[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

Need to lose weight and try find low sugar foods

Been there, am there and will be there for the foreseeable.
I was originally diagnosed as T2 back in 2006 and have since been rediagnosed as insulin dependent.

Follow your docs advice, tie in with your local Diabetes team and see a dietician to get a better handle on your diet.

Don't try and change your diet in fell swoop, it's much easier to take it in small steps and aim for gradual improvement rather than end up with new years resolution type situation that becomes a struggle to keep motivated for.

banjobongo

interesting article on the BBC news website about the cost of having to pay for insulin in the USA:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47491964

banie01 wrote: »

Been there, am there and will be there for the foreseeable.
I was originally diagnosed as T2 back in 2006 and have since been rediagnosed as insulin dependent.

Follow your docs advice, tie in with your local Diabetes team and see a dietician to get a better handle on your diet.

Don't try and change your diet in fell swoop, it's much easier to take it in small steps and aim for gradual improvement rather than end up with new years resolution type situation that becomes a struggle to keep motivated for.

You notice and difference in your life ?

Ive been precribed tablets and after 6 weeks to go get bloods checked and see if i need to increase the dosage rtc

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

You notice and difference in your life ?

Ive been precribed tablets and after 6 weeks to go get bloods checked and see if i need to increase the dosage rtc

Type 1 myself, have been for as long as I can remember. I cannot imagine what its like to remember not being Diabetic but I will say one thing. I look at my own life choices, those of my family and can see alot of personality traits which are not conducive to a long and healthy lifestyle. If I wasn't Diabetic, I'd be on my way to an early and lonely grave. Its not as terrible a thing as some would have you believe, you have it diagnosed now, rather than in 10 years where it is harder to reverse.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes its awful, and there are probably a majority of people who would do better without it. I am not one of those people though, it may in fact have saved my life.

You know now, you can make a choice to improve things. You will fail, you will fail multiple times, I am sure most of the posters here have, if they haven't, and I am not a betting man, I'd bet the house they are not being completely honest or they are too new to the game.

Anyway, best of luck, just remember, its not great but its not all that bad if you don't want it to be.

CramCycle wrote: »

Type 1 myself, have been for as long as I can remember. I cannot imagine what its like to remember not being Diabetic but I will say one thing. I look at my own life choices, those of my family and can see alot of personality traits which are not conducive to a long and healthy lifestyle. If I wasn't Diabetic, I'd be on my way to an early and lonely grave. Its not as terrible a thing as some would have you believe, you have it diagnosed now, rather than in 10 years where it is harder to reverse.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes its awful, and there are probably a majority of people who would do better without it. I am not one of those people though, it may in fact have saved my life.

You know now, you can make a choice to improve things. You will fail, you will fail multiple times, I am sure most of the posters here have, if they haven't, and I am not a betting man, I'd bet the house they are not being completely honest or they are too new to the game.

Anyway, best of luck, just remember, its not great but its not all that bad if you don't want it to be.

My dads type 1 , injects 2 times a day , mams type 2

So i suppose i knew there was a huge chance id get ut eventually

Gonna try my best to get fit , healthy , lose weight ( currently 25stone and 6”2 ) so that has to drastically change , who knows might reverse it , only had symptoms this last week and went to gp with un-related issue so maybe found out relatively soon

vargoo

Mod note - deleted as unhelpful and uneccessary

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

Gonna try my best to get fit , healthy , lose weight ( currently 25stone and 6”2 ) so that has to drastically change , who knows might reverse it , only had symptoms this last week and went to gp with un-related issue so maybe found out relatively soon

Huge amount of help and advice to be gotten here, from memory, I think at least one poster has tried every plan going. My own view is that exercise and diet can solve alot of problems for both type 1 and type 2. Don't go crazy and try to become crazy healthy all at once, in my opinion, unless you have really strong will power, it will fail. Just make a few small changes, a bit more exercise in the morning and evening, a healthier breakfast and lunch.

Something low impact might be a good start for the exercise if your not into any sports at the minute, swim, cycle or walk (not run). Personally I always found the diet changes the hardest to stick to but I have an addicts personality so changing from rubbish to relatively good food was the hardest thing for me.

banjobongo wrote: »

interesting article on the BBC news website about the cost of having to pay for insulin in the USA:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47491964

It's a huge topic over on Reddit r/diabetes at the moment.
Aside from the sticker prices on medication stateside,the way that discounts, rebates and insurance work over there are a total minefield.
And the amount of Americans who will defend a system that leads to people choosing to feed their kids or take insulin is frightening.

