What to do next?

[njguy1314]

Was just newly diagnosed and was given a medication to take (forgot the name) as i still have to get it from the pharmacy. Was told to take it 30-15 minutes before breakfast...avoid carbohydrates...lose weight...excercise but what should i do next? i mean what can i eat for breakfast,lunch and dinner? im totally lost....can i still drink coffee in the morning?  pls. help. :(

[njguy1314]

Thank you SgtBaxter for sharing what you have gone through. I just took my first med this morning called Glipzide. Thanks for the information about the Glycemic levels of food. I never looked at the packages of food that way before. I wonder if they list the GI of each food that we buy? Also unfortunately i cant eat apples but oranges i can. What type of snacks do you eat SgtBaxter i mean the inbetween meals snacks in the morning and in the afternoon? I would like to follow what your doing. Thanks again for your help. Its sincerely appreciated. :)

[SgtBaxter]

I'd also add to learn about the glycemic index and glycemic loads of foods (glycemicindex.com) and learn to pick and eat foods with a lower index. Every single food you eat is converted to glucose, the trick is eating those that don't spike your system. Proteins, good fats and the right fruits and veggies. (not unlike southbeach)

For instance, WaveRider mentioned fruits. Different fruits have different glycemic loads. For instance, apples have glycemic index of ~35-40, which is low. This is because they also have fiber, which slows absorption. Foods below 55 on the index are considered to have a low index and won't spike your sugar levels as much as higher indexed foods.

Shy away from starchy veggies like potatoes and peas. Eat stuff like broccoli instead. Give yourself variety too. Rotate your snacks so you're not eating the same thing every day.

Also, get a tester. They aren't expensive, $10-$20. The test strips are where they shaft you, but you can get many on amazon.com for half the price they charge in walmart.

Then start to test your sugar when you wake up, before you eat a meal and 2 hours after. Doing that will help you learn what foods work better and which don't. For instance, I mentioned apples. I've found that I can eat a big red delicious apple all by itself, and my glucose level *barely* budges. Eat an orange by itself I see a jump, so I'll eat an orange with other food - say for dessert. But fruits and veggies are essential to a good diet so you should eat them!

Of course everyone is different, but learning about glycemic loads of foods really can help tremendously. I had fasting glucose levels of 285 and 225 when I got diagnosed (a scant week and a half ago). Doc put me on metformin, and told me he'd like it to get down to at least 130's when he sees me in June. I changed my diet that very day, here it is a week later and my bedtime level just tested 112. The metformin also made me sick, so I'm only taking half the dose! But other than the cramps from that, I feel better than I've felt in years, and it's only been a week. My goal initially was to just try and get my sugar down. Now it's much loftier, I want to be down to non-diabetic levels and stop taking this infernal metformin. I think it's doable. The hardest part for me is eating regularly during the day. Normally I'd eat lunch, no breakfast no dinner, just a snack when I got home. Now I eat all day, but because I'm eating better things like fruits and veggies, I'm taking in less calories and am finding I have energy late in the day I never had before.

Yes, it's important to eat regularly during the day. Breakfast - snack - lunch - snack - dinner. Keeps your levels more constant, plus if your med is metformin (probably is) it will help keep side effects at bay. Don't give up on it if you do get cramps or nausea or headaches. Talk with your doctor, he might tell you to take half the dose for a few weeks then work up to full dose.

Oh yeah, drink your coffee and tea. Just don't stick sugar in them, and use vanilla soy milk instead. :)

Good luck!

[njguy1314]

Thank you so much for your reply. I will check out eMedTV as you suggested and use google as an additional resource to educate myself.

[WaveRider]

Changing lifestyle habits can go a long way in controlling type 2 diabetes. Restrict & avoid refined sugars, practice and adhere to weight control, do some sort of exercise daily, practice stress management, and get adequate sleep. These are all important in managing diabetes, the most important, along with proper nutrition, is daily physical activity.

Besides watching sugar in your diet-- you also need to watch carbohydrates [starches] carefully too. For example; white foods, things like breads, potatoes, pasta, crackers, foods made with white flour, etc. can cause a drastic rise in your blood sugar if you aren't careful. [They are converted to sugar after you eat them]. Lower your intake of man-made or prepared foods. You may jump to buy that fat free yogurt because, well, it’s lower in fat but if you read the ingredient label that lower fat was substituted with higher amounts of sugar.

Other foods/drinks need care too. For example; milk [sugar], fruit & fruit juices [fructose aka fruit sugar] also can cause blood sugar to rise [so serving sizes and moderation are important]. With fruit it’s important to eat them with other foods to slow the absorption of fructose. I'm NOT saying that these foods aren't allowed. What I AM saying is that you need to use care and follow the guidelines for diabetics – avoid sugar, avoid bad carbs, avoid sugary liquids, eat proper foods. Use Google and search "bad carbs and good carbs". The latter is what you want. It's not hard. You now have be selective about what you eat.

Also, go to the web site eMedTV and educate yourself about diabetes. There are other diabetes sites but I've found eMedTV to be one of the best as they explain things in easy to follow laymen terms.