Newly Diagnosed - Am I at the right stage?

[Renfield]

Hi Guys

I had been feeling unwell over the last few months, but tried to ignore it.

I eventually put the symptoms together, and came to a type 2 diabetes conclusion.

I went to the doctor on Friday, and had it confirmed. There was glucose in my urine, and with a finger prick test my blood sugar levels came back as 20.7.

It wasn't much of a surprise, but hopefully the kick to sort my diet out. My food diet is not too bad, a little substitution of white bread, pasta for wholemeal variants, but mostly cutting out Coca-Cola out of my diet (I used to drink 2L+ per day)

The detox is tough, but I am coming out the other side of the sore heads, so hopefully I will feel better soon.


The doctor said they don't give medication within the first three months as they try and address it via diet, which is perfectly understandable.

My question lies in what should be happening now:

As far as I can see,

My blood results are due back tomorrow (They took a few different vials on Friday along with he finger prick test)

I am due to go back this Friday for another finger prick test.( But this is just the nurse, not a doctor appointment)

The doctor said I would be referred for some kind of "Education" class.

I was told to get my eyes tested, which I did and they are fine


And that is all I know.

After reading up on the forums, I am wondering if I should have been given some way of testing blood sugars for myself, so I know any changes in diet are effective. Or is this kind of equipment given once I attend the education course?

No further appointments were mentioned.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Phil

 

[Gezzabelle]

Type 2's don't usually get blood testing equipment but you can buy your own. Most on here (including myself ) use the SD Codefree and it is a huge help to know what food affects you so you can make adjustments in your diet. It may surprise you to see foods that you 'think' are healthy alternatives spike your blood glucose levels. Many choose to ditch carbs or lower them dramtically and eat more fat ( the LFHC diet) )..(.low carb high fat ) I am sure that testing your blood yourself will prove very educational for you Check out the posts on here for low carb eating and the LCHF diet. Good luck...and ask as many questions as you need to....the people here are amazing Welcome to the best place you could possibly be right now....so many good people and all the advice and support you need

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. Yes, go for the low-card diet. The blood vials taken should include an HBa1C test which measures your blood sugar average over the last 3 months; a good test. Often the GP waits 3 months to do a full blood test so it's good this was done. The finger-prick test is of limited use but if done 2 hours after a meal gives you some idea of blood spiking thru food. Yes, you will have to get your own meter due to NHS budgets. You should have an annual diabetic checkup which includes the HBa1C, urine and liver anaylsis and a level of cholesterol (the latter is not that precise as these tests are now done non-fasting). You should have an annual retinopathy eye test doen by the hospital; it's a bit better than the one the optician does as it invloves drops. If your HBa1C comes down over the 3 months then you may not need meds (the diet is key here). If you are overweight then you may be prescribed Metformin; a very safe drug.

 

[sanguine]

Hi @Renfield , welcome

Low carbing is the key to diet, irrespective of whether they are refined or wholemeal. They all convert quickly to sugars and negatively impact blood sugar levels.

Lots to take in and plenty to read, but have a look around, including my links below, and ask any questions.

 

[daisy1]

@Renfield

Hello Renfield and welcome to the forum

Glad to see you have already got some good advice. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful, especially with regard to diet and carbs. 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 over 140,000 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.

 

[kateincornwall]

Hello and welcome from me too , the above advice is all you need , my BS was quite high at diagnosis but six years down the line, low carb diet has ensured that I don't need any medication . This is a brilliant forum, lots of help support and information, good luck

 

[Renfield]

Hi Guys

Thanks for all the quick replies.

Not sure if it makes a difference, but I am in Northern Ireland. I know that health is a devolved issue, so not sure if that is an advantage or disadvantage for diabetes.

Being Irish, my diet has always been high in carbs. Potatoes and bread have been staples for me since I could eat, so cutting those out are going to be very hard.

