Help! I have type 2 diabetes

[Diabetesnewbie]

Hi All

Newbie here, posting because I have lurked for a while and I need a virtual hug and some clear info. I just got my blood test results (a reading of 50) and the receptionist says that means diabetes. I am seeing my GP this week but I am freaking out and finding conflicting info online.

1. I am not going to tell my family or friends. I am so ashamed. My weight has been an issue by whole life.

2. Clearly I need to overhaul my diet. Are you allowed to take occasional days off diet with Type 2? I’m thinking specifically about family meals etc where family members don’t know my diagnosis (see 1)!

3. I am confused as to whether my priority should be low calorie/fat to lose weight (so low fat yoghurt), or low GI index (so full fat yoghurt!)

4. I am a chocoholic (why is there no official diagnosis for this kind of thing, like alcoholism? Not actually joking) but in fact the thought if not having chocolate isn’t that awful. I hate the thought of never eating Christmas cake and mince pies again though 😞

5. Should I monitor my blood sugar at home or wait for blood tests at intervals?

Thanks for bearing with my random list of initial thoughts. Feeling pretty fed up and could do with some wise help!

S.

Great advice from everyone.
I also need to find a way to avoid statins! Anyone got any advice on that?

Look up the glucose goddess, really helpful tips for reducing blood sugar

1. Don't eat carbs alone. This includes fruit. Never eat as a stanalone snack. Always eat at end of a meal after plenty of protein/fibre. When you eat you meal eat any carbs eg rice last

1. High protein breakfast will keep you full and keep your blood sugar stable. Think greek yoghurt with nuts, eggs, cheese, fish etc

1. Exercise after eating. A short walk or 20 squats will really help lower your blood sugar

1. Apple cider vinegar before meals (a high fibre snack e.g almonds) also helps

1. Cooling and reheating potatoes, rice, pasta. This increases resistant starch which means tge blood sugar impact is lower.

1. Building muscle, this acts as a glucose store.

Things that you might be surprised about which have a huge impact on blood sugar and are worth cutting out:

• porridge oats, all bread including wholemeal, potatoes, flour (has a higher glycemic index than table sugar), starches (in a lot of upf), bananas (lack the fibre of other fruit), dried fruit

The hba1c measure is an average over the last 3 months. So if you change your diet now and retest in 3 months you should see a huge improvement.

I would get a cgm though as it is hugely motivational to see the impactbof different food on your blood sugar.

I have a Nexor finger prick monitor, which I was given by my diabetic nurse - I get the lancets and test straps on prescription. You need to work out what foods make you spike, as we're not all the same.

Low carbing is easiest for me. I almost never have rice, pasta, etc. Cutting out snacks makes a huge difference for me, as does exercise- it doesn't have to be really intense, a longish but quite leisurely walk a couple of weekends ago was good, though I do do yoga and aquafit classes every week.

Emotional eating needs to be avoided, though heartbreak, where I could barely eat at all was effective, but definitely not recommended...

I don't worry too much about eating out, but then I don't often eat out. If it's a weekly occurrence, you probably do need to think more.

It's easier to manage when I'm not stressed, so try to stop worrying too much about it.

I found my GP's dietician not very useful, particularly as she didn't listen to nor answer my specific questions, and told me I'd agreed to be referred to WW or SW, which I very definitely hadn't agreed to. I have no idea how representative she is of NHS dieticians.

Thanks for all the useful advice. I’ve decided to start by having two walks a day. So walked for half an hour after dinner and did a bigger walk this morning. Will get a GM and cut right down on carbs. I’ve been making sourdough for the last year, so that will have to stop. 😔

No more porridge for me either.

Good luck @Meltedcandlewax

You can reverse it by cutting out carbs and doing intermittent fasting, keto or carnivore are good, a year maybe 1.5 year you can reverse it.

