Help!!!

[Heather74]

Hi
I was told yesterday that I am most likely diabetic. Had two separate HbA1c readings of 6.8. Doctor said that anything over 6 isn’t that good.
Told to change from white to brown bread and that she would refer me to the dietitian.
Prescribed Metformin twice a day but advised to start with one then move up to two.
No other advice given.
Don’t have a clue where to start or what other dietary changes I need to make.
Told that I should make a note to get bloods checked again in 6 months.
I really need any and all help.
What diet changes are recommended?
Is it better to check blood each day?
Will diet changes and medications stop me going to the bathroom every 30 mins and every 2 hours at night?
Will the extreme tiredness stop?
How to stop the constant thirst?
I am so confused I really don’t know where to start.

 

[Jo_the_boat]

That's shocking treatment by your doctor frankly.
Many people on here have found a low carbohydrate diet to be of great benefit.
There is masses of reading on this site and elsewhere.
Take a little time to learn what diabetes is (type 2 I'm guessing) and what meassures you can take to help yourself.
Those symptoms you describe may well be alleviated by a change of lifestyle. It's a shame that many people have to be diagnosed to make what are sensible changes anyway.
Best of luck

 

[Mike d]

Hi
I was told yesterday that I am most likely diabetic. Had two separate HbA1c readings of 6.8. Doctor said that anything over 6 isn’t that good.
Told to change from white to brown bread and that she would refer me to the dietitian.
Prescribed Metformin twice a day but advised to start with one then move up to two.
No other advice given.
Don’t have a clue where to start or what other dietary changes I need to make.
Told that I should make a note to get bloods checked again in 6 months.
I really need any and all help.
What diet changes are recommended?
Is it better to check blood each day?
Will diet changes and medications stop me going to the bathroom every 30 mins and every 2 hours at night?
Will the extreme tiredness stop?
How to stop the constant thirst?
I am so confused I really don’t know where to start.

HI Heather

Brown bread is as bad as white bread .... similar carbs. Find a low carb bread. They exist.

The nurse is an idiot, hba1c must be done every three months, not six. Yep, get a meter and strips and check your bloods every day just before each meal and two hours after to track how foods affect your levels

Your diet? No pasta, no potatoes, no rice, no fruits (some minor exceptions), no noodles, no underground vegetables, no cakes, no biscuits, no sweets, no chocolate (except for 80% + dark) no sugars, no fruit drinks, no full on soft drinks, no alcohol (red and some whites OK and spirits ... bacardi, etc).

More meat, bacon, eggs, chicken, fish, water

The NUMBER one rule is to cut carbs drastically (they turn to sugars in the bloodstream) and more fats in your diet. So many here have done just that and are now at pre diabetic levels

A great advice primer is here

https://www.dietdoctor.com/new-memb...MInsD35dKi8AIVjnZgCh1PCQK8EAAYASAAEgIAu_D_BwE

That's the very very quick guide.

EDIT -- When you get your glucose levels back to normal, you'll be able to experiment some more with foods as we're (as a group) not always intolerant of the same things. You'll actually be amazed at the variety of diets and how better you'll feel and still sneak in some treats. You no doubt will have many questions, and feel free to ask anytime

 

[jjraak]

Hi @Heather74

Another one thinking how poor that diagnosis was handled.

Two great answers above

While we all find our own way, and many more will be along to give more detailed advice.

If I could speak to myself back when I was first DX'd, knowing what I know now

I'd put it plainly as
"Real food, looks like Real food"

That "NO" list looks daunting, but really I found that I cook more, and the above is my rule.

Meat looks like meat, not some extruded product with bags of other ingredients to bulk it up to make it taste palatable
And vegetable, look like, err, vegetables should

That's it

I cut, cook & and add salt, pepper, herbs, etc as I feel,
but I know what everything going into the meal contains.

And no long list of ingredients needed on back of pack to tell me what I'm actually ingesting.

Not easy straight off, lots of learning what works for you,
but it's not the end of the world I thought it was,
and as suggested, I'm now wiser about foods, and while not MasterChef material,
Not too shabby in the kitchen.

Hard at such an early moment, but...
Deep breathe, try to relax, and read up as much as you can on here.

An entire universe of people, who just like you, came back from the doctors bewildered & frightened.

Who, if you read the statistics below their signatures, all have made the adjustments needed to get back to better health by healthier eating.

None did it in a day, so you got plenty of time.

Helps only a post away, and there are no stupid questions, when you don't know the answer.

Good luck

 

[becca59]

@Heather74 did the Dr just assume you are type 2? The 3 symptoms that are still bothering you are also main indicators for Type 1. In The NHS guidelines it would suggest checking for type 1.

 

[sgm14]

Will diet changes and medications stop me going to the bathroom every 30 mins and every 2 hours at night?
Will the extreme tiredness stop?
How to stop the constant thirst?

