Newly diagnosed with Type 2 but doctor said he couldn’t rule out type 1

[Burnzy83]

I am still urinating a lot but then I am drinking a lot more water.

And the stuff I said I ate and drank with working shifts I haven’t touched for 2 weeks now

 

[Burnzy83]

Also I forgot to mention I did ask the nurse was I tested for ketones she told me there was a trace of ketones but that could still mean type 2 or type 1

 

[slip]

Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and cereals............although the nurse may have said to eat them they all have carbs which will increase your blood glucose. Test just before a meal and 2hrs after and you'll see what that meal has done to your BG, you'll soon see whats good and whats not. I highly suspect you're T2.

Welcome!

 

[woodywhippet61]

Sorry I see you have been testing. You should also be checking for keytones, have you lost weight recently? Sounds like type 1 the thirst and frequent urination, blurred vision. Go to an endocrinologist to be sure

Actually I had a raging thirst and thus frequent urination and I'm type 2. I couldn't stop being thirsty I'd drink swallow and be thirsty again. I had to take water with me all of the time I dared not run out of it.

 

[Burnzy83]

If you don’t mind me asking what was your blood readings the first week? Could 14.4, 13.8, 13.7, 13.8, 14.8 be ok for now until I see when I’ve been taking the tablets for a while?

I suspect that my blood sugar wouldn’t come down straight away ?

I just feel like going from one extreme to the other with my diet, plus taking tablets that I’d see an instance drop in my blood sugar levels ?

As I have said I do feel a lot better and my eyes are almost back to normal. I’m thinking or hoping lol that once I start taking 3 tablets a day that I will notice a dramatic drop??

I know it’s horrible waiting round when I don’t feel much more I could at the moment other than exercise. But is it just a case of a waiting game ?

 

[paulus1]

you really need to cut out those weatabix, rice, bread, pasta,potatoes, and even apples. your on 42 carbs just for the brecky, rice is 28 carbs for 95grammes, bread is 10-20 per slice or even more. pasta is around 10per 30grams, potatoes 20for a small jacket and sadly apples are 10-17 carbs each. so depending what you eat thats quite a lot of carbs.

the diet advice from your doctors is outdated. im eating around 40-50 carbs. my bloods are stable in the 5s. to be put on3 metformin is fast it may have an unpleasant side effect.

being over 14 is not great. it really needs to drop below 10 to start feeling more relaxed. i suspect your going to get more meds as the metformin is not dropped it far enough.

 

[Burnzy83]

Done my bloods again this morning it was 16.6!

It’s starting to get me down now. Even went for a 5k walk with the missus as people have suggested doing some exercise then testing my bloods after. It was 18.1 after I came back from the walk !!

Paulus1 can you tell me what you’re having on a normal day to eat to get that many carbs please ? Like what do you have for breakfast ?When it comes to diet I really don’t know what to do?

I think what’s confusing me is I’ve gone from eating and drinking rubbish to what I thought was healthier food now for a good 2 weeks and still not seeing a change in my bloods?

My appointment with my diabetes nurse is not till Feb at what point do I get back in touch if my bloods are still high?

At the moment I’m taking 2 tablets a day because the nurse said have 1 a day for the first week, 2 a day for the second week ( now ) then from Wednesday next week 3 a day.

Can I just go straight to 3 a day now as they don’t make me feel sick ?

And am I better waiting till I’m having 3 tablets a day to see if my bloods go down ??

 

[Grateful]

The following is for Type 2 diabetes (noting that you apparently haven't been definitely diagnosed yet?). Parts of it could be inappropriate for Type 1.

Some of us have successfully "reversed" our Type 2 diabetes (T2D) by adopting a low-carb diet. By "reversed" I mean that our blood glucose levels are "non-diabetic." We still have the disease, but if we keep those levels low, we have a much better chance of avoiding the complications of the disease. I am one of those people (see signature below).

This "low-carb" option is not for everyone. In particular, those taking certain kinds of diabetes drugs should do it only with medical advice. (Metformin, however, should be OK with a low-carb diet.)

It worth remembering that "carbohydrates" are much more than what we usually call "sugar" and include a lot of common foods:

• All grain-based products including bread and cereal.
• Pasta.
• Rice.
• Potatos.
• Fruit.
• Some vegetables, often those that grow below ground.
• Some dairy products including milk (but cheese is OK).
• Edited to add: beer.

We have been taught that these foods are "healthy" but that is for people who are not diabetic. (Edited to add: It makes no difference whether the rice is "white" or "brown" or the bread is "white" or "whole wheat.") Your continued high blood-glucose levels are perhaps not surprising given that you have told us you are eating some of these foods.

Here are some useful links:

Explaining the various low-carb options: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/low-carb-diabetes-diet.html

Getting food information and recipes: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

 

[Burnzy83]

Thank you for these diet links these have been eye opening for me!!
I think I’m going to try the low carb diet for 14 days and with the tablets hopefully this brings my blood sugar levels down.
I think a massive mistake I’ve been making is substituting ‘white’ for ‘brown’ thinking that is a lot better but not that much.

For someone who has basically ate white bread, crisps, chips for most of my life I hope after all this has been controlled I.ll be better off than I ever was and much healthier!!

