Not diagnosed yet

[Zenedge]

Hi All,

As the title suggests, I've not been diagnosed yet so this is all very very new to me, however all the signs and symptoms are there... blurry vision, constant thirst, rapid weight loss in the last few weeks, thrush and phimosis.

I went for the local chemist blood test after fasting for 9-10 hours overnight and had a reading of 14.9 though I didn't realise I couldn't smoke and lit up around an hour before the blood test, for the past few days I've been trying to kid myself that smoking an hour before was the reason for the high reading but the reality is my shockingly sweet tooth is probably the reason for it. However the smoking will stop too, I average around 5 a day, some days only 1 or 2 and others can be up to 10 but that's quite rare. It's a tough thing to beat though so getting down to 5 a day is good going for me.

I have an appointment with the diabetic nurse in 8 days and I expect her to confirm what I already suspect. I am going prepared with a food diary and a few questions but would like to start the changes now.

I'm a big lad, not particularly overweight, but 6' tall and (without trying to be smart about it) fairly well built, I'm a fireman so fairly active in my employment, I'm a snowboarder, DIYer and work on cars for fun too so I'm not lazing around too much on my days off.

My biggest problem is snacking, I have a good sized portion for all my meals, which to be fair on myself are usually good quality home cooking with a decent array of veg etc. Unfortunately meal times can vary quite drastically due to my work but there's nothing I can do about that. Throughout the day though, I can snack like a man possessed (chocolate, crisps, cakes, fizzy juice, anything really), not gain weight and up until now, I've shown no adverse effects. So I now feel like my diet is going to change to a point where I'm hungry my whole life, I don't know what I should be eating or avoiding, I know the nurse will probably go through basics but I know I can't carry on this week the way I have been eating... I need to change things drastically... NOW.

Any advice would be good, I'm researching for a meal planner now but they all seem like tiny portions are all I'm allowed... I need something to keep a hungry lad going lol.

Sorry for such a long first post btw, just trying to get all the facts in there.

 

[DeejayR]

Hi Zenedge. Looks like you've got some lifestyle changes coming, so well done for biting the bullet. This is a good place to start and the folks here are great. Take it a step at a time and while you're waiting for your appointment take a browse to see what others are doing. I doubt if exercise is going to be a problem but what and when you eat almost certainly will require some discipline.
Give up smoking anyway -- blimey, you're a fireman, don't you get enough in the job?

 

[jack412]

losing weight without trying is maybe T1?
I wouldn't wait 8 days and see someone and get a blood test tomorrow if this is the case, A&E if you throwup or gut/back pains

 

[Zenedge]

Lol Deejay, yeah you'd be surprised how many of us are smoking... I'm far from alone. I tried quitting and bought an Ecig... Managed to lie to myself for 3-4 months that it was "just as good" before returning. The good thing is that I won't admit defeat to my watch, so I just don't smoke at work, at all... I also won't smoke until after my kids have gone to bed, I don't want them to be smelling that... It's filthy and I know it but like I say, it's a tough one to beat so I'm doing my best.

Unfortunately I now have another battle on top of that... I'm turning 40 this year and I'm feeling it lol

Thanks for the reply, I'll have a look around.

 

[JTL]

I'm a Rizla under six foot three and currently fifteen stone.
This is the diet I had to switch to and it's been fantastic results wise.
Blood pressure down medication down.
Blood sugars down and pretty much under control medication down.
Bad cholesterol down good cholesterol up no medication.
Weight down from 18 stone to 15 stone.
Diet low carb high fat.
The low carb is the big deal here I'm convinced.
If I eat carbs sugars go high and I'm forever hungry wanting more carbs.
Carbs turn to sugar fast inside of us.
I firmly believe that fat doesn't make us fat sugar makes us fat.
Carbs is sugar!
Glucose for the more pedantic.
Here's where I started having landed in this place and heard of people swearing by it .... I had nothing to lose but everything ....
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

 

[JTL]

Drug addiction on top of diabetes can't be a good mix.