There is a real disconnect between what appears to be "communism" and what socialised medicine and care actually means to a huge number of Americans.

My own meds between Insulin and orals would bankrupt me stateside.

banjobongo

as a type one diabetes patient with little spare cash Im very grateful I dont live in the USA but in Ireland!

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

You notice and difference in your life ?

Ive been precribed tablets and after 6 weeks to go get bloods checked and see if i need to increase the dosage rtc

As cramcycle has said Diet is really the hardest change to make stick IMO

If you scroll back over this thread you will find plenty of info from posters on how the manage it.

Currently I'm doing the Newcastle diet which is a highly calorie restricted diet that should only be tried under medical supervision
It lasts @8 weeks and the research in the UK shows that it can make significant difference in T2.

I'm 5weeks in now, 1st 10 days were the hardest but the cravings were very much offset by the improvement in my insulin requirement.

The last 2 weeks have plateaued a little and while my numbers are still very good, I may finally be coming round to accepting that I'm a T1 rather than clinging on to the hope I'm a T2.

In that insulin resistance is not my issue, it's becoming insulin production.

That said I'll finish the 8 weeks and will keep adding a weekly update to this thread

Whatever advice you take for treatment, remember small steps are much easier to maintain and improve.
Your weight isn't going to do you any favours in fighting this, but even if you only start with slightly smaller portions and using stairs instead of lifts and escalators when you can, walking to anything within 500mtrs you will see positive changes.

It sounds trite, but eat less, move more really is a good start before getting too swept up in diet.

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

Diagnosed with type 2 this afternoon

Fook my life

38 male , crappy diet , needs to change

Hey, hope you're doing ok.

I can identify with you, got diagnosed in 2017 and honestly its one of the best things to ever happen to me.

Although I was fit and active, I'm a competitive Judoka (Judo) but like ever over weight person I was making excuses for my weight.

I was competing at +100kgs and was very successful, most of my competitions I was anything from 120-130kgs and used to say (as an excuse) the closer I got to 100kgs I'd be too light at that weight, it was all excuses.

Diagnosed in 2017 and came to this forum where I got some fantastic advice and understanding.

There is a learning curve after diagnoses, reading labels, understanding sugars/carbs and how to keep them low.

I also started a couch to 5k running app (Zen Labs C25k is great, and free).

Within weeks of going low carb and running my bloods were coming back to pre diabetes levels, my weight dropped from 130kgs to 97kgs too.

Another thing don't spend money on cures, there is no magic cures but there's a multi billion dollar industry trying to sell you one.

Sounds like a lot of work, diets, watching your carbs and learning to read labels but you get used to it. Its really not the end of the world, you can still go out and enjoy a beer & meal (I don't do deserts now).

I know your head might be melted right now and you're hearing or reading about all the dreadful things which can happen to you, but honestly with a little effort you can avoid all that.

If you're put on Metformin start slowly, it can be hard on your tummy. I was advised to start at half a pill per day working up to a full (500mg) over a week to ten days and I never got an upset tummy.

If your tummy is upset just back off on the dosage until your tummy settles then go back up to your dosage slowly.

You're more than welcome to PM me for a chat if you wish.

Try keep the head, its not the end of the world and with a little effort you really can make a hugely positive change in your life. Chin up, and PM me if you wish.

One other thing I done, I never called myself a diabetic and still won't. I told people I've diabetes but I'm getting rid of it. I don't mean to be offensive to anyone here but I wasn't going to let it define me.

You can lead a totally normal life after diagnoses.

Adalyn Big Numeral wrote: »

Hey, hope you're doing ok.

I can identify with you, got diagnosed in 2017 and honestly its one of the best things to ever happen to me.

Although I was fit and active, I'm a competitive Judoka (Judo) but like ever over weight person I was making excuses for my weight.

I was competing at +100kgs and was very successful, most of my competitions I was anything from 120-130kgs and used to say (as an excuse) the closer I got to 100kgs I'd be too light at that weight, it was all excuses.

Diagnosed in 2017 and came to this forum where I got some fantastic advice and understanding.

There is a learning curve after diagnoses, reading labels, understanding sugars/carbs and how to keep them low.

I also started a couch to 5k running app (Zen Labs C25k is great, and free).

Within weeks of going low carb and running my bloods were coming back to pre diabetes levels, my weight dropped from 130kgs to 97kgs too.

Another thing don't spend money on cures, there is no magic cures but there's a multi billion dollar industry trying to sell you one.