 

[paulus1]

same here mate. its a slow switch dont try swapping all at once. the good news is your not on any bg lowering meds so there is little risk of hypos. first fry ups are ok. bacon eggs mushrooms sausages but be careful with them. meat i eat mainly pork and chicken, beef /lamb is fine but maybe a little less fish is perfect avoid processed stuff it will have sly additives.. eggs cheese even butter. salad crops even with a few carbs are fine. veg that grow above ground are usually ok. turnips even a small amount of carrot.

breakfast for me was a yogurt is fine just watch the carb content fullfat verses low fat. cheese. im scoffing some extra mature lancashire only need a little and a small satsuma. omlettes are even better and lower. avoid all fruit juices just as bad as a full cal coke. ive now dropped the yogurt to bring me under 40.
dinner usually a salad cooked meat 2 eggs and a very small bit of french dressing. tea usually a salad again a couple of pork steaks ive 6 0r 7 flavoured sprinkles
my salad contains lettuce cabbage onion tomato peppers cucumber and radishes. i chop enough for four meals at a time.
and excellent book carb and calorie counter.excellent shows portion sizes. by diabetes uk

 

[paulus1]

med wise its better to gradually build up. you want to avoid the side effects. if your type 2 its been there for a while. so no urgent rush to max your medication. feb seems so far away. if your not overweight keep an eye on your weight dont lose to much. bet you never thought to hear that. good luck you wont feel hungry or even want to eat as much. compared to normal low fat low cal diets its much kinder.

 

[NewTD2]

If you don’t mind me asking what was your blood readings the first week? Could 14.4, 13.8, 13.7, 13.8, 14.8 be ok for now until I see when I’ve been taking the tablets for a while?

I suspect that my blood sugar wouldn’t come down straight away ?

I just feel like going from one extreme to the other with my diet, plus taking tablets that I’d see an instance drop in my blood sugar levels ?

As I have said I do feel a lot better and my eyes are almost back to normal. I’m thinking or hoping lol that once I start taking 3 tablets a day that I will notice a dramatic drop??

I know it’s horrible waiting round when I don’t feel much more I could at the moment other than exercise. But is it just a case of a waiting game ?

Those readings are too high!

I would call the ambulance and check in to A & E so that they can give you insulin to lower your blood glucose levels immediately!

 

[Bertyboy]

Those readings are too high!

I would call the ambulance and check in to A & E so that they can give you insulin to lower your blood glucose levels immediately!

I wouldn't encourage this. Ambulances and A&E departments are, as the name suggests, for accidents and emergencies. They take a lot of resources to run. If elevated BG levels are not coming down as expected, then I'm sure your own GP should be able to recommend something else. If it's insulin resistance, for example, then an insulin injection surely wouldn't help?

 

[NewTD2]

I wouldn't encourage this. Ambulances and A&E departments are, as the name suggests, for accidents and emergencies. They take a lot of resources to run. If elevated BG levels are not coming down as expected, then I'm sure your own GP should be able to recommend something else. If it's insulin resistance, for example, then an insulin injection surely wouldn't help?

Yes you’re absolutely right

 

[Salvia]

If you don’t mind me asking what was your blood readings the first week? Could 14.4, 13.8, 13.7, 13.8, 14.8 be ok for now until I see when I’ve been taking the tablets for a while?

I suspect that my blood sugar wouldn’t come down straight away ?

I just feel like going from one extreme to the other with my diet, plus taking tablets that I’d see an instance drop in my blood sugar levels ?

As I have said I do feel a lot better and my eyes are almost back to normal. I’m thinking or hoping lol that once I start taking 3 tablets a day that I will notice a dramatic drop??

I know it’s horrible waiting round when I don’t feel much more I could at the moment other than exercise. But is it just a case of a waiting game ?

Hi Burnzy, I feel for you at the moment; I can remember how confusing it all was when I was first diagnosed - it's a real bummer trying to learn everything all at once! Sad to say - there aint no instant fixes; it'll probably take a bit of work and a bit of effort, but you can get there in the end. Plenty of support & knowledge available from folks here on the forum.

Can I ask - are the figures quoted above early morning readings? and do you take only one reading a day?
I suspect that if the readings are early morning ones, that they could be caused by what's called "dawn phenomenon" (or "liver dump"). That's a situation where the liver "dumps" glucose into the body just before waking/rising, to provide energy it thinks you need to cope with the day ahead. Many people have found that it is the last level to come down, and the hardest one to control in the early days. (In a spare minute, perhaps search the site for down phenomenon/liver dump - there's lots of threads discussing it; or try mr google as well).

It might help you if you could test other meals to see what effect the food you eat has on your blood glucose at other times, e.g. lunch and dinner, and depending on the result, you could then adjust food items to keep levels within range. This would mean testing immediately before you eat, and then again 2 hours after starting to eat. Ideally you could also try testing at 1 hour, or even every 30 mins to see if you can identify when BG reaches the highest point, before dropping down again. I think you might be (pleasantly?) surprised to find that your BG is lower later in the day, particularly if you are monitoring what you eat as well. That is what happened with me, and I found it to be a tremendous encouragement to spur me on. We are all different, so things will probably be a bit different for you, but you won't know till you've had a chance to try.

I suspect that you don't have sufficient strips to allow you to test all that often, and that's part of the problem that many type 2's have to face - often gps/DNs refuse to supply testing materials - so you've done well to get what you have. Perhaps you could try to persuade the DN to issue you more strips, to help you to understand what your BG is doing and help you to make adjustment to control it better.