I started using My Fitness Pal to track what I consume, and I think I ate pretty healthy Yesterday!, was:

Total Calories 2088

Carbs 257.9g
Fibre 43.5g
Sugar 74.9g
Fat 60.4g
Sat Fat 25.9g

What I actually ate

Breakfast
Branflakes 60g (semi Skimmed Milk)

Lunch
2 X Chicken Sandwiches (Wholemeal Bread, Lurpak Lighter butter, Pack of Sainsbury Chicken Pieces)

Dinner
Pasta Bolognaise (100g Mince, Wholewheat Penne Pasta 125g, Dolmio Sauce)

Snacks
Gala apple
Blushed Pear
Banana
Handful of grapes
1.5 Cheese sandwich (Coleraine Chedder, Wholemeal Bread, Lurpak Lighter)


Obviously way too high on the carbs element, so I need to find alternatives. Is there a low carb bread? Looking at the links included in sanguine's post, I should be aiming for half of my carb intake as a maximum, ideally lower.

My main issues are going to be that I am one of the fussiest eaters I know. I don't like any salad items, fish(except chip shop fish), very limited veg and not a whole huge amount of fruit.. This is why I am going to find this tough.

Ren

 

[Gezzabelle]

Wow a lot of carbs....it isn't going to be easy but you really will have to cut right back on them. I loved bread and potatoes too but now I don't have any potatoes and only a very rare slice of Burgen Soya and Linseed bread which comes in at 11g carb a slice. You had a lot of fruit too...which unfortunately is full of sugars. Pasta too is heavy on carbs so I think cutting back is the way to go and ease yourself off the carb overload.. I used to eat very similar to you but now aim to have around 30g of carb maximum a day. You can do it...you just need to find alternatives that you will enjoy eating. Look at the Low Carb section here and you might find some ideas...also in the What Have You Eaten Today section....you will get some great ideas what to eat

 

[brettsza]

Reading through the forum will give you everything you need to know about carbs and how to get your bg down.
Basically everyone has a limit of amount of carbs we can eat without effecting our bg's a lot.
200g of carbs is a lot

I suggest you have protiens and eggs as theyare low carbs. Cereals are all very high carbs so isuggest you replace it with things like egg bacon sausages.
Lunch could besalad and protiens and something similar for dinner. You could replace protiens withnon starchy veggies baked fried sauted.
Use full fatcheese butter yogurt and could snaksnack on nuts.

 

[copepod]

Usually, this stage of treatment is called "diet and exercise", so, in addition to controlling carbohydrate intake, you probably need to increase activity levels eg walk / cycle more, swim, gym etc if you like. Also, reduce bodyweight if you're overweight. Being active and normal weight are also very important in controlling diabetes.

 

[mikej1973]

Not all of us here low carb! Test all your foods and see what causes your sugar to rise unacceptably and what doesn't. Everyone is different.

Simply losing weight is often a huge step in the right direction

This is a great place to get the help you're looking for though

 

[SueB743]

Hi and welcome from me. There is some great advice and support from other members and some good recipes and food ideas too.

I use my fitness pal and it is helping me to appreciate just how carb based my diet was. Currently cutting down as much as I can.

A lot of prepared sauces have sugar added to them so if you have time it is better to make your own. You could try having more bolognaise and either reduce or skip the pasta element of the dish.

Drinks generally need to be 'diet' as these tend to be sugar free but squash generally has natural fruit sugar so try and go for no added sugar versions.

Worth looking at which foods you do like and see what is in the good camp such as chicken, then see what you can reduce or swap for better things.

There are some lower carb breads so it is worth trying some as it is down to your personal taste as to which you will like.

Good luck, sure you will find some great new foods

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Your example of a day's menu would make a dietician proud! It could be right out a "healthy plate" guidelines (low fat and high carb) if there were a few more veg. So that's the good news. The bad news is that diet cannot continue for you if you want to avoid diabetes complications.

I highly recommend that you get a personal blood glucose meter and test before meals, an hour after and two hours after. You will quickly see what all those carbs are doing to your blood sugar levels and you will likely have to drastically change your diet to keep your blood glucose levels in check.

This web site is pretty good for learning about type 2 diabetes: http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/ You'll probably know more than your doctor about type 2 if you read everything there.

This website is a good place to help figure out what to eat on a low carb diet: www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Good luck!

 

[Renfield]

Well I had my blood results back.

My blood sugar level was 22.3 ( was 20.7 on finger prick test, taken at the same time as the blood)

And my Hb1Ac was 105.