Sounds like a lot of work, diets, watching your carbs and learning to read labels but you get used to it. Its really not the end of the world, you can still go out and enjoy a beer & meal (I don't do deserts now).

I know your head might be melted right now and you're hearing or reading about all the dreadful things which can happen to you, but honestly with a little effort you can avoid all that.

If you're put on Metformin start slowly, it can be hard on your tummy. I was advised to start at half a pill per day working up to a full (500mg) over a week to ten days and I never got an upset tummy.

If your tummy is upset just back off on the dosage until your tummy settles then go back up to your dosage slowly.

You're more than welcome to PM me for a chat if you wish.

Try keep the head, its not the end of the world and with a little effort you really can make a hugely positive change in your life. Chin up, and PM me if you wish.

One other thing I done, I never called myself a diabetic and still won't. I told people I've diabetes but I'm getting rid of it. I don't mean to be offensive to anyone here but I wasn't going to let it define me.

You can lead a totally normal life after diagnoses.

Really appreciate that message

I will take you up on the pm if i need some info , that said my dads type 1 and mam type 2 so ive parents i can ask lol

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

Really appreciate that message

I will take you up on the pm if i need some info , that said my dads type 1 and mam type 2 so ive parents i can ask lol

So had I

Update from the end of Week 5 of Newcastle Diet.

The good news 1st I suppose

I am now 3 weeks without a basal Insulin dose

Now if I am completely honest there have been more than a couple of days when in a "normal" circumstance I would have increased my basal dose.
My usual criteria for an increase would be if I test above 7, I'd raise the dose.

I have had a number of mornings above 7 but none over 8, so perservered with keeping my basal at 0 and it does seem to be balancing out.

My actual BG avg per my meter has increased slightly, from a low in week 2 of 5.9(On a much reduced Insulin dose from the start of this) to a current average in week 5 of 6.8.

I never ever thought I would see an average under 8 without insulin ever again, let alone maintaining an under 7avg!

Weight wise, I am down 9kg since the 11th February almost a 10% loss!
I have 2 weeks to go and I will try and get a HbA1c sorted for the end of the diet period and follow it up with another 3 months later to see if there is any potential long term benefit.

As always, any questions please feel free to ask on thread or via PM if preferred.

Cycling home from a race last Saturday and started chatting to a guy beside me. Out of the blue he asked how long was I a Diabetic for. He copped the pump through my sexy sexy lycra. Turns out he is type 1 as well. Long chats about BG control and how its borderline impossible.

Only diagnosed type 2 on friday and only got my meds and monitor today , first reading was v high

Whats the best course of action to bring it down ? Fasting ?

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

Only diagnosed type 2 on friday and only got my meds and monitor today , first reading was v high

Whats the best course of action to bring it down ? Fasting ?

No need to worry about fasting.
When you say very high, what was the read?
And how soon did you test after last eating?

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

Only diagnosed type 2 on friday and only got my meds and monitor today , first reading was v high

Whats the best course of action to bring it down ? Fasting ?

How high and when did you test, ie fasted in the morning (before breakfast), after a meal and how long?.

There are loads of variables, just try not get your head in a spin. As I said earlier, there's a learning curve but with some will power and a little effort you'll be grand.

banie01 wrote: »

No need to worry about fasting.
When you say very high, what was the read?
And how soon did you test after last eating?

19 and hr after eating

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

19 and hr after eating

Unless you have been specifically requested to do it by your Doc, don't test within 2hrs of eating.
Can I ask what you ate?
Carbs? Soft Drink?

In any case, its only causing you worry now because you have a Glucometer

Think about it this way, on any other day you had the same lunch prior to last Friday would you have worried about your Glucose level?
You're catastrophising, but take a breath and relax...

I know you mentioned only being symptomatic recently and diagnosed last week, but the simple fact is that your Doc would't have diagnosed you without at least knowing your HbA1C, and thats a look back at the previous 3 months BG level.
While it feels very new to you, and without being blunt.
At your height and weight you have likely been Diabetic for quite a while.
Getting panicked now because of a moderately high read, on your 1st day with a meter is pretty much bolting the door after the horse has gone.
Relax

Who actually diagnosed you? Your GP? Or were you referred to your local Diabetes team yet?
The care team should be your 1st port of call with questions and seek to go on whatever the current flavour of Diabetes T2 course is.
Also a referral to a dietician will stand you in great stead to sort out a plan.

