Thread: diabetes

A dietician is definitely worth it. A good one will be able to give more practical advice than your GP or specialist.

If not already on one, see if your GP can put you on a "care plan". Not sure but it may be age dependant. The cost of 5 visits to a mix of associated medical practioners like podiatrist, physio, nutritionist and others is fully covered by Medicare. If you are eligible and your GP has not suggested .... well I'll let you decide.

Time to go through the pantry too.

It's not the end of the world, and sometimes a change in routine will go a long way to dealing with Diabetes. Good luck with it.

Originally Posted by damian

As usual I've failed to find much existing. Are there any threads here on diabetes ? especially type 2 ?

I got the diagnosis on monday and trying to get my head around what to do.

The stuff online is somewhat contracdictory regarding diet. I don't know if it's worth spending time and I presume lots of money of dieticians ?

Obviously I need to cut out fizzy drinks, cakes etc. cut right back on white rice/bread/pasta, saturated fat and increase fruit, veg and lean meat. Seems there is some disagreement on hi gi and low gi and some specific foods. It's a bit confusing.

Doctor wants to try diet/excercise before medication. average is 9 with individual tests between 12 and 8. Blood pressure is fine.

I was diagnosed last October and went from zero pills to 14 pills a day. Now I am on 7 pills a day. On the day I was diagnosed my sugar level was 25+! The docs were horrified I was driving. The diabetes had caused me to have horrendous leg cramps that combined with the need to go to the loo every 40 minutes ruined my sleep. One night the cramps tore a calf muscle and while hobbling to the dunny I fell though a plate glass door - I'm lucky I am still here. I developed serious blood clots in my left leg and had to take a couple of weeks off work and was not allowed to fly for 3 months. I had also developed some kidney damage.

My doc sent me to diabetes classes but it took 2 months to get a spot in the class. The classes are 3 hours a week for 6 weeks and they cover everything. The woman running it was a diabetes specialist but we has sessions with a dietician, a exercise specialist and a Podiatrist (foot specialist). By the time I got to the classes I had read everything I needed to know but I still found it useful to re-affirm a few things. I would really recommend these classes particularly to people that don't want to read about it

What struck me was how dopey the other students in these classes were. We started with 16 students but only 6 were at the final class. I was the only person in the class that could touch their toes. Most of the students were looking for a magic or one shot fix. One guy made himself sick by taking too much fish oil. Another relatively young guy of 35 told me on the quiet that he still ate a couple of Maccas and a bottle of coke every couple of days but just took an extra shot of insulin to cover for it. I felt really sorry for the guy, he weighed 170 kg and had mental health issues but I saw little hope for his future. One 75 year old student student was as thin as a rake. All his meals consisted of a couple of slices of bread and butter, maybe a slice of processed cheese and a cup of tea. He rarely ate veggies or fruit.

There was nothing wrong with what I was eating - I was already eating lots of veges and fruit and we have always been lean and low meat eaters. My problem was just eating too much of everything and not enough exercise so I had to change volume and proportions of food and get out the walking shoes again. It was not that hard but I do miss my carbs. I agree there is some conflicting info on the foods - I think everything is OK in small amounts on an occasion basis

Now under an average amount of meds my sugar is under excellent control. I even have a couple of beers on weekends. Our new Border Collie Pup demands lots of walks so I sleep a lot better although I still need to lose another 10 kgs.

Just ask if you need any more info.

The biggest, and a must is exercise. You have GOT to walk for 1hr a day.

Best options are nothing white except colliflower. So basmati rice, wholemeal bread (you get used to it quick enough).
and yes sugar and cakes and chocolate and lollies are out.

I did the diet thing for 2 years, then onto pills, now at the max that I can have. Endo wants me on Insulin, but I retired from work and just do more exercise.
Get a vege garden going.
But its only a matter of time before I am on insulin. Think Doc or endo said nearly all type 2's are insulin dependent by 10 years.

And all these things that say No-sugar is great but they still have carbs.

No Alcohol as that turns into sugar as well.

I do spoil myself as I have ONE chocolate teddy bear biscuit for my birthday and a shot of port.

Have a look at sugarlessco.com. Aussie company that I have done computer work for over the last 25 years. They started selling hair clips and stuff and have been doing this for the last 10 or so years.
You can get their stuff at chemist warehouses.

You need to exercise (work) and eat like your grandparents did.
And its the proper diet for everyone, No potato chips, no fast food junk.
Just Meat, vege, wholemeal to be safe.

Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by damian

As usual I've failed to find much existing. Are there any threads here on diabetes ? especially type 2 ?

Damian have you tried Diabetes Australia and their Queensland branch websites.

My wife has type 1 and is a member of the Vic branch and they are very helpful and if you have to go on insulin they administer the NDSS scheme.

Peter.

Some sound advice already. Diabetes is a life changing diagnosis and the complications, should people with diabetes ignore the advice (and there are plenty!), are hideous. Heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, gangrene of the toes, stroke and the list goes on. As a nurse I see this stuff all the time because most sufferers think they'll be right.

So YES, see a dietician. Peter (sturdee) is also spot on when you should get in touch with Diabetes Australia. A dietician, Diabetes Australia and your doctor are the only ones you should listen to and take advice from.

That's a blow, I know a bloke that has diabetes and he has just had half of his foot cut off. Needless to say, he doesn't manage his very well.

Robert

I 'm a type 1 dabetic,insulin needle 4 times daily,its hard to get your balance right,you have to keep in mind what you are eating, and tailor your dose to that,keep low on the carbs.I was on Metformin tablets three times daily ,they were like horse pills to swallow,Lipitor for cholestrol
Optometrist once every twelve months,podiatrist every eight weeks,wear fully enclosed footwear.I use to walk every night for an hour now only half an hour three times weekly,find other things I'm doing around the house makes up for the other 4 days, dietitian will give you all the help you need regarding what foods are in and what foods are out,portion sizes etc.Most docs like your bgl under seven and around 4.5 -5 if you can get it that low Good luck

Originally Posted by _fly_

The biggest, and a must is exercise. You have GOT to walk for 1hr a day.

...snip...

You need to exercise (work) and eat like your grandparents did.
And its the proper diet for everyone, No potato chips, no fast food junk.
Just Meat, vege, wholemeal to be safe.

Excellent advice from fly.....

Thank you for the replies.

I am sorry some of you seem to be a lot worse off than me.

I used to have a healthier lifestyle, but my partner has a chronic illness so I have to look after her and 2 houses and work full time. 18 months ago my employer moved me into the cbd and the extra commuting and aggravation put me over the edge. I haven't been coping and diet went to hell. I guess this is what brought it on. I also have what I believe to be an infect prostate, or something similar. I've been putting up with it for 3 years but now am trying to get that treated. It was this investigation which showed up the blood sugar.

6 years ago I thought getting a desk job was a good idea as I don't bounce like I did as a kid and my previous more physical work had an element of danger to it. I'm thinking now that may have been the worse decision of my life.

I should clarify when I said I haddn't found much I was referring to the forum. I've read several web pages but have been surprised at the variations in advice on diet. Particularly regarding fruit. Also wholemeal, wholegrain and seeded breads.

I cannot walk, my knees are stuffed. I did a bit of swimming tuesday and am going again tonight. Unfortunately most pools are either shut or on limited hours in winter. Never understood that but anyway...

Thanks for the comments. I'll keep reading.

Hi Damien, & Others,
Hey Damien, don't get to uptight about this Diabetes thing.
Everybody who has it, is Different to one another.
I for one do not let it get to me, noway. I am very aware of it. I do my test at 6pm. every evening, & average approx. 6.1, which my Lady Dietician, is quite pleased with that. I'm Type 2.
If I want to eat Chockies, kfc, flavored milk, etc. I do.
So why ?
1 because I can & 2, because they will be a one off. Reading may go up, so what.
I'm still a reasonably healthy man of 75, & I just keep going.
I don't do the exercise that most do, mainly because I'm not to keen on wasting time checking out all the gardens in the area, when I can move around My Shed, doing something useful.
Hey Damien, That's Me, not everyone else.
Cheer up Mate, & Chin Up as it is not the end of The World.
Gee, I can feel that Drop Bear about to Jump On Me for these Comments.

Swimming is good as well, one of the better things to do.

The best time to do the exercise is first thing in the morning, You will get more benefit for less effort. The afternoon walk or swim is not as effective. My local pool opens at 5am.

I know a few people that claim to be diabetic and I guess they are but its more fructose intolerance (fruit sugars) only set them off. They eat lollies have sugar and cake, coke etc and then crow that theirs is under control.

I'm with you, thought desk job was easier route, Not so, missed breakfast to often and didn't eat well enough.

