Another Newbie! diagnosed 25th October

[Badge]

Hi all,
So my story goes as follows.....
55 years old and 5ft11, weight was around 14.5 stone around january this year.
In order to lose a bit of weight and get more active I started playing walking football twice a week and have continued to do so since then.
lost a few pounds in the first few months then around the summer started losing more until around september i went down to 12.5stone. I artributed this to the fact i was drinking more water, squash etc and was therefore more hydrated meaning my body was happy to release more water.
I didnt want to keep losing weight so started to up my intake of fast food, choclate, crisps and icecream etc... but weight continued to drop slowly. Then whilst on holiday n september i started to feel unwell and my vision changed so i could read without glasses but couldnt make out distant objects clearly (this was a reverse of what i was used to).
Also felt unwell and had the dry mouth and was overly thirsty. I was going to the loo every 90 minutes at this time.

Upon returning I had a blood test and was called to see a doctor as my hba1c was 137mmol/l

He explained I had signs of diabetes and gave me a bg test machine. I also was lucky enough to get to see a specialist nurse on the same day who explained what diabetes was and how i should change some elements of my lifestyle particularly to do with food. A keytone test led to them to diagnose I have type2.
I was put on 80mg Gliclazide to start with to bring my bg levels down.
2 days ago I was also given metformin (500mg 3 times a day).
My readings last weekend were all in the 16 range but I have seen steady improvements since monday, todays post dinner 2hr reading was 5 and generally i seem to be floating beetween 4.5 - 8.

The only concern i still had was my vision seems to be unusual as my focal point seems to have changed a bit. However having read some forum posts it seems this is normal while my body gets used to changes in bg levels. I will bring it up with the dr at my next appt but I am scheduled for a dialated eye exam?? shortly.

Generally im a reasonably pragmatic person and Im not overly distressed by all this new diagnosis. It is what it is but at least I know and can start towards managing it and improving my general health.
I wanted to thank everyone who posts on here as many of your comments and advice have already helped me learn about my condition.
Already Ive used a few of the recipes and the tips on snacks have been really helpful.

I'll quit rambling now
No doubt I'll have some questions soon, until then thanks again.

 

[mouseee]

It's a great place to be and I feel lucky to have found it when I was diagnosed.

Sounds like you had a shock when diagnosed! It really won't take long until you start feeling better than you've been for a while!

As you get your bs back in balance your eyes will get better. It took about 6 weeks for mine to be ok again.

The diabetic eye check won't tell you anything about blurry vision. It's drops in your eyes, camera flash type of light and photos taken of your retina. Then they check the images for abnormalities on the retina.
The drops sting for a moment and, boy, were my eyes sensitive to light afterwards for a good few hours. I definitely needed someone to drive me home.

 

[ziggy_w]

Welcome to the forum, @Badge. You're off to a running start. With 4.5 mmol to 8 mmol, you are already in the normal range. Keep monitoring as Gliclazide can cause hypos. So, if your numbers get lower than this (below 4), it might be good idea to get back to your GP or nurse as they might suggest lowering your levels of medication.

As to vision, you are right -- give your eyes some time to adjust to your lower blood sugar levels. Doesn't hurt to mention this to your HCPs though.

Again, congrats on your great levels.

 

[Badge]

Cheers for the replies
Today I have dropped the gliclazide as my last few readings have all been under 8, mostly in the 4 range.
The nurse had told me to do this if the levels dropped enough anyway. It was given as a quick way to get down from the original 16.

 

[shelley262]

Cheers for the replies
Today I have dropped the gliclazide as my last few readings have all been under 8, mostly in the 4 range.
The nurse had told me to do this if the levels dropped enough anyway. It was given as a quick way to get down from the original 16.