As I and others have said to you.
Its going to take time for everything to bed in and become "normal" for you.
Start your meds, start moderating your portion size and carb intake and you will see improvement.

Eircom, I've to dash off to work but wanted to fire this at you.

I guess any form of exercise regime will be pretty new to you, again like someone else said I'm being blunt re your weight and height (I've been there, see my pix!!).

I'm lucky in so far as I come from a sporting/competitive background, anyway exercise.

Would you consider parkrun.ie ~ there's a PARKWALK now, and even forgetting the parkwalk we get a lot of walkers walking their 5km parkrun.

I have to dash, check out parkrun.ie and see if there's an event near you. I'll throw up some links later. I also know from coaching how hard it is for someone to make the leap into an event or club etc, if you're in north Dublin and want to see what a parkrun is all about I'm more than willing to meet you at an event (every Saturday at 09:30) and show you what its all about.

Have to run (pun), ltr.

Adalyn Big Numeral wrote: »

.
if you're in north Dublin and want to see what a parkrun is all about I'm more than willing to meet you at an event (every Saturday at 09:30) and show you what its all about.

Have to run (pun), ltr.

This is one of the reasons I love this particular sub forum!
Simple, honest and generous of time, advice and support.
Absolutely lovely sentiment Mak.

Adalyn Big Numeral wrote: »

Eircom, I've to dash off to work but wanted to fire this at you.

I guess any form of exercise regime will be pretty new to you, again like someone else said I'm being blunt re your weight and height (I've been there, see my pix!!).

I'm lucky in so far as I come from a sporting/competitive background, anyway exercise.

Would you consider parkrun.ie ~ there's a PARKWALK now, and even forgetting the parkwalk we get a lot of walkers walking their 5km parkrun.

I have to dash, check out parkrun.ie and see if there's an event near you. I'll throw up some links later. I also know from coaching how hard it is for someone to make the leap into an event or club etc, if you're in north Dublin and want to see what a parkrun is all about I'm more than willing to meet you at an event (every Saturday at 09:30) and show you what its all about.

Have to run (pun), ltr.

Only getting back to this now after work , really appreciate that offer mak

Problem is , i had a micro-discectomy on my back 3 years ago and warned against running by the physio

It was a herniated disc and had to have surgery to fix my L5-S1 , so only walking for me till i lose a shed load of weight

banjobongo

Try swimming or cycling maybe instead of running? Both are low impact and are good for losing weight and getting fit (I do a bit of both and can recommend them!)

Really shocked the physio didn't recommend any other alternatives, swimming and cycling would be great alternatives. Any exercise above your norm at the minute will be hugely beneficial, just have to stick at it.

CramCycle wrote: »

Really shocked the physio didn't recommend any other alternatives, swimming and cycling would be great alternatives. Any exercise above your norm at the minute will be hugely beneficial, just have to stick at it.

He did

But this offer from mak was based on running a park run ot walking it , not swimming or cycling it

Im a member in a gym and use the bikes up there and cross trainer etc

Sorry, I ran with Maks post and presumed you weren't. Only advice I could give for the bikes is not to go for high resistance. Go low resistance and try and build up leg speed, you'll sweat buckets but will drop weight far quicker iMO.

Update from the end of Week 6 of Newcastle Diet.

Happy to report that I am still maintaining good BG levels and that I am now in my 4th week of not needing a basal insulin dose.
To put that into context at the very start of this attempt, I was taking a minimum basal of 32units of Lantus per day in addition to oral meds.
My oral meds are unchanged and I would not even consider amending those without input and sign off from my Endo.

Weight wise, at the start of this I was 110.2Kg, for the last couple of weeks I have been fairly stable at @102Kg with a low of 99.9Kg. That does sound like my weight is an issue

But to put the weight into more context. I am 197cm tall and my start BMI was @28.4 and my current is @25.7.
BMI isn't a perfect measure of course, especially if carrying muscle but I'm happy with the progress to date.

Week 6 has been a bit more of a challenge to stick completely to the diet

I was out in Dublin and a trip to a BBQ place was too good to pass up

So there has been some slippage in my absolute commitment to the 2 shakes and veg rule, but I'm hoping that one protein heavy meat feast won't knock me back too far.

As always any questions feel free to reply and ask either on thread or via PM.

SneakyDoyle

banie01 wrote: »

IMO if I could link it to my phone it would be a near perfect tester.

Hey, you can get a bluetooth adapter for it for free, just apply on their website. Then it connects to their app called My Sugr which actually isn't bad.

https://www.accu-chek.co.uk/wireless-adapter