Diagnosed a Month Ago

[Cryssi_Rawr]

Hey everyone! Sorry, this might be a wall of text.

I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes roughly a month ago, through the series of blood tests conducted for pregnant women. This was done before the 10th week, and as such it was impossible for it to be gestational diabetes. Unfortunately, the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage (no worries, I am taking it quite well; as you may see, I am a very pragmatic person).

My blood sugar level at the time of the test was at 21 (!!!). A1c came back at 9.8% (Or so I think. The format was weird, it had a bunch of 0's in front). Due to the medical situation in the part of Canada I am in, I did not have a family doctor up until that point, so I don't know how long my blood sugar has been that high. However, I suspect it may not have been more than 2 years, as I've had increased thirst for about that long (which, of course, I found out about later that it was a sign of hyperglycemia).

I immediately went into research mode. I looked up all the information I could find until I could see another doctor/nurse. Some of the information scared me, some of it helped me; it was certainly enlightening overall. I did come across this forum several times in the course of that research, which was super helpful.

My obstetrician connected me with a doctor in their office, and last week I finally got to sit down with their nurse who is specialized in diabetes treatment. I was given a lot of information, and she was impressed by the level of knowledge I had acquired on my own and through friends/acquaintances. I was given a selection of testers to choose, and I went with the Accu-Chek Aviva Connect (yay Bluetooth and app!). I've also started Metformin today after 4 days without (so we could see the trend). I'm taking half a pill with breakfast and half a pill with dinner for 3 days, and then 1 pill with breakfast and 2 pills with dinner. I'm seeing the nurse in July again to do a follow-up.

As many people with T2 diabetes, I had a big role to play in this. I've been considered obese for most of my adult life, and my eating habits were very much carb-oriented. I was also leading a sedentary lifestyle with only sparse exercise, here and there. In a sense, this diagnostic kicked my ass into gear and has gotten me to be more active, and very much conscious of my food choices. My blood glucose now doesn't go above 10, although it seems to be a bit high when it is fasting (which I have read is kind of normal for people diagnosed with diabetes).

I am currently following the nurses' guidelines in regards to carb intake, which is to aim for 40g per meal. Bread seems to spike the levels a lot (duh), so I try to avoid it as much as I can as I was a bread fiend.

My only remaining concern remains with my fasting BG overnight. They are a little bit high, and I always seem to have higher than average BGs 2 hours after breakfast. It usually hovers between 8 and 9. Lunch and dinner sees me at around 7 or 6, and I've seen one 5.9 in there.

In any case, I'll stop here for now. I can extrapolate on subjects if people feel chatty, but I'm looking forward to being able to talk about this with people, as well as their own story!

 

[Jaylee]

Hi @Cryssi_Rawr ,

Welcome to the forum!

Tagging in @daisy1 with a welcome pack. & the wonderfully informative @AM1874

More will follow with advice...

Sounds like your already making moves to manage your diabetes.

No question is too silly, no post is too big.!

 

[Cryssi_Rawr]

Thanks @Jaylee ! Glad to be part of the fold. I have set myself the goal to manage my diabetes with diet and exercise, so I hope to be able to do that in the coming year.

 

[AM1874]

Hi @Cryssi_Rawr .. and welcome
You have made a good move coming here and you seem to have already developed an extremely positive strategy. Since joining this forum, the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need .. in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly ..

Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

You are correct about low carb but I think that your Nursie is "over-egging the carb pudding" a bit .. 40 grams of carb per meal is on the high side of low carb, if you see what I mean. I note that @Jaylee has already tagged @ daisy1 for you and I would suggest that you read up on the information that she will soon be sending you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following Diet Doctor websites ...
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

Hope this helps

 

[Cryssi_Rawr]

Hi @Cryssi_Rawr .. and welcome
You have made a good move coming here and you seem to have already developed an extremely positive strategy. Since joining this forum, the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need .. in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly ..

Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

You are correct about low carb but I think that your Nursie is "over-egging the carb pudding" a bit .. 40 grams of carb per meal is on the high side of low carb, if you see what I mean. I note that @Jaylee has already tagged @ daisy1 for you and I would suggest that you read up on the information that she will soon be sending you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following Diet Doctor websites ...
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

Hope this helps

Thanks! I appreciate the support, @AM1874 I try to be positive in general in life, but also realistic to keep things balanced. Or so I tell myself.

I was expecting some comments regarding the choice of carbs, and I have extensively read up on LCHF diets not only through this forum, but also through other websites. I'm not saying this to rub it in anyone's face, but more to express that I am making what I hope to be an informed decision.

It is something I am considering for the future, but for now I am comfortable at the 40g per meal ballpark. Often enough I find myself starting to naturally steer away from carbs, so some days I will also have much less than that amount. Once I have my new lifestyle more under control, I will revisit this.

I also agree that it gets easier! It was overwhelming at first due to the excessive amount of information available. But, once you start reading and you start to understand what people are saying, it becomes less scary. Does that make sense?

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome aboard!

