Confused Newbie

[Arystotle]

I’m Tony. I am not a new diabetic …

I was diagnosed on 1 April this year (no, it was not an April Fool) following a regular eye inspection at the opticians, as I was losing a some sight. The optician sent me to the doctors, who sent me for a blood test, and then referred me to the local hospital to see the ophthalmologist. He referred me to a consultant who confirmed Retinopathy, and is operating later this month.

In the meantime, I had a second appointment with my doctor who confirmed T2 diabetes, prescribed Metformin (500 mg x 2 twice a day) high blood pressure (aspirin) and cholesterol (Simvastatin). He referred me to the diabetic nurse who was wonderful. I met with her on 23 April, and she gave me a range of information and a BG monitor. She told me that my blood test A1c was 13.3.

I have probably been developing diabetes for the last 10 years, as I can now relate some of the changes in my body to the symptoms of diabetes. I have probably got some neuropathy as well (examination this week) but my kidneys are OK. I am not overweight. My height is just about right for my weight and I have a mid-range BMI. I am male, 56.

Since the meeting with the DSN, I have been monitoring my BG in the morning and before bedtime, although she advised that once a day would be enough. Some days it is up, and some days it is down. When I think that I understand what is happening, I get a different result.

I purchased an excellent book by Gretchen Becker called The First Year Type 2 Diabetes, and understood clearer that what I eat and what I do has a direct relationship to my ever changing BG levels more than the medication, so I decided to monitor more closely.

Yesterday, on waking, I was 8.9. 2 hours after breakfast (porridge + juice) I was 11.8.

This morning, on waking I was 10.5. I expected a rise because I had a late dinner. I had the same breakfast, porridge and juice. On testing 2 hours later, the BG reading was 8.5.

I am now confused as to why this is. I thought that I understood that BG levels go up after food and then started coming down. Some foods convert to enter the bloodstream quicker than others, so readings may stay higher longer. Mine seems to have a mind of its own. I desperately want to control my BG levels to prevent the retinopathy going worse, but am currently at a loss to understand how to do this.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
:?

 

[sandymaynard]

Hi Tony
Welcome to the forum, if you need help post a help plea into the ask the experts.
There are lots of people here who can offer help and support! Like you i was diagnoised on april the 1st this year! No not april fool asked doctor that one!
I am 33 years old. But mum is a type 1!
Tony once a day is not enough! You need to test when you wake up, before a meal and two hours after meal and before bed!
I am on a low carb diet as i am trying to stay off medication at the minute! It sounds like this morning you could have had a liver dump into your system!
This causes your blood sugars to rise. Don't worry it is perfectally normal i get a few here and there!
Main thing is not to panic, as panic and stress raise your blood sugar's!
You need to have regular meal's every day! But there are people on here who can offer you more advice as i am a newbie to all of this!
Sandy

 

[cugila]

Hi Tony.
Welcome.
I think a diagnosis on the 1st April we would call new even though your history suggests that you were probably undiagnosed for some time. Know what you mean though.

Anyway, first of all the target Bg figures for a T2 Diabetic are as follows:
Fasting (waking).................between 4 - 7 mmol/l.
2 Hrs after a meal...............no more than 8.5 mmol/l.

As you can see you have some way to go to achieve these figures. Your HbA1c is also very high. Testing only 2 times a day is a complete waste of time. You need to test on waking, before meals and 1 and 2 hours after meals. you could also test at bedtime to see what happens during the night.
You also need to keep a food diary of what you eat and drink throughout the day. Only in this way will you see what effect certain foods have on your Bg levels. You need to do this for a week.

A mid range BMI is a bit vague. We all have problems so don't be shy.

My suggestion would be to reduce your Carbohydrate intake at first to try and lower those numbers. I can pretty much guess the sort of Dietary advice you have been given. I tried that for years and it nearly killed me. Coming here and getting sound advice has now turned my life around and all my numbers are great, down in the 5 - 7 bracket. Have a look around and read some of the success stories. You will see the common thread in most of them.
Then make your own mind up and take control of YOUR Diabetes.

Ken.

 

[Chanah]

It depends on how many test strips you have, too. David Mendosa wrote an article about how the best time to test after a meal is 73 minutes. So if you're short of strips, you could do one test after a meal instead of two and time it for then.

If you've enough test strips to survive, or can get them, then it's a good idea to do the full testing for the first while - and the food diary.

After that, you'll probably be able to ease up some, once you get an idea which foods cause your blood sugar to spike the worst, and which don't. E.g., I can have a salad and my blood sugar usually won't go up at all, but if I go near wheat, I'm in the double digits. Sometimes I can manage a little bit of grain (maybe a tablespoon of rice), but not everyday. Other people can.

As a general rule, starches, sugars, potatoes, breads, cereals, and grains generally cause most of us to spike - so cutting back on those will help, all things being equal. Some people also spike from artificial sweetners because the sweet taste causes an insulin release in the body. Not everybody, but some.

So beg, borrow, or steal (begging sometimes works - I'm a T2 and I get 100 strips a month - at this stage of the game I don't test everyday, but do test fully on some days) enough test strips from your GP to keep a good standard of testing til you know how you react, and what you can and can't get away with. After that you can ease up on the testing some. But you need to know what sets off your system in particular if you're going to come up with a sensible diet you can live with.

A good site with lots of beginner info in plain English (it's in American, though): http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/

Divide the blood sugar numbers there by 18 in the places it's not already done to get what you see on your meter, cos the Americans measure differently.