Just given the 'good news'!

Messages
20
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi I've just been given the 'good news' this morning by my GP that I'm a type 2 Diabetic. My fasting glucose was 15 which isn't good news! HBa1C coming soon!

So I'm now full of questions! What's the first step? how does it affect my life? I know I need to change a bit of my diet and more importantly for me, exercise. Having been a bit of a couch potato for the past few years what's the best way to start?

DNS seeing me next week. I'm guessing I'll be on some meds straight off?

Thanks for any help guys!
 

noblehead

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
23,618
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Disrespectful people
Welcome to the forum :)

Daisy should be along soon with some useful advice given to newbies to the forum.
 

MaryJ

Well-Known Member
Messages
842
Hi suffolk scouser

Welcome to the forum

For me, my diagnosis was a blessing and the kick up the behind I needed. I desperately wanted to control it without medicine if possible and embarked on a low carb regime. Within 3 months my HBA1c was down to 'normal' levels and has improved since. 10 months on I'm still doing diet only and have lost 3 and 1/2 stone, got rid of my BP meds and basically feel great.

Have a read over the forum, full of great advice.

Mary x
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. Daisy will be along shortly with various links and info. Often a GP will wait for Hba1c blood test results and possibly 3 months of diet before moving to any meds. Most of us will say to ignore any silly NHS advice to 'have carbs with every meal' or 'eat plenty of starchy carbs'. Just keep you carb intake sensibly low and go for low-GI carbs where possibly. Fats are OK in sensible quantities and unsaturated type e.g. fish where you can. You first step apart from the right diet is to obtain a blood sugar meter. You can usually get these for free from the manufacturer or buy the Codefree model online where the test strips are very low cost. Your GP may advise against having a meter and almost certainly won't prescribe one or the strips due to cost. A meter is vital if you want to find out what foods affect you most.
 

izzzi

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,207
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi suffolkscouser, :)

Welcome to the forum,

My simple advice would be, do not rush into buying things until you know what is good and also the best Price.

You will get plenty of help on this forum.

good luck

Roy. :)
 

RoyG

Well-Known Member
Messages
350
Dislikes
To many to mention.
Hi suffolk scouser,
Glad your happy with your diagnosis, Step 1/ cut out all sugar and sweets, 2/ Buy glucose monitor as I doubt you will get one of NHS, SDCodefree is cheapest to buy and run, 2/look at the low carb diets and foods on here, 3/ Get stuck in read as much as you can and don't be led up the garden path by NHS, and make your own informed decisions, 4/sort out your Exercise regime nice and easy to start. keep a log of what does and does not spike your BG using BG meter test before and 2hrs after your meal, you will then get an idea of what foods you can safely eat. Important ask questions on here if you have any doubts or concerns. Have fun :D :D
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi suffolkscouser and welcome to the forum :)

You might not necessarily be put on meds, although with your fasting level it seems likely. Daibell's, Mary's and Roy's posts will be helpful to you.

Here is the information we give to new members and I think this will be useful to you to start getting the hang of things. It really isn't bad having diabetes - we all get used to it in time, and I am grateful that it has brought me to this forum where I have made some good friends.


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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
 
Messages
20
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Thanks for all the advice, welcomes, and help guys! Good to know that things aren'tmaybe as bad as I first thought! Started an exercise regime already, cut out sweet stuff and am looking at my carbs. All the books etc seem to say low GI. I have got my morning glucose level down to 10.1 from 15 in a week with no tablets etc. Off to see the Diabetic nurse today to see what treatment plan they ahve instore for me!
 
Messages
20
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
MaryJ said:
Hi suffolk scouser

Welcome to the forum

For me, my diagnosis was a blessing and the kick up the behind I needed. I desperately wanted to control it without medicine if possible and embarked on a low carb regime. Within 3 months my HBA1c was down to 'normal' levels and has improved since. 10 months on I'm still doing diet only and have lost 3 and 1/2 stone, got rid of my BP meds and basically feel great.

Have a read over the forum, full of great advice.

Mary x

Hi Mary
How low was low carb? losing 3 1/2 stone would be great! I've lost 1 stone in the past year through a bit of changing my diet, but could do with shedding some more! Guessing it would help with the old BP and diabetes control as well!

SS
 

xyzzy

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,950
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Undeserving authority figures of all kinds and idiots.
Hi Suffolk Scouser and welcome

Here's what I did after taking the advice of forum members when I was diagnosed in December last year. Within six months I had normalized by sugar levels, cholesterol, blood pressure and lost a load of weight. It won't cure you as you will need to strictly monitor what you eat from now on but if you're anything like me it will make you feel loads healthier and put you back in control of your life.

Eating wise then first cut out all forms of natural sugar so the obvious cakes, biscuits, sugar in tea and coffee, non diet sodas and even pure fruit juices as they have loads of sugar. Next as just as importantly at least halve your intake of rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, cereals and other flour based products. Replace with extra meat, fish, cheese, eggs and especially green veg. Things like yoghurt are generally fine. If you want a small amount of fruit then "berries" are best and I find they won't raise your levels as high if you eat them as a pudding after your main meal. On the rice, pasta and bread you have left in your diet swap to brown basmati rice, brown or tri-colour pasta and the best bread by far is Burgen Soya bread that you can get from most supermarkets.

Next get yourself a blood levels meter. If the gp won't give you one (some are really really anti and will give you a load of rubbish why you shouldn't use one) then get one called an SD CodeFree from the healthcare.co.uk shop on eBay. They also sell on Amazon. It will cost less than £20 with test strips at around £5 for 50. This is by far the cheapest meter and loads of members have them.

