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tiptoptapper

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Hi all
I've been diagnosed today- had a blood test Fri and called into see nurse practitioner today.
HBA1C of 126
The only reason I didn't get sent to hospital was because my urine didn't have ketones.
Pick up meds in the morning- metformin (increasing dose over 4 weeks) and gliclazide.
Am determined to do what I need to do regarding diet- but just don't know where to start - nurse just said no sugar and avoid cards (including most fruit!)
Can anyone tell me any good resources re diet - I'm scared to eat !
 
test 2 hours after eating that way u get an idea of how foods affect you try carbs/cals a good place to start also if you can afford it type 2 the first year by GB they are both in the books bit Wellcome to the board
 
Hi tiptoptapper, so sorry your levels are so high. You can check out diabetes.org.uk home page for training and meal options https://www.diabetes.org.uk/.

Also ask your doctor or nurse for a referral to the diabetes education training and that way you can also access a nutritionist, the course is usually excellent explains about everything and how foods affect the pancreas etc.

Good luck. Hope your levels come down soon.

www.diabetes.org.uk

Eating with diabetes

If you, or someone in your family, has type 1, type 2 or another type of diabetes, you'll know that it can sometimes be difficult to know what to eat. Start here for the key information you need to make healthy food choices for a balanced diet.
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
Hi @tiptoptapper and welcome to the club no-one wants to join.

An HbA1c of 126 is high, nowhere near the forum record, but high enough to attract your attention and to get you to focus on getting it down.

First question is do you need to loose some weight? If so, then that could be the best place to start.
Second question is what is your diet like. What is a typical breakfast, lunch and tea?

Those questions asked, I suggest you start to read around the forum and check the learning zone and begin to find out what diabetes is all about. When it comes to diet there is a bit more to it than following the rather sketchy advice from the nurse. Same goes for the monitor, to get the best from it you need to be testing against a plan.

You have come to a good place to get answers to any questions you have, so fire away.
 
tiptoptapper said:
Hi all
I've been diagnosed today- had a blood test Fri and called into see nurse practitioner today.
HBA1C of 126
The only reason I didn't get sent to hospital was because my urine didn't have ketones.
Pick up meds in the morning- metformin (increasing dose over 4 weeks) and gliclazide.
Am determined to do what I need to do regarding diet- but just don't know where to start - nurse just said no sugar and avoid cards (including most fruit!)
Can anyone tell me any good resources re diet - I'm scared to eat !
Click to expand...
welcome to the forum, Indeed your HbA1C is very high but may have started as high as that and by making dietary changes as well as taking the medication have reduced that number.
The medications you have been prescribed work in different ways, the metformin helps the body use the insulin it produces more effectively and reduces the amount of glucose released by the liver and the gliclazide encourages the pancreas to produce more insulin.
These medications work in combination with dietary changes as there is no use taking medication and still continue eating the foods to whit carbohydrates. It is not just sugar and fruit that are the issue but all carbohydrates as they convert to glucose.
Bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals are the big hitters as well as the more obvious cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks.
Many find a low carbohydrate approach successful but caution is needed because of the gliclazide in reducing carb intake too quickly.
It is better to reduce your intake gradually over a few weeks as that is kinder on the body and reduce the risk of low blood glucose.
Your monitor should help you keep track, testing in the morning will keep a track of progress day to day but many find testing before eating and after 2 hours is a good way of seeing if you are tolerating the carbs in your meals.
This link should give you some ideas for looking to modify your diet, it is based on the suggested no more than 130g carbs per day. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
 
tiptoptapper said:
Hi all
I've been diagnosed today- had a blood test Fri and called into see nurse practitioner today.
HBA1C of 126
The only reason I didn't get sent to hospital was because my urine didn't have ketones.
Pick up meds in the morning- metformin (increasing dose over 4 weeks) and gliclazide.
Am determined to do what I need to do regarding diet- but just don't know where to start - nurse just said no sugar and avoid cards (including most fruit!)
Can anyone tell me any good resources re diet - I'm scared to eat !
Click to expand...
Hi @tiptoptapper
welcome to the forum, I’m sure it will be useful that you found this place early on in your journey to managing your Diabetes
you’ve already got some great advice posted by a few others just now

one thing to remember on here they say that there’s no such thing as a silly question
so ask someone will pop up and share their experience and possibly help.

Obviously you’ve posted your Hba1c which you obviously need to bring down, are you also looking to / will you need to loose some weight also ?
 
