New to Type 2

[spyderveloce]

So, I was diagnosed only a few days ago when I got fed up with constant trips to the bathroom and always being thirsty. I had suspected for some time that I was diabetic but apparently I was in denial. I lost 50 lbs in 3 months and when I went in to the doctor I had a level of 578 mg/dL. I assume that is a BAD level since he told me that they used to hospitalize people with levels that high. The doc put me on Avandaryl once a day to start me off and I'll be checking in with him next week. Now I understand that sickness is also a factor in the level. I've been sick and my 5 year old now has H1N1, for which the whole family is being treated with Tamiflu. The day I was diagnosed I went straight to the pharmacy only to find that Avandaryl is too new and they didn't even stock it, niether did the competing pharmacy down the street. I ended up with 3 Glimepiride pills to take over the next 24 hours until the pharmacy could get my Avandaryl in. This brought my level down to the 300's. In the days since my highs and lows have only come down a bit each day but there is gradual change and I immediately stopped having to go to the bathroom and drink water constantly.

I have a few questions that I'm hoping are easily answered. I'm so new to this and haven't really had a chance to do thorough research yet.

1. What are the various different levels people refer to and what is the significance, in as plain english as possible?

2. What are some of the key foods to avoid and what alternatives might there be? ex. Use whole grain breads vs. White breads (maybe not a good example, I dunno).

3. What are some good snacks for a picky eater. I like nuts and sunflower seeds, potato chips and cheese crackers. Not fond of pretzels. Don't really eat that much in the way of sweets anyway. Hate salads. I'm a plain meat and potatoes kinda guy.

4. I understand to look at the carbs and sugars on food labels but don't know exactly what I'm looking for. Any hints that will allow me to judge easily what items I can eat and what items I should probably skip based on the nutrition label?

I appreciate any help you all could give me. I've found that forums like this tend to be very productive and almost become quite like family over time. Any and all advice is appreciated even if I didn't specifically ask for it here.

[fgummett]

Hi spyderveloce (classy Alfa Romeo eh!) and Welcome to DF!

Good questions!

I'll make a start on the first one: my understanding of normal Blood Glucose (BG) levels is that they range roughly, between 70 and 120 mg/dl -- mg/dl is the units commonly used in the USA and a couple of other places. The international standard (SI units) used in the UK, Australia, Canada and many other places is mmol/l... in which case the range is around 4 - 7 mmol/l... there is a converter to the R on the forum or you can divide/multiply by 18

This normal range is the ideal to aim for, but now with you having the big "D" you may need to be realistic about what is safe and realistic for you. Also when you first start to manage your BG, you might prefer to ease it down closer to the normal range slowly... the body seems to become accustomed to the higher BGs and may feel strange when closer to normal... this usually passes the longer you stay in the normal range. You may even notice some changes in your vision as the BG range comes closer to normal.

Hopefully you have a BG meter and have started testing yourself. I find it helpful to approach this methodically and keep a log/journal of BGs, food, medications, how I feel, activity etc... This can be useful to note repeatable patterns over time... how different activities or food affects your BG for example.

I'd suggest that, at least at first, more testing is better in order to find out about YOUR D and what you can do to manage your BG levels. To that end it is often suggested to test on waking (Fasting BG), before and 2 hours after each meal//snack (pre and post-prandial), before bed, plus any other time you feel out of sorts.

Discuss the expectations with your Doctor but it seems common to recommend that you be below 140mg/dl at 2 hours of eating.

[fgummett]

OK... second question: "what to eat?" -- it can be kinda quiet around here on the weekend but I'm sure others will be right along ;)

Real whole food, is my order of the day... preferably local and in-season, grown/reared on nutrient rich land. This means eat whole (unprocessed, unpackaged, unadulterated) food, which includes a natural balance of fat, protein and carbohydrates (as well as vitamins, minerals etc...) ...don't be afraid of fat... it's gotten a bad rap.

Those of us with Diabetes need to pay particular attention to those foods which have the most effect on our Blood Glucose levels. There are obvious things to watch out for like candy, cola, cakes and sweets (these are high in refined/concentrated carbohydrates)... next in line are the "white" foods like bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, breakfast cereal... but even something assumed to be healthy like orange juice has about as much sugar as a cola... fat reduced milk can have an higher proportion of lactose (sugar)... and so it goes on. That does not mean you need to feel deprived or hungry to eat this way, not by any means.

