Newly Diagnosed Archives https://www.diabetes.co.uk/category/diagnosis/newly-diagnosed/ Sun, 29 Oct 2023 13:06:42 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.5 https://www.diabetes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped-favicon-32x32.png Newly Diagnosed Archives https://www.diabetes.co.uk/category/diagnosis/newly-diagnosed/ 32 32 Newly Diagnosed with Type 1 https://www.diabetes.co.uk/newly-diagnosed-with-type1-diabetes.html Thu, 08 Sep 2022 12:12:00 +0000 https://www.diabetes.co.uk/newly-diagnosed-with-type-1/

We know there’s a huge amount to take in when you’re newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes so we’ve put together this guide to help make sense of it all.

Contained within this guide are links to some of our most important guides which help to get you in control of your diabetes from today.

Coming to terms with diabetes

A diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is usually a big shock and some of us wonder how we’re going to cope with the condition.

Diabetes can be a struggle to come to terms with and we each will come to terms with having diabetes in our own way and at own pace.

Some of us may adjust quickly, but for many of us it can take years to truly come to terms with this important part of our lives.

You may wish to consider joining the

Diabetes Forum
as this is a great source of support – not only during your diagnosis, but also for when you wish to ask questions and share your experiences.

Having diabetes

One of the questions which often strikes us around the time of diagnosis is what effect diabetes will have on our daily lives? Will it prevent us from taking part in activities? Will it affect our present or future career? Will we have diabetes for life?

  • Read answers to all of these questions and more in our guide to

    having diabetes

Getting to grips with injections and blood tests

Some of us adjust to injections and blood tests better than others. Although in reality, injections and blood tests are a pain for us all.

Blood testing guides

Blood glucose testing is the main way you will be able to identify what your blood glucose levels are. You will most likely be given a blood glucose meter by your doctor or healthcare team.

If you are new to blood glucose testing, the following guides will prove useful.

Injection guides

Many people are scared of needles. However, injecting insulin is not as painful as you’d think.

Watch our video on how to inject insulin and read our guide on how to manage injection sites and needle phobia.

Keeping diabetes under control

Diabetes control does take some dedication to get right. Insulin doses need to be carefully balanced with the amount of carbohydrate you take in and we need to remember to take in other factors including exercise.

Many of us with type 1 diabetes will still be producing a certain amount of our own insulin. This is useful as it means that our pancreas is still able to give us a bit of a hand in helping to control our sugar levels.

This period is referred to as the ‘

honeymoon phase
’ and usually lasts anywhere from a few months up to a couple of years.

Carbohydrate counting and diabetes education courses

One of the most important aspects of type 1 diabetes is to be able to assess how much carbohydrate is in each meal and therefore to balance your carbohydrate and insulin intake.

Carbohydrate counting can be a challenge for some of us. Fortunately, there is help at hand and there are diabetes education courses which can be attended for free on the NHS. The courses are often very popular with people with type 1 diabetes. Ask your GP or diabetes team about which courses are available in your area.

Spotting high and low sugar levels

If your diabetes is kept under good control, you should be able to reduce the number of times your blood sugar levels goes too high or too low.

If your sugar levels do go too high or low, it helps if you can spot this early and do a test to find out how high or low your sugar levels are.

There are some common symptoms that may be experienced at high or low levels, although the symptoms can sometimes vary from time to time.

Preparing for hypos

Low blood glucose, known as hypos, can be disorientating and can become more dangerous if they’re not treated soon enough.

We have a number of guides to help you with treating and preventing hypos from happening:

Avoiding ketoacidosis

At the other end of the blood sugar spectrum is diabetic ketoacidosis which is a dangerous condition which can occur if our blood glucose levels go very high.

Health appointments and health numbers

People with diabetes should receive a number of important

diabetes health checks
each year.

It is important that these checks are carried out once each year.

The exception is children under 12 who will not usually need retinopathy (eye damage), nephropathy (kidney damage) or neuropathy (nerve damage) tests to be carried out.

]]> Newly Diagnosed with Type 2 https://www.diabetes.co.uk/newly-diagnosed-with-type2-diabetes.html Thu, 08 Sep 2022 12:12:00 +0000 https://www.diabetes.co.uk/newly-diagnosed-with-type-2/

The diagnosis experience of people with type 2 diabetes can vary quite significantly.

Some people are given a good introduction to what type 2 diabetes is and access to well run diabetes education courses.

However, we’re aware that some people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have been given a prescription for tablets and been told to get on with it!

Our guide here provides important information as to what type 2 diabetes is and how you can get on top of the condition and start controlling it at an early stage.

What is type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes is a condition which develops if your body can no longer respond effectively enough to its own insulin to prevent your blood glucose levels from going too high.

The good news is that you can fight back against this and get your body to respond better to insulin.

Our

Low Carb Program
shows you how you can achieve this and, since we launched it in 2015, many thousands of people have improved their ability to control their diabetes.

Coming to terms with type 2 diabetes

Diabetes can be a tough condition to accept but the good news is that it is a condition which, with a bit of dedication, can be well controlled.

It’s fair to say that there are a good number of people with type 2 diabetes that have actually been pleased to have got a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes because it has explained why they were feeling less than well and has given them the chance to take achievable steps to feel better than they have in a long time.

The

Diabetes Forum
has thousands of posts from people with type 2 diabetes and there is no better place to find support and share your experiences.