Mounjaro is also a diabetes drug.
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about-diabetes/looking-after-diabetes/treatments/tablets-and-medication/glp-1/mounjaro

The info here says you have to have tried other meds first. I expect that is due to cost. If you can afford it privately it could help you to lower your weight quickly and follow a diet that you choose without it being so difficult to do so.

I’m worried about what those drugs actually do to your system and what things might come out in future about them.

They’ve been in use to treat diabetes for a long time now.

Today’s question! My reading was 4.4 on waking and 4.7 two hours after breakfast (chia pudding made with almond milk, Greek yoghurt and pear, eaten at 8am), However now, 3 hours after breakfast and without eating anything else the reading is 7.4! I’m also starving hungry

Is there an explanation for this, please?

Fats & proteins will raise your blood sugars later on it's a delayed effect. It's not just carbs that raise blood sugars.

There's 42 factors that raise bs in all.

Thank you. So should I read anything in to this higher reading, as in did the breakfast make me spike?

This is all within normal range

Wishing you well OP, it's quite confusing as to how to get it right. I'm reading with interest.

On a slightly lighter note, there must be no diabetes in the Med Region!

I had a long convo with a new doctor yesterday. She is absolutely adamant I should be on metaformin and statins. My blood sugar is 51 and cholesterol is 6. I have lost 3 pounds this week by walking twice a day and stopping porridge for breakfast, plus being careful what I eat . I told her I really want to see if losing weight will help to avoid me going on drugs. She then started insisting I should go on weight loss injections ( at mg expense). Why can’t she see the value of losing weight and taking more exercise? I’ve decided it if I don’t continue to lose I will cave and go for the injections:

What is this fresh hell about NO porridge!!

I know it contains carbs, but surely it's a good non processed food to eat, and as long as we cut down or eliminate the rubbishy carbs then no sins have been committed....

I just can't give up my porridge for anyone. Summer and Winter lol.

That’s how I felt too. It really sends a lot of people off the scale blood sugar wise. I thought I’d cut it out and see and I’m losing weight and feeling a lot better. I’m having Greek yogurt, seeds and a few nuts instead .

That's interesting, I really never would have thought of porridge as being a "danger" food!

Maybe I'll alternate days as a start and have the Greek yog every second day. I have that with raspberries, blueberries, chia and flax seeds for lunch most days anyway.

Now what do I have for a quick lunch lol. It never ends!

My Hba1C is ok, but creeping up just the same. Same with the belly fat even though I (thought) I eat ok, as in very little rubbish etc. Getting older is a pain in the backside + menopause. Honestly...

Porridge is really high in carbs, which is why it isn't a good option if you're diabatic/pre-diabetic and trying to lose weight!

I know, it’s supposed to be ultra healthy but what alerted me was two people I know saying that using a CGM had altered them to huge spikes after eating porridge.

Well it's not ultra healthy if it causes such a spike, is it?!

Tesco's basic porridge oats are 30.2g carbs per per 50g serving. To put that in perspective, if you were doing Keto, your daily carb allowance would be less than 20-50g carbs. And the carb count for the porridge is without any milk added as well! Atkins induction only allows 20g carbs per day.

Sounds like you're in the right path and your doctor is something of a dinosaur when it comes to T2D.

From reading others' experiences, it appears most GPs are usually willing to give patients who just tip over into T2 diabetes territory three months to get their act together before suggesting medication (mine did, and I was also diagnosed with blood glucose of 51). Also, Metformin has a reputation for causing quite severe stomach issues for some people.

And I just bought 1kg of organic porridge oats on Saturday. No one else will eat it.
Keep half (for the expected addiction craving) and give the birds the other half. They don't have to worry about diabetes or low carbing. 😊

I slept badly last night and my bs after breakfast was higher than with the same breakfast yesterday (8.5 today)

I found this online “High blood sugar levels can make it harder to sleep, and poor sleep can affect blood sugar levels”

Gosh this is hard

Try this OP -

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/