Newly diagnosed, worried and confused!

MrsK

Newbie
Messages
3
Hi there, I am 36 and I was diagnosed with diabetes in October with a hba1c of 51 and told to control my diabetes with diet. Given a low gi diet plan and told to come back in may for 6 month check, no daily blood monitory required.
In November I had a routine eye screening and then in December received the results that I had background changes but required no medical attention but to keep good control of my sugar levels.
I am severely short sighted and anything to do with my eyes worries me so decided to start checking my bloods as have all the kit from when I had gestational diabetes. Have been getting a mix of readings post meal times ranging from 6.5 to a couple of 11s but mainly they are between 7 and 8.5
Finally managed to get an appointment with the diabetic doctor today and he was angry that I had been missed after my eye test and said that I should be on meds to get my hba1c into the 40s. Said it was very important to keep my levels as low as possible to prevent any further damage to my eyes , but then when I asked for a prescription for test strips he said daily testing wasn't necessary for me?? How to I keep my levels under control if I dont test???
I'm having another fasting blood test on Monday to determine the meds I will go on but I am so worried I may have damaged my eyes further with high sugars ESP over the Xmas period.
Why is it so hard to get a prescription for test strips, I can't really afford to buy them from boots at £27 a pack.
Also I am a real worrier and have been having nightmares about going blind, losing limbs etc.....does it get easier once you get used to the diagnoses?
Sorry for the babbling just meet to get it all out :)
Thanks for reading.
 

donnellysdogs

Master
Messages
13,233
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
People that can't listen to other people's opinions.
People that can't say sorry.
I can actually ...( Really rare for me). See why gp may have the idea of not needing to test...

He is seeing that your levls are not going horrendously haywire with highs.... But he is probably ignoring fact that some meds can send you to having lows...
There are guidelines for strips for type 2's on and or without meds... I personally think that you ould be on the boundary between need/not needing strips.
If you have told gp your levels as above... Tbh... I as someone who demands strips... Would find it difficult to see a huge, huge, beneficial cost to nhs of prescribing them to you... So sorry.. I like to back everybody up with bloodstrips but am really doubtful that you will get decision changed... Although, i hope you do.
Maybe that GP would prescribe wee test stix instead?? Something better than nothing?
 

PhilT

Well-Known Member
Messages
94
Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
Diet only
Sorry to see you're being messed around.

If you control your intake of carbohydrates you can help the blood sugar excursions, GI doesn't really fit the bill in my opinion as the difference between "high" and "medium" can be pretty small. Switching from white bread to brown bread for example may only be 1 or 2 different in GI !

I can see how testing helps you learn the effect of individual foods etc but you would quickly learn the right things to do and you can probably pick them up from folks on here without the meter if you're stuck for getting strips.
 

Yorksman

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,445
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
MrsK said:
Also I am a real worrier and have been having nightmares about going blind, losing limbs etc.....does it get easier once you get used to the diagnoses?

Steady on, your HBA1c was only 51, mine was something like 75, yet within 6 or 7 weeks of watching what I eat and doing some regular exercise, I have brought my BG levels down. Your 'mainly between 7.0 and 8.5' is what I was getting 4 or 5 weeks ago. Before that I was seeing 9s and 10s. Now I see 5s and 6s. My meter manual says not to be worried by the odd reading of 11 and my DN says contact her if they go up to the 15s or 16s. Don't scare yourself with your readings.

If you watch what you eat and take regular exercise you can both keep your levels low and improve your insulin sensitivity. Everyone's BG goes up when they eat. Normally healthy people have a better insulin response though. Type 2s aren't as fast. The glucose stays in the blood longer and that's why their HBA1c is higher. But yours is only just getting into the range where you need to think about what you eat. Exercise, and losing weight, will improve your insulin sensitivity too. That will bring the levels down quicker. The effects of exercise though are not long lasting and the benefits disappear in a day or two, so it has to be regular. If at all possible, a walk after every meal is great, if not, the best you can manage. But, do something every day.

And just watch what you eat, stay away from all the obvious sugary stuff like chocolate but also stay away from white bread, white rice and switch to brown rice and wholemeal bread. There is a mass of good advice on this site about food.
 

daisy1

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

Here is the information we give to new members and I think you will find it helpful. Carry on asking questions as there is always someone here to help you.


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.
 

Indigo

Member
Messages
21
Hi there

I too was diagnosed in October after being diagnosed with those background eye changes (I'm 35). However mine needed treatment and so that I can say from experience that the eyes are very important and that the more you can do to stop it at the early stages the better (wish that I had had the chance). Anyway I'm surprised like your diabetic specialist that they did not put you on meds, as it is so important to get a good control with the eyes.

Testing wise, you can go a bit far with the testing as my GP keeps telling me, but I test when I feel I need to for peice of mind. The best thing I've found and to avoid them fobbing you off is to be persistant and say that you are worried about your eyes. Also I would say how are you supposed to get good control if you don't know what is going on.

Diet wise, some of the advice I found really confusing so what I did is follow a healty balanced diet, watching the sugar, salt and fat intake, and cutting down on carbs in general. Testing in this respect did help me as I could get to grips with the foods that sent my sugars higher and so could get a handle on how much I could have etc.

Anyway, I hope that this helps

Indigox