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Totally baffled and

shelts

shelts

Well-Known Member
Messages
53
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
ploughing through it all.

I went to the docs today and was told I was diabetic. I presented in October 2014 with numbness in right leg. My first GP did some bloods and said it could be diabetes, compression or trapped nerve. After bloods results, I was called by receptionist, told a number of 6.8 (?), told I was diabetic and an appointment was made to see the specialist diabetic doctor. (Second GP)
That was today, and she sat me down and told me I had to have statins and Metformin. First GP had said she wanted to for a dietary control, with some weight loss and more active lifestyle. Happy with all of that, no I am told to take these drugs. No explanations, no advice on what diabetes is, what to do, nothing. She just told me to lose weight or I could go blind, lose a foot or have a stroke if I didn't take these drugs to control my diabetes.

Thankfully there are forums and websites like this where I might get some advice.
 
Hi shelts. your story sounds familiar to me. 6.8 is not huge. I was 8.3 ( if that was an HbA1c result). I asked not to go on medication and reduced my reading to 5.4 in 4 months by diet alone. I also have the numb legs but am assured it is due to a very low vitamin B 12 level.
 
Oh, welcome @shelts

You have come to the right place!

Medication should always be your choice, so read around the forum. There are a range of different opinions on statins, diet, metformin and almost all aspects of lifestyle, on this forum. But that means you get to hear all sides of the argument and make up your own mind. :D

Please stick around. This forum is the best thing I have ever done to control my diabetes.
The second best thing was to get a blood glucose testing meter (and use it).

:)
 
shelts said:
ploughing through it all.

I went to the docs today and was told I was diabetic. I presented in October 2014 with numbness in right leg. My first GP did some bloods and said it could be diabetes, compression or trapped nerve. After bloods results, I was called by receptionist, told a number of 6.8 (?), told I was diabetic and an appointment was made to see the specialist diabetic doctor. (Second GP)
That was today, and she sat me down and told me I had to have statins and Metformin. First GP had said she wanted to for a dietary control, with some weight loss and more active lifestyle. Happy with all of that, no I am told to take these drugs. No explanations, no advice on what diabetes is, what to do, nothing. She just told me to lose weight or I could go blind, lose a foot or have a stroke if I didn't take these drugs to control my diabetes.

Thankfully there are forums and websites like this where I might get some advice.
Click to expand...
Hi Shelts, as Beardie says it's a familiar story, mine was similar when I was diagnosed as pre diabetic and just told to lose weight. during the nine months between then and being diagnosed fully it had very slightly affected my feet.

As Brunneria says you come to the right place. I have tagged @daisy1 who should be along shortly with a long list of very useful information.
Neil
 
@shelts

Hello and welcome to the forum :)

It is very common for new diabetics not to be given information so you have done the right thing coming here. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you like 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 130,000 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

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.
 
Hi Shelts and welcome. I got taken into hospital in November with a heart attack. Then got told after taking a blood sample that I might be diabetic because my Blood sugar count was 27. However they continued with "that could have been caused by the heart attack, so we will give you these tablets to help reduce it" We are now in mid January and I haven't got any paperwork be it from the hospital or my GP stating that I am diabetic. Everything I've learnt about diabetes I've learnt from this site and I'm glad to say I have now got my BS levels down to the 5-8 range from the original 27.
Anyway enough about me. If you need to know anything, just ask.:happy:
 
adrian207 said:
Hi Shelts and welcome. I got taken into hospital in November with a heart attack. Then got told after taking a blood sample that I might be diabetic because my Blood sugar count was 27. However they continued with "that could have been caused by the heart attack, so we will give you these tablets to help reduce it" We are now in mid January and I haven't got any paperwork be it from the hospital or my GP stating that I am diabetic. Everything I've learnt about diabetes I've learnt from this site and I'm glad to say I have now got my BS levels down to the 5-8 range from the original 27.
Anyway enough about me. If you need to know anything, just ask.:happy:
Click to expand...
Way too many post like this. It is all about targets now.
 
beardie said:
Way too many post like this. It is all about targets now.
Click to expand...

You're so right Beardie. Even though I'd gone through what I had, I still felt as I lay in the hospital bed that no one could be bothered to let me know what was going on and what to expect when I got home. 2 weeks before my first blood sample appointment, then another 2 weeks before the GP appointment which to be quite honest was a total waste of time.
 
Hi and welcome. If your 6.8 figure is your HBa1C in % then it isn't too bad. Statins have nothing to do with diabetes so it's up to you to take them for cholesterol level control; some do and some don't as there can be side effects. Metformin is commonly offered at diagnosis particularly if you are overweight as it does help reduce insulin resistance and hence blood suagr a bit. It is a very safe drug, but many newly diagnosed choose to try just diet to start with if their blood suagr level isn't too high such as yours (assuming it's an HBa1C of 6.8%). You will only have long-term damage if your blood sugar remains raised perhaps above 7-8%, but you can't be certain either way. Getting weight down and possibly having meds will avoid that risk. So, do start a low-carb diet and get hold of a glucose meter so you can see the effects of food changes.
 
Hi welcome :)
 
Hi From me .. I honestly think sometimes T2 Diabetes and doctors just should never been in the same room together !!!!!!!!
 
Hi and welcome from me.

Have you any idea what tests you had that showed you are diabetic? It is very confusing because there are different blood tests and each have different measurement units, so your 6.8 could be anything really. I suggest you ask the receptionist for a print out of all your test results. You can then let us know what all the figures are, and you will know exactly where you are starting from. You will also know what your cholesterol and lipids are, which you should know before you take the statins. (in my opinion). Print outs are very useful for the future, not just for now. You are entitled to have these.

Metformin is the first line drug for type 2. Statins are for lowering cholesterol.

I was diagnosed with a fasting blood glucose of 7 and an HbA1c of 7% or 53 in new units, but I was not even offered Metformin, I was given 3 months to try diet only, and as that worked for me I am still med-free. But the choice is yours.
 
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