Welcome @Badge sounds like you’ve already been doing lots of reading about the forum which is great news and clearly part of your pragmatic approach to facing it head on well done you.
For more recipe ideas I’d recommend that you look at
Www.dietdoctor.com
The site has lots of ideas for low carb eating and guides to foods and carbs. You’re clearly doing well getting your bloods down quickly and great that you are following medical advice about dropping the Gliclazide if your levels drop - wonderful that you were given a bg meter and you are using it to educate yourself - that will definitely help you get your diet right by monitoring two hours after meals.
Good luck and keep up ther research and the beneficial changes you’ll start to feel a lot better as you improve your health.
Ask about your eyesight but know from personal experience that my eyesight changed loads around the time of diagnosis when hbaca1 was 97 now it’s 29 my eyesight is very different ( for some odd reason to do the optician said with swelling around the eyeball when had diabetes my short sightedness got loads better but now needs more correction again! ) get them checked but hold out for new glasses until it settles more!

 

[SueJB]

Hi all,
So my story goes as follows.....
55 years old and 5ft11, weight was around 14.5 stone around january this year.
In order to lose a bit of weight and get more active I started playing walking football twice a week and have continued to do so since then.
lost a few pounds in the first few months then around the summer started losing more until around september i went down to 12.5stone. I artributed this to the fact i was drinking more water, squash etc and was therefore more hydrated meaning my body was happy to release more water.
I didnt want to keep losing weight so started to up my intake of fast food, choclate, crisps and icecream etc... but weight continued to drop slowly. Then whilst on holiday n september i started to feel unwell and my vision changed so i could read without glasses but couldnt make out distant objects clearly (this was a reverse of what i was used to).
Also felt unwell and had the dry mouth and was overly thirsty. I was going to the loo every 90 minutes at this time.

Upon returning I had a blood test and was called to see a doctor as my hba1c was 137mmol/l

He explained I had signs of diabetes and gave me a bg test machine. I also was lucky enough to get to see a specialist nurse on the same day who explained what diabetes was and how i should change some elements of my lifestyle particularly to do with food. A keytone test led to them to diagnose I have type2.
I was put on 80mg Gliclazide to start with to bring my bg levels down.
2 days ago I was also given metformin (500mg 3 times a day).
My readings last weekend were all in the 16 range but I have seen steady improvements since monday, todays post dinner 2hr reading was 5 and generally i seem to be floating beetween 4.5 - 8.

The only concern i still had was my vision seems to be unusual as my focal point seems to have changed a bit. However having read some forum posts it seems this is normal while my body gets used to changes in bg levels. I will bring it up with the dr at my next appt but I am scheduled for a dialated eye exam?? shortly.

Generally im a reasonably pragmatic person and Im not overly distressed by all this new diagnosis. It is what it is but at least I know and can start towards managing it and improving my general health.
I wanted to thank everyone who posts on here as many of your comments and advice have already helped me learn about my condition.
Already Ive used a few of the recipes and the tips on snacks have been really helpful.

I'll quit rambling now
No doubt I'll have some questions soon, until then thanks again.

@Badge. I think I'd get a second opinion on exactly type of diabetes you have

 

[poemagraphic]

Hi Badge
Welcome to the forum mate.

Keep reading and testing and eating (Not so many carbs perhaps) and drinking plenty of water.

I found it helpful to read people's signature's to see what exactly they have done, and how they did it.

Enjoy
Po

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi all,
So my story goes as follows.....
55 years old and 5ft11, weight was around 14.5 stone around january this year.
In order to lose a bit of weight and get more active I started playing walking football twice a week and have continued to do so since then.
lost a few pounds in the first few months then around the summer started losing more until around september i went down to 12.5stone. I artributed this to the fact i was drinking more water, squash etc and was therefore more hydrated meaning my body was happy to release more water.
I didnt want to keep losing weight so started to up my intake of fast food, choclate, crisps and icecream etc... but weight continued to drop slowly. Then whilst on holiday n september i started to feel unwell and my vision changed so i could read without glasses but couldnt make out distant objects clearly (this was a reverse of what i was used to).
Also felt unwell and had the dry mouth and was overly thirsty. I was going to the loo every 90 minutes at this time.