I agree with @AM1874 in that your nurse is recommending too many carbs if you want to control this condition. My meter tells me that I can't manage any carbs at all for breakfast, certainly no more than 10 at lunch, and up to 20 at evening meal. More than 20g in one meal at any time on a regular basis sends my levels too high for my liking. Whilst it is said that up to 150g a day is low carb, it really isn'y low enough for most Type 2s not on insulin or insulin stimulating medication.

Metformin isn't one of those drugs. It is a soft drug that does very little to reduce blood sugar levels, and certainly won't reduce post meal spikes. It helps overweight people the most, and is an appetite suppressant. It works on the liver to help reduce the amount of glucose the liver produces naturally, and a little bit with insulin resistance.

I think you may find you are eating far too many carbs at breakfast time, which is when our insulin resistance can be brutal. It does tend to improve as the day progresses. I would suggest you have a carb free breakfast - eggs cooked any which way seems to be popular.

Keep testing before and after eating, and keep a food diary including portion sizes so you can see patterns emerging to enable you to tweak your meals and portion sizes.

 

[Cryssi_Rawr]

Hi and welcome aboard!

I agree with @AM1874 in that your nurse is recommending too many carbs if you want to control this condition. My meter tells me that I can't manage any carbs at all for breakfast, certainly no more than 10 at lunch, and up to 20 at evening meal. More than 20g in one meal at any time on a regular basis sends my levels too high for my liking. Whilst it is said that up to 150g a day is low carb, it really isn'y low enough for most Type 2s not on insulin or insulin stimulating medication.

Metformin isn't one of those drugs. It is a soft drug that does very little to reduce blood sugar levels, and certainly won't reduce post meal spikes. It helps overweight people the most, and is an appetite suppressant. It works on the liver to help reduce the amount of glucose the liver produces naturally, and a little bit with insulin resistance.

I think you may find you are eating far too many carbs at breakfast time, which is when our insulin resistance can be brutal. It does tend to improve as the day progresses. I would suggest you have a carb free breakfast - eggs cooked any which way seems to be popular.

Keep testing before and after eating, and keep a food diary including portion sizes so you can see patterns emerging to enable you to tweak your meals and portion sizes.

Thank you for the comment @Bluetit1802 I appreciate the answer.

My responses are currently waiting approval when I hit reply, so you may only see my response to AMIS1874 afterwards. I have looked into the carbs, and for now I will take the nurses' advice to try to aim at max of 40g of carbs per meal. However, I will definitely look into a carb-free breakfast option, which would reduce my total carb for the day at 80g if I hit the max (as I mention earlier, I seem to steer away from them naturally except on occasion. I cook a lot, so this helps). I am currently mostly eating 1% fat cottage cheese, which has 10g of carbs, so I will perhaps try for a full week to have a carb-free breakfast and see how it affects my BG. Eggs ahoy!

I'm honestly glad I can test like this, it gives me a good feeling of control over the situation.

So far, from my testing, I am within range when I eat a maximum of 40g of carb for meals like lunch, or dinner. The "range" I'm currently trying to maintain is between 7 and 10mmol (I think that's the correct acronym?) 2 hours after meals. So far, that has been par for the course, if not lower, after those two meals.

I've read another study that also suggested a LCHProtein snack before breakfast to lower the impact of higher BG. That will be also on my testing table. Science!

 

[Cryssi_Rawr]

Oh, forgot to add that I've been using Myfitness pal for almost a month now to help with the weightloss and tracking!

 

[Jaylee]

Thanks @Jaylee ! Glad to be part of the fold. I have set myself the goal to manage my diabetes with diet and exercise, so I hope to be able to do that in the coming year.

There are certainly plenty of folk on here that manage successfully doing just that!
It's great news you already have a blood meter it's the best weapon in the arsenal..

 

[Cryssi_Rawr]

There are certainly plenty of folk on here that manage successfully doing just that!
It's great news you already have a blood meter it's the best weapon in the arsenal..

That it is! I'm kind of a geek (okay, a lot) and my nurse didn't get any feedback on this model yet. It's going to be fun to report back on it~

 

[Rachox]

So sorry to hear about your miscarriage x
I was diagnosed Type 2 a month ago too! I was started on Metformin 500mgs straight away, one week of one tablet, one week of two, then onto three a day. Initially I ate no more than 100g of carbs a day, usually 90 something, and my numbers came down nicely. However in the last week I seemed to have plateaued. I get 6s mostly, with a handful of 5s and rarely a 7. For the last few days I have been trying to keep to between 70 - 90g carbs per day in an attempt to get my numbers down still further. I definitely tolerate carbs better later in the day, so eat a no carb breakfast and v. low carb lunch, then I can eat relatively normally, with a slight alterations, at dinner time with my family. I have lost over a stone and a half in weight with very little effort too!
I would never be where I am now if I hadn't stumbled on this site, desperately looking for help after my diagnosis was confirmed.

 

[daisy1]

@Cryssi_Rawr

Hello Cryssi and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. In particular, have a look at the Low Carb Program link which should be helpful to you. Ask more questions if you need to 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 235,000 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 free 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. They're all 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
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