 

[daddys1]

Hi & welcome to the Forum, you have certainly come to the right place for help & support.

With regards to eating, when you see the Doc's they unfortunately tell you the direct opposite to what we recommend on here. There are many of us here that follow a Low Carbohydrate High Fat Diet.

I t works for those who want to get their blood sugars down cutting all the carbs it also help you to remain feeling full and therefore don't want to snack that often. However, your short list (chocolate, crisps, cakes, fizzy juice,) all would need to go including trying to avoid Bread Pasta Rice Pastry anything made with flour. Sounds daunting at first but many on here have managed to reduce their sugar levels considerably ovoiding diabetic complications.
Stay on the forum & have a good look around.

I also Tag @daisy1 she will bring along a whole lot of helpful information.

Neil

 

[Zenedge]

Thanks Jack412, there's no throwing up, no pains (old shoulder injuries on both sides playing up a little more than usual but nothing I can't handle) no nausea, I did see the doc and told her my symptoms... she didn't tell me to do anything other than come and see the nurse but if anything changes with the sickness, I'll know to watch out for it, thanks.

Jackthelad... drug addiction??? Are we talking about the smoking, I know it's not ideal but there's worse things I could be doing lol. I will address it in time though... I'm halfway there.

 

[Zenedge]

Neil,

Yes, my short list is pretty shocking, It pretty much covers my diet between meals... and lots of it if I'm honest, so I know I need to make some big changes.

To be honest, I knew I couldn't carry on the way I was even before my symptoms crept up on me, so it's a push to MAKE me do it instead of just talking about it.

Thank you for the advice, very much appreciated.

 

[JTL]

Thanks Jack412, there's no throwing up, no pains (old shoulder injuries on both sides playing up a little more than usual but nothing I can't handle) no nausea, I did see the doc and told her my symptoms... she didn't tell me to do anything other than come and see the nurse but if anything changes with the sickness, I'll know to watch out for it, thanks.

Jackthelad... drug addiction??? Are we talking about the smoking, I know it's not ideal but there's worse things I could be doing lol. I will address it in time though... I'm halfway there.

Yes drug addiction.
Theres not actually much worse you could be doing when you get the facts mate.
Shooting meth maybe but ..... bottle of whisky a day maybe but .....
I'm one of those reformed smokers.
Fifty or sixty rollups a day to none.
I dread to think what state I would be in now had I carried on!

 

[jack412]

Thanks Jack412, there's no throwing up, no pains (old shoulder injuries on both sides playing up a little more than usual but nothing I can't handle) no nausea, I did see the doc and told her my symptoms... she didn't tell me to do anything other than come and see the nurse but if anything changes with the sickness, I'll know to watch out for it, thanks.

Jackthelad... drug addiction??? Are we talking about the smoking, I know it's not ideal but there's worse things I could be doing lol. I will address it in time though... I'm halfway there.

if you want..for 5 quid you can get urine ketone ketostiks from the chemist to check, which I think is worth it. till you get a proper diagnosis

 

[Zenedge]

Yeah, I didn't realise until I after my bg test that smoking affects it, so I guess you're probably correct but being an ex smoker yourself, you know how it grips you like a vice... I am trying and getting there, so it's better than carrying on regardless.

 

[Zenedge]

if you want..for 5 quid you can get urine ketone ketostiks from the chemist to check, which I think is worth it. till you get a proper diagnosis

I might just do that jack because I'm sitting worrying about the whole sorry situation I've got myself into.

The 'unknown' for the next week is probably worse than finding out that I've been positively diagnosed (even though I'm confident what the result will be).

 

[JTL]

Yeah, I didn't realise until I after my bg test that smoking affects it, so I guess you're probably correct but being an ex smoker yourself, you know how it grips you like a vice... I am trying and getting there, so it's better than carrying on regardless.

Best of luck mate cos it is very hard.

 

[jack412]

I might just do that jack because I'm sitting worrying about the whole sorry situation I've got myself into.

