# I am new to the Diabetes UK forum



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 2, 2016)

Hi my name is Kathleen I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2001 at the age of 13. I am new to the forum I have no idea what I am doing.

I was recently taken in to hospital with DKA which to be honest really scared me as I nearly died luckily my husband was home to take care of me and I had family close by to look after my daughter. I have been struggling with my diabetes for years and it has been really getting me down. I want to change all that so I decided to join the forum to seek help from other diabetics and support x x x x


----------



## Northerner (Nov 2, 2016)

Hi Kathleen, welcome to the forum  Very sorry to hear about the DKA, that is really horrible - I'm glad you were able to get help quickly.

What insulin regime are you on? What sort of problems have you been having - unexpected hypos, too many highs? Have you ever been on a diabetes course, such as DAFNE? 

Hopefully we will be able to help you solve some of the problems you are having - there's lots of knowledge and experience here, so whatever your question of concern, I'm sure we can help


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 2, 2016)

I am on Novo-Rapid 3x times a day and Lantus Solo star before bed I am also on metformin 2 tablets twice a day. My problem is I am having too many highs. I have not been on a course as I don't feel comfortable going to the them. I have an appointment with a dietician on 22nd November. My other issues is I am always feeling depressed I don't want to get out of bed or do housework I am currently on medication for my depression but I think its mainly linked to all the high blood sugars. I am worried about my general health I have cataracts in both eyes and a little bleed in one eye also all these problems are stressing me out x x x


----------



## Marsbartoastie (Nov 2, 2016)

Hi Kathleen
So glad you've found this forum.  I hope it provides the support and encouragement you need.  Do you have any goals/aims that we might be able to help you with?


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 2, 2016)

I just want to get my blood sugars in range x x


----------



## Martin Canty (Nov 2, 2016)

Hi Kathleen, welcome to the group

I'm sure there will be some T1's along to help you out... But in the meantime what is your diet like? how many carbs (and what) are you typically consuming?


----------



## Marsbartoastie (Nov 2, 2016)

Kathleen Merry-Reynolds said:


> I just want to get my blood sugars in range x x


I was just about to ask the same question as Martin Canty.


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 2, 2016)

i struggling at eating my meals I snack a lot which I know does not help with my blood sugars I mainly eat soup with 2 slices of 400g white bread and sometimes for breakfast I have porridge x x


----------



## Martin Canty (Nov 2, 2016)

Ah, white bread can spike BG, in fact any kind of refined carbs will..... Is your porridge instant or quick cooking? Steel Cut Oatmeal might be an alternative; takes longer to cook but less refined.


----------



## Jonsi (Nov 2, 2016)

Hi Kath ...welcome along to this place. Ask all the questions you want, you're bound to get good answers and, if you want to have a bit of a laugh, you can do that here too. You can always rant about your Diabetes here as well as bitch about rubbish care or praise them to the hilt if you're getting good care.


----------



## Ralph-YK (Nov 2, 2016)

Welcome from a T2


----------



## Pine Marten (Nov 2, 2016)

Hi Kathleen, I second what Jonsi said just now . This is a great place for support and advice. Welcome from another T2!


----------



## Owen (Nov 2, 2016)

Kathleen Merry-Reynolds said:


> I am on Novo-Rapid 3x times a day and Lantus Solo star before bed I am also on metformin 2 tablets twice a day. My problem is I am having too many highs. I have not been on a course as I don't feel comfortable going to the them. I have an appointment with a dietician on 22nd November. My other issues is I am always feeling depressed I don't want to get out of bed or do housework I am currently on medication for my depression but I think its mainly linked to all the high blood sugars. I am worried about my general health I have cataracts in both eyes and a little bleed in one eye also all these problems are stressing me out x x x


Hi Kathleen, try and look at your diabetes as an opportunity to focus. When I am in the deep dark realms of the black dog, then the need to do the right thing is what gives me a routine, almost a hobby (the irony). To get DKA as a type 1 after diagnosis and therapy does take hard work in a negative way. Turn that energy against this cruel condition and get your life back. Don't go radical and stop eating carbohydrate, but look at two things, 1 are you using the insulin correctly (it may be that you don't fully understand this, or you feel guilty); 2 once you have started covering your carbohydrate decide what your personal goals are (be it weight loss or control, or just better eating). The mind diet is not that dissimilar to the GL method, both of these will help your mood.