Upon returning I had a blood test and was called to see a doctor as my hba1c was 137mmol/l

He explained I had signs of diabetes and gave me a bg test machine. I also was lucky enough to get to see a specialist nurse on the same day who explained what diabetes was and how i should change some elements of my lifestyle particularly to do with food. A keytone test led to them to diagnose I have type2.
I was put on 80mg Gliclazide to start with to bring my bg levels down.
2 days ago I was also given metformin (500mg 3 times a day).
My readings last weekend were all in the 16 range but I have seen steady improvements since monday, todays post dinner 2hr reading was 5 and generally i seem to be floating beetween 4.5 - 8.

The only concern i still had was my vision seems to be unusual as my focal point seems to have changed a bit. However having read some forum posts it seems this is normal while my body gets used to changes in bg levels. I will bring it up with the dr at my next appt but I am scheduled for a dialated eye exam?? shortly.

Generally im a reasonably pragmatic person and Im not overly distressed by all this new diagnosis. It is what it is but at least I know and can start towards managing it and improving my general health.
I wanted to thank everyone who posts on here as many of your comments and advice have already helped me learn about my condition.
Already Ive used a few of the recipes and the tips on snacks have been really helpful.

I'll quit rambling now
No doubt I'll have some questions soon, until then thanks again.

Hey @Badge with the bad-*** kitty in the avatar, (love it. )

You're well on your way, by the sound of it. Well done getting into the normal range already and ditching the Glic! Yeah, the vision'll change a bit as your bloodglucose changes. Cheap reading glasses should help you bridge the couple of weeks that that'll last. I have to admit, I did have a chuckle about your HbA1c though, which doesn't happen often. Mmol/l doesn't go that high. Or rather, if that HbA1c reading was in mmol/l, you'd melt whenever it rained, as you'd practically be pure sugar. Mmol/l is what UK/European bloodsugar meters would use as a measurement. The HbA1c is measured in mmol/mol ; similar in letters, quite the difference in numbers. Just so you know, if you throw measurements around in the next posts, it could cause some confusion and get you some answers that aren't helpful at all. Just trying to prevent bad advice based on wrong numbers. (The US measures in ml/dl, and that would run up into a hundred. See where it might cause some confusion?)

Ramble on!
Jo

 

[Badge]

Again thanks for the responses For additional info I'm UK based (swindon).

Jo, my first hba1c record was as below (copied from my online test results)
Haemoglobin A1c level - IFCC standardised 137 mmol/molHb [26.0 - 41.0]
Above high reference limit

As you stated I was off the charts but certainly during my sept holiday was probably on an excessive amount of sugar for nearly the whole 2 weeks away (USA food). Add to that I also was over-eating to compensate for the weight loss and it all starts to make sense to me.

I've been keeping a daily average reading chart for the last 2 weeks which hopefully means im on the right track.

The peaks seem to all follow any consumption of milk chocolate which is no surprise I guess.

One question is regarding spikes? Do people get them regularly and how often is too many?
On 4th Nov for example my pre breakfast reading was 7.4 (chocolate the night before) and after weetabix and a yoghurt went up to 11 at thre 2 hr reading point. Then before evening meal was back at 5.4 and bumped to 6.9 after dinner of bacon, eggs, beans (both within acceptable range).

I have another meeting with the nurse on monday so hopefully will get more info then.
I've been off the Gliclazide now since saturday and still only on 2 x 500mg Metformin a day.

Final question for SueJB.... What makes you think my diabetes may be mis-diagnosed? Happy for your input and I can ceretainly raise it with the nurse next week.
The original diagnosis was confusing the hospital staff until one of the consultants got involved. He suggested a Ketone test which came back as 4.0 (normal) and so type2 was his diagnosis.

Thanks all for reading, any questions let me know

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Again thanks for the responses For additional info I'm UK based (swindon).

