Type 2 Feeling unheard

[Nesmex]

Hi... I was diagnosed 1 year ago, my hba1c was 54... I have managed to bring my hba1c with diet down to 30 in july.
My last test was 40.... which is very low...
My question is... I went to hospital today because my chest was tight (no pain) and I had to keep taking an extra breath. All the tests were fine xray bloods etc only thing was blood test said sugars were little bit high and the glucose in urine and 14 plus for blood sugar test. Which isn't high really is it??? I have had this tightness in chest and breathing issues on 4 seperate occasion now and all 4 times sugars were up from my normal 5,6... but I can't find on Google anything that having high sugars gives off these symptoms. The doctor at hospital just said to talk to my GP... it's quite scary when I get it. It's what made me ring an ambulance a year ago and thought it was a heart attack but it was not it was sugars an that's how I got diagnosed. .. I also am curious as to why my hba1c bloods sitting at 40 only and I'm getting up at night to go toilet again and pins n needles feel bladder when it's full... I feel like I shouldn't be getting any symptoms when the hba1c is so low... my prick tests were 13 last week and 14 today but I did drink last night bubbles wine.... any answers would be appriciated alot. I also am thirsty alot but I actually don't drink alot in a day. Iv always been like that... thank you for reading....

 

[azure]

Hi Nesmex

A blood sugar of 14 is higher than normal. Let me tag @daisy1 for you as she has some handy basic info.

How often do you test your blood sugar? Are you on any medication?

I don't know what your chest symptoms could be, but certainly visiting your GP seems like a good idea, if only for reassurance.

 

[Nesmex]

I use to test everyday. But stopped as I was normal in my hba1c bloods I got it down from 54 to 30 3 months ago. Recent test was 40. I was on metforman twice a day but stopped them 3 months ago too. The chest and breathing from what I can tell happens only when sugars are high. Dr did heart tests an lung xrays an all is fine the only test that come back was blood sugar high. I just tested 29. On the home one. That must be wrong.

 

[daisy1]

@Nesmex

Hello Nesmex and welcome to the forum To help you to get your levels down, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Carry on asking questions 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 150,000 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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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.

 

[Nesmex]

Thank you

 

[Nesmex]

Hi Nesmex

A blood sugar of 14 is higher than normal. Let me tag @daisy1 for you as she has some handy basic info.

How often do you test your blood sugar? Are you on any medication?

I don't know what your chest symptoms could be, but certainly visiting your GP seems like a good idea, if only for reassurance.

Thank you very much

 

[azure]

I use to test everyday. But stopped as I was normal in my hba1c bloods I got it down from 54 to 30 3 months ago. Recent test was 40. I was on metforman twice a day but stopped them 3 months ago too. The chest and breathing from what I can tell happens only when sugars are high. Dr did heart tests an lung xrays an all is fine the only test that come back was blood sugar high. I just tested 29. On the home one. That must be wrong.

You may find it useful to test more for a few days so you can get a picture of what's happening. If you check out the Type 2 forum here you can see when other people test, eg two hours after eating, first thing in the morning, etc

It's good that the doctors have ruled out lung problems. Did they give any more info about your symptoms in relation to high sugars? Certainly, high blood sugar can make people feel ill and can be unpleasant.

You could wash your hands and retest to see if that 29 was wrong maybe?

 

[4ratbags]

Having those symptoms was what sent me to A&E where I was diagnosed with BS of 26. 14 isnt extremely high but it is still high and should be avoided if possible. It is ironic you say about being constantly thirsty as even if I drink a litre of water I will still feel thirsty as soon as I have drunk it but I my HbA1c is in the non diabetic range. Keep us posted with how you are getting on