----------



## James 048 (Nov 2, 2016)

Kathleen Merry-Reynolds said:


> Hi my name is Kathleen I was diagnosed with diabetes in 2001 at the age of 13. I am new to the forum I have no idea what I am doing.
> 
> I was recently taken in to hospital with DKA which to be honest really scared me as I nearly died luckily my husband was home to take care of me and I had family close by to look after my daughter. I have been struggling with my diabetes for years and it has been really getting me down. I want to change all that so I decided to join the forum to seek help from other diabetics and support x x x x


HI Kathleen ,  warm welcome to group ,


----------



## SB2015 (Nov 2, 2016)

Hi Kathleen

Sorry to hear about your DKA but glad that you have made your way to the forum, a place where I have learnt so much that has helped me to really improve my control. I know that I feel very groggy when my levels go high, so it may be that you start to feel better overall once you start to improve your blood glucose levels.  Good to hear that you are seeing a dietician soon.

Here are two ideas that come to mind for me.

Carb Counting
Are you counting the Grams of carbohydrate that you eat (at meals or in snacks)? 
You mention that you are levels tang to go on a DAFNE course, where I learnt the importance of counting carbs, and I gained the freedom to eat when I wanted to. Once you have got the hang of this you can start to match your insulin to what you eat.  You would need to find out how much carbohydrate you can eat which would be covered by 1 unit of insulin.  This is different for each person so I cannot advise you about the figures, I just know how important this idea is to help get control of those pesky BGs.  You could ask the dietician to help you with this.

Gaps between meals
The Novorapid takes about 4 hours to deal with the food completely so it is good to keep a gap of four hours between eating any carbs .  That really helped me to limit my snacking, as I realised that every time I ate again I was lifting my BG up again and it had not had time to get back down into the range I wanted.  At the start it might help to set an alarm knowing that you cannot eat again until the alarm goes off.

With both of these it would be good to have the help of a specialist nurse. Mid you are not already seeing a DSN or Consultant could you ask for referral to your local hospital diabetes team.  I would be surprised if they would not help as you have already shown, by joining here, that you are wanting to start sorting out your levels.

I hope that this is of some help


----------



## grovesy (Nov 2, 2016)

Welcome!


----------



## trophywench (Nov 2, 2016)

Absolutely what everyone else has said - these carb-counting courses are not, as you may be imagining - places where everyone will be up for criticism - FAR from that!  They are structured so as to HELP the people there and that's why they aren't delivered to huge audiences all at once - they want to give each person there as much attention as they need in order to go forth into the real world, able to cope with it themselves in their own homes and in their own lives.  People on my course ranged from an overweight University student recently embarked on the physical fitness trail, so dedicated to structured exercise sessions, via middle aged peeps like me in various scenarios to a retiree - and there were I think 8 of us.  By the finish, we all had seven new friends and knew what our music choices were and our family's preferences and dislikes for certain foods.  We had a good laugh too as well as the serious bits - it's all really interesting!


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 2, 2016)

James 048 said:


> HI Kathleen ,  warm welcome to group ,


Thank you x x


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 2, 2016)

Martin Canty said:


> Ah, white bread can spike BG, in fact any kind of refined carbs will..... Is your porridge instant or quick cooking? Steel Cut Oatmeal might be an alternative; takes longer to cook but less refined.


I have the ready brek microwave one x x


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 2, 2016)

SB2015 said:


> Hi Kathleen
> 
> Sorry to hear about your DKA but glad that you have made your way to the forum, a place where I have learnt so much that has helped me to really improve my control. I know that I feel very groggy when my levels go high, so it may be that you start to feel better overall once you start to improve your blood glucose levels.  Good to hear that you are seeing a dietician soon.
> 
> ...


