Newly Diagnosed and First Post

[dazzeur]

Hello!
I am newly diagnosed type 2, feeling a little depressed about it. I am 35 and had a reading of 16.6. I'm still awaiting a fasting blood test (next week) and to be referred to the diabetic service at my GP surgery. I have been prescribed Metformin which I am taking with breakfast and just once a day (for now). I'm not overweight and I am semi active, trying to be more and more active. Getting married end of this year so stress levels are quite high - at least between work and wedding planning! I'd love to be able to reverse this by being more active and changing my diet. I eat overnight oats pretty much every morning, oats, low fat almond milk, chia seeds, other mixed seeds/ nuts, frozen berries, sometimes other fruits (whatever is in season) and low fat yogurt. For lunches, I typically eat raw veg and hummus or salads. Dinners are usually some protein and roasted veg. Have started cutting out potatoes, pastas, breads etc
Does this sound good/ bad?
Any other food advice?
Trying to cut out coffee but that's really hard.
I've always had a really sweet tooth so double hard to reduce that especially after meals.
Currently I have no monitor so am not monitoring my sugar levels - should I buy one? Should I wait till I have had these tests and seen the diabetic service?
I'm sure I'll have many questions in the future and hope I can help others as I learn more and more myself.
D

 

[Ross.Walker]

Firstly it's not your fault. It happens and it's what you do now that can make you have the best chances of a long happy life.

Daisy or someone of similar skills will be along with good advise soon enough..

I would suggest no booze for 4 months. It will reduce the complexity of working out what is good and bad for you. It also allows you a bit of time to have a cheeky few in the lead up to your wedding. I took 6 months off and it made a huge difference.

A test meter is a great option even if you have to pay yourself as it will help identify good and bad foods for you. Speak to the doc and see which ones he will supply on prescription.

Let us know how it goes. Make small incremental changes. You will be surprised how it will work,but please be patient and kind to yourself

Sent from my SM-G900F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app

 

[Liam1955]

@dazzeur - Hello and Welcome to the Forum. I will tag @daisy1 who will provide you with some basic information that all new members receive. I would not give up the coffee - just don't add any sugar, try sweeteners instead. Take a look at this: http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds Have a read around the threads and ask any questions you might have.

 

[dazzeur]

Really good advice so far and keen to learn more and more. Coffee wise, I never had sugar so wont need sweetener either. I think the hardest part for me is that I have never been overly overweight. I just always had a sweet tooth and now need to work hard at changing that. I've also never been a massive drinker. My blood pressure is the higher end of average, same with my cholesterol.

 

[Devonbear]

Coffee is fine, but I have it with double cream rather than milk, as milk has lactulose (sugar) and cream has a lot less.

Good sleep is really important in the control of blood sugar, and also blood pressure, so avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening. I only have coffee with breakfast.

How do you get on with sweeteners? Some people have a real downer on them, but I find Truvia (stevia with erythritol) is great although quite dear. My wife makes lots of sweet treats using Truvia and cream cheese (such as cheesecake but also sponges and cookies) so I don't miss out. Also check out strawberries. They are lovely and sweet but with relatively low carbs. Peanut butter is also naturally sweet. It has a fair bit of carbs but not too bad (so long as you get one that is just nuts and oil, no added sugar - basically nothing made in the USA). Try smearing peanut butter on half a toasted Lidl high protein roll for your breakfast, with coffee and cream. Does me just fine and I'm a big guy (6' 3" and nearly 18 stone).

With your blood pressure and cholesterol, your GP will probably tell you to avoid fat. Sod that. I switched to low carb high fat and my blood pressure and cholesterol both improved.

 

[Liam1955]

@dazzeur - A lot of forum members follow the LCHF Diet and it helps to lower Blood Sugars and weight loss. Take each day as it comes and take your Metformin with or after food. Metformin takes time to build up in your system and you might begin to see a slight effect, but it can take up to a couple of months to reach it's full effect. Diet and Exercise will have more effect on lowering Blood Sugar.

