Just after some Advice really.

[Flic2019]

So i was diagnosed a week last Saturday. I am told they arnt sure whether it is type 1 or type 2 (I am assuming type 2 because of my lifestyle the last couple years and my dad is a type 2) But i am told they have done an antibody blood test and i should have the results in roughly 3 weeks time.

I havnt been given loads of info. Im awaiting referrals to dieticians and diabetic clinic and i have my first doctors appointment since diagnosis tomorrow at 4pm.

I was diagnosed and admitted to hospital for 5 days. Whilst there my blood glucose was generally between 10 and 21. They tested roughly three times a day.

Since being home i have tested roughly 3 times a day (as directed by diabetic nurse in hosp) and apart from one reading of 18.1 my levels have been between 10.6 and 12.5

I have no idea if this is good or bad. Or how good or bad this is? I am on Metformin twice a day (500mg tabs) and I have been trying to limit sugar and carbs as much as i can. Im not perfect at it, as struggling with lowering carbs, but im learning.

But then i look at ingredients and i dont even know how many carbs in a serving is good and how much is bad.

Im sorry for all the info/questions. Im finding this really overwhelming and im just not sure what to think or do. To me between 10.6 and 12.5 doesnt sound too bad but i am literally cluless right now. All i have is a couple of leaflets and a booklet from the dietician but it doesnt give that much information.

A couple extra questions if you dont mind

1. Is it normal to feel sick while on Metformin (mainly in evenings)
2. is Diorrhea normal? (evenings and during the night)
3. My mental health has taken a dive since the diagnosis. Im assuming this is just overloading of info but i wanted to mention it.


Thanks to anyone who got this far. And if anything doesnt make sense please let me know

Thanks for reading guys <3

 

[Flic2019]

Sorry forgot to say until they get the test result back they are treating it as type 2 xx

 

[Caeseji]

I'll try and answer as best I can @Flic2019:

1 and 2: Yes to both with Metformin when you're first increasing the dose, on the normal stuff I used to have some massive gastro issues that I had to go onto extended release. If they don't go away over time then ask about getting the extended release stuff (perks too at the fact they usually only are taken once a day). Make sure to take met with meals too so you don't get as bad a hit. Metformin is a gentle kind of drug on blood levels so it doesn't do all that much to most readings.

3: I really do empathise there with you, when I got the hit of my HBA1C being what it was I was in a complete downward spiral, didn't help I had bipolar disorder either. It will pass as you get things under control because you know what can cause mental issues? High blood sugars. Yep. When you start getting it under control you will start to feel better especially once you have a routine locked in.

Never think you are overloading info, the more you can get out the better you know? It's always best to talk about it and this is the best bunch of people I have ever met to listen to me about diabetes as we are all in this together. As for carbs per serving? I usually try to stick to things that are 1g of carbs per 100g but it depends on your individual tolerances. I do keto myself so I have to keep it at least under 30g's of carbs per day but if you're just down low carb it can be as high as 100g's per day. Do you have a specific target in mind at all?

As for the high sugars, they will go down over time as you start to cut down the assaults of the carb militia against you. Took me a long while to come down from 19's but I did eventually so I have the absolute faith that yours will too. Keep on asking questions, cutting down the carbs and make sure those tests get done! All the while we'll be here to cheer you on!

 

[Grant_Vicat]

So i was diagnosed a week last Saturday. I am told they arnt sure whether it is type 1 or type 2 (I am assuming type 2 because of my lifestyle the last couple years and my dad is a type 2) But i am told they have done an antibody blood test and i should have the results in roughly 3 weeks time.

I havnt been given loads of info. Im awaiting referrals to dieticians and diabetic clinic and i have my first doctors appointment since diagnosis tomorrow at 4pm.

I was diagnosed and admitted to hospital for 5 days. Whilst there my blood glucose was generally between 10 and 21. They tested roughly three times a day.

Since being home i have tested roughly 3 times a day (as directed by diabetic nurse in hosp) and apart from one reading of 18.1 my levels have been between 10.6 and 12.5

I have no idea if this is good or bad. Or how good or bad this is? I am on Metformin twice a day (500mg tabs) and I have been trying to limit sugar and carbs as much as i can. Im not perfect at it, as struggling with lowering carbs, but im learning.

But then i look at ingredients and i dont even know how many carbs in a serving is good and how much is bad.