Before I left the hospital they had referred me to the hospital specialist for my diabetes I see my diabetic nurse every 4 weeks now. x x


----------



## SB2015 (Nov 2, 2016)

Kathleen Merry-Reynolds said:


> I have the ready brek microwave one x x



You could try a switch to giant oats.  They digest more slowly and so reduce the spike that you will get after breakfast.  You can still do it in the microwave, and if you put in some yogurt, it will slow the release even more.  Mmmmmmm.  My breakfast of choice, but I know that some people find that they cannot tolerate porridge and it always make them spoke.


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 2, 2016)

Which oats would you recommend x


----------



## Owen (Nov 2, 2016)

Kathleen Merry-Reynolds said:


> I have the ready brek microwave one x x


Try flahavens you can microwave it and it spikes less


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 2, 2016)

i will thank you x


----------



## Greyhound Gal (Nov 2, 2016)

Owen said:


> Try flahavens you can microwave it and it spikes less


I also have flahavens. I sometimes put it to soak in milk (sometimes coconut milk) overnight and then microwave for brekkie. I often take it to work and have it there. It hardly spikes me at all and keeps me happily full until lunchtime.


----------



## Marsbartoastie (Nov 3, 2016)

You say you enjoy soup and bread.  Why not switch the two slices of bread for a LIDL protein roll (c10g carb per roll).  It may not seem like much, but this simple step would knock c20g off your daily carb count.

The number of times I recommend these rolls makes me look like a LIDL pusher...but I think they're fantastic.


----------



## Owen (Nov 3, 2016)

Marsbartoastie said:


> You say you enjoy soup and bread.  Why not switch the two slices of bread for a LIDL protein roll (c10g carb per roll).  It may not seem like much, but this simple step would knock c20g off your daily carb count.
> 
> The number of times I recommend these rolls makes me look like a LIDL pusher...but I think they're fantastic.


We don't have a Lidl


----------



## Marsbartoastie (Nov 3, 2016)

Owen said:


> We don't have a Lidl


Nae LIDL...that's just wrong 
Want me to send you a food parcel?


----------



## Greyhound Gal (Nov 3, 2016)

We have no Lidl either. Burgen Soya and Linseed bread for me.


----------



## Mini-Vicki (Nov 3, 2016)

I used to have Flahavens too, the jumbo oats, I found they had less of a spike, however I've found that I can't tolerate porridge, so now I have eggs every day! Usually two fried or scrambled eggs, and I find that I don't get hungry for hours! 
As for bread, I don't eat much of it any more, but if I do, I've found that Co-Ops own batch bread is perfect for me, no spike at all. 
It's all about lots of testing, and finding what works for you  
I recently went on one of the food education courses, similar to DAFNE, and it was a really supportive atmosphere, the other people there were fantastic, and there wasn't any judgement at all, definitely recommended!


----------



## Jonsi (Nov 3, 2016)

Owen said:


> Try flahavens you can microwave it and it spikes less


I didn't know what a Flahavens was ...so I looked it up. I usually have either Porridge with hot Semi-skimmed milk made with Morrisons Savers Oats or I mix some of Morrisons Fantastic Fibre (version of All Bran) with the oats and have it with cold milk.


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 3, 2016)

Is it ok to add dry mixed fruits to the porridge I been shopping and brought the flahavens porridge to try and going to soak it over night ready for morning x x


----------



## Ralph-YK (Nov 3, 2016)

Fruit have sugar and dried fruit is like condensed. So possibly not.


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 3, 2016)

What can I put with my porridge or I am I better off not having anything with it x x


----------



## Marsbartoastie (Nov 3, 2016)

Kathleen Merry-Reynolds said:


> What can I put with my porridge or I am I better off not having anything with it x x


I put some vanilla paste in mine...which makes it taste a bit like a pudding. Yum.