Hi all
Thanks for your replies.
I have a family history of type 2 - grandmother and father. I also have had PCOS for many years (I am now post menopause)
I do need to lose weight. In recent years I have lost 6 stone, but would like another 4 off.
I need to phone GP tomorrow as they said I also needed statins and I've just checked my record and they've not been prescribed.
I have been referred for the education training.
Thanks for all being so lovely.
I have been burying my head in the sand over this for a long time. So although I'm gutted- I'm glad I know where I am now and am in a position to do something about it
 
tiptoptapper said:
Hi all
Thanks for your replies.
I have a family history of type 2 - grandmother and father. I also have had PCOS for many years (I am now post menopause)
I do need to lose weight. In recent years I have lost 6 stone, but would like another 4 off.
I need to phone GP tomorrow as they said I also needed statins and I've just checked my record and they've not been prescribed.
I have been referred for the education training.
Thanks for all being so lovely.
I have been burying my head in the sand over this for a long time. So although I'm gutted- I'm glad I know where I am now and am in a position to do something about it
Click to expand...
Statins are prescribed as the cholesterol level that they like people to be at if they have a diabetic diagnosis is under 4 but it is a controversial topic so I would say do your research and make your decision based on your result.
Many find than adopting a low carb approach has the benefit of reducing cholesterol anyway.
The Freshwell approach is one that should help you lose the extra weight you need to.
Although you may have some experience to draw on ideas have changed about how powerful diet can be in managing the condition.
 
@tiptoptapper Firstly welcome and secondly - don't panic.
Your HbA1c is high, but I started off at 91 and was back in less than diabetic numbers very quickly, and have stayed there ever since.
Firstly - with the high numbers plus the mediation you need to reduce the carbohydrate intake slowly so it isn't too much of a shock - the Gliclazide could induce hypos, which are not pleasant.
The advice on testing seems rather incorrect - if you drive you need to check that you are safe to do so.
Most type 2s are far more interested in reducing their after eating levels - it is, after all, something they can adjust very easily.
My suggestion is to assess your intake of carbohydrates, the sugars and starches, firstly your normal daily menu, and after testing what the meals you usually eat do to your blood glucose levels, check what you could begin to reduce or step away from. I was rather shocked to see just how low I needed to take my carb levels to get down to normal blood glucose levels, and then it dawned on me that doing Atkins was going to be the new normal.
 
Thank you again for all the replies. Sorry for not replying individually but I am taking everything on board so thank you. Its just a bit overwhelming.

I will cut carbs gradually I think- but for future reference- when counting carbs do I count total carbs- or the 'carbs which sugar' figure?

So far today I've had a tin of mushroom soup and some plain rice cakes with cream cheese. Got raspberries and blueberries with yoghurt for later. It's the best I could do as grabbed it on the way to work this morning.
 
tiptoptapper said:
Thank you again for all the replies. Sorry for not replying individually but I am taking everything on board so thank you. Its just a bit overwhelming.

I will cut carbs gradually I think- but for future reference- when counting carbs do I count total carbs- or the 'carbs which sugar' figure?

So far today I've had a tin of mushroom soup and some plain rice cakes with cream cheese. Got raspberries and blueberries with yoghurt for later. It's the best I could do as grabbed it on the way to work this morning.
Click to expand...
Ignore the 'of which sugars' number and just take the carbohydrate amount.

Cutting carbs gradually is the recommended route, so stick with that. As is often said, it's a marathon not a sprint. It took me 5 months to get from an HbA1c of not much less than yours and back into normal numbers.
 
Hi and welcome, lots of good advice already. My initial diagnosis was well over 100 but I managed to get it down a lot lower in a few months. Knowledge is more useful to you now than anything else. Knowing what diabetes is, how it affects your body and what to do and how to do it will set you on the right path. I have been put on the Type2 Diabetes Pathway to Remission scheme. This might be a route for you to consider/ take, discuss it with your GP or DN. Good luck with it....
 
I only took it up when I was 50+ - no way could my parents afford to send their 2 daughters to dance classes. I got the hang of step shuffle hop kick pdq but frankly if my attention ever wandered, like wondering what that traffic noise was outside or if that other woman had tried to get some fat off her bum etc, pretty instant tangled knitting of the feet. I've never been able to dance in my life and I still can't and never liked doing it much - just that several friends decided to try it so I thought why not.
 
Hello, welcome to the forum. The two best things I did after my diagnosis in July was find this forum and download the Freshwell App (I think someone has already mentioned it). I relate to the feeling scared to eat but checking blood sugars really helped see what my particular triggers are. Also, the learning zone here and on the Freshwell App helped me make informed choices about my food.

Onwards and downwards!
 
Good luck with the changes you are making @tiptoptapper

Sounds like you are off to a great start!

And another "Welcome to the Forum" 🙂
 
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