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New type 2 and confused

steveyp

steveyp

Active Member
Messages
27
Hi all I'm a 53 year old female and I was diagnosed with type 2 last Tuesday. I'm waiting for appointments with the practise diabetes nurse and the community diabetes team. My mg/dl was 132 which converts to 7.3 mmol/L according to google. My GP says this needs to be treated by injecting insulin as its too high for medication. He hasn't prescribed anything yet. I'm now reducing my carbs and exercising more hoping it will be lower when I go. If so can the diabetes team change the treatment?
A couple of other questions - what is a good level of carbs each day? And also do I need to get a glucose meter now?
Im so glad I found this forum.
Tracey
 
@steveyp - Hello Tracey and Welcome to the Forum :). Tagging @daisy1 who will provide you with some basic information that all new members receive.
Yes, - it is vital that you have a meter. But, if going onto Insulin you would probably be given a meter, test strips and lancets on prescription free.
 
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Hi @steveyp sorry to hear about your diagnosis and welcome. I will tag in @daisy1 who will provide information to get you started. 7.3 is a relatively low reading on diagnosis. If I were in your position with this reading, I would continue with diet and exercise; I had initial readings more than double yours and did not have insulin. I do not wish to contradict what you have been told so far, but at your levels I would have expected a maximum of Metformin tablets to be offered (again it is my view that diet and exercise is a fantastic option as you have a great chance of getting within the normal range).

A glucose meter is a fantastic idea, as this will provide you with your on waking glucose reading, 2 hour after meal reading and impact of exercise, also you might want to review http://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-glucose/eat-to-your-meter.html.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/ provides guidelines on how much carbs to consume.
 
steveyp said:
Hi all I'm a 53 year old female and I was diagnosed with type 2 last Tuesday. I'm waiting for appointments with the practise diabetes nurse and the community diabetes team. My mg/dl was 132 which converts to 7.3 mmol/L according to google. My GP says this needs to be treated by injecting insulin as its too high for medication. He hasn't prescribed anything yet. I'm now reducing my carbs and exercising more hoping it will be lower when I go. If so can the diabetes team change the treatment?
A couple of other questions - what is a good level of carbs each day? And also do I need to get a glucose meter now?
Im so glad I found this forum.
Tracey
Click to expand...
no injection,no medication.low carbs,zero sugars,low fat for few months you will go back to normal .test every morning and evening to see how is your blood sugar Good luck
 
Just remember that insulin or any other meds are a decision that you make WITH your doctor. You need to do a lot of research and decide what you want and then discuss it with your doctor. You need to inform and educate yourself and treat your health care as a partnership not a dictatorship. If your doctor is not ok with that get a new one. It is your body and your health.
 
@steveyp

Hello Tracey and welcome to the Forum. Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want 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 well over 147,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why :)
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
Hi @steveyp and welcome to the forum. I'm newly diagnosed type 2 and have found a wealth of information on this site and there are so many friendly people to answer any question you may have. :)
 
Hi thank you all for all the replies you've reassured me! I was shocked as they had tested my blood in November routinely as I'd had a gasroscopy to diagnose a Hiatus Hernia. The hospital had given me all the information I needed so no one looked at the blood results. now looking back the mg/dl was 125.
I have been eating all the wrong things, way too much sugar and carbs so this has given me a kick up the backside so hopefully I can get this down partly by defeating my lifelong sweet tooth. I've been on around 100g carbs per day and the dog has never been walked so much! I'll definitely make the appoints a partnership, thanks everyone.
 
Hi @steveyp and welcome to the forum. The figures you quoted, 132 mg/dl and 7.3 mmol/L, if correct would be in the pre-diabetic range, so i don't understand why your GP would say why they are too high and need to be treated with insulin.
You should be able to reduce your blood sugar level by diet and exercise which many of us on here have done.
have a read round the threads and ask any questions you want to, the people on here are friendly and supportive.
 