Im sorry for all the info/questions. Im finding this really overwhelming and im just not sure what to think or do. To me between 10.6 and 12.5 doesnt sound too bad but i am literally cluless right now. All i have is a couple of leaflets and a booklet from the dietician but it doesnt give that much information.

A couple extra questions if you dont mind

1. Is it normal to feel sick while on Metformin (mainly in evenings)
2. is Diorrhea normal? (evenings and during the night)
3. My mental health has taken a dive since the diagnosis. Im assuming this is just overloading of info but i wanted to mention it.


Thanks to anyone who got this far. And if anything doesnt make sense please let me know

Thanks for reading guys <3

Hi @Flic2019 @Caeseji has already given excellent advice. I would like to add a few little bits.
High blood sugar can also cause diarrhoea. I don't suffer from depression clinically, but in the days of Type 1 excessively low readings could cause overwhelming depression until getting back to a normal level. Persistently high readings would do the same. In a non diabetic, blood sugar can go up to 10.0 after a "standard" meal, but after half an hour should start to come down somewhere near 5.4. As an old fashioned but reasonable standard, it is best to aim for an average between 6 and 7 if you are Type 1. There are many Type 2's on here who have the benefit of years of experience and therefore helpful advice. I wish you the best of luck and health!

 

[xfieldok]

Yes you will get information overload. Yes you will struggle to go low carb. It happened to all of us.

My levels at DX were so high, I decided to go keto and restrict carbs to 20g per day.

Yes it was hard at first. It took me a good 4 weeks to break the carb addiction. I made loads of mistakes and you will too. Treat everything as part of your education.

The main thing is to get your diagnosis. Make sure you get a printout of your blood test results for your own records.

They may answer questions you haven't thought of yet.

If you are T2, they may recommend that you do not self test. This is twaddle and essential. If they recommend you eat brown bread and pasta, smile sweetly and come straight back here.

 

[Flic2019]

The dietician told me not to bother switching to brown bread and pasta. She said to continue with normal but to restrict the amount I’m eating of it.

Thanks all. I really appreciate all your advice. Will read it all through again tomorrow when I’m not feeling sick lol.

I’m up for making mistakes. The hardest for me is curing my sweet tooth. I want to work out some low carb low sugar recipes so I can make my own stuff but I need to get a grip first.

I’m going to ask the nurse all these questions tomorrow as well. Then hopefully will have a follow up appointment with the GP. I’m assuming they will alert the GP when the results come in but I will double check with them.

Thanks again.

 

[Mike d]

Your tolerance for any sugars is now close to non existent, so you need to understand that at the outset

 

[Flic2019]

Your tolerance for any sugars is now close to non existent, so you need to understand that at the outset

I think that’s the one thing I’m struggling with tbh. It’s the one thing I need to work on more than anything else.

 

[Mike d]

Believe me ... you won't miss it after a week. I thought it was the end of the world. It wasn't and the mere smell of it even now makes me ill

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

.1 my levels have been between 10.6 and 12.5

I have no idea if this is good or bad. Or how good or bad this is?

This is from diabetes.co.uk, from the page at https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html:

Normal and diabetic blood sugar ranges
For the majority of healthy individuals, normal blood sugar levels are as follows:

• Between 4.0 to 5.4 mmol/L (72 to 99 mg/dL) when fasting [361]
• Up to 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) 2 hours after eating

For people with diabetes, blood sugar level targets are as follows:

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/L for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes
• After meals: under 9 mmol/L for people with type 1 diabetes and under 8.5mmol/L for people with type 2 diabetes

In answer to your questions:
1. Sickness - personally, something I don't experience, so I don't know if normal is the right word.
2. Diarrhea - It gave me loads of problems, eased since I started low carb. It's quite common though.
3. That could be anything, including just being diagnosed with a disease that you will have to take very seriously if you want to avoid the horrible things that can happen to people with poorly controlled BG.

There's a lot to take on board, including dietary advice from some medical staff which is OK for people with a fully operational pancreas and no resistance to insulin, but not the best f0r people with diabetes.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

1. Is it normal to feel sick while on Metformin (mainly in evenings)
2. is Diorrhea normal? (evenings and during the night)
3. My mental health has taken a dive since the diagnosis. Im assuming this is just overloading of info but i wanted to mention it.


