Newly diagnosed but no answers yet

makka

Active Member
Messages
27
Diagonsed as Diabetic following blood tests because of abdoment pains and nausea, and that is as far as I have got! Doctor won't see me before 27th November, and the surgery nurse hasn't returned my calls.

Want to ask nurse about an adrenaline blood test as I seem to spend a lot of my time stressed and flare easily, I then feel the same when coming down as when I have had say a large piece of chocolate cake! GP totally discounts stress putting blood sugar up but have read a lot on the subject on various websites.

In the mean time fed up, getting nagged by the other half and don't know what to do for the best.
 

Superchip

Well-Known Member
Messages
512
Dislikes
GP's, Diabetes Nurses.Crazy NHS guidelines on diet for Diabetics, they are seeing off millions.
Cheap Whisky !
Makka, DONT PANIC, you have definately come to the right place !
No replies yet cos it's home time I expect, but there will be lots of GOOD advice soon.
You need good councelling in the early days, you will get it here.
Lots to learn, so be brave, research and hopefully you will be rewarded.
All the things about testing your levels will be explained to you, as well as the level of carbohydrates/fat/calories etc.

WELCOME, Daisy ? will hopefully welcome you with the normal advice for new people.....

Stay happy..... Superchip
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. Yes, it's stressful having to wait for more info. I guess you don't have any blood test results yourself yet? It's unlikely your diabetes is advanced so don't panic. If you had a fasting blood test it is a reasonable test for diabetes but a GTT (Glucose Tolerance Test) is done by some GPs and is slightly more reliable if you are marginal. NICE provides diabetes guidelines to define diabetes blood sugar levels. What you can do before the 27th is consider your diet and reduce your carb intake where relevant and make any carbs low-GI where you can. A suitable diet, exercise and if needed some tablets will all help keep blood sugar levels down. If your GP should suggest a typical NHS balanced diet having plenty of starchy carbs with every meal, most of us would say No as carbs are immediately converted in the body to glucose. Fats are not the enemy just keep them unsaturated where you can; they don't increase your blood sugar and neither do proteins. BTW it's generally stated that stress doesn't cause diabetes but it can increase blood sugar levels a bit so don't panic. Daisy should be along shortly to give you a lot of good general advice and links to study. Do ask if you have any further questions.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi makka and welcome :)
I have put some information for you on your other thread but here it is again since it was mentioned by Superchip. Ask all the questions you want as you will get some help from other members.


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.
 

makka

Active Member
Messages
27
Many thanks all for the reassurance and advice, will just have to badger the quack into getting me the relevant appointments.
 

mattr

Active Member
Messages
40
makka said:
Many thanks all for the reassurance and advice, will just have to badger the quack into getting me the relevant appointments.

Badgers + Ducks ?

Make sure you call the doctor and not the vet :D
 

makka

Active Member
Messages
27
Now have my test results Fasting Glucose 10.2 Long term maintenance 9.4, and an appointment with the practice nurse for 7th December.
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. Glad to hear you have the results. 10.2 a little bit high but not unusual at diagnosis. If you can keep it below 8.5'ish then you're on the right road. I'm not sure what Long Term Maintenance is? That's a new one on me.
 

World Hereafter

Well-Known Member
Messages
89
Type of diabetes
Type 2
hello,

I'm newly diagnosed too, and also seeking help / answers. albeit FOLLOWING my appointment with Practice Nurse.

If you like you can read my post to get an idea of what you might - but hopefullly won't! - encounter when you do see the Nurse, I wish I'd secretly recorded my appt. with the Diabetes Practice Nurse!

Hopefully all newly diagnosed will get the answers and they need, though it's looking to me like this forum has more help and answers than the professionals who are paid to diagnose and treat/help us.

All the best!
 

makka

Active Member
Messages
27
Daibell said:
Hi. Glad to hear you have the results. 10.2 a little bit high but not unusual at diagnosis. If you can keep it below 8.5'ish then you're on the right road. I'm not sure what Long Term Maintenance is? That's a new one on me.

Many thanks Daibell, I think the Long Term Maintenance is the average for the last three months calculated from the blood test. It should be between 6.4 and 7.4 apparently. From the intynet I think it is what is also kown as Glycated Haemoglobin or long term stability.
 

makka

Active Member
Messages
27
Appointment with doctor today, nice and calm on the way in, furious on the way out!

Thought today was to start discussing my diagnosis and all the other stuff that showed up on the blood test, the only talk about diabetes is that I must expect as time goes on to be on medication, and that I am type 2 (which I had already guessed) everything else has been deferred to the nurse appointment on the 7th December!

To help me lose weight the doctor has referred me to exercise classes or swimming twice a week which is great but they are on a Monday morning, a wednesday or friday afternoon! At least my request for two hours a week off to go swimming etc during work time gave my boss a laugh. I think it made his day.....! Oh and I have been prescribed statins don't really know why as the doctor also said my cholesterol levels were low and very good, so three guesses where that script will be going!

So still no real answers! We await the 7th with baited breath....
 

Sid Bonkers

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,976
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Customer helplines that use recorded menus that promise to put me through to the right person but never do - and being ill. Oh, and did I mention customer helplines :)
Hi makka, regarding the swimming many years ago when I worked as a car salesman I often used to go swimming in my lunch hour, so it is possible to fit a swim into a working day, plus of course swimming pools are open till around 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening, exercise is very important especially if you have some weight to lose :thumbup:
 

makka

Active Member
Messages
27
Hi Sid,

I am working to get some exercise in to the daily regime, I have half a stone to lose then I can use teh kit we have at home, air rower, cross trainer, core muscle trainer etc. All of which my lovely wife bought and doesn't use! However there is space in the garage to set up an electric heater and lay the kit out properly like a mini gym, then when the kids go to bed away we go....

The GP referred gym and swim sessions are free for swimming, and discounted for the gym but are at fixed times, and it would appear designed for people unable to work, or that are retired. When I commented that my employer may be reluctant to let me do the sessions the response was along the lines of if they don't let you take them to a tribunal (reality check needed methinks!). This is the firm wjere the COE gets directors to lay off heart bypass patients with the comment get rid of him but don't kill him!

So we will plug away and see what teh nurse says on the 7th.
 

makka

Active Member
Messages
27
No had my appointment with the nurse and am a happier bunny! Reading was 8.2 three hours after lunch, she seemed happy with that and with teh food diary I have been keeping.
Now have my DESMOND booking, Blood monitor and script for test strips, also an appointment for six weeks time for another fasting monitoring. Most of my questions answered now.
Decision about medication will be made in six weeks depending on how well I maintain.