zone. Knowing your starting point is helpful in tracking your progress with your diabetes management and also having an idea of how much work you need to do to bring it down.

The more info you can tell us, the better we can tailor our advice to your particular situation. Diabetes can be very individual which is why you will find such conflicting information about diet online.

Hello. And thank you . It was 60 the ab1hc test. I was diagnosed nearly 4 weeks ago . But only saw the nurse last week. Not very helpful I must say. I'm on metformin 2x a day this is week three.
I am not a sweet tooth person and don't take sugar or eat processed food! So it must be carbs I need to look at . And exercise!
You're so right about conflicting advice online. I think it's that that's overwhelming!!
I was on a lot of steroids last year. Apparently it pushed my cortisol down to next to nothing and that puts your blood sugars up ! So if they can sort the cortisol issue out , that may help ? Thank you so much for your reply xxxx

 

[posie]

Ok good you have been prescribed a monitor not many who are Type 2 are.
Have a look at this link for some ideas of ways of modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

Thank you x

Steroids are well renowned for increasing blood glucose and causing weight gain but what dietary changes you need to make will depend on the medication you have been prescribed, but there is no need to panic as there are plenty of options for you.

I had no idea ! And wondered why my weight was going up for no apparent reason! It's already coming down . I'm assuming it's the meds. Oh and me being scared to eat
xx

 

[posie]

It is important to understand that BG levels do go up and down all the time, that is normal. How long after breakfast was your 7.2 reading and what did you have for breakfast?

Not long , 15 miss or so. I had a slice of sourdough bread with quark on it and a teaspoon of onion chutney xxx

 

[Martin.A]

It was 60 the ab1hc test.

48 and over is diabetes so you're a few steps across the line. Some of us were in 3 figures at diagnosis but through combinations of diet/exercise/weight loss/medication have got back into normal range and even been able to come off the meds.

 

[posie]

48 and over is diabetes so you're a few steps across the line. Some of us were in 3 figures at diagnosis but through combinations of diet/exercise/weight loss/medication have got back into normal range and even been able to come off the meds.

Yes. I see that now. Reading all the wonderful replies. The medics put the fear of God into me ! I knew nothing about levels etc. And now see ,that although not good, it could be a lot worse! Thank you

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to year you've had such an overwhelming start to your diabetes @posie

Glad you have found us!

We can’t offer medical advice, but we have literally centuries of lived diabetes experience on the forum, and all sorts of little bits of information picked up along the way.

Just having a place where people ‘get it’ and have been through what you are going through, can be a huge source of support.

 

[posie]

Sorry to year you've had such an overwhelming start to your diabetes @posie

Glad you have found us!

We can’t offer medical advice, but we have literally centuries of lived diabetes experience on the forum, and all sorts of little bits of information picked up along the way.

Just having a place where people ‘get it’ and have been through what you are going through, can be a huge source of support.

I feel less alone and less fearful already! Thank you so much xxx

 

[rebrascora]

Not long , 15 miss or so. I had a slice of sourdough bread with quark on it and a teaspoon of onion chutney xxx

Testing 15 mins after testing doesn't give you any useful information because the glucose from the carbs in your food will not have had time to hit your blood stream. Ideally, testing just before eating and 2 hours afterwards will tell you how your body reacted to the meal that you ate. It takes about 20-30 mins for the glucose to start hitting the blood stream and between an hour and an hour and a half for those levels to peak. By 2 hours you are hoping that your body has released enough insulin start bringing them back down and a reading that is no more than 2-3 whole units above your premeal reading tells you that your meal was OK for your body to cope with. So if your premeal reading was 8.4 and your 2 hours post meal reading was less than 11.4 then your body coped reasonable OK with that meal. If your 2 hours post meal reading is higher than 11.4 (in this example) Then you had too many carbs and you need to look at reducing the size of the main carb component, which would be the bread in your situation, so cut a thinner slice or just have half a slice or perhaps less of the chutney. If you keep the post meal rise under 3mmols, then gradually your premeal levels will come down and you will slowly come down into range so you should eventually be waking up with levels in range ie 4-7 and keeping below 8.5 2hours after meals. It takes time for the morning readings to come down and you often see improvements later in the day first but over the weeks and months you should see a steady downward trend although you get the odd hiccup day every now and then, so don't worry about those, it is the long running downward trend which is important.

 

[posie]

Testing 15 mins after testing doesn't give you any useful information because the glucose from the carbs in your food will not have had time to hit your blood stream. Ideally, testing just before eating and 2 hours afterwards will tell you how your body reacted to the meal that you ate. It takes about 20-30 mins for the glucose to start hitting the blood stream and between an hour and an hour and a half for those levels to peak. By 2 hours you are hoping that your body has released enough insulin start bringing them back down and a reading that is no more than 2-3 whole units above your premeal reading tells you that your meal was OK for your body to cope with. So if your premeal reading was 8.4 and your 2 hours post meal reading was less than 11.4 then your body coped reasonable OK with that meal. If your 2 hours post meal reading is higher than 11.4 (in this example) Then you had too many carbs and you need to look at reducing the size of the main carb component, which would be the bread in your situation, so cut a thinner slice or just have half a slice or perhaps less of the chutney. If you keep the post meal rise under 3mmols, then gradually your premeal levels will come down and you will slowly come down into range so you should eventually be waking up with levels in range ie 4-7 and keeping below 8.5 2hours after meals. It takes time for the morning readings to come down and you often see improvements later in the day first but over the weeks and months you should see a steady downward trend although you get the odd hiccup day every now and then, so don't worry about those, it is the long running downward trend which is important.

