Diagnosed over a month ago

Triniz

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hello all,
I am a 36 year old male, I was diagnosed as diabetic over a month ago and thought that I would share my story with you guys. The main reason I am posting, is because I have been reading and watching videos and learning and thinking and going through the motions that all of us diabetics seem to go through and thought it's about time I add my own experience in the hopes that it helps or comforts someone out there.
In October 2017 my wife went in to get her eyes tested and order some new specs, and because my specs were in bad shape I had her book me for an appointment. Even gave up a fishing trip that morning to go to this appointment. I had breakfast on the way there which was a quarter roti and fried plantain, a roti is a west indian flat bread. During the eye exam the optamologist aksed me when last I checked my sugar, and I was like never.... why? Turned out she was seeing "edema near the maccular region" of my left eye.. my good eye. This is seen in people whose sugar has been a high for a very long time and isn't controlled.
They tested my BG and it was at 276 mg/dl! Poor me didn't know what the ass that meant and all they said was that means I'm diabetic.
I was given a letter to go join a health center for treatment and told to come back in 3 months and they they will sort me out for new specs.
I was devastated, like I cried. My world came crashing down, all I could think of was that I would die and not see my grand kids. My own kids are very young as well, which made it worse. That was a Saturday, after a hard Sunday, I visited the health center, before going I ate lunch, noodles, chow mein and chicken from a chinese place. At the visit my BG was 286 mg/dl and there was glucose in my urine. The doctor said, "you are definitely diabetic!" and gave me a script for metformin. 500mg morning and evening.

That out of the way, the next visit on the list was to see an ophthalmologist about the edema. At that visit I was told there are white deposits at the back of my eye and that if I get things under control it will go away on it's own, come back in January. I also had my blood work done after a doctor at the clinic told me "you're 36, you're too young to be diabetic, your kidney's must be damaged and your cholesterol must be high!!". My LDL-c is 99 mg/dl and HDL-c is 42 mg/dl, which is quite normal lol. Freaked out over that for a while too until I got my results. Also my HbA1c 2 weeks after diagnose, was 11.6 umol/l, 4.9%. The only thing that came back high was my Uric Acid, which means I've gout.... but I don't so I'm ignoring that. I've stopped drinking bottled juices anyways.

All this time I was in turmoil, praying harder, reading, eating rabbit food, watching videos, afraid to even be close to sugar. Sweating because I will never eat ice cream again!! Then I found this website and read and read and read and learned a lot, but never hadd the state of mind to write anything. It's only now I've come to terms I guess.

It's almost two months since I was diagnosed and after thinking I wouldn't last a day much less a week, I have survived and looking to survive a long time further. My reading are between 95 - 106 in the mornings, around 115 - 120 in the day and under 120 at night two hours after eating. I eat mostly protien with steamed vegs, and some mayo or olive oil, I drink some apple cider vinegar in a cup of water in the morning, I'm out of AC at the moment, so might not continue that. I do eat ice cream once every couple weeks, a small cone, I tested an hour after eating it and I was at 115, 2 hours later I was 101. I also eat almonds or peanuts as a snack, but I've stopped having them between meals and have them with the meal instead.

I found online that if you lose the fat quickly you can get better results faster, so I do intermittent fasting, and I do HIIT training at night before bed, I went from 175 pounds to 157 in this time and my muscles are popping.

To round it up, thank you to all the folks that post on here, too many to mention, but everybody has contributed in some way or the other to me not feeling as alienated and lost as I was feeling before, and I will try to also help in anyway I can. This is a learning process, and from all that I've read, different strokes for different folks. Some people say eat lots of carbs and no meat and no fat, some say eat all veg and some fats. Some say eat fish, some say don't. Some say YES! type II is reversible, some say, STOP! DREAMING! What I find is that the people saying these things, aren't diabetic on the most part...
Every morning I get up and see 105, or 106 I feel disappointed in myself a little, especially if I go to bed at 90. I feel this way because people come on here and they're like, if you're over 100 you're still not doing it right and it's supposed to be under 100. I was beating myself up because of this, and then I read how some people are trying everything they can and they're getting over 140 in the morning and this is why I chose to post... wasn't supposed to be this long, but it is what it is... as long as you are trying to be healthy and you got that goal in your mind to be healthy, you are doing great. Match yourself to you and not anyone else, every win is a win once you keep trying.
 
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Grateful

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,398
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Also my HbA1c 2 weeks after diagnose, was 11.6 umol/l, 4.9%.

Welcome to the forum. The time immediately after diagnosis is difficult and confusing for many of us. Can you confirm the 4.9% HbA1c? I am asking only because that is a non-diabetic level (diabetes begins at 6.5%) and the HbA1c is the usual "gold standard" for diagnosing the disease. The other numbers, such as the 286 mg/dl that you mentioned from your eye test, are way into the diabetic region but they are only "snapshots" whereas the A1c is an average over a (roughly) three-month period.

I am tagging @daisy1 who can provide a useful summary of information for newcomers.

(Edited a few minutes later to correct the time range of the A1c test.)
 

Triniz

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi, yes my HbA1c was was at 4.9% just after diagnoses. My doctor is going to have me do a glucose tolerance test next week and I'm to have another HbA1c done in January. Tests aren't cheap, neither are doctors where I'm from lol.
 

Grateful

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,398
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi, yes my HbA1c was was at 4.9% just after diagnoses. My doctor is going to have me do a glucose tolerance test next week and I'm to have another HbA1c done in January. Tests aren't cheap, neither are doctors where I'm from lol.

Ok I just want to say this result is strange, although I am not a doctor and your doctor should be the one to rely on for this. A level of 4.9% is relatively low even for a non-diabetic and that is why I asked. I am a Type 2 diabetic and managed to get my level down to that same level (4.9%) with a very strict low-carbohydrate diet -- that was sharply down from the 8.3% level when I was diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic. A level of 4.9% is regarded as "non-diabetic."

Regarding your comment about costs. I am in America, and tests (and medical care in general) are not cheap here, taking into account the $1,200 per month premium that I pay for health insurance (as a self-employed person) and the additional "co-payments" for the tests themselves....

Assuming you are indeed Type 2 diabetic, the big issue is diet. Drugs can help a lot, but it sounds like you have not been prescribed any of those yet (please correct me if I am wrong).

The good news is that some people, including me (see signature below) are able to deal with the condition entirely with a low-carbohydrate diet (and no drugs). You have probably already got some information about this, because you said you've been following this forum for a little while.

I don't know whether such a route will be appropriate for you. But if you want more information:

Explaining the HbA1c blood test: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html

Explaining the various low-carb options: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/low-carb-diabetes-diet.html

Getting food information and recipes: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb
 
Last edited:

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Triniz

Hello Triniz and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 259,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.