Hi. I agree with the others that you should not rush to insulin. If you are a 'typical' T2 with some excess weight then diet plus Metformin is the usual start point. The Metformin isn't a miracle cure but helps a bit with the insulin resistance. The Met and a low-carb diet is all many people need to control the T2 perhaps for years. If you are slim rather than overweight then T1 (LADA) becomes a possibility in which case other tablets such as Gliclazide (Diamicron in the USA?) may be prescribed to stimulate a fading pancreas. Insulin would eventually be needed.
 
@steveyp


I think there may be some crossed wires somewhere. The test that revealed a level of 132mg/dl , was it an HbA1c or a fasting blood glucose test? It does make a difference when converting to UK measurements.
 
Welcome @steveyp :)

I agree with bluetit1802 I can't imagine any physician recommending insulin as a treatment for pre-diabetic glucose levels. I too think there has been a misunderstanding. I don't know if it's possible where you live, but perhaps you can call the physician's office to ask what your blood glucose result was, both the number and the units, also the results of your A1c. I believe, not sure, that "mg/dl" is only used for glucose levels in the USA, and "mmol/l" is used throughout the rest of the world for glucose levels.

All that said, regardless of your diagnosis - (type 1, Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA), type 2, or pre-diabetes) - the low carbohydrate diet will help you with or without medication/insulin. I think you're off to a fantastic start. :)

Ask questions on the Low-carb Diet Forum... http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/low-carb-diet-forum.18/

Learn more about the low carbohydrate diet here... https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

When I was re-diagnosed 10 years after having crossed over from pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes, my A1c was 9.9% and my glucose level taken that same afternoon was 282 mg/dl (15.7 mmol/l). I started the Low Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet (which is less than 50 g carbohydrates) and dropped my A1c down to 5.6%, I believe within 6 weeks. That was two years ago. I don't take medication or inject insulin, but due to my severe insulin resistance it's a possibility down the road. For now I'm maintain glucose levels below 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/l) most of the time.

Walking daily or every other day up to 3 miles greatly contributed to stabilizing my glucose levels. It's good you're already walking!

I, like you, found my way to this forum within days of my re-diagnosis. The support I received here was a game changer. I had so much fear initially. Members walked me through each fear along the way as I gained confidence in the diet, walking, and my ability to restore and maintain healthy glucose levels. :)

Welcome. :)
 
Hi Tracey and welcome. Yes I would definitely question the insulin as even the NICE guidelines say insulin should be offered only after two types of medication have been tried so to start you off on this is rare, especially when you appear to be in the pre-diabetic range as @Prem51 has suggested. Ofcoures there may be other medical reasons for this but I'd certainly ask the question.

There is a wealth of information available on this forum to help you with diet etc, and getting those numbers down by reducing your carb intake
 
Hi all.Thanks again for replying. I'm in England. The BMI calculator says I'm around 7lbs away from the highest 'Normal' weight. I'm curently 12st 2lb and 5ft 7 having lost 1.5st on Slimming World. I set 12st 7 as a target as I'm happy at this weight but this is considered overweight. I'm going back to the drs tomorrow for a print out of the blood results if possible, hhopefully things will be clearer. Diet and exercise would be my first choice. Having to inject insulin every day is absolutely not what I want so I'll do anything to avoid it.
 
If you are in England then it is probably your Hba1c that is 132 - and that is high. Mine was 91 at diagnosis - the good news is that I ate low carb and it dropped to 47 in 80 days - and I wasn't even trying all that hard.
 
@steveyp I agree with @Resurgam. The mg/dl range is used in the USA. If you are in the UK the 132 figure would be on the HbA1c (ifcc) range which would be 20 mmol/L. That is on the high side, but not too high for other medication than insulin. And forum members with higher readings have reduced their readings by LCHF without medication.
Anyway you should be able to clarify your figures when you get your printout today.
 
Some people can have a dramatic change of their blood sugar level by diet alone, especially if when reviewing what they have been eating and drinking in the previous few months it becomes clear it was very high in simple and complex sugars. If this is the case with you, do discuss it with the rest of your diabetes support team.
 
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