Recently diagnosed with type 11

C

cat123tiger

Member
Messages
6
Hi everyone,
My name is catherine and I never thought iwould be on a forum like this, FB yes ha ha. I got my diagnosis on Friday and am having a hard time getting my head around that i have this. One one hand im relieved to know that all the symptoms Ive been having the last two months - have come up with an ailment - Diabetes 11 - on the other hand i think i feeling bit sorry for myself to hear that the good health i thought ive had these last 50 odd years aint so. Im not overweight, i exercise my dog regularly, eat healthy most of time and am very rarely ill - the odd cold - and now i have this for the rest of my life im told.

Having to pucture my thumb every day, alch, low threshold ive discovered for pain and i have to take pills called Gliclazide 80mg , i increase these to 2 a day on wednesday, so at present i been stable at 22 which i gather is high. Does the pills help bring my sugar levels down as well as eating more healthier.

Its crazy i gone into some kind of panic about anything sweet, biscuit, sweet bit of choc etc and now i finding myself getting angry - s**t man does this pass, any tips welcome. I even gonna quite smokin on my bday end of may decision i feel i have to make, dont want to, but heh if its gonna help this condition, i doing it. I do not like the sense of feeling unhealthy thats what being diagnosed at moment is doing for me.

Sorry for whinging but right now i cannot see anything good about being diabetic, i even hate the word, its like i bl**dy contaminated or something.

Found out only 2 days ago my poor wee mum who has dementia has this also and i didnt even know. So with me its heriditary.
 
M

MaryJ

Well-Known Member
Messages
842
Hi Catherine

Welcome to the forum.

Type 11? or type 1 typed twice?

Type 11 wouldn't surprise me God knows how many types are out there.

Daisy will be along soon with the newbie welcome.

If you are Type 1 then it's not surprising the read of 22, which is high. But I would of thought you would have been put on insulin (i'm type 2 on diet only)

I've never had a sweet tooth, carbs /bread in particular used to be my thing. But I do believe that because you shouldnt have them you automatically WANT them. My way of dealing with this is to treat bread as poison, you may not be able or willing to do that with sweet stuff but there are ways round it. Have a look at the low carb section, some fabulous recipes in there.

Good luck, have a mooch around and ask any questions you have


Mary x
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hello Cat,

There's ton's of useful info on here and someone much more knowledgeable will be along with a welcome post in a minute. Yes, 22 is pretty high but it means that you'll feel very smug when you're down to single figures.

There are lots of stages we move through after diagnosis, many of them several times, but I suspect that "seriously fed up" is the first one. So roll with it, learn what you can here and then use your knowledge for yourself and others than find themselves where you are today.

It's bl**dy annoying, but it is manageable and you'll probably end up healthier than you've ever been.

S
 
V

viviennem

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,140
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Football. Bad manners.
Hi Catherine, and welcome!

Daisy1 has probably already greeted you with the Info for Newbies;if not she'll be along soon. Meanwhile relax if you can, you're among friends! It is a lot to get your head around, but we've all been there, and we'll help you any way we can. Getting angry is quite a common reaction - I simply refused to believe it for a while! :lol:

My first advice is, don't try to understand it all at once - you'll just end up totally confused! :crazy: . Relax a bit. You've lived a while with it, it's not going to kill you in the next week. Once you learn more about it you'll be able to get it under control, and there's no reason you shouldn't live a long, healthy and active life. Steve Redgrave the rower is diabetic! I have a friend, admittedly Type 1, who's in her 90s.

Have a read around the forum, and don't be afraid to ask any questions you like. There's no such thing as a silly question, and there's almost always someone around to help.

There's no one way to control diabetes, but most of us on here think the best way is by controlling all carbohydrate intake, not just sweet things. We'll help you work out the best way for you. Once you get the ground rules it's not too difficult, nor is it really too restrictive - there is life after diagnosis. :D

Viv 8)
 