Breakfast is also a must, best if you eat 5 times a day (grazing).
Porridge is good in the morning (low GI), half a tea spoon of honey in it is ok to sweeten it.
Your body needs to know it is going to get food at regular intervals. So try to avoid skipping meals. Carrot and celery sticks with raw mushrooms for morning tea.
Also try to have your main carb meal for lunch instead of dinner. So have the pasta or bread rolls, bit of pizza for lunch.

For dinner try to stick to the meat (size of palm) spuds or small noodles or rice (same amount) and as much carrots, peas beans and salad you can scrum down (you'll fill up).

The 2 bad fruits that I know of are grapes and rock melon. Send you into orbit. The rest fresh fruit is ok, keep away from those prepacked fruit in syrup/juice.

Originally Posted by damian

I should clarify when I said I haddn't found much I was referring to the forum. I've read several web pages but have been surprised at the variations in advice on diet. Particularly regarding fruit. Also wholemeal, wholegrain and seeded breads.

One reason for the variation on advice regarding fruit seems to be because of the amount of sugar it contains. I always thought you could eat as much fruit as you like but it turns out you can't especially if it is dried or worse still tinned. Too much fresh fruit, especially the sugary ones, is not right even for a diabetic. At one stage I was eating about a kg of fruit and nut mix a week, plus 3-4 pieces of fresh a day, the dietician said that was way too much especially dried fruit, so then I switched to just fresh fruit but my consumption crept up to 6-7 large pieces a day and sometimes I would eat a kg of grapes or half a water melon in one sitting. This was also just way too much calories and they largely get converted to fat. I still eat about 4-5 pieces of fresh fruit a day but I now buy small pieces of fruit so although it feels like I'm eating a lot, in term of calories it only equals 2-3 pieces.

At the other end of the scale is exercise. In my mid forties I was getting way too heavy and went on a supervised diet and exercise program and lost 36 kg. I managed to keep it off for only about 12 months and then it slowly started creeping back on, so 10 years later I was right back where I started and growing. This coincided with the ageing and passing on of our faithful hound and it was about 2 years after she passed away I was diagnosed with diabetes. Now we have a new Border Collie pup and she is extremely active so it's lots of walking. I now do about an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening. I sympathise with people who cannot do this.

The other one I do is I have one of those quiet exercise bikes. I just use that for an hour in the morning while I watch the tele news and have a coffee.

You don't need to go hard, Its good to use the big muscles in your legs.

I know you said walking was difficult but how would you be on an exercise bike? You can ALWAYS find one on the side of the road like I did. Plenty of people throwing those away.

Originally Posted by _fly_

Swimming is good as well, one of the better things to do.

The best time to do the exercise is first thing in the morning, You will get more benefit for less effort. The afternoon walk or swim is not as effective. My local pool opens at 5am.

My exercise physiologist said biologically it doesn't matter when you exercise It's just that one is usually tired in the afternoon so it is more of an effort but it is still better than nothing.

I know a few people that claim to be diabetic and I guess they are but its more fructose intolerance (fruit sugars) only set them off. They eat lollies have sugar and cake, coke etc and then crow that theirs is under control.

I'm with you, thought desk job was easier route, Not so, missed breakfast to often and didn't eat well enough.

I'm the reverse. I've always eaten a big breakfast - it's always contained healthy items but just too much of them. I've not eaten butter or marg on toast or bread for 30 years but I was eating too much bread.

Breakfast is also a must, best if you eat 5 times a day (grazing).
Porridge is good in the morning (low GI), half a tea spoon of honey in it is ok to sweeten it.
Your body needs to know it is going to get food at regular intervals. So try to avoid skipping meals. Carrot and celery sticks with raw mushrooms for morning tea.
Also try to have your main carb meal for lunch instead of dinner. So have the pasta or bread rolls, bit of pizza for lunch.

Good advice. I still eat more at breakfast than any other meal, porridge with oats, psyllium or bran, Half a handful of nuts and craisins, or fresh berries, plus a cut up banana. Plus piece of wholegrain toast (no butter) with baked beans or lo-fat cheese or dry fried egg.

For dinner try to stick to the meat (size of palm) spuds or small noodles or rice (same amount) and as much carrots, peas beans and salad you can scrum down (you'll fill up).

For me whole potato is OK but plain mashed (with nothing added) sends my sugar up. Except for Basmati or brown, rice sends my sugar levels up.

The 2 bad fruits that I know of are grapes and rock melon. Send you into orbit. The rest fresh fruit is ok, keep away from those prepacked fruit in syrup/juice.

Grapes does send my sugar up but Rock melon doesn't. Watermelon is worse that grapes, probably because I'll usually scoff a quarter of a melon at one sitting.