Just diagnosed

[Rachle]

Hiya,

I was diagnosed 3 days ago and am fine with it - I have family with both type 1 and type 2, so know what I'm getting into and honestly a relief after all the exhaustion, weeing like a race horse :shock: and thirst (I found myself drinking swimming-pool water!)and I lost half a stone in a week

So they measured my blood and it was 14.9 (is that the HBA1C reading? also, is this high?) and have prescribed me with metformin 1 x per day, rising to 2x per day after a week and then 3x per day after another week.

I'm supposed to make another appointment in 2 weeks to have a review - does anyone know what will happen at my review?

The doctor is assuming that I am type 2 cos of my age (I'm 31) and that my symptoms, certainly the exhaustion, didn't come on suddenly. But I'm not obese, fairly active and with a good diet, although do probably drink too much alcohol! :crazy:

Will they be able to be definite about the type 2 diagnosis at the review? does it depend on whether the metformin works?

Anyway, is there anything I can do to make myself feel less tired until the medication kicks in? I don't really eat sweet things.

Also, is there anything which is essential kit? I have seen on here that most people seem to test their own blood sugar levels - is this a good idea? I do seem to get a bit wobbly at certain times of day

Any help with my questions would be great

Thanks muchly, Rachel

 

[Grazer]

Hi and welcome Rachel. Daisy will come along soon with her welcome post with lotrs of good info. The 14.9 is either your HbA1c OR your fasting level - you need to find out (just ring them) so you can compare it with future results to see how you're progressing. It is quite high, but the metformin will kick in and a sensible reduction in your carbohydrate consumption will hopefully get it back under control. Your follow up in 2 weeks will probably just be a bit of a diet chat, and a "toe tickle" to see if you've suffered any damage to the nerves in your feet - called "Neuropathy", and a fairly common side effect if blood sugars are too high for too long. If they've assumed you're a type ", they won't change that at your review. If you don't respond to medication and diet changes they may then look further into it.
By the way, I wasn't obese, was fairly fit and had a reasonable diet (apart from too much choc!) so it's just the luck of the draw sometimes. Don't panic about the alcohol - they'res no reason why we canb't drink the same as any non-diabetic UNLESS we go onto insulin or other strong medications (metformin OK) when the danger of hypos can arise with alcohol consumption if you're not careful. Your nurse or doctor will probably lecture you on alcohol, but as the professor of Endocrinology I saw privately said "there's a lot of alcohol fascism in my profession; they seize on any illness as an excuse to tell people not to drink" So keep it within reasonable limits, and good luck!

 

[Rachle]

Thanks Grazer. that's really helpful. :thumbup: The doctor did say something about checking my feet and thought that was a bit odd at them time but after a bit of reading now realise why! Good news about the alcohol!

 

[daisy1]

Hi Rachle and welcome to the forum There is an awful lot to learn about diabetes when you have just been diagnosed but coming to this forum is really going to help you get started on your road to good control. To help you with this, here is some information written for newly diagnosed members which I hope you will find helpful.

With regard to testing, it is necessary, at least at first - I am assuming you are a type 2 - to test before and 2 hours after a meal so you can see which foods are OK for you to eat and which foods make your levels go too high. Ask the doctor or nurse to give you a meter and test strips. Unfortunately they may not so you can also get a free meter from manufacturers (or from ads on this forum) and strips from the web. Choose the meter that uses the cheapest strips.

There is a special test which determines whether you a type 1 or 2 in case of doubt. This won't have been done with the routine tests.

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 well over 30,000 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 ... rains.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

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.

 

[RussG]

There's a pretty big difference in a one off measurement of 14.9mmol and an HbA1c of 14.9%. So if you can get some clarity on that, it would be helpful. An HbA1c of 14.9% would mean an average blood glucose reading of 25.2mmol, which is very high. A one of reading of 14.9mmol is certainly high but not as high as 25.2, obviously.

I also think I would consider asking for further tests about type of diabetes. Slow onset T1 symptoms don't always come on overnight in adults, and significant weightloss means ketosis, which is more often a sign of T1 than T2 although it can and does happen in T2. To be sure you will need to have a c-peptide test, which measures your insulin production and a GAD antibodies test, which will say whether your diabetes is autoimmune (T1) or not (T2). These tests will need to be done through a hospital diabetic clinic.

You can have T2 and be 'normal' weight though, so that's not necessarily indicative one way or another. I would probably ask for a referral, especially if you have an HbA1c of 14.9% and you don't eat lots of sugar or carbohydrate. To be clear, you may well be T2 (which is far more common than T1) but it is a possibility that you are not.

 

[Rachle]

Thanks Russ

There's a lot to know! My reading was just a normal one - I was just confused about the names of things! I bought a monitor as they were half price in boots. I've taken a few readings...the lowest, first thing in the morning has been 12.9 but this morning was 15.5 readings for the last 2 afternoons, 2 hours after eating have been 21.5 and 21.9 (this is high, I think) and I am still sooo exhausted so feel not up to exercise, still, early days.... might try reducing carbs

Rachel

 

[douglas99]

Those readings are high.
I am on a very low carb diet, and with tablets are around 8. I soon lost the tiredness when my levels went down from just the diet and tablets, so don't feel you need to rush the exercise yet.
Still a bit to go in my case, but I feel loads better.

 

[Grazer]

might try reducing carbs

Think that "might" needs to be a "must" unless you up or change the medication. Give it a go, you'll feel lots better.

 

[Rachle]

Well, type 1 it is, had a blood test and sent straight over to the clinic. Was put on humalog and humulin a couple of days before Christmas and just starting to feel better. I have some motivation back! hooray for insulin! :thumbup:

 

[Grazer]

Well, type 1 it is, had a blood test and sent straight over to the clinic. Was put on humalog and humulin a couple of days before Christmas and just starting to feel better. I have some motivation back! hooray for insulin! :thumbup:

So, now you know and you can get on with your life, so well done. Loads of type 1's on here will help with any queries you have.
Good luck!