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Was diagnosed this week, but I have a question.

P

popje

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
My family doctor diagnosed me with diabetes type 2 this week after a blood sample, I have no one to blame but myself and I am willing to change my lifestyle. I am currently 24 years old, I smoke, I am overweight (6"2 285lbs) and am a heavy drinker.

The thing is, other than eating healthier and try to do some exercise, my doctor didn't gave me any medications or tools to test my blood sugar level, my thoughts is that my diabetes isn't a risk factor for now ?

I guess it matter, I am going to live in south east asia for a year or so in a month from now, I know I will be eating much healthier and will do some exercise and will drink/smoke less, I told this to my doctor so maybe he thought it will be good enough and I don't need to follow my blood sugar level and/or take medications, he basically just said, see you next year.

How important it is to follow your blood sugar levels, even at a young age and with a very early diagnostic ?

Anything I should do before I go to south east asia other than try to eat healthier and exercise ? Ask to see my doctor again ? Start following my blood sugar levels ? Take medications ?

Thanks
 
It is extremely important to follow your bloodsugar from now on and going forward, as you have now been diagnosed with Diabetes Type2. That is no matter the age you have. Un-treated/un-cared for type 2 can give you some severe chronic complications, so definitely worth staying clear of. You doc may have found your bg is still just borderline and not yet full-blown needing medication (typically oral medication for starting Type2). Change in diet to less carb could help that, as well as getting more exercise. Getting off the alcohol will also help tremendously, as you then will start to burn the sugar you eat as energy instead of the alcohol.
Easy and not as cumbersome or expensive as blood measure kit would be to get the simple urine test sticks, that give you indicator of urine and ketones in your urine. Check It e.g. once a week or so. That would indicate if your diabetes is in check or not in order, and if you need to further change your diet/exercise regime and/or get some medication. Easy to get those in any local pharmacy, also in Asia.
 
Celsus said:
You doc may have found your bg is still just borderline and not yet full-blown needing medication
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Yes, he said something along these lines. Thanks for your answer, I will definitely look into getting some kind of test kit to test my blood sugar level (bg ?) and make sure it doesn't go too high.

I just looked through google really quick and it seems like urine strips aren't really precise but still better than nothing I guess, I will look into other methods as well, I don't mind something moderately expensive.
 
popje said:
Yes, he said something along these lines. Thanks for your answer, I will definitely look into getting some kind of test kit to test my blood sugar level (bg ?) and make sure it doesn't go too high.

I just looked through google really quick and it seems like urine strips aren't really precise but still better than nothing I guess, I will look into other methods as well, I don't mind something moderately expensive.
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The urine test sticks do not need to be precise. Any glucose in your urine mainly means your blood glucose (bg) is too high. Its also indicator on that diabetes complications may accumulate. A real bg meter is of course the best and great if you can afford it also.
 
Hi. Which part of south east Asia are you going to? Some of the countries have very poor medical care or some items can be hard to get hold of.
 
Jajabing said:
Hi. Which part of south east Asia are you going to? Some of the countries have very poor medical care or some items can be hard to get hold of.
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I'll be staying in thailand for 6-8 months, then I'll visit like 8 countries all around asia for the last 3-4 months. (not 100% sure of which countries yet but the ones I am sure are: laos, indonesia, cambodia, vietnam, india)
 
I live and travel a lot in Asia so I thought I asked. My partner is in the healthcare industry for Asia pacific that's why we are here. If you are in Bangkok they have excellent medical services but only in private hospitals. Bangkok has been a place to go to for medical tourists. However, you need to be very careful with Thai cooking. Sugar is in everything even those that taste like it's filled with salt. If you can find a way to tell them not to put in sugars or self cook by visiting the supermarkets they have.

Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia have very poor medical services. Depending on where you are, food is mostly carbs focused. As for Indonesia and India it's not as good as well depending on where you are. So some kind of food strategy is good just in case. A good medical insurance with unlimited evacuation plan is a must. In south east Asia, Singapore has the best medical services, English speaking and is a developed country. Second for medical is Thailand. Also be careful of street food! I usually follow the locals but india is impossible to deal with for me.


