Worried

[Simon booth]

Hi all I’m really not good at things like this but I need to get my head round diabetes. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last week. My reading was 55 ?? I am 46 and it’s come as a massive shock. I’ve never really considered my health up until now and eat and drank what I liked.I am currently 15 stone with a bmi of 32. What I’m asking is can I reverse this and if so what do I need to do?? I’ve started exercising this week (10000 steps a day ) and trying to eat “healthy “ It’s the eating that’s really confusing me as what to eat and what to avoid cause I’ve always thought potatoes were good for you. Sorry if I’m coming across as thick but some guidance would be massively appreciated

 

[Docb]

Hi @Simon booth and welcome to the forum. Not coming across thick at all, just coming across as another who has been given a T2 diagnosis and then left with minimal support, a fairly common occurrence.

The simple answer to your question is that there is a good chance that you can reverse your diabetes and that getting your BMI down is the thing to concentrate on in the first place. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that being overweight can lead to problems with blood glucose control and losing the excess weight restores normality. There is no magic way of doing that, you have got to find a route which suits you. If you read around the forum you will find different people who have used different approaches so look out their experiences think about what sort of approach might work for you.

Come back with any questions you have. We work on the principal that there is no such thing as a silly question!

 

[nonethewiser]

What I’m asking is can I reverse this and if so what do I need to do??

Speak with your Dr, they should be aware of Prof Taylors work & Newcastle diet https://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal/#publicinformation its based around weight loss & reducing fat around organs like the pancreas.

My wife was in similar position as you being told she was prediabetic, after losing 5 stone all bloods are normal, so it can be done mate.

 

[Toucan]

I need to get my head round diabetes.

Hello @Simon booth and welcome to the forum.
Yes, I also found it difficult to get my head around having Diabetes, following the shock of the diagnosis.
Diabetes is a serious condition, but it can be positively managed and there is a help and support available. It is certainly possible to get blood sugars down to the acceptable level and sometimes to achieve remission.

You will need to make a few changes though, and these need to be sustainable, as this is for the long term.
You have made a brilliant start with the 10,000 steps a day.
It will be a very big help if you can find a heathy way of eating to reduce your blood sugar levels and weight. There are several ways of doing this and you need to find a way that suites you and that you can sustain.

For me, what has worked is, as well as cutting out all the sugary things, cutting down on the carbs particularly the ‘white’ ones (white bread and flour,rice,pasta,etc ) and I mainly eat fish, poultry, yoghurt, some cheeses, nuts and seeds, and have learned to love vegetables, and now fill my plate up with these. The ones that grow above the ground are best.
I also try to avoid too much processed food, and to include plenty of fibre some from the veg, plus seeds and pulses.
Fruit is quite high in natural sugars and these are still carbohydrates and will raise the Blood Glucose, so best to limit to just one portion a day. Berries like raspberries or strawberries or blackberries are best.

There is a lot of information available, so worth spending time to read around.
(2) Useful links for people new to diabetes | Diabetes UK may help, and (2) Maggie Davey's letter to newly-diagnosed Type 2s | Diabetes UK shows how this lady went about fining her solution.
The 'Learning Zone' orange tab at the top of this page is also full of useful information.

Best wishes, and please let us know how it goes, and we will always try to answer questions.

 

[Simon booth]

Hello @Simon booth and welcome to the forum.
Yes, I also found it difficult to get my head around having Diabetes, following the shock of the diagnosis.
Diabetes is a serious condition, but it can be positively managed and there is a help and support available. It is certainly possible to get blood sugars down to the acceptable level and sometimes to achieve remission.

You will need to make a few changes though, and these need to be sustainable, as this is for the long term.
You have made a brilliant start with the 10,000 steps a day.
It will be a very big help if you can find a heathy way of eating to reduce your blood sugar levels and weight. There are several ways of doing this and you need to find a way that suites you and that you can sustain.

For me, what has worked is, as well as cutting out all the sugary things, cutting down on the carbs particularly the ‘white’ ones (white bread and flour,rice,pasta,etc ) and I mainly eat fish, poultry, yoghurt, some cheeses, nuts and seeds, and have learned to love vegetables, and now fill my plate up with these. The ones that grow above the ground are best.
I also try to avoid too much processed food, and to include plenty of fibre some from the veg, plus seeds and pulses.
Fruit is quite high in natural sugars and these are still carbohydrates and will raise the Blood Glucose, so best to limit to just one portion a day. Berries like raspberries or strawberries or blackberries are best.

There is a lot of information available, so worth spending time to read around.
(2) Useful links for people new to diabetes | Diabetes UK may help, and (2) Maggie Davey's letter to newly-diagnosed Type 2s | Diabetes UK shows how this lady went about fining her solution.
The 'Learning Zone' orange tab at the top of this page is also full of useful information.

Best wishes, and please let us know how it goes, and we will always try to answer questions.

Thanks for the replies one thing I want to know is are sweeteners in tea ok to use I’ve cut down from 2 sugars to one but want to get rid all together

 

[Toucan]

That's great that you've managed to cut the sugar down @Simon booth. May be in a while you could try cutting down again to half a teaspoon?
It's hard I know, but if you can start reducing your taste for sweet things it should help a lot.
They say that it takes about 2 weeks to break a habit, but there will be quite a few changes for you to get used to, so best to take a few steps at a time.

I found it hard to give up sugar in coffee, so I replaced some of may daily cups with a non-sweet drink. I used peppermint tea. Took a while to get used to, but the results showed through on the blood sugar results and the scales and now sugar in coffee tastes horrible to me.

 

[trophywench]

I could drink coffee without sugar OK, but not tea - though I had cut down to half a tsp and it took me overnight to cut it out completely, just avoiding tea in between!

First cuppa without was mid afternoon, and next was breakfast time. By mid morning I realised that without - tea is shedloads more thirst quenching than with! That was nearly 50 years ago.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Simon booth

Sounds like you have made a very positive start to improving your fitness and managing your blood glucose.

48mmol/mol is the cut off point, so your initial score is a little over that, but several members here started in 3 figures and have managed to get their diabetes into remission by reducing carbohydrates in their diet and losing weight. It may well be that you just need to make some modest reductions in portion sizes and bulk meals up with proteins, fats and non-carby veg to see your weight come down and your BG levels reduce.

Some people find it very helpful to keep a brutally honest food diary for a week or two. Noting down everything they eat and drink, including the carb count. It’s a way of seeing where the carb ’hot spots’ are, and can help identifying easy wins and swaps.

If you’d like to see exactly what effect different meals and snacks are having on your blood glucose levels you might want to get a BG meter and try a test-review-adjust approach.

Good luck and keep asking questions. 🙂