Diagnosed with type 2 this morning..

[Monday12]

..... and found this forum this afternoon.

I'm a sixty year old male, about 2.5 stones overweight, quite fit and active apart from that. I went to see my GP for the first time in about 5 years last week. I've been experiencing needing to visit the loo too often and thought my diagnosis would be the common middle-age male prostate problem.

A urine test suggested raised blood sugar levels so I went back to the surgery next morning for some blood samples to be taken. I went back this morning for the results. The prostate cancer test was clear, thank God, my cholesterol is OK, buy my fasted blood sugar level was 11.5. I was quite shocked to be told that this meant I had type 2 diabetes. Is a reading of 11.5 really, really bad?

I've been prescribed metformin, and will shortly receive an invitation to the surgery's next diabetes clinic which will give me dietery and other advice, and an appointment at the eye clinic some time soon for a check up.

I have no real symptoms that I know of other than the original reason for visiting the GP in the first place, so I am shocked beyond words at the moment.

Thanks for the forum. I've already learned loads. My first question is - should I get a monitoring kit? My GP didn't mention it, but how am I to know whether the things I'm doing are working or not? If I get one, how often is it sensible to measure?

Thanks to all for your advice, in advance.

 

[Clivethedrive]

Well welcome to the best forum on the web ! You have got a shock but the good news is , you can take charge of this condition and avoid a lot of the potentially dangerous consequences of not doing so, please ask any q's you like and someone will give you help and advice,keep posting and look forward to getting to know you)

 

[jack412]

the metformin may take 3 weeks to work..if you have too much gut problems, ask for slow release
under 5.5mm fasting is normal, A lot here are are on LCHF diet
it’s a long page and a few good video’s
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
For me, the more carbs we eat the more carbs we want. they don’t give up easy
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a/firstweek.htm

I cut grain=rice,etc, - grain product= breads, pasta, pastries, cereals – starchy veg=potato, corn, etc –sugary stuff, fruit and juice.
this will help with blood testing and the cheapest strips
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm

 

[nancyb]

It's going to be OK Monday12. Keep visiting the forum and you'll soon get the hang of things

 

[Nuthead]

Welcome. @daisy1 will be along with a wealth of interesting and valuable information. Ask any questions you want. No question is to silly.

 

[daisy1]

Welcome. @daisy1 will be along with a wealth of interesting and valuable information. Ask any questions you want. No question is to silly.

@Monday12
@Nuthead

Hello and welcome to the forum

You have come to the best place you can for help. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will be able to help. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful.

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.

 

[Nuthead]

Yes you really should monitor your blood glucose. You're doctor could say otherwise but ask the surgery for one and get a prescription exemption from from Them. You do not pay for ANY meds. If you can't get a bg monitor from them ,many here use the codefree from homehelth uk.com. I believe there is a discount code people here use but I don't know it. Don't forget Lancets

 

[Monday12]

Thanks everyone - what a friendly helpful forum. I'm in Scotland and so don't pay for prescriptions anyway (it's a disgrace that there are different rulse in different parts of the UK, IMO.)

I've ordered a Codefree monitor from Amazon - see, I'm following the great advice here already! It wasn't too expensive - think what I'm going to save not buying stuff from Greggs anyway!

Another quick question - what's the situation with alcohol? A complete no-no? If it's OK in moderation, is wine better than beer?

Thanks again

M12

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome,

You are in the right place. You will learn so much from this forum. We are all diabetics of one sort or another. Your nurse probably isn't. So we are well placed to share our experiences, advice and tips with you.

Red wine and dry white wine are fine, also most spirits as long as you only add sugar free mixers. Beer is usually not a good idea in quantity, but an odd tipple is fine. No need to have a miserable Christmas!

Good that you have ordered a meter. In future when you need extra strips (and you will use a lot of them) buy direct from the supplier at http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm and use the discount promo codes: much cheaper than Amazon.

5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833

If you want to see what many of us do, have a look at this thread for beginners http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-new-low-carb-guide-for-beginners.68695/

 

[Jeffretro80s]

Yes you really should monitor your blood glucose. You're doctor could say otherwise but ask the surgery for one and get a prescription exemption from from Them. You do not pay for ANY meds. If you can't get a bg monitor from them ,many here use the codefree from homehelth uk.com. I believe there is a discount code people here use but I don't know it. Don't forget Lancets

i havent monitored bs in a year, its like going on a diet to loose weight, you can monitor your weight every single day but you can also observe weightloss by simply noticing the jeans are becoming too big.

the best thing to do when diagnosed with type II is to change bad eating habits and exersize, meds will lower bs but they will also damage the body, they are designed for ppl who don't drastically change their lifestyles

 

[Nuthead]

I think your meter is coming from homehealth anyway. Did you order extra strips and Lancets ??.
You can drink the booze but best to keep off beer. Spirits and wine ate best. Most beers are liquid sugar. It's probably best to wait until yo get your meter and remember alcohol stops can bring your bg down. You have to be careful. Have a search on the forum. There are many threads about this. Also the web site has an article.

 

[Nuthead]

i havent monitored bs in a year, its like going on a diet to loose weight, you can monitor your weight every single day but you can also observe weightloss by simply noticing the jeans are becoming too big.

the best thing to do when diagnosed with type II is to change bad eating habits and exersize, meds will lower bs but they will also damage the body, they are designed for ppl who don't drastically change their lifestyles

So you have no clue about your bg. Perhaps if you checked you could get a very unpleasant shock. I hope not but....
...

 

[Jeffretro80s]

So you have no clue about your bg. Perhaps if you checked you could get a very unpleasant shock. I hope not but....
...View attachment 9268

idc about my bg, monitoring is for ppl who are scared, just exersize and eat well and nature will undo the damage done for years

 

[Nuthead]

idc about my bg, monitoring is for ppl who are scared, just exersize and eat well and nature will undo the damage done for years

I feel for you.

 

[jack412]

Thanks everyone - what a friendly helpful forum. I'm in Scotland and so don't pay for prescriptions anyway (it's a disgrace that there are different rulse in different parts of the UK, IMO.)

I've ordered a Codefree monitor from Amazon - see, I'm following the great advice here already! It wasn't too expensive - think what I'm going to save not buying stuff from Greggs anyway!

Another quick question - what's the situation with alcohol? A complete no-no? If it's OK in moderation, is wine better than beer?

Thanks again

M12

there is a warning on metformin and booze, a couple of drink are ok for me, beer is liquid bread..spirit or dry red/white wine ok

 

[Bluetit1802]

idc about my bg, monitoring is for ppl who are scared, just exersize and eat well and nature will undo the damage done for years

Interesting thought. What do you eat (or not eat?)

 

[Monday12]

Thanks again for all the advice, and for the link to the diet advice for beginners - interesting stuff. Looks like the pie and chips meals are out!

 

[Nuthead]

Thanks again for all the advice, and for the link to the diet advice for beginners - interesting stuff. Looks like the pie and chips meals are out!

DON'T say those words. I'm still in withdrawal.

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

idc about my bg, monitoring is for ppl who are scared, just exersize and eat well and nature will undo the damage done for years

Thanks - this cheered me up.

 

[louch1]

Hi. I was diagnosed in October and it's been a journey of discovery.
I just read how meds are free once you are diagnosed . Doesn't happen for me. Because at the moment I don't take medication. Yet I still have to test my blood I don't get it free . I would only get it free if I took meds . Not happy I can tell you. :-(