Jo, my first hba1c record was as below (copied from my online test results)
Haemoglobin A1c level - IFCC standardised 137 mmol/molHb [26.0 - 41.0]
Above high reference limit

As you stated I was off the charts but certainly during my sept holiday was probably on an excessive amount of sugar for nearly the whole 2 weeks away (USA food). Add to that I also was over-eating to compensate for the weight loss and it all starts to make sense to me.

I've been keeping a daily average reading chart for the last 2 weeks which hopefully means im on the right track.
View attachment 36603
The peaks seem to all follow any consumption of milk chocolate which is no surprise I guess.

One question is regarding spikes? Do people get them regularly and how often is too many?
On 4th Nov for example my pre breakfast reading was 7.4 (chocolate the night before) and after weetabix and a yoghurt went up to 11 at thre 2 hr reading point. Then before evening meal was back at 5.4 and bumped to 6.9 after dinner of bacon, eggs, beans (both within acceptable range).

I have another meeting with the nurse on monday so hopefully will get more info then.
I've been off the Gliclazide now since saturday and still only on 2 x 500mg Metformin a day.

Final question for SueJB.... What makes you think my diabetes may be mis-diagnosed? Happy for your input and I can ceretainly raise it with the nurse next week.
The original diagnosis was confusing the hospital staff until one of the consultants got involved. He suggested a Ketone test which came back as 4.0 (normal) and so type2 was his diagnosis.

Thanks all for reading, any questions let me know

Hi @Badge ,

Any spike is not good, basically. There's a curve with every meal, and curves are fine, perfectly healthy. Spikes aren't. Anything above about 8,5 is damaging to organs, bloodvessels, eyes, etc... So you do want to avoid that all together. Don't panic if it happens once or twice, as you're only just getting started, but... Try to avoid it eh. I am a chocolate fiend myself, but -aside from one week off the wagon when our cat passed away- I manage perfectly fine with either a small bit of dark chocolate (with a gulp of heavy cream, butter or walnuts if you don't like the taste), or, well, sometimes I go to this little chocolatier that has the most amazing Italian chocolates, and I buy a tin. When I have those, I have ONE, immediately after a meal, so the fats that were in that meal slow down the uptake of the sugar in the praliné. Just an idea. Extra dark chocolate (Lindt 85% is good) is quite a bit of chocolate in one go, so contrary to milk chocolate, the urge to have the whole bar will probably not be present. Just something to think about. Here in the Netherlands there is one shop that does sugar free praline's and while they're really good, they do have a bit of an impact on the gastro-intestinal tract, so not a good idea to eat 5 in one go. (As I found out to my detriment.). You could check in your region for sugar free or low carb chocolate. And then there's keto chocolate fat bombs, which you may want to google. Easy to make and still a chocolate fix.

Most people here sit up and pay attention when someone has unexplained weight-loss before diagnosis, because more often than not that means it's T1, not T2. It happened to me too, had some additional testing done, but yeah... Most definitely a T2 here. And as for your HbA1c, those two weeks may have upped your HbA1c a little, but maybe only a few points, it being a 3 month average... The difference you're making now, with your diet changes though, is going to be mind-blowing, if I look at the curve you made. Well done.

Jo

 

[jjraak]

hey @Badge

Pragmatism is our saviour, or so it seems .

it is what it is, and you are certainly doing your best to to make it, it was what it was....

deffo, heading in the right direction,
great progress so far.

Good use of the meter will go a long way to help reduce many of those early spikes.

i think as you move forward, the meals lessen

i only have 2 meals a day, many just the one (OMAD), and most don't snack once adjusted to this WOE.
so the spikes, are those food YOU are hoping to eliminate/reduce using the meter, and by the looks of it,
you've found most.

Jo mentioned 8+,... in my signature below is a link to jenny Ruhr, "T2D Patients always get worse..mmhh "
where she goes more in depth into the mechanism and dangers of those spikes you mention.
i found it a worthwhile read, hope it sheds some light for you too,