Just out of hospital with type 2

[smeatons]

Hello everyone,

To cut a long story short, I've only just come out of hospital having been admitted last week as an emergency - not very pleasant! I had started the process of finding out what was wrong with me with the doctors, but events overtook all that.

I was on a sliding scale drip for most of the time I was in hospital and had the joys of having some potassium tablets to get my potassium levels back in order. My level was just short of 27 when I was admitted.

Anyway, now that I'm back home I have been to see the nurse at my doctors practice.
I have been provided with a testing kit etc and I'm on 80mg Gliclazide in the morning and 1000mg Metforim in the morning and 1000mg in the evening.

My numbers seem much higher than anyone else here, which worries me somewhat.
Perhaps that is down to the recent diagnosis(?) My 1c test in hospital came back as 11.8%

I completed a full testing regime yesterday

before breakfast: 18.3
2hr later: 22.6
before lunch: 18.5
2hr later: 23.4
before dinner: 16.9
before bed: 19.6

This mornings reading as 18.4

So I have a long way to go!

Slight confusion on how to approach things, the practice are saying to make sure I have carbs with every meal, this site less so. I guess I'm just going to have to see over the next few weeks how things pan out.

regards,
David

 

[viviennem]

Hi David, and welcome !

Don't despair - things are not irretrievable, and I'm sure there have been others with levels as high as yours on diagnosis who have been really helped by this site.

Someone will be along soon to give you the 'Info for the Newly Diagnosed' which is really helpful. Have a read around and don't be afraid to ask questions - we're all still learning.

Viv

 

[zhaith]

I was diagnosed with a reading of 24 so not far off yourself I was also told to eat Carbs which I did only to find I was lucky to drop into single figures even whilst fasting, all Carbs seemed to was het me moaned by doc/dn.
I found this site a couple of months ago and since I started to watch my Carbs I can quite easily keep to within 6-7 lower if I really behave myself. I'm looking forward to my next appoint as my hba1c has never been below 9%.

So welcome I'm sure you will improve things, there a lot of help and support available here.

 

[theblokefromstoke]

Hi David,

Welcome to the forum. You're just where I was Last January. I was admitted with a BG of 26 and feeling awful.

The good news is you've found this web site. The folks on here helped me turn my life round completely. The first thing is to get your BG in check. I'm still on 1000mg of Metformin but I now really have to watch my carbohydrate intake. I limit myself to 80grams of carbs per day and spread this across 6 small meals to avoid spikes and peaks and troughs in how I feel.

The one thing with Diabetes is that we all seem to be different and we are all learning all the time how foods and excercise affect us so its important to test your BG regularly. I find potatos, pasta, white bread and rice are a none starter for me but bizzarely the odd chocolate, sweet or cake doesn't really affect me that much.

I try to stick to 'proper' food and avoid processed stuff. I eat lots of fish, chicken, nuts, cheese, veg and make it interesting with spices, mayo and coleslaw. Surprising the labeled 'healthy living' stuff is not neccasarilly best for DB's. You will be shocked when you start reading the labels on the food packaging.

Its a lot to take in and the shock of it is something else. Take 1 step at a time and keep posting, good and bad - we're all in it together.

Best wishes

Carl

 

[smeatons]

Thanks viviennem, zhaith and Carl for your posts.

It's good to know that I'm not alone! I was beginning to think my numbers were unusual

I'm just wondering how long it took to get down from 24/26 to a more normal reading - I'm presuming a few months gradually decreasing over time? I want to set myself a realistic target and so I'm testing regularly, hopefully by the end of the week I'll have a starting point to work out where I'm going wrong.

thanks,
David

 

[daisy1]

Someone will be along soon to give you the 'Info for the Newly Diagnosed' which is really helpful. Have a read around and don't be afraid to ask questions - we're all still learning.
Viv

Hi David and welcome to the forum Like many others on here I also reduce carbs and am aiming for 50g a day now. My HbA1c is 5.2 so I must be on the right track....Don't try to get your numbers down too fast as you could have a false hypo which is unpleasant. Take it slowly but surely.

Here is the basic information Viv referred to in her post, written by the forum monitors. If you have any questions please ask.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l........(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Sue/Ken.

 

[zhaith]

Personally I got from the 20's to low teens by changing my diet to what I was told and cutting out the lucozade etc and by starting my medication, which probably happened over the space of a week. And there I stayed for 3 years, blindly doing what I was told then giving up because that made no further difference.

Once I found this lovely site I went from 13 ish to single figures in around 5-7 days and then it has been gradually dropping since then over the last 3-4 weeks. My 7 day average would have typically been anywhere from 12-14 and looking on my meter now my 7,14, & 40 day averages are 7.2,7.5,7.3 respectively. I still have some work to do but that's a nice improvement in around a month.

 

[kateincornwall]

Hello and welcome David, I`m another who, by cutting carbs right down has managed to control my type 2 with diet and exercise alone . My Diabetes Nurse was not happy at my suggestion to try diet and exercise , she wanted me on Metformin immediately but I wanted to give it a go and 18 months down the line , I have almost achieved non diabetic figures but have to be aware that a lapse in the regime would see the numbers rise dramatically :roll: I`m sure that you will find the advice and support on here very useful indeed and soon see an improvement in your numbers , lots of luck .

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Hi David and welcome to the forum. Like you I was diagnosed via A&E and a short stay in hospital, my initial Hb A1c was 12.9% and tested at 29mmol/L.

I managed to get my A1c down to the magic 5% after the first three month check and have also managed to keep it there for the last couple of years, I did this by reducing the amount of food I was eating drastically and by reducing the amount of carbohydrates I was eating, I was lucky that I had a switched on diabetic team that were happy with carb reduction as part of my treatment.

I would urge you to read everything that you can lay your hands on regarding diabetes, knowledge is power as they say. The information given here to newly diagnosed diabetics is IMHO second to non, diasy1 has posted that information above and I would say read it three or four times and let it all sink in, it is the key to controlling your diabetes and reducing those harmful glucose levels.

Every diabetics condition is different in severity and type and unfortunately no one can tell you what you should eat but by testing, testing and testing again you will soon find out what sized portions of carbs you can eat to keep within the NICE recommended blood glucose (bg) levels.

 

[Unbeliever]

I am starting o believe quite strongly that the advice to eat carbs at every meal is little short of criminal!

You have definitely come to the right place david and he advice you have been given above is the best you will find.

I would certainly echo the caution about not rying to take things too quickly particularly if it is suspected that you have been diabetic for some time.

The body gets used to running wih sugar at certain levels. Take it nice and steady and learn as much as you can. Good luck.

ts a great pity that all diabetics are not aware of this site.

 

[smeatons]

Many thanks for all the kind words of encouragement.

I clearly have a long journey ahead (both in education and blood sugar levels), but I'm certainly up for it!

I'll be visiting here on a regular basis to pick up hints and tips and maybe one day even contribute something useful back

regards,
David

 

[JUSTFOCUS]

Hi Dave
Don't get too upset about your numbers mine were like a game of bingo when i was newly diagnosed . Time and patience will provide you the skill of overcoming all the associated ups and downs . This forum shows us even the veterans learn something new now and again. Chin up mate
JF

 

[benniesmum]

Don't worry. When I was diagnosed in Jan 2009 , my readings were pretty similar to yours. Metformin and changing diet made a huge difference. Give it time though, it can take 3/4/5 months to get 'reasonable' figures. Good luck!