All of these are common symptoms of high blood sugar levels. So the diet changes and medications should reduce your blood sugar levels and hence get rid of these problems. Note, this is not something that is going to happen overnight.

Your body makes you thirsty to try to get you to drink more so that you have to go to the bathroom more as that is one way it can get rid of some of the excess glucose. You might be tempted to try to avoid drinking, but it is actually helping a bit, so if you can I would continue to drink until the thirst goes away. (That is what I was told by my doctor).

 

[Daibell]

Hi. That HBA1C level is not too bad in relative terms (mine was 12.5% at diagnosis). The Metformin will help a bit. Most of us would advise having a lower carb diet. Although wholemeal bread is healthier than white it is still a carb and all carbs are turned to glucose in the stomach. So keep all carbs sensibly down. You can eat fats, proteins, veg and non-tropical fruit fairly freely. Your need to go to the bathroom and feeling thirsty should recede once the blood sugar comes down. With that HABA1C I'm a bit surprised you are having those symptoms which would normally happen with higher reading but see how you go with the revised diet and metformin. Get yourself a glucose meter and test once or twice daily to see how the changes are helping. Do that 2 hours after a meal and just before as well if you want a comparison of what foods affect you most. You are targetting 8.5mmol or less 2 hours after a meal where you can. The test strips do cost a bit so it's your choice on how often. You are entitled to have strips. meters etc free of VAT as a diabetic. Meters vary but the Codefree on Amazon etc is cost effective and they all meet the same spec. There is a bit of confusion on blood test frequency and NICE has recently changed it's advice. It used to be annual for those under good control and 3 or 6 months if not. I think NICE now says 6 months rather than 12 by default. It's not super critical so book the next appointment depending on your BS control using the meter. Finally NHS dieticians can be dreadful with poor advice. By all means see one but follow the general advice on this forum rather than sugar/fat/salt PHE advice if given that and ignore Calories in favour of Carbs.

 

[KK123]

I am so confused I really don’t know where to start.

Hi Heather, you have an ignorant GP, I can't put it any other way, not necessarily evil or bad, just ignorant about diabetes. The 'change to brown bread' advice just shows what little she/he knows. I would start with checking for yourself how your meals are affecting you, get a meter and test, that way you yourself will see the pattern. Once you know this (after a week or two) you can do your research and decide on the next thing to do, lots of advice on here about lower carb diets.

Also, I too was diagnosed as pre diabetic (did not fit the so called profile in any way other than age), I was slim/very active/ate medium carbs cooked from scratch usually with the odd microwave meal when at work, and that was rare). The Nurse at the surgery could not think of a single thing to say about 'lifestyle change' so she ended up saying, 'Cut out any processed meals', ie, my one a month!! 3 years later my symptoms were like yours, very thirsty, etc. Turned out I had type 1 after being rushed into hospital with DKA. I do not say that to alarm you but I wish I had started testing for myself after the pre diabetes diagnosis as I'm sure I would have picked up any issues MUCH sooner. Instead I had 3 years of undiagnosed, slow onset type 1 and who knows what damage that may have caused. x

 

[KennyA]

Hi, and welcome to the forum You have had some poor advice from the medics, it happens. Carbs is carbs, and brown bread is no better than white in that respect. Same goes for brown rice and the other "better for you" stuff - fruit, porridge, all that. In my opinion the standard "healthy eating" advice they churn out is positively dangerous for diabetics. You should also get a blood glucose meter and test to see what effect various foods have on you. Here's what helped me:

1. You need to unlearn all the standard NHS healthy eating advice, all the assumptions made by the media, your family and friends about what's healthy and what's not. I do mean all.


2. As Type 2 diabetics we are not, by definition, good at handling carbohydrates. Some of us are better than others at it but we all have the same problem. Eating carbohydrates causes our blood glucose to rise out of control and that causes us physical damage.


3. Eating carbohydrates, of any kind, is therefore potentially going to cause us a problem as Type 2s.


4. Just how big of a problem depends on the individual.


5. Test your blood glucose and record your results to find out what your pattern and tolerances are. Then cut the things that cause the rises.


6. Nobody will do this for you. Only you can do this.

 

[MandieA]

Hi, I had my appointment with Diabetic Clinic a week ago, been diagnosed Type 1 for 3 weeks now(hba1c 110, ketones 2.0 and BG 20). Felt like I was going for an exam and was nervous to show my diary to them but I got a big thumbs up. My blood sugars do vary some days though but overall I'm chuffed. I feel a bit intimidated by people that carb count and eat low carbs. I have swapped to brown bread and stopped eating anything sweet but I'm still eating potatoes as I love them but I'm dosing accordingly by eye. It seems to work for me so far and Nurse said if it's working then I can carry on. Is it just me that doesn't understand carb counting?