Thanks to anyone who got this far. And if anything doesnt make sense please let me know

Thanks for reading guys <3

Good morning Flic,

I couldn't tolerate metformin myself, (Lived in the loo, and things got bloody after 2 or 3 weeks), was switched to gliclazide, and after three months of low carb and speaking to my GP about it, was taken off all meds. I've had normal, non diabetic levels since. So I had a couple of hurdles: I couldn't stand tea or coffee without at least 5 spoons of sugar. Dropping sugar was going to be a problem. But hey presto, your tastebuds change when you haven't had sugar for a bit. Yesterday I shared some extra dark chocolate with my husband, and I thought it was still pretty sweet, while he was pulling faces. So that truly is something you'll get used to. Second hurdle: I can't count to 10. Well, I can, but when I had to learn how to eat all over again, my head was spinning with all those numbers I couldn't make sense of. I made mistake after mistake, but there's no time-limit here... You've no deadline to meet. Figure it out at your own pace. What relly helped was using a meter. If I checked before a meal and 2 hours after, I didn't want to see a rise of more than 2 mmol/l. Since I still botched it here and there, I ended up switching from Low Carb/High Fat to keto, as there was less counting involved: I just had to go for as little carbs as possible every time. That means proper meat, fish, eggs, full fat cream and ditto greek yoghurt, above-ground veggies/leafy greens (no legumes), and ditching all fruit save for a couple of berries every now and again. No counting, but normal bloodsugarlevels between about 4.1 and 5.9, which I'm still quite happy with. (Fasting bloods are a little higher because my liver's such a helpful one, dumping glucose in the morning. But that's still in good numbers too, really.). Another hurdle: I'm an introverted borderliner with (sometimes suicidal-making) depression. Just when I was feeling a little better about my life, and living in general, I got diagnosed with what I thought was a death-sentence. Not only that, I thought my husband, whio is my carer as it is, was going to have to deal with a legless woman on kidney-dialasys before becoming a young widower. You see, a life-changing diagnosis is something that hits is all un, most of the time, the same way as a death would. The stages of grief apply. I would wake up in the morning finding that I'd been crying even in my sleep! It was tough, and everything looked bleak. But... For me, well, I wanted to control this, so I read everything I could get my hands on. Some of it was stupid, some of it made sense, some of it was brilliant. And as I applied it to my own life and tested to see the results, that made me feel a whole lot better. I had non-diabetic levels after 3 months, I've been in the non-diabetic range for almost 3 years now. No complications. Better yet, my fatty liver's solved, my cholesterol's down with perfect ratio's. I still have a bunch of other issues, but they were pre-existing and niet T2 related. I never thought it possible, but T2 is the one condition i can easily manage. So will you. It seems an insurmountable task right now, but you'll get there.

So to answer your questions:
1&2: yes, it is normal, and it can pass. It it doesn't, request slow release, or ask whether you can try diet-only.
3: Yes, getting a mental blow is part of this. It'll get better as you learn how to control this, and find out that you actually have the power to change things. You're not a helpless victim, you can kick T2's ***.

As for what your levels should be, roughly between 4.5 and 8.5. That's kindof what to aim for. Like I said, test before a meal, and two hours after the first bite, and you shouldn't see a rise of more than 2 mmol/l. If it's higher you had too carby a meal. How many carbs are right for you depends wholly on you. So get a meter and check. Some people are fine with 120 grams of carbs a day, some do better on 75, and me, well, I like to stay under 20. That's what I feel best at and doesn't make me stress overmuch about the whole counting thing.

...And the workmen who are fixing my aircirculation system have to shut the power off, so I have to leave it at this for now. But hope it helps a little.

You'll be okay. I didn't believe it either, but... Here I am.
Hugs,
Jo

 

[Resurgam]

I had all three problems - taking Metformin and Atorvastatin - things got so bad I just ditched the tablets. It was all the more galling to discover that I did not need them.
I eat low carb, from low carb foods rather than small amounts of high carb ones. I am definitely a type two in that my response to low carb is to return to normal numbers, so I hope that you can soon get a definite diagnosis and begin to do the same.

 

[Flic2019]

Thanks guys. So i had my appointment with the nurse and i dont think any questions were answered. She did however obviously she did point out the A, she isn't a diabetic nurse and B. its hard without knowing what type for sure.

