Yet another newly diagnosed

[thearcher]

Hi all

I was ambulanced to hospital just before Christmas with suspected diabetes as I was worse than usual (from other illnesses) and I was in real pain in my lower back and side. the ambulance paramedics were spot on did a cardiograph, good news I have a great heart bad news was they couldn't check my sugars as they were off the scale on the blood tester they had, weird as I had a full medical with blood tests and a full service 2 weeks previous and all was well

In hospital (Derriford in Plymouth who I cannot praise enough for the care they gave me) I was put on drips to bring my blood level down, eventually after 5 days they got it down to 20 ish and released me, for home care etc, Derriford have very experienced Diabetes nurses who call me every few days who are great, and they are at the end of a phone if I need help, in fact I keep a record of my bloods, injections and other meds on a spreadsheet and I can email them over to the diabetes nurses

My sugars are all over the place, I am on Novorapid and Levermir FlexPen and having quite large fluctuations, which seem non dependant on what I eat or do

As I have Lyme Disease and CFS I can't be active as much as I want, so that probably doesn't help, also after a tummy op several years ago it seems that my Pancreas has now gone on a long holiday and taken insulin with it for company, so will be injecting forever

Hope to pick up a lot of good info here

 

[copey399]

Just want to welcome you to the forum where you will certainly pick up some good info. I've no experience with insulin as I am trying to control my T2 with low carb diet. @daisy1 will give you a list that might help you understand more about diabetes and what you can do.
Very best wishes x

 

[daisy1]

@thearcher

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information, mentioned above, which we give to new members and I hope it will be helpful to you, especially on diet. You need to reduce the carbs you eat and you don't need to restrict fats very much. See the link to the forum Low Carb Program. Ask as many questions as 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 over 150,000 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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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.

 

[thearcher]

Thanks for the reply and info Daisy much appreciated

My problem at the moment is working out my correct dosage currently worked up from 10 to 18 NovoRapid after meals and worked up from 18 to 28 Levermir before bed

My Reading has dropped over the last 2 weeks from 25 to an average of 15, so still a way to go, only a few readings have got into single figures

Am I being to nervous about taking to much Insulin ? to try and correct my levels or what advice would anyone have