 

[EllieM]

Will diet changes and medications stop me going to the bathroom every 30 mins and every 2 hours at night?
Will the extreme tiredness stop?
How to stop the constant thirst?

Like the others I am concerned that your doctor hasn't ruled out the possibility of T1. Those symptoms are often associated with higher blood sugars than the 8.2 average which a 6.8% hba1c would suggest, so it is possible that your recent levels are higher. (Hba1c reflects an average over the last 3 months.) You don't mention whether you have lost weight (T1 indicator) or have T2 family members (makes T2 more likely). It's good that you are going to get a meter, so you will be able to tell what is actually happening to your levels. Low carb will help massively if you are T2 and will help temporarily if you are T1.

Good luck.

 

[EllieM]

It seems to work for me so far and Nurse said if it's working then I can carry on. Is it just me that doesn't understand carb counting?

It takes time to learn, and some kitchen scales (and possibly reading glasses if like me you struggle to read the oh so tiny print that makes up nutritional labels). Remember that the majority of the posters on here are T2, and they are carb intolerant, too many carbs make them sick. They overproduce insulin because they are insulin resistant. As a T1 you have the opposite problem, you don't have enough insulin, so if you learn to carb count you can have as many carbs as you like, because you can inject for them. Having said that, many T1s have a relatively low carb diet, because they find it easier to control their levels when they eat less carbs and therefore inject less insulin. But that is an individual choice. While I wouldn't be advocating that you binge out on chocolate or sweets/candy, there's no reason why you can't eat your potato as long as you inject for it. Remember that managing T1 is a marathon not a sprint, you'll get there in the end.

 

[VashtiB]

Hi @Heather74 another one who is disappointed if not entirely surprised at your treatment.

You have had some excellent advice above so I will keep this short.

First of all- a lot of us felt upset, confused and worried when we were diagnosed. It can be a time for real emotional upset. BUT the good news is that you have found this forum. The people here do understand and also want to help so things will get better.

I strongly recommend that you get a meter to test your levels. This is the thing that will give you objective information about your levels and will allow you to make decisions about your food.

I agree with everyone that for type 2 that low carb is the answer. I found the following 2 links helpful:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.26870/

Read and ask questions and vent when needed. This is an awesome place and people here are so helpful and supportive.

Good luck and welcome

 

[Geordie_P]

It's a bit like telling someone with a lung condition to just switch to low-tar cigarettes. A medical professional has no excuse for such ignorance.

 

[Estragon]

I'm amazed at how often I allow myself to get so enraged and then depressed by the "treatment" handed out by most likely well-meant health practitioners to those new to the World of Diabetes.

Having an HBA1C of 89 in September 2018, I was eventually lucky/fortunate to be taken by the scruff of the neck by a most AMAZING Doctor that wasn't judgemental nor unsympathetic but when I challenged her that would my next step be to be taking Insulin, she responded, well, maybe, and that right there scared the pants off of me! She immediately prescribed Metformin augmented with a Background Glucose Meter and the Pricks and Strips. The result? Within 3 months I had dropped from 89 to 64.

I now continue with the low carb high fat (LCHF) diet, and modify this at times, and have further reduced my HBA1C to 49. Yes, this is still within the Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes range, but now I'm not depressed about my disease, and daily I'll continue to keep chipping away at this residual glucose in my body.

@Heather74, all, ALL of the previous advice I agree with. Also, well done in coming here, I know for myself it wasn't easy and I wish to hear from you over the days and months to come - Welcome Aboard!

 

[MandieA]

It takes time to learn, and some kitchen scales (and possibly reading glasses if like me you struggle to read the oh so tiny print that makes up nutritional labels). Remember that the majority of the posters on here are T2, and they are carb intolerant, too many carbs make them sick. They overproduce insulin because they are insulin resistant. As a T1 you have the opposite problem, you don't have enough insulin, so if you learn to carb count you can have as many carbs as you like, because you can inject for them. Having said that, many T1s have a relatively low carb diet, because they find it easier to control their levels when they eat less carbs and therefore inject less insulin. But that is an individual choice. While I wouldn't be advocating that you binge out on chocolate or sweets/candy, there's no reason why you can't eat your potato as long as you inject for it. Remember that managing T1 is a marathon not a sprint, you'll get there in the end.

Omg EllieM thank you! Your message has made me feel so much better and a lot less inadequate!

Yes, I struggle to read the labels too lol although I think that's to do with my medication at the moment as I've always been a glases wearer but since I started my treatment, my eyesight has changed so glasses make my short vision blurry. I'll be glad when everything "settles" so my optician will see me.

I've been so good (I think) and stayed away from my favorite Haribo, biscuits etc although I did have really low sugars the other night so treated myself to an ice cream (bonus!).

Again, thank you for explaining it so well and for making me feel so much better. Take care and I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend x