[NeilE.]

Hi. I was diagnosed with type 2 on Friday 08/05. I am 54 years old, my fasting level was 217 and my A1C, 7.2. I am testing 4 times a day and on metformin twice a day. I have a decent amopunt of weight to loose, I have adjusted my diet, no carbs, and started excercising again.

I'm a little scared and a little confused. Not sure what I can eat and not eat, can drink, can't drink. Not sure how quickly I can expect my numbers to come down. I think I'm good then I'm not.

Before lunch today I tested @ 153. I had a salad with tuna and a small amount of olive oil vinagrette dressing with 6 Wheat Thin crackers. Two hours after lunch, I usually don't check 2 hours after, I tested @ 256. I was shocked that I jumped so much. I don't get it.

Hopefully I'll get the info I need here and some support.

 

[moon]

Hi Neil - welcome to the forum. It's daunting at first, that's sure. And the most common question is: what the heck do I eat? So you're in good company w/ people who have been there.

As for your lunch, you might want to check the salad dressing for carbs. Freshly made oil/balamic dressing at home is one thing, when you eat out it can disguise all sorts of carbs. I've found the safest choice when out is to eat blue cheese dressing, or ask for balsamic and oil separately.

Wheat thin crackers can spike, but I agree that's a crazy big spike. There are so many factors - did you wash and dry your hands thoroughly before testing? The smallest amt of something on your hands can dramatically affect it.

When someone says they have a fair amount of weight to lose, I always think "Oh, you're in for a nice surprise! The up side of being diabetic."

I also had weight to lose, and without trying have lost close to 50 lbs. It was a bonus, a delightful result of focusing on my diabetes. All I did was flip my diet to low-carb and portion control took care of itself. I have no idea how many calories I eat, only that I typically eat 40-50 carbs/day, and even that I've stopped counting exactly. I eat based on my meter, and know I'll have to make some additional changes at some point, but for now all's well.

It seems terrifying, but it's remarkably easier than you right now imagine. You'll see.

Glad you've joined us.

 

[Gizmo]

Seems like I have posted this link a few times in the past couple of days, I'm sure people are getting sick of seeing it, but here goes anyway. Here is a link to a post I made a while back when someone asked what they should be eating. Hope it helps. Welcome to the forum.

 

[NeilE.]

Thanks for your responses. I'm sure I'll find a lot of useful information here. I feel that I have been flyng solo with this and it's been a little disconcerting.

Moon, I didn't think about how touching the wrong thing could affect the test results. I'm glad you pointed that out. Thanks.

 

[Shanny]

Hello & welcome, Neil . . . I think you'll find plenty of good nutritional advice here to get those numbers down. Seems like we're forever talking about food & how fun it is discovering good nourishing low-carb meals.

Are you cooking for yourself or eat out a lot? Some of us enjoy the tinkering-with-recipes part of this process & others not so much. In any case, watch the recipes board & the 'what's for dinner' thread for ideas, and you'll see pretty much how we maintain good numbers. Everyone has to tailor their own diet because we're in such different situations (some type 1 - some type 1.5 or 2; some on insulin, some on no meds at all; not to mention degree of pancreatic function & insulin resistance), so by using our meters before & after meals, we're able to learn which foods cause higher BG, so we can limit or eliminate those & eventually develop a nice list of foods which are safe to eat.

Scared & confused is a pretty standard reaction to a diabetes diagnosis . . . we'll try to alleviate that for you!

 

[ColaJim]

Well, you are now diabetic so get use to it.
1 gram of carbohydrate equals about 5 mg/dl of blood sugar so a jump of 100 mg/dl means you digested about 100 / 5 or 20 grams of carbs. Did you check the package for how many carbs per 6 Wheat Thin crackers?

At least as a diabetic you are not compelled to suck the blood out of living people, that is left to Big Pharma and the AMA doctors. You will get my drift after you start having to pay for your own diabetic medications.

ColaJim

Hi. I was diagnosed with type 2 on Friday 08/05. I am 54 years old, my fasting level was 217 and my A1C, 7.2. I am testing 4 times a day and on metformin twice a day. I have a decent amopunt of weight to loose, I have adjusted my diet, no carbs, and started excercising again.

I'm a little scared and a little confused. Not sure what I can eat and not eat, can drink, can't drink. Not sure how quickly I can expect my numbers to come down. I think I'm good then I'm not.

Before lunch today I tested @ 153. I had a salad with tuna and a small amount of olive oil vinagrette dressing with 6 Wheat Thin crackers. Two hours after lunch, I usually don't check 2 hours after, I tested @ 256. I was shocked that I jumped so much. I don't get it.

Hopefully I'll get the info I need here and some support.

 

[Gizmo]

1 gram of carbohydrate equals about 5 mg/dl of blood sugar

I had never heard this before, so I looked it up on the web.

Harvey Simon, M.D. of the Harvard School of Medicine says that one gram of carbohydrate raises your bg 3 mg/dL if you weigh around 200 lbs., 4 mg/dL if you weigh around 150 lbs. or 5 mg/dL if you weigh around 100 lbs.

I know when it comes to Diabetes, there are variables, but if this is anything close to being accurate, it can be a very useful tool. Thanks, Jim.

 

[vladdydaddy626]

Mr neil, i got diagnosed with type 1 about 2 weeks ago, i kno exactly what ur going through (except mine would jump to 400/500 after eating). Protein protein protein!! I started eating alot of burgers with cheese (little or no carbs) tomatoes and wrapped with lettuce. A meal like that tastes sooo bomb and has almost no carbs. Im trying to gain weight cuz i workout alot, but u might wanna watch ur portions if ur type 2.

 

[cjmobxnc]

Hi, Neil. Welcome to the forum. I see that you're in Florida. Are you keeping an eye on the little girl in the Atlantic who's throwing her temper tantrum? I'm in the NE corner of NC, and we're hoping she just goes far, far away.

 

[canadiandude]

Welcome to the forums, Neil. I agree with Moon that those Wheat Thins were likely the cause but that the spike was high for it to be the Wheat Thins alone.I probably shouldn't be surprised though as oatmeal will do the same with me (how typical that I love oatmeal!). I ate 100g (measured) of oatmeal with milk and cinnamon/splenda a couple months ago and went from a 5.0 (90) to an 11.8 (212).