  • If you are finding the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes to be a shock, or are struggling to come to with your diagnosis, read our guide on

    accepting a diagnosis of diabetes

It is relatively common for people with diabetes to be also going through a period of depression.

Read more about coping with

diabetes and depression

Education to start controlling your diabetes

Knowledge is one of the best tools for managing diabetes. For this reason, there are a number of structured education courses that have been set up to help us understand and manage our diabetes.

In some cases, your GP may offer you the chance to enrol onto a structured education course whereas others may need to request their GP to enrol them onto a course. Note that availability of places on these courses may sometimes be limited depending on the level of demand and number of educators.

For additional and immediate guidance, join our

Low Carb Program
which provides a step by step approach to diet that has made a huge difference to the many people that have followed the course.

Treatment for type 2 diabetes

The treatment options for type 2 diabetes can range from ‘lifestyle changes’ treatment to taking tablets or injections to help control the condition.

The type of treatment you receive can sometimes depend on how early diabetes has been diagnosed (the sooner the better) and how to resistant to insulin your body is.

It is common for your doctor to start you off on one treatment regimen and then you onto a different regimen depending on how well your blood sugar levels are responding.

Read more about treatment options for type 2 diabetes:

Diet and type 2 diabetes

Our diet is a key factor that affects our blood sugar levels and using diet changes to our advantage can be a good way of bringing type 2 diabetes under control.

If you are overweight, losing extra body weight can improve your body’s response to insulin and this helps to lower your blood sugar levels.

Read more of our diet and weight loss guides:

Controlling type 2 diabetes

You will receive a blood test called an

HbA1c test
at regular intervals which will allow you and your doctors to review how well controlled your sugar levels are.

However, to get a detailed understanding of which factors and foods affect your blood sugar levels, and by how much,

home blood glucose testing
is a very useful tool.

See our page on

controlling type 2 diabetes
for how blood glucose testing can be used to build an understanding of your diabetes and improve blood glucose control.

Health appointments and health numbers

There are a number of health checks which people with diabetes should receive each year. These checks include:

For a complete list of the checks see our guide to

diabetes health checks

]]> Newly Diagnosed with Diabetes https://www.diabetes.co.uk/newly-diagnosed.html Sun, 21 Aug 2022 21:12:45 +0000 https://www.diabetes.co.uk/newly-diagnosed-with-diabetes/

When newly diagnosed with diabetes, most people find themselves in a state of shock. However, being diagnosed with diabetes doesn’t prevent you from leading a ‘normal’ life.

There are stories on the
Diabetes Forum
from people who have had all sorts of experiences when being diagnosed.

Most people receive great care from their GP and healthcare team, although some people report having just been given some tablets and been told to get on with it.

If this happens to you, make sure your doctor finds time to discuss your condition with you, or refer you to someone who can answer your questions better than they can.

No matter what your experience is when being diagnosed, the Forum is full of people who understand what you are going through because they have lived through it and been in your shoes. Feel free to bring up any topics or questions there and the community will do their best to help you out.

What type of diabetes do I have?

If you know the
type of diabetes
you have, read further guidance related to your diabetes type:

Diabetes Types



Type 1 Diagnosis



Type 2 Diagnosis



Prediabetes




Gestational diabetes

There are also guides for those newly diagnosed with
LADA,

MODY
or

Diabetes insipidus.

Understanding diabetes

You will know that diabetes means that your blood has higher amounts of glucose/sugar in than normal.

However, you may have other questions about why this is the case and how diabetes will affect you.

Understand your diet

The diet you have may depend on your diabetes type.

If you’ve been diagnosed with
type 1 diabetes, you will need to be aware of how much carbohydrate is in meal times in order to balance your insulin doses.

Many people with diabetes find
carbohydrate counting
courses to be very helpful, with the

DAFNE course
receiving particular praise. Ask your doctor about the possibility of being put on carbohydrate counting course.

Diet can help people with
type 2 diabetes
to better manage diabetes. NHS diet advice has received a certain amount of criticism from diabetes patients over a reliance of the diet on carbohydrate; however, some NHS practices appear to be better than others.

Book a place on a diabetes education course

For type 1 diabetes, as mentioned above, the carbohydrate courses are very helpful.

For type 2 diabetes, a range of
diabetes education courses
exist, which help you to manage to your diabetes, whilst also providing the chance to meet others with diabetes.

Ask your doctor about the chance to join one of these courses.

Understand your medication and treatment

Not everyone with diabetes goes straight onto
medication, but it is quite common to.

Make sure your health team have answered the following questions:

  • When should I take the medication?
  • How much should I take?
  • Which side effects are expected?
  • How do I treat or deal with any common side effects?
  • Will the medication interact with any other medication I am taking?
  • How does your surgery’s prescription service work?

Know your health numbers

Diabetes sadly means we have an increased risk of
health complications
developing.

The development of complications is often linked with high blood glucose levels over a number of years in combination with high blood pressure and/or cholesterol.

Diabetes can cause serious health complications including
heart disease, blindness,

kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations.

It is estimated that around
35,000 deaths a year

in the UK can be attributable to diabetes – about

1 in 20

of all deaths.

It is advisable to understand the part that blood glucose levels, blood pressure and cholesterol plays and take note of what the health targets for each of these are.

Get support from others with diabetes

Having support from others who know what it’s like to have diabetes can be very reassuring through the early stages of diabetes.

Join in on the
Diabetes Forum
and share your experience with thousands of others who are going through similar things.

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