Start testing 2 hours after you eat. You need to aim to be under 8 as regularly exceeding 8 is where you start to risk complications such as blindness and amputations. The NICE guidelines say under 8 two hours after eating and between 4 and 7 at all other times.
At the beginning you may find getting under 8 to be really difficult. If it is then also test before you eat and aim for the two hour after eating reading to be back at roughly the level of the before eating reading. If you do that then you should see a gradual day by day improvement until all your two hour readings come out safe.

If you can't stop the readings spiking high after two hours then you have a choice. Either reduce the rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, cereals and other flour based products some more until your levels respond or if you really can't change your diet further then go back to the gp and ask for stronger drugs but the important thing is to recognize that you need safe blood levels as that will protect you from diabetic complications down the line. Those complications caused by not controlling levels are real, do happen and include blindness, amputations and death. Also recognise that many believe stronger diabetic drugs may will only work for a while and that at some point you will need insulin. The advantage of the diet only approach where you cut out sugar and starchy foods is that many members who have adopted that lifestyle take no medication and have not seen the disease progress further for years.

Good luck and keep asking questions
 
Messages
20
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Guys, the 'good news' was in '' to mean that I was not being serious about it being good news! I, along with I guess everyone else, don't want to have this condition, but now I have it I'm trying, with my bad sense of humour, to make the best of it!
Don't want to offend anyone as the advice on here and support has been great so far!
Just starting to put it all into practice! :D
 

MaryJ

Well-Known Member
Messages
842
suffolkscouser said:
MaryJ said:
Hi suffolk scouser

Welcome to the forum

For me, my diagnosis was a blessing and the kick up the behind I needed. I desperately wanted to control it without medicine if possible and embarked on a low carb regime. Within 3 months my HBA1c was down to 'normal' levels and has improved since. 10 months on I'm still doing diet only and have lost 3 and 1/2 stone, got rid of my BP meds and basically feel great.

Have a read over the forum, full of great advice.

Mary x

Hi Mary
How low was low carb? losing 3 1/2 stone would be great! I've lost 1 stone in the past year through a bit of changing my diet, but could do with shedding some more! Guessing it would help with the old BP and diabetes control as well!

SS

sorry only just seen this.

By testing I discovered I can't handle more than about 50g a day,

Mary
 

gally

Well-Known Member
Messages
76
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello every one i was diagnosed type 2 yesterday having been borderline for the last 3 years and have stumbled on this site whilst researching the desease what a great and very helpful site this is, i feel better already but as all "newbies" i am full of worries and a million questions its good to know there is someone to talk to and will be using this site a lot thank you all :clap:
 

Ann19

Well-Known Member
Messages
271
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi Gally :wave:

Well done on finding us!!!! It's the best thing that you could have done!!!

We've all been in your position, so don 't hesitate with any questions.

Ann
 

gally

Well-Known Member
Messages
76
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Thank you for your reply anne ive been reading up all night and now probably more scared :( i cant have a appointment with the diabetes nurse untill 24th november and i feel like i will never take it all in there is so much to watch out for my husband works nights and dont think i want to be alone at night anymore i have a holiday booked for christmas and im scared to go im sure ill get used to it but at the moment am feeling very worried xxx
 

Defren

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,106
gally said:
Thank you for your reply anne ive been reading up all night and now probably more scared :( i cant have a appointment with the diabetes nurse untill 24th november and i feel like i will never take it all in there is so much to watch out for my husband works nights and dont think i want to be alone at night anymore i have a holiday booked for christmas and im scared to go im sure ill get used to it but at the moment am feeling very worried xxx

Firstly: Quit worrying, what did worry ever do except turn your hair grey.

Read the information given to newly diagnosed, if you don't have a meter get one, and lastly learn about carbohydrates. Of all the food groups, carbs are what you need to watch most. Try to eliminate all the white carbs, potato's, rice, pasta, bread and all wheat based items. Then take each one at a time and try the brown version, boiled, chipped and baked potato's are a no-no, some of us can tolerate 3-4 small new potato's but roast seems to be better as the fat slows the absorption. Basmatti rice is about the lowest carb, tri coloured pasta the lowest pasta. Some people eat Bergen Soya and Linseed bread, I can't tolerate it so make my own and all wheat floured products will spike you.

It really isn't as difficult as it seems, eat veg that grow above ground, root veg has a higher carb count, and all berries are fine within reason, all other fruit you will need to try, but melon, grapes and banana's are usually no good as they cause large spikes in most of us. You will get the hang of this far quicker than you think. There is no need to be worried about being alone, a T2 has as much chance of a hypo as a non diabetic person if they are on just diet or diet/metformin. Also enjoy your holiday, loads of us went away in the summer and are all back to tell the tale. It's not nearly as scarey as you think it is.

Take care and good luck.
 

Angiebabe

Member
Messages
5
I am totally sure that saying "it's good news" to be given "bad news" is the way in which SS is handling the likely serious shock of hearing the news of a diabetic (T2) diagnosis - when I was told 10 years ago I was totally blind sided by the careless attitude of my then GP and still remember feeling numb for days afterwards. So SS - facetious as your comment obviously is, the advice from the forum is staggeringly good - I never knew so many people could care about me - so a very big WELCOME. As you will have seen on the posts - diet is the key to controlling your BGLs - it takes discipline to lower your carbs/sugar intake but this will save your life and your quality of life - so the effort is very worthwhile. Good luck and keep positive - you've made a great start.