 

[daisy1]

@dazzeur

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful, in addition to the advice from other members so far. If you need to ask questions please ask 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 150,000 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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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.

 

[MikePea]

Do get yourself a meter and use it regularly to ensure that you know what food is giving you high readings.
Have a good old fashioned breakfast of bacon and eggs. (Note the plural). Test before breakfast and 2 hours after.
My exercise consists of a brisk 2 mile walk after breakfast every day if possible. Sometimes a bit extra later on all being well.
I take Metformin after breaky and after lunch and so far have had no adverse effects. I have also managed to lose 2 1/2 stone since last September.
Take charge of your life. It's the only one you have. Spend time on this site. You will learn so much. I have and still am learning.
Look forward to your marraige. It should be the best thing that will ever happen to you. Mine certainly is and it's 63 years old.
You might find it a good thing to check your BMI. (Look it up), I'm not being personal.
Enjoy your life .

 

[Liam1955]

@dazzeur - A lot of forum members use the SD Codefree Blood Glucose Meter. Here is a link: http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring - mention you have Diabetes (VAT exemption)

 

[satkins]

I see your being bombarded with information. It's tough to take it all in at once. I was in your position just 4.5 months ago. When you have time read the posts in the Type 2 and Newly Diagnosed sections. You don't need to read them all but there is a ton of good info in there. People will tell you to get a meter (like the post above from @liam1955). This is good advice. What this is going to tell you is what spikes your blood sugar levels. Not everyone has high blood sugar from the same foods. The biggest thing do to is test just before you start eating then two hours after that. Record what you ate and what your numbers where. Try the same meal again in a couple of days and see if you get the same jump from start to end in your blood sugars. This will tell you what your system can handle. Do this any time you introduce a new food. Especially if its a carb or starchy food.

The last bit of advise I will give you is don't stress your self out about it. Diabetes happens. It sucks but you and many millions of others live with it every day. It can be managed.

 

[amgrundy]

Hello @dazzeur, welcome to the forum, believe me you are in the best place to be here, as you can see there are a lot of friendly people on here who can and will give you a lot of support and advice. Go onto the forum " What Have You Eaten Today " there are a lot of daily menus placed on there daily by quite a few of us, try some for yourself then test your BG levels 2hrs after your meals, we are all different in what foods we can tolerate . I think the other posts have said it all I wish you lots of luck, if I can get down from a reading in Jan this year of 148 = 19.3 to 54 in April then anybody can do it, I am 65yrs and have always had a sweet tooth it takes some doing to have to change your diet completely as others will tell you, but at the end of the day we only have 1 body and 1 life take care.

 

[fene48]

Hi Dazzeur

Welcome to the site. It seems you have been already provided with most of the good oil. Here are a couple of sites which may be of interest to you.

RECIPIES: 1. www.diabetes.org/mfa-recipies This is the American diabetes web site and offers printer friendly recipies with full nutrition facts. Its in imperial measures so it makes it easier for you lot.(I'm an Aussie). Really good choice of meals and a pretty good site as overall.

2. www.whfoods.org This is not set up for diabetics. Run by a healhyy eating dude called George Mateljan. The site supplies you with a huge amount of nutritional data and analysis. The site can be a bit hard to navigate, but has enormous flexibility if you really want to refine things. Definitely for the dedicated or obsessive.

IN DEPTH INFO: www.joslin.org - This is the Joslin Diabetic Centre in conjunction with Harvard Medical School. Possibly the best research and treatment organisation in the world for diabetics. They publish two documents:

1. 'Clinical Guidelines For Pharmacological Management of Adults With Type 2 Diabetes' - if you want to know about treatment, drugs, side effects and complications. Very clearly set out and compact.

2.'Clinical Guidelines For Adults With Diabetes' - Again a very informative paper that covers all aspects of treatment and lifestyle.

If you read it, you will probably know as much as the average GP. It was enough to scare the pants off me and got me motivated. If I am flagging a bit I go back to it to get my drive back.

Seriously though, you seem motivated and that will get you far. Diabetes is a real bummer, but as you will read here a lot of people are managing it really well in different ways. So you will get a lot of support and advice.
Best of luck mate and go for it.

 

[KevinPotts]

Hello!
I am newly diagnosed type 2, feeling a little depressed about it. I am 35 and had a reading of 16.6. I'm still awaiting a fasting blood test (next week) and to be referred to the diabetic service at my GP surgery. I have been prescribed Metformin which I am taking with breakfast and just once a day (for now). I'm not overweight and I am semi active, trying to be more and more active. Getting married end of this year so stress levels are quite high - at least between work and wedding planning! I'd love to be able to reverse this by being more active and changing my diet. I eat overnight oats pretty much every morning, oats, low fat almond milk, chia seeds, other mixed seeds/ nuts, frozen berries, sometimes other fruits (whatever is in season) and low fat yogurt. For lunches, I typically eat raw veg and hummus or salads. Dinners are usually some protein and roasted veg. Have started cutting out potatoes, pastas, breads etc
Does this sound good/ bad?
Any other food advice?
Trying to cut out coffee but that's really hard.
I've always had a really sweet tooth so double hard to reduce that especially after meals.
Currently I have no monitor so am not monitoring my sugar levels - should I buy one? Should I wait till I have had these tests and seen the diabetic service?
I'm sure I'll have many questions in the future and hope I can help others as I learn more and more myself.
D

A great big welcome. You'll find us a friendly supportive bunch

So from my novice experience, helped by this community to turn things around, I'd suggest the following;

1. Get rid of the oats - they will spike your blood sugar in the morning - I ate the same and they always went crazy in the morning - eggs are good

2. Knock all your low fat yogs on the head - packed with sugar. Remember when you are reading the label 4g is about a teaspoon full. So most low fat yogs an have st least 2 teaspoons per little pots - yep crazy. Go for s full fat gig and remember Fat will not make you Fat

3. No need to cut your coffee,but try say a dollop of double cream in it first thing, it will help satisfy you and stop any potential spikes overnight.

4. You must get a monitor and test first thing, + 2 hrs, before dinner and + 2 hrs. If the doc doesn't provide you with one, which from my experience on here is common, I'd suggest you get the cheapest monitor from Amazon it's called Code Free and their test strips and lancets are the cheapest on the market without prescription.

Don't worry, you'll be amazed st the possibilities to turn around your condition, providing you take personal responsibility and permanently change your lifestyle and based on your courage of asking and introducing yourself I am sure you can do it


Diagnosed 13/4/16: T2, no meds, HbA1c 53, FBG 12.6, Trigs 3.6, HDL .75, LDL 4.0, BP 169/95, 13st 8lbs, waist 34" (2012 - 17st 7lbs, w 42").

6/6/16: FBG AV 4.6, Trigs 1.5, HDL 2.0, LDL 3.0, BP 112/68, BPM 66, 11st 11lbs, waist 30".

Regime: 20g LCHF, run 1 mile daily, weekly fasting.

 

[Prem51]

Trying to cut out coffee but that's really hard.
I've always had a really sweet tooth so double hard to reduce that especially after meals.

I'm sure I'll have many questions in the future and hope I can help others as I learn more and more myself.

Hi @dazzeur and welcome to the forum. I see you have already been given a lot of good advice. It is a bit hard to take it all in when you are first diagnosed, but you will learn a lot from this forum.
Coffee is ok. I used to drink more tea, but now I drink coffee more, with sweetener instead of sugar, and double cream instead of milk.
I have a sweet tooth too, most diabetics seem to, probably a contributory factor to our T2. I like to have something sweet after a meal. Dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa content has lower carbs and sugar, and I usually have a couple (actually more) of squares after a meal, and have got to like it, especially the orange flavoured types. You can get low carb Oppo ice cream from Waitrose. - there is a thread on this. And there are recipes for low carb desserts on the forum.
You have found a great place to get advice and support. Ask as many questions as you want, people on here are friendly and supportive.
Don't get too down about your diagnosis, it is a shock at first, but T2 can be controlled, and you will probably have lost weight (don't order your outfit yet!) and feel a lot healthier by your wedding day.

 

[Ross.Walker]

@dazzeur how has your week been?

 

[dazzeur]

Been up and down to be honest @Ross.Walker
I had my fasting blood test yesterday and awaiting results which I will get on the 23rd. I have been doing my best to be good with eating, cutting out carbs and sweet/ chocolate etc. Been reading up on the forum and at times getting myself a little freaked out as to how much I need to learn. Like I said before, I am generally quite active, so that's not difficult to maintain and do more. The food part is hard, and I worry about getting my head around what is good, and more so the quantities I should be eating. Looking at the LCHF side of things, I feel it takes a while and I am one of those that wants to know everything now!
I have just purchased the Dario Smart Monitor (I hope my GP will prescribe their test strips for me), as it looks good.
Since taking the Metformin each morning and only 500g, the thirst has stopped. Havent had any noticeable side effect.
I havent stopped eating my morning overnight oats as I really love them, but do feel maybe I should. I just dont have time in the morning to be making eggs etc and I do like to eat my breakfast at work. I also dont want to move to brown bread, brown rice, wholewheat pasta etc I rather cut all that out and stick to protein and fat.
Not sure what else to say at this stage other than waiting for the results next week and to hear from the diabetic service for more information.
Oh yeah, really really cannot get over how good the info is on this forum and how supportive people are!

 

[Ross.Walker]

I spend the first few weeks trying everything with little to no knowledge about what is good and or bad for me, looking for every help/idea going.

I concluded that spuds/pasta/whiterice/Booze/sugar in any form had to go. I did not embrace the LCHF plan entirely as like you I am active, over a few months of a set breakfast of coffee/wheatabix, lunch as a tuna salad and the bare minimum cranks protien bread and finally a chicken/fish veg dinner I had a base line to work from. Ironically I had the problem of putting in enough calories so i didn't blow any attempts to build muscle.
From this base line I varied my meals one at a time, added avocado, nuts, peats, occasionally chips, falaffal, chickpeas etc to see what would cause peaks, it has taken a few months but I have a a good variety of food, and used a whole lot of spices, they are great and some have added dietary benefits.
Best advise it try a meal a few times and see what works for you, it can be affected by your hydration/sleep amongst other things, so keep going.

I got advice from a flight surgeon, "if you have had your calories for the day and you are hungry, learn to like it", sounds brutal but it works, I put in between 2200 and 2500 a day and use them appropriatly.

I look at what Granny P eats and it is what is said is the ideal diet/lifestyle, lots of seasonal veg and some protien, she is 91 and acts like a kid. If it worked then, it will work now right?

The stongest thing is a positive mental attitude, Saying "I will do this" will help, it really does.

Keep us updated

 

[PurpleArmadillo]

Hi Dazzeur

Missed your post originally as I was on my hols, but I just wanted to add that I was where you are just a month ago. I was so upset and confused for the first few days that this had happened to me when I'm pretty active and overweight by not massively so. I was walking round the supermarket looking at the contents of other peoples trolleys and getting really angry.

From my first few weeks I can recommend getting a meter and regularly testing. My practice diabetes nurse was very dismissive, but I had the feeling that was because she thought I'd want a prescription for the strips. I've found with regular testing it's incredibly encouraging to see the average going down, and know that I'm on the right track. A word of warning though .... it can be upsetting too if your body decides not to behave. I have shocking carb dumps overnight and my morning reading is always the worst of the day for me.

I wouldn't worry about the coffee. Everyone's different, but it doesn't seem to affect me. The biggest issue for me is fluid intake. For years my OH has nagged me about not drinking enough water, but I just never feel thirsty. Now I'm trying to drink at least 3 litres of water a day. It definitely helps keep my levels down.