The 'unknown' for the next week is probably worse than finding out that I've been positively diagnosed (even though I'm confident what the result will be).

I think just high BG I can wait 8 days
high BG and high ketones means I get to A&E

 

[daisy1]

@Zenedge

Hello Zenedge and welcome to the forum

Here is the information we give to new members, whether you are diagnosed diabetic or not it would be sensible to follow the diet advice in here. Ask as many questions as 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.

 

[DeejayR]

OK, plenty for you to think about there. Are you satisfied that you can still work at such a demanding job?

 

[Zenedge]

Lol, I'm pretty sure I'll be fine Deejay, lots of good advice there.

I'm hoping that if I stop being an idiot and thinking I can eat what I like and not suffer consequences, there's no reason for this to get the better of me.

It's a lot to take in but today is a new day and a new regime, it all starts now.

Thanks again, I'll update as soon as I know more and regardless of the outcome i'm still going to change my ways... no more cakes, biscuits and family (or even single for that matter) bars of chocolate on a daily basis. I could get through a normal persons weekly intake in a day, so that all stops now.

Thanks again for the good info people...

 

[Amanda61]

Neil,

Yes, my short list is pretty shocking, It pretty much covers my diet between meals... and lots of it if I'm honest, so I know I need to make some big changes.

To be honest, I knew I couldn't carry on the way I was even before my symptoms crept up on me, so it's a push to MAKE me do it instead of just talking about it.

Thank you for the advice, very much appreciated.

Hi there Zenedge
I'm a newbie too and been on this great forum a week now.
Everyone is fantastic and the help they give is relentless.
I was looking at your snack in-take and I used to be the same.
When I was diagnosed in Feb. I had already given up the junk
a few weeks before. But thought that going low fat was the answer.
Believe me it wasn't, and I didn't lose any weight, and felt pretty
****.
High carbs/ low fat will make you like that, and unfortunately that
is what doctors recommend for you to eat.

Low carbs/ high fat is your answer you will start to feel better
and if you go with everything full fat, you will stay fuller for longer.
I have lost 6kg this first week, so I'm chuffed.
Hope all goes well for you, and just note, everyone is here for you.

 

[Zenedge]

Right folks, looking for a bit of advice here.

It's a bit late as I've done it now but looking to see if what I've done is just as bad as what I've been doing in the past. I have no BG meter yet to figure things out.

Trying to cut the **** from my diet, I had 2 slices of whole meal toast this morning with 4 poached eggs, I'd normally have 2 maybe 3 rolls with sausage, potato scone, occasionally bacon, or white hovis and some pate.

Lunch was again 2 slice of brown whole meal with a slice of cooked ham, a fair bit of lettuce, 1 cherry tomato and around a teaspoon of Mayo (I looked at the carbs on light mayo and was surprised to see that the carbs are nearly double in the light stuff so went with regular mayo). I have nothing to compare this with as I'd normally just raid the cupboards and eat what I find but at work (2 days in an 8 day cycle). I'd eat a can of Heinz tomato soup on day one and a scotch pie and beans on day 2.

Now the bit I'm most worried about, dinner was roast chicken, around 2 legs and a bit of breast, the mrs and kids are fussy and only like breast meat so I only have a little breast and both legs and the bits (I'm fine with that ) but it was a fair pile. Carrots... enough to make a donkey back away, a bit of cauliflower cheese and half a boiled potato.

I also had a few red grapes, maybe a handful.

I'm going to lay off and have nothing else the rest of the night.

Ok, you may be reeling at my daily intake but I have nothing to gauge whether this is acceptable or not, remember, I'm totally new to this and I feel it's a massive improvement on the usual childish sweet/crisp fest that I'd usually eat... as mentioned earlier, I'm a big hungry boy and was trying to bulk up on food that's maybe a bit better for me.

I'm hoping you're not going to tell me I'm killing myself as I'm trying. Apologies for another long post.

Thanks,

Gordon.