She has made me an appointment with the diabetic nurse but next appointment isn't until 18th June unfortunately. But at least I have that to look forward to. She checked the system and nothing through from the hospital yet.

Im trying so hard with lowering carbs but im finding it so hard. Im craving sweet food so much but cant find anything that is suitable.. I thought about baking my own low carb and low sugar things but its so expensive to do. I think im going to have to settle with trying to just cut out sweet things entirely. Drinking a lot of water and apart from that not sure what else to do for now.

Levels are still stuck between 10.6 and 12.8

I guess just carry on until I actually start getting appointments through is all i can do for now

Im glad i have found this place. You have all been so informative and so kind to me so thank you

 

[Flic2019]

I’ve had my lowest reading yet at 8.6 three hours after dinner so I’m assuming I’m doing something right xx

 

[xfieldok]

Google chocolate keto mug cake. It's a quick fix for sugar deprivation. Yummy.

 

[DCUKMod]

@Flic2019 - If you have a sweet tooth, there are a couple of alternatives for cracking that. Either, look for low carb sweet alternatives. There are plenty out there, which probably shouts at you that on that basis, you aren't alone in your sweet tooth.

There are low carb, tarts, puddings, sponges, bread, scones and, well,.... just almost everything, ig you want it, and are up for new learning experiences, in terms of cooking and prep.

The alternative is to find alternative comfort foods that aren't sweet. That's super-easy for me to say, never having had a sweet tooth myself, but it is the alternative. If you decide on this route, then I'd suggest you look for stuff with definite flavours, rather than bland options. In my view, bland options are just as likely to leave you feeling dissatisfied. Who needs to eat tasteless?

In terms of savoury options, again there are loads from cooked bacon or decent sausages, pork scratchings, egg bites, chicken wings or drummers and so on.

Your query is one we see often, and how people tackle it varies. We have people who have embraced low carb baking, for example, and feel it saved their bacon (pun intended ), and there are those who say they wish they'd never embarked on the low carb sweet stuff, because it means they still have a sweet tooth.

Take your time. This isn't a race.

Undoubtedly, it'll be helpful when you have your definitive diagnosis, but there are things you can consider now.

 

[Flic2019]

@Flic2019 - If you have a sweet tooth, there are a couple of alternatives for cracking that. Either, look for low carb sweet alternatives. There are plenty out there, which probably shouts at you that on that basis, you aren't alone in your sweet tooth.

There are low carb, tarts, puddings, sponges, bread, scones and, well,.... just almost everything, ig you want it, and are up for new learning experiences, in terms of cooking and prep.

The alternative is to find alternative comfort foods that aren't sweet. That's super-easy for me to say, never having had a sweet tooth myself, but it is the alternative. If you decide on this route, then I'd suggest you look for stuff with definite flavours, rather than bland options. In my view, bland options are just as likely to leave you feeling dissatisfied. Who needs to eat tasteless?

In terms of savoury options, again there are loads from cooked bacon or decent sausages, pork scratchings, egg bites, chicken wings or drummers and so on.

Your query is one we see often, and how people tackle it varies. We have people who have embraced low carb baking, for example, and feel it saved their bacon (pun intended ), and there are those who say they wish they'd never embarked on the low carb sweet stuff, because it means they still have a sweet tooth.

Take your time. This isn't a race.

Undoubtedly, it'll be helpful when you have your definitive diagnosis, but there are things you can consider now.

I’m still looking. It seems all low carb ones that I have found are high sugar so I’m going to attempt to make a normal dessert and switch for sweetener and something like coconut flour. Let’s see whether happens lol xx

 

[DCUKMod]

I’m still looking. It seems all low carb ones that I have found are high sugar so I’m going to attempt to make a normal dessert and switch for sweetener and something like coconut flour. Let’s see whether happens lol xx

Flic, if you look at the What have you eaten today thread in the low carb forum, there are loads onthere, and lots of folks who make low carb desserts regularly

 

[Flic2019]

Flic, if you look at the What have you eaten today thread in the low carb forum, there are loads onthere, and lots of folks who make low carb desserts regularly

Thank you. I will have a look xx

 

[xfieldok]

Google fat bombs. Google anything you fancy just put keto in front. Just be careful with sweetners. I won't have xylitol in the house as it can be fatal to dogs.