Worried how to mange

[Jillyfaw]

Hi , I have been diagnosed with Diabetes the 2 , Ive had no information from my doctors and was told to take metformin and that was it.
Ive changed my diet completely now through help of the internet , should I be getting more support or explanations on how to handle diabetes type 2 ? I am really worried and was wondering if someone could advise me please .

 

[Drummer]

I'm sorry to say that is typical of the treatment of many people.
If you have found the right advice, which is basically to control your blood glucose levels by removing those things which increase it, the starches and sugars, then you should find little difficulty in returning to normal levels.

 

[SB2015]

With any Diabetes we are not able to process the amount of glucose that is in our blood stream. This can be because the insulin doesn’t work well, or the pancreas cannot make enough (or any in the case of T1).

The glucose comes from any carbohydrates that we eat. We each have to find a way of matching the amount of glucose to the insulin available. You have already changed your diet. A food diary, which is brutally honest, with the amount of carbs calculated can help you to identify where any changes are needed. This could be swapping to a lower carb alternative and/or reducing portion size. I find it useful to use this (rather simplistic ) idea for swaps
Vegetables that grow
- beneath the ground are very high in carbs
- above the ground are medium carbs
- on the ground are low carbs

The support available to you may vary a lot, but there is a lot of info available in the
- Learning Zone on the DUK website
- on the threads on this forum
Have a read and feel free to ask any questions that you have. There is loads of experience to draw on from the vast experience on here.

 

[Leadinglights]

Yes, this is a diagnosis that has come as a shock to many people and they find that there is patchy support from their G P practice. You have come to the right place to get lots of information about managing your situation. Make sure you distinguish the advice for people with Type 1 from Type 2, although the principles are the same, in reducing carbohydrates the way people have to manage the condition may be different.

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi Jillyfaw, Welcome to the forum.

It's frustrating when they don't advise on how to manage your diabetes so I'm glad you found us.

I guess the first step would be to get into a routine with testing your blood sugar levels. Test in the morning before you eat anything and then two hours after meals throughout the day. This will help you understand your baseline number and the impact that certain foods have on you so you an adjust your diet accordingly.

Speaking of diet, carbs can have a negative impact for diabetics so it's worth paying attention to and trying to modify your diet. For some, that means reducing them significantly, for other that means making substitutions. You'll get more insight on the best way forward as you test and track so do take note of your findings so you can make informed choices.

We have a wealth of info on our site so please do have a look around. Here's a good place to start: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/testing

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Jillyfaw

If you would like a good overview of T2 diabetes, to add to the knowledge you’ve already picked up, members here frequently recommend Maggie Davey’s Letter and Gretchen Becker’s book T2 Diabetes, the first year, which you can work through gradually and will give you a solid starting point.

Diabetes UK have also produced this ‘Enjoy Food’ guide which you may find helpful to browse through for ideas

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/resources-s3/2018-07/1398_Enjoy-food-refresh-March2018-V4WEB2.pdf

Though it’s important to balance the carb content of your meal (and the type of carbs) with your metabolism’s ability to cope. And not all recommendations - eg to eat breakfast cereal every day - would work for all members here. So it’s a question of finding out what works for you as an individual.

Many members here find it really helpful to be able to observe what happens to their BG levels directly with a blood glucose meter as part of this experimentation. So they can base their decisions on their personal response, rather than the general reputation of what happens for other people.

You can check before eating, then again 2hrs later, and look for a rise of 2-3mmol/L or less. if you get a bigger rise you can reduce the carb portion, or switch to a type that suits your body better.

If you’d like to try this approach the most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50.

Good luck and keep asking questions!