Instead of your morning oats you could try a chia pudding. The seeds swell up and give a pretty filling breakfast. I add a few berries and some yogurt to mine. Really easy to prep the night before.

Yvonne x

 

[pleinster]

Hi. Can't add much to the good advice above. Just wanted to say, once you are in control through diet (and you are definitely heading in all the right directions), self-testing with a meter (essential), you will soon be way less down about it and will probably even feel good that you've taken control ( I did, and still do)..my very first diabetic level reading in hospital post transplant was 21.0mmols. I am now only above 7.0mmols if I eat too many carbs, and generally my levels are high end of normal (ie. 5.8-7.0). I would stress that what really put me in control was keeping my own records of what I was eating along with readings before and 2 hours after. With the attitude you seem to have, mate - walk in the park!

 

[Dora66]

Hello!
I am newly diagnosed type 2, feeling a little depressed about it. I am 35 and had a reading of 16.6. I'm still awaiting a fasting blood test (next week) and to be referred to the diabetic service at my GP surgery. I have been prescribed Metformin which I am taking with breakfast and just once a day (for now). I'm not overweight and I am semi active, trying to be more and more active. Getting married end of this year so stress levels are quite high - at least between work and wedding planning! I'd love to be able to reverse this by being more active and changing my diet. I eat overnight oats pretty much every morning, oats, low fat almond milk, chia seeds, other mixed seeds/ nuts, frozen berries, sometimes other fruits (whatever is in season) and low fat yogurt. For lunches, I typically eat raw veg and hummus or salads. Dinners are usually some protein and roasted veg. Have started cutting out potatoes, pastas, breads etc
Does this sound good/ bad?
Any other food advice?
Trying to cut out coffee but that's really hard.
I've always had a really sweet tooth so double hard to reduce that especially after meals.
Currently I have no monitor so am not monitoring my sugar levels - should I buy one? Should I wait till I have had these tests and seen the diabetic service?
I'm sure I'll have many questions in the future and hope I can help others as I learn more and more myself.
D

Hi there,
I was diagnosed T2 at the end of February this year,following a routine blood test.
HbA1c was 69 cholesterol was 6.2
No symptoms at all.
The diabetic nurse wanted to put me on Metformin Statins and BP meds.
I was also told to "shift some weight"
I declined all medication much to her astonishment.
She also offered me counselling to help me cope with my T2 diagnosis.
Also offered me an appointment with the dietitian.
I politely declined those appointments as well.
She gave me 8 weeks and then if things had not improved then I WOULD HAVE TO GO ON MEDICATION.
I went home with the pile of information she printed off for me on how to come to terms with my diabetes.
I was in SHOCK....
I remember seeing Dr Michael Mosley on BBC2 and how he reversed his T2.
I bought his book The 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet.......read it from cover to cover.
What a revelation.
I have dieted all my adult life....for the past 40years.
Within the 8 weeks I lost 2 stone+.
The repeated blood test came back as blood sugars in normal range and cholesterol down to 4.2
The GP I saw about these results was astonished at my weight loss and informed me of the reversal of my T2 diagnosis.
Though he could not advocate any eating plan that excluded bread pasta rice and potatoes.
I have since then been following a Mediterranean diet.
Very little meat but olive oil ,avocado,fish,full fat natural yoghurt etc( low fat has more sugar !)etc.lots of veggies.Caulflower rice courgette spaghetti.etc.
Substitute Gin n Slim for white wine....less sugar.
It's not a difficult thing to get used to.
I have now lost 3 stone.
Sleeping better and feel fine.
I will carry on this eating regimen for the foreseeable future.
I hope that you cope emotionally with your diagnosis...I was SO upset.
I thought I would be having all sorts of diabetic complications for the rest of my life.
I am SO glad I refused the medication cocktail offered to me.
Good luck and best wishes for your future health.
Have a good weekend.