Newly Diagnosed

Janae

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi
newly diagnosed type 1.5 medics going with type 2 steroid induced. So much information, very confused
 

Moniker

Well-Known Member
Messages
219
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Welcome. There are lots of knowledgeable people here to help you out.
 

janewatt

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,528
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Welcome, Janae.

Take a deep breath (or several) and have a look at some of the Threads on here. There's a lot of knowledge and experience, but you'll also see confusion and bewilderment such as you may be feeling right now. It will get better.

Learn as much as you can, ask questions and above all, get the support you need here.

Best wishes,

Jane.
 
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Reactions: 2 people

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hello Janae and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will be able to help you.


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 over 130,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

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 bloodglucose 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.
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi and welcome. I'm not quite sure what you mean by T1.5 and then steroid induced T2? It sounds like your diagnosis wasn't explained very clearly? If you have been on steroids and the diabetes is suspected of being caused by that then it is a condition that would normally clear itself as and when you come off steroids. Yes, it would probably be treated as if it's T2. T1.5 aka LADA (Late onset T1) is caused by a failing pancreas and not normally related to steroids. If so then this would need tablets and lead to insulin in the longer-term. I'm generalsing a bit. You may want to get clarification from the your GP/nurse. Either way having a low-carb diet will help reduce blood sugar and if this isn't adequate then tablets may be started. Do ask more questions and let us know what treatment you have been prescribed if any.
 

Sid Bonkers

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,976
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Customer helplines that use recorded menus that promise to put me through to the right person but never do - and being ill. Oh, and did I mention customer helplines :)
Hi
newly diagnosed type 1.5 medics going with type 2 steroid induced. So much information, very confused


Hi Janae, I am a t2 steroid induced diabetic,I was put on multiple daily injections (MDI) of insulin at diagnosis but managed to wean myself off insulin after about 12 months of good control having lost a lot of weight.

I had been taking pred for about 2 years'ish prior to diagnosis for a combination of ashma, mild COPD and a respiratory condition called Bronchiectasis all diagnosed following respiratory failure. Then as I got used to that 2 years later I was diagnosed as diabetic as well :)

It took me about a year to stop taking insulin after I had lost a lot of weight and at the same time I slowly withdrew the prednisolone I was taking this was done very slowly as I had been a long term user and after slow reductions I got down to just 1/2 a 1mg tablet a day for the last month or so. It was reduced slowly as there was a risk that fast withdrawal can cause the adrenal glands to stop producing cortisone of its own.I have been prednisolone free now for 5 years although I still need to be very careful if I get even a cold and have to take antibiotics to ensure I dont get any further chest infections.

It is quite normal to be overwhelmed by a diagnosis of diabetes out of the blue like this but it can be controlled and whilst you will probably need to make a few small lifestyle changes hopefully you will soon get used to all the new jargon and the implications of your diagnosis.

Read as much as you can so you can understand as much as possible about your condition as knowledge is key to good control and ask as many questions as you like.

Good luck
 

Snowy12

Well-Known Member
Messages
935
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Tuna,People spitting on the floor and ironing.
image.jpg To the forum you have come to the right place,lots of helpful members.
 

neverforever

Well-Known Member
Messages
140
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Hi Janae
Im new to. Ask anything these guys will help you all the way. Take some time to read the different discussions etc and you will find out so much. Its all here for you.:)
 

Clivethedrive

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,996
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Jogging
Hi Janae, big welcome to you:)), have you done an intro ? On the newly diagnosed section, any questions , someone here will give you the answers, best forum on the net::))