Grazer

Grazer

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,115
Hi Catherine and welcome. It is all a bit daunting, but you'll soon get the hang of it. Meanwhile, here's some info you'll Hopefully find useful
. In general terms you will need to reduce the total number of carbohydrates you eat per day. All carbohydrates turn to sugar when we eat them, and no type 2 diabetic on diet only, or on diet and metformin only, can control their blood sugars (BGs) without controlling their carb intake. Even those on strong medication normally choose to control their carb intake to keep the level of medication they take down. The total number of carbs per day you can eat depends on how advanced your diabetes is. It’s perhaps worth starting at about 50% of normal levels for a non-diabetic then adjusting up or down according to how you get on. That’s 150 grams of carbs per day for a man, 125 for a woman. You can read the total carb content of food under “nutritional info” on the packet or wrapping, or look it up on the internet for loose food. Just google “carb content..”
You also need to stop or reduce the bad carbs; that is the starchy ones that make your BG go up quickly.
So obviously no sugar or glucose! But also no white bread, white rice, pasta, flour products like pastry, cake and batter. You can eat a little basmati rice, wholewheat pasta or the tri-color pasta fusilli ones in small quantities. Boiled new potatos are OK but not old pots mashed, boiled or in their jackets. (Roast is not so bad, the fat slows their absorption and conversion to glucose in the blood) Amongst other veg, parsnips are about the worst for BG, and carrots not great but ok in smaller amounts.
Multi grain bread (not wholemeal) is not SO bad, but lots of us eat Burgen soya and linseed bread from tescos and sainsburys, although all bread should be in limited amounts.
All fruit has carbohydrates, and needs to be included in the amounts of carbs you eat in a day. For most people, bananas are about the worst for pushing our BG up and berries (like strawberries, raspberries etc) are the least bad.
No sweeties!
Exercise is important. I tend to exercise about an hour after eating when I know my BG will be peaking. This helps to bring it down quicker and further. I do ten minutes hard work on an exercise machine, but you could run up and down stairs for ten minutes or go for a brisk walk.
Returning to types of food and quantities of carbs - you can only find out how many you can eat by testing. Some people test before and after eating, on waking (fasting test) and before bed but the key to me is testing 2 hours after eating. If your BG is above, say, 7.8 at that stage, you need to cut down on the carb content the next time you have that meal. Test after various different meals and you soon get to see a pattern of what you can and can’t eat, and in what quantities. You can then reduce your testing. I said “below, say, 7.8” because NICE guidelines are below 8.5 but most of us think that’s a little high. 7.8 is the max. level at 2 hours after eating that a non-diabetic normally gets to so is perhaps a better target. Some then set progressively lower targets. As you're taking gliclazide, your testing will also show you if your blood sugars are getting too low (hypos) and you should make sure you talk to your medical team so you understand what hypos are and how to deal with them.
Do ask lots of questions; there is normally an answer on here. The more you get to learn about your diabetes, the better it will be.
Good luck!
 
C

cat123tiger

Member
Messages
6
MaryJ said:
Hi Catherine

Welcome to the forum.

Type 11? or type 1 typed twice?

Type 11 wouldn't surprise me God knows how many types are out there.

Daisy will be along soon with the newbie welcome.

If you are Type 1 then it's not surprising the read of 22, which is high. But I would of thought you would have been put on insulin (i'm type 2 on diet only)

I've never had a sweet tooth, carbs /bread in particular used to be my thing. But I do believe that because you shouldnt have them you automatically WANT them. My way of dealing with this is to treat bread as poison, you may not be able or willing to do that with sweet stuff but there are ways round it. Have a look at the low carb section, some fabulous recipes in there.

Good luck, have a mooch around and ask any questions you have


Mary x
Click to expand...
Thanks Mary its type 2 and yes its bl**din high ha ha. Carbs my downfall also not so sweet only been last 2 months. Thanks for tip on low carb section. :wave:
 
C

cat123tiger

Member
Messages
6
swimmer2 said:
Hello Cat,

There's ton's of useful info on here and someone much more knowledgeable will be along with a welcome post in a minute. Yes, 22 is pretty high but it means that you'll feel very smug when you're down to single figures.

There are lots of stages we move through after diagnosis, many of them several times, but I suspect that "seriously fed up" is the first one. So roll with it, learn what you can here and then use your knowledge for yourself and others than find themselves where you are today.

It's bl**dy annoying, but it is manageable and you'll probably end up healthier than you've ever been.

S
Click to expand...

You know something i think you right about ending up healthier than i ever been. Read some of the posts which are rea hopeful so thanks. :wave: :wave:
 
daisy1

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Catherine and welcome to the forum :) Don't feel worried or sorry for yourself as you will soon get used to having diabetes as we all have. I see you have had lots of answers to your questions - I am late as I am not a night owl !! With the finger pricking regulate the pricker on the lightest setting and see if that helps. Alternate the fingers, the thumb is not very good to use. Always use the side of the fingers, not the fleshy bit. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Any more questions just fire away as there is always someone here to answer as you have already seen.

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.
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