Newish diagnosis

Dackba

Newbie
Messages
2
For the past 2 months I've had various blood tests and in early August I persuaded the doctor to do a blood glucose test, he said as there was no history of diabetes in the family it would be negative. I got the results mid August and was told the fasting BLG was 9 & I should have another test with glucose consumption to make sure. Due to holidays this second test took place in early September & the results were given by the doctor in mid September, the fasting was down to 8.7 but two hours after drinking the glucose it was 14.9. So diabetic type 2. Today over two months after the first blood sample I was added to the clinics diabetic register.

I did get the results of my last blood sample which was for HBA1c and this came out as 56 mmols/mol which I had to look up on this website to understand. A three monthly average of 7.27% apparently. Still not totally sure what all this means yet. I had already made changes to my diet as I discovered I am gluten intolerant so gave up bread and all the flour stuffs, and cut back on potatoes etc back in August. I have lost over a stone in weight, climbed countless mountains throughout the UK & started to do a bit of jogging with the dog when no one is looking!

The other issue is that the blood pressure has been consistently high since May so that is being looked at next week. The clinic today did a few tests and signed me up for a DESMOND - diabetes education course - is this any good? I also get a session with the dietician which will be interesting for a vegetarian gluten intolerant diabetic!
 

daisy1

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

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and useful. Ask any questions you need to and someone will always 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 30,000 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 ... rains.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 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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
 

sallylondon

Well-Known Member
Messages
82
Hi Dackba,

Sorry that you had to do the work in chasing up your diagnosis. No wonder your blood pressure is a little high!

I would love to see the diabetic nurse's face when you say you are a "vegetarian gluten intolerant diabetic!" Please let us know how you get on.
 

Grazer

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,115
Hi Dackba and welcome. Most of us on here find the Desmond course just follows the NHS mantra of "a healthy diet". Unfortunately, what is healthy for a non diabetic isn't for us. There views on carbohydrates would givce most of us here unacceptabley high BG readings. So no confidence from me on the Desmond course. Nor in an NHS dietician I'm afraid. You'll find lots of horror stories on here about advice from them. Maybe you'll be lucky. Personally, I think you're far better off taking dietary advice from people on here who are succesfully controlling diabetes.
 

Dackba

Newbie
Messages
2
Thanks for all the information & comments. I'll bear in mind the comments on DESMOND & dietician, but at present the more info the better.
Thanks