You'll often see here on DF the phrase "eat to your meter" and this deceptively simple message is very wise... test around your food and figure out what works best for YOU.

I'd suggest that BG control be your primary aim -- reducing excess fat mass, improving cholesterol/lipids, hypertension etc... all these tend to improve with more normal BGs.

Same rules for snacks... I'm big on nuts, cheese, dark chocolate (70% cocoa or higher), pork scratchings, cold meats, boiled eggs, peanut butter.

While we are encouraged to eat "so many servings of fruit and veg daily", many of these can spike our BGs so test, test test... but you may also help reduce/slow the BG spike by mixing foods... for example: instead of eating an apple by itself, try just half the apple in slices with some peanut butter or cheese... or have a few berries with some cream.

[Josselyn]

1. What are the various different levels people refer to and what is the significance, in as plain english as possible?

Will you please clarify what you're asking here? I don't understand.

2. What are some of the key foods to avoid and what alternatives might there be? ex. Use whole grain breads vs. White breads (maybe not a good example, I dunno).

Eliminate the white stuff: flour, sugar (and things containing them), rice, pasta, bread, crackers, most cereals.

3. What are some good snacks for a picky eater. I like nuts and sunflower seeds, potato chips and cheese crackers. Not fond of pretzels. Don't really eat that much in the way of sweets anyway. Hate salads. I'm a plain meat and potatoes kinda guy.

Can you transition into becoming a meat and veggie kind of guy? How about delicious cheeses without the crackers? Nuts and seeds are great. Hard boiled eggs. Deli meat/cheese roll ups. There's more, but my mind is blank at present...my fiance is distracting me as I type this...sorry. :o

4. I understand to look at the carbs and sugars on food labels but don't know exactly what I'm looking for. Any hints that will allow me to judge easily what items I can eat and what items I should probably skip based on the nutrition label?

Get a meter if you don't yet have one. Eat healthy, but normally for a few days to monitor what certain foods do to your blood glucose (BG). Anything that causes an enormous spike about 90 minutes after your first bite should be a food you're cautious with...and so forth. There are many others who will add to what is here.


I appreciate any help you all could give me. I've found that forums like this tend to be very productive and almost become quite like family over time. Any and all advice is appreciated even if I didn't specifically ask for it here.

Wecome to the forums. You'll find some great people and a wealth of experiences here.

[jtausch]

I have a few questions that I'm hoping are easily answered. I'm so new to this and haven't really had a chance to do thorough research yet.




3. What are some good snacks for a picky eater. I like nuts and sunflower seeds, potato chips and cheese crackers. Not fond of pretzels. Don't really eat that much in the way of sweets anyway. Hate salads. I'm a plain meat and potatoes kinda guy.

4. I understand to look at the carbs and sugars on food labels but don't know exactly what I'm looking for. Any hints that will allow me to judge easily what items I can eat and what items I should probably skip based on the nutrition label?

I appreciate any help you all could give me. I've found that forums like this tend to be very productive and almost become quite like family over time. Any and all advice is appreciated even if I didn't specifically ask for it here.


well potato chips are bad too high in carbs potatoes also can be bad high carb..rice corn.white bread

Look for the lowest carbs on labels you can find see what kind of sugars it has no hfcs in it

SALADS are your friend and green vegetables are good for you.

[fgummett]

When reading labels watch out for anything that ends in "ose"... these are pretty much all sugars: Glucose, Dextrose, Fructose, Lactose...

[genie86333]

When reading labels watch out for anything that ends in "ose"... these are pretty much all sugars: Glucose, Dextrose, Fructose, Lactose...

One exception to this is Sucralose - that's a sugar alcohol, which some people can handle without (much) rise to BG, but test for yourself. But beware, more than a little bit has a laxative effect.

[Granny Shanny]

And even check that bag of granulated sucralose, because it is sometimes beefed up with maltodextrine.

[kgm0612]

WELCOME to the forum!

My advice..........test often, limit your carbohydrate intake, and get in some form of exercise if you're able and not already doing so!

Karen