newly diagnosed

[blondie12]

I was diagnosed on Wednesday as having type 2 diabetes.
I know little or nothing about the desease and I'm finding it rather scary.

I work shifts (as a carer) so meals times have always been a problem. My GP has started me on Metformin and I also have to take asprin and statin. I take Asacol for Colitius and Loratadin for an allergy problem.

Any advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mobrien]

Welcome Blondie12

You've found your way to what I have found the most supportive and comprhensive forums I have found about this desease of ours. You will find you will go through many emotions now you have been diagnosed, anger, denial, blame, etc but the thing to remember is most if not all of us on these forums have gone through the same.

Yep its for life but you need to Stay positive and try to put a positive spin on it, as type 2 your Diabetes Nurse (DN) should ask if you want to go to a group meeting called DESMOND there website is http://www.desmond-project.org.uk/index.html it is a great course to attend and you will be able to share with other newly diagnosed, to your surprise you will see they feel the same as you but by the end of it you will see there is a light and it isn't all doom and gloom.

Read through the posts on this forum and don't be afraid to ask for help we all need it at some point

 

[blondie12]

Thanks fot the welcome!

A friend has just pointed out to me that I have been Asthmatic for 8 years and I am so used to using inhalers that they have now become second-nature and I have my asthma under control.

I do have one question, I make my own bread and so have to use a small amout of sugar for the yeast to work does anyone know of a good alternative?

I have an appointment with the diabetic nurse on Tuesday but until then I still have to eat and drink and I'm a little scared to have anything in case it's the wrong thing.

My gloucose level is 24 is that high? My GP says not to worry about it because that is the untreated figure (I began having symptoms in September)

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[Synonym]

Hello Blondie and welcome to the forum

You have managed to find your way to a brilliant forum where you will find a great deal of help. 8)
Yes, 24 is high!
When you explore the various threads you will find that in order to reduce our BG (blood glucose) levels many of us have had to cut out the starchy carbohydrates like grains which includes rice, oats etc and also potatoes. I no longer eat bread or any starchy carbs and now get carbs from vegetables and small quantities of fruit. A bit simplistic but my pancreas which should be able to deal with the glucose is not working properly and in this way I am managing to keep my BG levels under control and stave off the medication as long as I can.

You will find it helpful to self test your BG levels before you eat and two hours afterwards to see what your food is doing to your body. Often your DN or GP will give you a meter and a prescription for testing strips if you tell them that you want be proactive in your diabetes care. If they won’t give them to you it may be an idea to buy your own as you will not know how your food affects you without testing.

The Collins gem Carb Counter book (at £3.99), or similar, is useful as it gives the low down on a broad range of foods so that you know which are the safest for you to eat.

I couldn’t tolerate statins and my GP took me off them thank goodness.

 

[Ipcress]

Hi Blondie,

I went to the doctors in the middle of December because I had really blurred vision. My first reading was off the scale. A week later it was down to 34.1. Over the weeks my medication has been slowly increased until a point now where it has been averaging 5.7 for more than 30 days.
I test myself every morning and it helped me because i could see the readings coming down.

I'm still very confused about the diet issue in terms of what you should and shouldn't do. What i have starting doing is eating smaller portions at more regular times.

On a good note went to the opticians ( now free ) this week and they told me that I dont need glasses for driving anymore.