I'll be staying thailand for 6-8 months, then I'll visit like 8 countries all around asia for the last 3-4 months. (not 100% sure of which countries yet but the ones I am sure are: laos, indonesia, cambodia, vietnam, india)
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VinnyJames said:
What's your tipple Popje?
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Sorry I am not sure what tipple mean, but I think its what and how much I drink ? I usually drink around 8 strong beers 4 times a week, I've been abusing more the past few months though, like 10 beers a day almost everyday, I know its bad, but I have been drinking a lot only for the past 2 years or so, next month I will reduce my drinking to like 3-4 days a week again and lay off the beers and add some whiskey, I have no idea what kind of alcohol have low glucose/carbs. I'll check it out.
 
popje said:
Sorry I am not sure what tipple mean, but I think its what and how much I drink ? I usually drink around 8 strong beers 4 times a week, I've been abusing more the past few months though, like 10 beers a day almost everyday, I know its bad, but I have been drinking a lot only for the past 2 years or so, next month I will reduce my drinking to like 3-4 days a week again and lay off the beers and add some whiskey, I have no idea what kind of alcohol have low glucose/carbs. I'll check it out.
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Since you appear to like beer, you better be aware of these numbers: :)
Carb Counts – Beer – Per 12 Ounce Serving
Regular Beer: average is about 12 grams carb
Light Beer: check the label –- most are 3 to 7 grams
Ale: most are 5 to 9 grams
Stout: variable –- about 20 grams.

Lager Beer is my own preference, and they have typically same energy content by volume as similar to milk.
And that includes also the beer's carb load for which you need to watch out for with your simmering type2 diabetes.
 
Jajabing said:
I live and travel a lot in Asia so I thought I asked. My partner is in the healthcare industry for Asia pacific that's why we are here. If you are in Bangkok they have excellent medical services but only in private hospitals. Bangkok has been a place to go to for medical tourists. However, you need to be very careful with Thai cooking. Sugar is in everything even those that taste like it's filled with salt. If you can find a way to tell them not to put in sugars or self cook by visiting the supermarkets they have.

Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia have very poor medical services. Depending on where you are, food is mostly carbs focused. As for Indonesia and India it's not as good as well depending on where you are. So some kind of food strategy is good just in case. A good medical insurance with unlimited evacuation plan is a must. In south east Asia, Singapore has the best medical services, English speaking and is a developed country. Second for medical is Thailand. Also be careful of street food! I usually follow the locals but india is impossible to deal with for me.
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I will live 1-2 month in koh samui, a week in bangkok and the rest of the time in chiang mai. I will definitely cook most of my meals so I think I can manage my sugar, as for whatever I buy in the street, I think I'll be fine, I hate sweet food anyway and I never eat any desserts or sweet snacks. As for the last 3 months of my trip, as long as I test my gp once in a while I am pretty sure I'll be fine.

You talk about medical services like its a must ? I am not saying I am invincible or anything but do diabetics get complications that requires medical services often ?

Also, we are on a tight budget, we weren't planning to get any insurance, I am from canada, if anything bad happen I pay for the evacuation or plane ticket if I can still walk and get free health care back in canada.
 
I'm so sorry I don't mean to be alarmist about medical services. I don't think diabetics get complications that requires medical services often, i mean that if emergency medical services is needed. I think you will be just fine. I was just thinking about the experience of a few of my friends who had to leave the country immediately after a serious accident. One of them was doing his rounds in south east asia on his motorbike, got into an accident and had to be airlifted out due to inadequate medical services. This came close to half a million dollars. Or that my dad had a seizure in Hong Kong and the medical bill came up to 12 thousand dollars.

Unless you are planning to do anything that might put you in danger you'll be perfectly ok! Koh Samui for the full moon party? I also love Chiangmai! If you are into yoga and stuff, there's plenty of those there. Ahhh i'm so envious now!
 
Jajabing said:
I'm so sorry I don't mean to be alarmist about medical services. I don't think diabetics get complications that requires medical services often, i mean that if emergency medical services is needed. I think you will be just fine. I was just thinking about the experience of a few of my friends who had to leave the country immediately after a serious accident. One of them was doing his rounds in south east asia on his motorbike, got into an accident and had to be airlifted out due to inadequate medical services. This came close to half a million dollars. Or that my dad had a seizure in Hong Kong and the medical bill came up to 12 thousand dollars.

Unless you are planning to do anything that might put you in danger you'll be perfectly ok! Koh Samui for the full moon party? I also love Chiangmai! If you are into yoga and stuff, there's plenty of those there. Ahhh i'm so envious now!
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Oh ok no worries, you scared me a bit lol, yeah I am an anxious person and won't do anything dangerous really, especially drive a motorcycle in asia, I heard is the number one cause of tourists accident, of course we never know I could get a stroke or something like that so I'll try to get some kind of insurance but probably only for the last 3 months.

Never been to the full moon party, but yeah, definitely something we'll go, I'll make sure not to buy buckets from random people ;) and I don't do drugs so I'll be good.

I am not really into yoga, well I've never tried, might give it a try lol who knows.

Thanks for your concerns !
 
Be careful with Asian food. Its not about sugar only. You need to be careful with carbohydrates in general and these are rice, pasta, noodles, bread, potatoes. Thai cuisine is based on noodles and rice and practically everything contains sugar (salads, stir fries).
As for alcohol, try red dry wine
 
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