How do those compare? 105 seems very high based on what it is supposed to be.

I am to go in on Friday for another finger prick test, and then in 7 weeks to get the Hb1Ac done again.

No mention of much else except "don't drink coke"

Is that what I should expect?

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Based on your diet, your results are not surprising. They are not good. However, I've seen many people on this forum with similar numbers get them down to normal levels, usually with a low carb/high fat real food diet.

See my post above.

 

[katiemc]

Hi Renfield and welcome.

Firstly I am also in NI too. I was diagnosed as type 1 in September so I can guess how you feel. It is a steep learning curve but don't panic, you will get there. My hba1c on diagnosis was 154! So your not too bad. I have learned to cut out a lot of carbs but it wasn't easy. You will feel hungry at the start but this is where the fat comes in to make you feel fuller. You don't need to cut out carbs completely, just cut down. It's just changing your way of thinking. I do like veg and salad so that is a plus for me. Find what veg/salad you like and try to fill up on those. Cheese and nuts are a good snack too. It's just finding out what works for you.

Good luck. This forum is brilliant so stick with us and ask lots of questions.



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[Renfield]

Just wanted to post a little update.

Went back to see the nurse, and had some more tests. My finger prick test was 15.9 (down from 20.7 last week), sugar still present in urine, but blood pressure which was slightly elevated was back within normal levels at 122/80.

all in all quite happy with the results.

I decided to adopt a more healthy plate option for the last week as a control group. I cut out all the coke ( after a week that would be about 14 litres), no added sugar on anything (Chocolate, sugar in tea), and swapped out any white bread for brown bread, white pasta for wholewheat pasta.

I have been slowly reducing my carbs, from about 250-300g at the beginning of the week, do around 170g yesterday.

the reason for this mainly is a couple of reasons, firstly I wanted a week of healthy eating to see what effect it had, and secondly my wife, who is wholly supportive, couldn't quite get her head around the carb issue. She didn't' understand that when it says how many carbs and how much sugars how the rest could affect me. I think this is looking at it from a diet point of view, rather than a diabetic point of view.

I think we have worked this out together and she now realizes that it can make a difference.

I bought a home testing kit, so will be able to get some good solid testing done when it arrives, to see what spikes and what doesn't.

I am going to try and reduce the carbs further, and my initial goal over the next week or so, is to aim for 100g, and then start to reduce further after that.

 

[Welshgooner]

My advice is don't reduce too drastically too quickly....I did and believe me it was a serious mistake.....luckily I did no lasting damage to eyesight etc but please be warned.

Read the advice on here to get a plan and liaise with GP if you are on new meds....don't just do it...check it...

I wish you well and am sure you will get where you want to be

Just don't try and get there yesterday....this is a marathon and not a sprint

 

[Renfield]

My advice is don't reduce too drastically too quickly....I did and believe me it was a serious mistake.....luckily I did no lasting damage to eyesight etc but please be warned.

Read the advice on here to get a plan and liaise with GP if you are on new meds....don't just do it...check it...

I wish you well and am sure you will get where you want to be

Just don't try and get there yesterday....this is a marathon and not a sprint

I do not intend to drop it majorly low immediately, but work it down to that level.

My doctors advice has pretty much been " don't drink coke" and very little else.

Now that i had these tests, all I have been told to do is to come back in 3 months to have my Hba1c redone. Apart from that I am being left to my own devices.

 

[Renfield]

Hi Renfield and welcome.

Firstly I am also in NI too. I was diagnosed as type 1 in September so I can guess how you feel. It is a steep learning curve but don't panic, you will get there. My hba1c on diagnosis was 154! So your not too bad. I have learned to cut out a lot of carbs but it wasn't easy. You will feel hungry at the start but this is where the fat comes in to make you feel fuller. You don't need to cut out carbs completely, just cut down. It's just changing your way of thinking. I do like veg and salad so that is a plus for me. Find what veg/salad you like and try to fill up on those. Cheese and nuts are a good snack too. It's just finding out what works for you.

Good luck. This forum is brilliant so stick with us and ask lots of questions.



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Hi katiemc

As health care is devolved to NI, Is there anything unique or different that happens or doesn't happen in NI that I should know?

Thanks