Oh crumbs. I was told test before, then after then two hours later. I'll stick with your advice as it makes far more sense. I'll test now , see what it says. Thank you Barbara

 

[posie]

Testing 15 mins after testing doesn't give you any useful information because the glucose from the carbs in your food will not have had time to hit your blood stream. Ideally, testing just before eating and 2 hours afterwards will tell you how your body reacted to the meal that you ate. It takes about 20-30 mins for the glucose to start hitting the blood stream and between an hour and an hour and a half for those levels to peak. By 2 hours you are hoping that your body has released enough insulin start bringing them back down and a reading that is no more than 2-3 whole units above your premeal reading tells you that your meal was OK for your body to cope with. So if your premeal reading was 8.4 and your 2 hours post meal reading was less than 11.4 then your body coped reasonable OK with that meal. If your 2 hours post meal reading is higher than 11.4 (in this example) Then you had too many carbs and you need to look at reducing the size of the main carb component, which would be the bread in your situation, so cut a thinner slice or just have half a slice or perhaps less of the chutney. If you keep the post meal rise under 3mmols, then gradually your premeal levels will come down and you will slowly come down into range so you should eventually be waking up with levels in range ie 4-7 and keeping below 8.5 2hours after meals. It takes time for the morning readings to come down and you often see improvements later in the day first but over the weeks and months you should see a steady downward trend although you get the odd hiccup day every now and then, so don't worry about those, it is the long running downward trend which is important.

Oh dear. 13.7!! That seems very high! No sugar in my sourdough bread. I thought I'd be OK with it .

 

[rebrascora]

Oh dear. 13.7!! That seems very high! No sugar in my sourdough bread. I thought I'd be OK with it .

Unfortunately diabetes isn't just about sugar but all carbohydrates, which the digestive system breaks down into glucose and gets absorbed into the blood stream through the gut wall to give us energy. With diabetes, we either don't produce enough insulin or have become resistant to it or the pancreas doesn't produce it in a timely manner and Blood Glucose (BG) levels rise. So you have to start looking at food in terms of total carbohydrate rather than just sugar, because starchy carbohydrates are just molecules of sugar joined together and the body is pretty efficient at breaking those bonds and releasing the sugar. So all starchy carbs like bread and pasta and rice and potatoes and anything made with grains or flour have the potential to raise your levels and so, after cutting right down on the sugar and sweet stuff, these are next foods to start reducing portion size.
Many of us find that bread is particularly challenging and breaks down very quickly to spike our levels. Some people opt for lower carb breads and just have one small slice. Much as I loved bread I gave up on it as a routine part of my diet in the end and just have some on very odd occasions and to be honest I wonder what I loved about it now other than the convenience as it is used to carry so many different foods, but you gradually find different ways of eating without it..... or you may find one of the lower carb breads works Ok for you. I think the Warburtons 400g no added sugar wholemeal loaf is just 9g carbs per slice and is widely available in most supermarkets. There are other lower carb ones like HiLo or LivLife which are only available at certain stores. Many of us find that creamy(not low fat) natural Greek style yoghurt with a few berries and mixed seeds and/or chopped nuts works well as a low carb breakfast option, or eggs are really good. I rather like an omelette with mushrooms and onions and peppers and cheese or whatever else needs using up in the fridge and I often have it with a large side salad and a big dollop of coleslaw (full fat, not low fat) That will usually keep me going all day until my evening meal with no need for lunch. I find eggs with runny eggs beg something like bread to soak up the yolk, so scrambled or an omelette works best for me although I have been known to have bacon mushrooms and eggs on a bed of lightly cooked shredded savoy cabbage which works well with the bacon and catches/soaks up the egg yolk. Probably seems odd having salad or cabbage for breakfast but it is actually really nice. You just have to let go of convention and embrace experimenting and that breakfast can be the same as any other meal. Sometimes I have leftover curry (no rice) for breakfast, which I absolutely love.

 

[helli]

Testing 15 mins after testing doesn't give you any useful information because the glucose from the carbs in your food will not have had time to hit your blood stream.

This is not completely true.
Different foods hot our blood stream at different rates.
With Type 1, we are advised to use fast acting carbs which will hit our blood streams very fast (within less than 15 minutes) to treat a hypo.
Carbs in foods that are high in fat such as curry, pizza or pasta with a creamy sauce can continue to hit our blood stream for more than 4 hours.
However, most food will have reached our blood stream and given an insulin producing pancreas (so not one from someone with Type 1) time to react within 2 hours.

 

[rebrascora]

Yes, I should have clarified. Testing 15mins after eating for a Type 2 who is just on Metformin medication does not give any useful information.