Newly diagnosed

[Fievel]

Hello, male 25 from Norway here. Newly diagnosed with diabetes, but I haven't been informed as to wich type it is yet, 1 or 2.
My hba1c value was 82, and got an appointment with a diabetes doctor 3 days later who gave me equipment to test my own blood.

 

[Guzzler]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of your diagnosis and hope you get a firm 1 or 2 soon.
Have a wander around the forum and ask as many questions as you like.

 

[SB.25]

Hello, I am also still waiting my diagnosis of type 1 2 or other. Don’t get despondent with the time it takes and ask as many questions as you like - I sure have!

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hello and welcome,

Have you been given any medication in the meantime?

 

[Debandez]

Hello and welcome. I will tag @daisy1 in who will send you lots of info. Have a read, look around the forum and ask any questions that you have.

Great that you have a testing kit, you will find that invaluable.

 

[HSSS]

Whilst waiting on type get to know your meter. Understand what’s normal for you now, what each meal does and what different food types do. That way once you start whatever management is decided on you’ll be able to see how much effect it’s having. It’s quite eye opening see what different foods do. Testing on waking whilst fasted, immediately before eating and 2 hrs after the meal will be the guides. Sometimes testing earlier and later after meals will give more details but this is a good starting point. Also just in case you are type 1 if you get some silly high numbers you’ll know when to go get help.

 

[Prem51]

Welcome to the forum @Fievel - you will get a lot of good advice and support on here.

 

[Fievel]

Whilst waiting on type get to know your meter. Understand what’s normal for you now, what each meal does and what different food types do. That way once you start whatever management is decided on you’ll be able to see how much effect it’s having. It’s quite eye opening see what different foods do. Testing on waking whilst fasted, immediately before eating and 2 hrs after the meal will be the guides. Sometimes testing earlier and later after meals will give more details but this is a good starting point. Also just in case you are type 1 if you get some silly high numbers you’ll know when to go get help.

That's exactly what the doctor told me. Before meal and 2 hrs after meal, and waking bloodsugar. Yesterday after eating 2 slices of bread, 1 slice with brown cheese, the other with meat, and 2dl of Capri sonne my bs level was 17,4. Todsy when I woke up it was at 10.
I'm positively surprised of one app I am using, it's nice to have remedies to ease the condition, I'm thankful for that, and thanks for good wishes, I think I will have a nice stay here.

 

[Fievel]

Hello, I am also still waiting my diagnosis of type 1 2 or other. Don’t get despondent with the time it takes and ask as many questions as you like - I sure have!

Yes, one simply has to, as the condition is actually pretty serious, whether it's 1 or 2.

Hello and welcome,

Have you been given any medication in the meantime?

Yes, I'm using Lantus 8mmol in the evening, and 1 metformin any time during the day.

Hello and welcome. I will tag @daisy1 in who will send you lots of info. Have a read, look around the forum and ask any questions that you have.

Great that you have a testing kit, you will find that invaluable.

Thank you!

Hello and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of your diagnosis and hope you get a firm 1 or 2 soon.
Have a wander around the forum and ask as many questions as you like.

Up until now I haven't had a breakdown because of the condition - yet. Hopefully I won't either,

 

[SB.25]

That's exactly what the doctor told me. Before meal and 2 hrs after meal, and waking bloodsugar. Yesterday after eating 2 slices of bread, 1 slice with brown cheese, the other with meat, and 2dl of Capri sonne my bs level was 17,4. Todsy when I woke up it was at 10.
I'm positively surprised of one app I am using, it's nice to have remedies to ease the condition, I'm thankful for that, and thanks for good wishes, I think I will have a nice stay here.

Hiya, I think if many of us ate 2 slices of bread and were drinking Capri sun (not sure if you meant the light one or regular) we would have high blood sugars . Perhaps try to avoid some of the carbohydrates in bread, rice, pasta, cakes, potatoes etc until your levels are more stable.

 

[HSSS]

That's exactly what the doctor told me. Before meal and 2 hrs after meal, and waking bloodsugar. Yesterday after eating 2 slices of bread, 1 slice with brown cheese, the other with meat, and 2dl of Capri sonne my bs level was 17,4. Todsy when I woke up it was at 10.
I'm positively surprised of one app I am using, it's nice to have remedies to ease the condition, I'm thankful for that, and thanks for good wishes, I think I will have a nice stay here.

Wow that’s a whole lot of carbs! I’m not surprised you got a high reading whichever type you turn out to be. For now I’d be thinking about taking out the high sugar drinks and limiting the bread rice pasta potatoes stuff and upping other food types to fill the gaps and see the difference. Once you know what you’re dealing with you can fine tune your approach and medications.

Can I be personal and ask if you’re carrying a lot of excess weight? Do you eat a high carb/sugar diet generally?

Keep going with the testing, it’ll tell you so much about your food choices.

 

[Fievel]

Wow that’s a whole lot of carbs! I’m not surprised you got a high reading whichever type you turn out to be. For now I’d be thinking about taking out the high sugar drinks and limiting the bread rice pasta potatoes stuff and upping other food types to fill the gaps and see the difference. Once you know what you’re dealing with you can fine tune your approach and medications.

Can I be personal and ask if you’re carrying a lot of excess weight? Do you eat a high carb/sugar diet generally?

Keep going with the testing, it’ll tell you so much about your food choices.

I am 180cm tall and weigh 60kg, borderline underweight, that's why my diagnose is amusing to me.. But it runs in my family so there it is I guess. I will try to eat a little bit healthier, I can buy whole wheat bread and skip Capri sun, along with swapping the brown cheese with something else tomorrow. Does anybody have some tios as to what I can have on my slices of bread at work tomorrow?

On a side note, I accidentally put my used Lantus pen in the refrigerator for about 24 hours, and found out later that opened pens should be in room temperature, is the insulin now useless?

 

[daisy1]

@Fievel
Hello Fievel and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 well over 235,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

 

[JMK1954]

No, the Lantus pen will be fine after being in the fridge. Insulin lasts approx 28 days out of the fridge, so you don't have to put the pen you are using back in after every use. High temperatures are to be avoided though, so don't leave it next to a radiator. It could become inactive.

 

[Fievel]

No, the Lantus pen will be fine after being in the fridge. Insulin lasts approx 28 days out of the fridge, so you don't have to put the pen you are using back in after every use. High temperatures are to be avoided though, so don't leave it next to a radiator. It could become inactive.

Thanks for the fast reply, appreciate it.

 

[JMK1954]

Glad to help. When everything is new to you, there are bound to be some things you need to ask about.

 

[Resurgam]

Do test if you are eating bread - two hours after the premeal test, or starting to eat.
Not many type twos could eat two slices of bread and not see double figure blood glucose, type ones can inject fast acting insulin.
As you are almost underweight do eat frequently and replace the calories lost by avoiding carbs with protein and fats.

 

[Fievel]

Do test if you are eating bread - two hours after the premeal test, or starting to eat.
Not many type twos could eat two slices of bread and not see double figure blood glucose, type ones can inject fast acting insulin.
As you are almost underweight do eat frequently and replace the calories lost by avoiding carbs with protein and fats.

Thats alarming to hear. Like this?

 

[Resurgam]

Yes - just like that.

 

[Fievel]

Yes - just like that.

Does that mean I probably have type 2?