----------



## Jonsi (Nov 3, 2016)

Kathleen Merry-Reynolds said:


> Is it ok to add dry mixed fruits to the porridge I been shopping and brought the flahavens porridge to try and going to soak it over night ready for morning x x


Personally, I'd try to avoid the little 'sugar bombs' which are dried fruits. All that concentrated Fructose in each chewy bit may not be good for your numbers


----------



## grovesy (Nov 3, 2016)

I f you mean currants and raisins type dried fruit probable not a good idea! Some people use frozen berries!


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 3, 2016)

I will try that thank you x x


----------



## Radders (Nov 3, 2016)

I add cinnamon and a little sweetener to mine for flavour, and a tablespoonful of grounded flax seed to slow down the absorption. It is a rare treat though as I find it still gives me quite a big rise in blood sugar even so.


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 3, 2016)

grovesy said:


> I f you mean currants and raisins type dried fruit probable not a good idea! Some people use frozen berries!


I have added frozen blueberries to my shopping list x x


----------



## Kathleen Merry-Reynolds (Nov 3, 2016)

What's the best snack to have while at work x x


----------



## Martin Canty (Nov 3, 2016)

Totally depends on what you like....... Well, within reason....

If I snack (it's rare) I opt for a slice or two of cheese, or a handful of nuts..... Some people like celery & peanut butter


----------



## TheClockworkDodo (Nov 3, 2016)

What sort of thing do you like, and is it the sort of work where you need something dry and wrapped, or not?!  I snack on walnuts quite often as they're low in carbs (not all nuts are).  Dark (85% cocoa) chocolate is fine if you can manage to limit yourself to a couple of squares at a time!  I also snack on cheese with a couple of TUC biscuits (the original plain ones, they're only 3g carbs each).


----------



## Greyhound Gal (Nov 4, 2016)

Pepperami have hardly any carbs if you like them and need something wrapped.


----------



## Owen (Nov 4, 2016)

Oooh dark chocolate


----------



## SB2015 (Nov 4, 2016)

Kathleen Merry-Reynolds said:


> What can I put with my porridge or I am I better off not having anything with it x x



I have about 6 mixed berries from the freezer, just for a change of texture.  It is a little treat and does not seem to some me.  I also put in a bit of full fat yogurt into the porridge and some flaxseed.  I limit my porridge to give me a total of 30 g CHO for breakfast.


----------



## Bubbsie (Nov 5, 2016)

TheClockworkDodo said:


> What sort of thing do you like, and is it the sort of work where you need something dry and wrapped, or not?!  I snack on walnuts quite often as they're low in carbs (not all nuts are).  Dark (85% cocoa) chocolate is fine if you can manage to limit yourself to a couple of squares at a time!  I also snack on cheese with a couple of TUC biscuits (the original plain ones, they're only 3g carbs each).


I love TUC biscuits...no idea they were that low in carbs...will be on my shopping list...thank you.


----------



## Northerner (Nov 5, 2016)

Bubbsie said:


> I love TUC biscuits...no idea they were that low in carbs...will be on my shopping list...thank you.


My problem with Tuc biscuits is that I can only ever eat them by the packetful!  Couldn't stop at two! Mind you, I would probably find them too salty these days, my tastes have changed substantially since I became diabetic.


----------



## PinkGrapefruit (Nov 5, 2016)

Greyhound Gal said:


> Pepperami have hardly any carbs if you like them and need something wrapped.


I do like a peperami. Have one most days for a snack. Curiously you buy them in the cold section but they keep out of the fridge. I like the ones in the red packet - the hot ones :-£


----------



## Bloden (Nov 8, 2016)

Hi there, Kathleen, and welcome to the forum. You've found the right place for info and support.

Snacking was my downfall for a few years and my BGs reflected that. Unfortunately for me, even carb-free snacks spike my BG so I've had to train myself not to snack (still a work in progress). However, we're all different and it's a case of trial and error - you might find you tolerate a handful of nuts or a yogurt as a snack without a BG spike...you won't know until you do a little experiment or two.

As for carb-counting, it's one of the main tools to help us eat and dose effectively, so why not see if you can do a course? If not, there's a book / app called Carbs and Cals which a lot of diabetics find useful.


----------

