Confused Newly Diagnosed

LouLou70

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi everyone. I was diagnosed mid January this year by answerphone message from my GP surgery. I had gone in as I had been hugely run down, swollen glands, cold sores, for a month. They took bloods and then rang the following week with the message. On ringing back I was told it was type 2 and when I said I was shocked and a bit gutted, was told 'that's what happens when you don't lose weight and exercise'. So ... my diabetes journey didn't start too well. Met with the diabetes nurse who is lovely, gave me a folder full of info and told my glucose level is 58 and cholesterol is 6. Is this high or not? She wants me to try and bring my levels down by diet alone for 3 months and I've not been given metformin yet or asked to test my levels at any point. Two weeks later I met her again and have lost 6lbs but I'm struggling a) to keep up the motivation and b) to accept the diagnosis. I've had a year of being ill - pleurisy which has left me with scarring on the lungs and, after a routine blood test, I was told I have the antibody in my blood for Primary Biliary Cirrhosis. I feel as if my head is going to explode from all the information I'm getting, which I know is for my benefit in the long run, but I don't know how much more 'bad health' news I can take. Sorry guys, normally an upbeat person. Thanks in advance for any support or advice.
 

Heathenlass

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,631
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Welcome :)

May I suggest a voodoo doll and sharp pointy pins for the person who broke the news of your diagnosis in such a crass and insensitive ( not to mention ignorant !) way ? :rolleyes::mad:

It may not help your health issues, but would be great for your stress levels ;)

Seriously, I'm gobsmacked that anyone would say that .

Signy
 
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Paul59

Well-Known Member
Messages
954
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi loulou & welcome.
Your good news is that your now in a place of understanding & knowledge as we have all been there.
If you were given a meter what readings are you getting 1st thing in the morning, pre meal, 2hr post meal & before bed?
Also what would your typical daily food intake consist of?
Most on here follow a low carb with higher fat & protein which has shown many times to improve the condition, aid weight lose & improve health.
 

Sancho panza

Well-Known Member
Messages
465
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Welcome :)

May I suggest a voodoo doll and sharp pointy pins for the person who broke the news of your diagnosis in such a crass and insensitive ( not to mention ignorant !) way ? :rolleyes::mad:

It may not help your health issues, but would be great for your stress levels ;)

Seriously, I'm gobsmacked that anyone would say that .

Signy
Seconded

That's an outrageous way to inform someone they are ill and bloody rude in my opinion I would have been beating the practice managers door down with my complaint

Oh and welcome to the forum LouLou
 

SueKen

Well-Known Member
Messages
80
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello LouLou,
Sorry you have been having such a bad time, and not helped by a really insensitive medical professional, but at least you now have a supportive nurse, so that's good.
I'm the same age as you, and was diagnosed last year after a visit to the doctors for completely different symptoms, but after a particularly stressful year. So it was very much a shock to me too.
I had to push pretty hard to try diet alone, but luckily I have succeeded so far. I did lots of reading on this forum and website, and also bought a good book (diabetes, the first year, by Gretchen Becker). I am a bit of a control freak, so I embraced the lower carb diet, which seems to have worked for me. Although I was only a little bit overweight, it helped me lose weight, and along with a bit more exercise also brought my HbA1c levels down.
I think it all takes time to sink in, a month is really not very long, it took me much longer to get my head around it. But on a positive note, I am probably much fitter now than I was a year ago.
You will get loads of support on here if you want it.
Good luck, keep your spirits up.:)
Sue
 

SueKen

Well-Known Member
Messages
80
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
PS My cholesterol levels were similar to yours too. They have come down a bit, but more importantly my proportion of good cholesterol has gone up, so have avoided statins so far too.
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome,

I couldn't agree more with the others about the insensitive and unprofessional way you were dealt with initially, but thankfully you now have a lovely nurse. Stick with this forum for advice and support, you will find motivation in bucketsful on here. Well done on the weight loss, that's a great start.

I will tag @daisy1 who will give you some advice for newly diagnosed.

Please consider getting your own meter. Most of us type 2's have to buy our own as the NHS is very reluctant to prescribe testing strips. You will find this is an essential tool in controlling your BS levels and will help you find a good sustainable diet that suits you. (we will help you with this).

Diet and a little added exercise are the key to control. Don't worry about lack of meds. Metformin is mainly an appetite suppressant, and helps to a limited extent with insulin resistance, but isn't a miracle cure and won't work on its own. Diet is what works.

Have a good read round and ask all the questions you like.
 
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daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@LouLou70

Hello LouLou and welcome to the forum :)

A pity you had to be treated so rudely to start with but your nurse sounds nice and she will be the person you see most often. You have already had some very good advice from other members so I will add to it with the information we give to new members. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.


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 over 130,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.
 
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Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi and welcome. At least you now have a good nurse and with others in this forum who share the same condition. As others have said, go for a low-carb diet and you should continue to lose weight. You may well have Metformin added which as Bluetit has said helps a bit but diet is the key. Your cholesterol should come down a bit with the low-carb diet and the ratios should improve. A reading of 6.0 is above NICE recommendations but not that high so don't worry about it
 

LouLou70

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Thank you everybody for your comments and advice, really appreciated. I'm going to have a good old read of all the new information and if it's ok with you guys, may ask some questions after.

One thing I will ask now is about meters for testing - do you have any specific recommendations as to which are the best to get and are they easy to use and interpret?

Thanks again x
 

sanguine

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,340
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Intolerance, career politicians, reality TV and so-called celebrity culture, mobile phones in the quiet carriage.
Hi Loulou, welcome.

The most popular seems to be the SD Codefree as the strips are cheapest. They are all simple to use as far as I know.
 

SueKen

Well-Known Member
Messages
80
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Yep I use the SD Codefree meter too. Each of us reacts a bit differently to different foods, so it's good to test (I now know that flour really spikes me).
Keep asking questions LouLou, it's one of the ways to learn. You might get lots of different answers, but hopefully you will eventually find out what works best for you.
Sue
 

Rixs

Member
Messages
7
Code free from Amazon very easy to use , buy extra test strips . I asked my doc about testing and she said don't bother.

But tbh they are easy to use , prick you finger squeeze a bit of blood out dab it on the test strip read the result. They are good to show you what you can and can't eat. After a few days of testing you will soon learn what is and what isn't good for you. And there will be some surprises,. Bread even supposedly healthy brown bread gives me a bg increase. But a bowl of strawberries and double cream does nothing! Pint of larger =bad double vodka = good . For me the low carb thing is really working. Buy the meter and work it out for yourself what you can or can't eat
 

Dave Brierley

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi LouLou welcome your in the right place, I have a code free meter they are cheap to buy and the strips are cheap too, heres the link http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm hope it works. When you get the meter you get 10 strips but I got another 5 packs of 50 as there is a discount code for 5 and 10 packs. Here are the codes for 5 packs 264086 for 10 packs 975833.

Flour in any form for me is a big no no, wine instead of beer, I now roast tates instead of boiling them, I can eat bananas and apples but not grapes and oranges.
 
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Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
@Dave Brierley

Have you tested your bananas at 15 and 30 minutes? They are instant glucose and dissolve as soon as they hit your mouth. I hope you can manage them, I really wish I could, but they are very quick release and I just hope you haven't been missing the spikes.
 

Dave Brierley

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
@Dave Brierley

Have you tested your bananas at 15 and 30 minutes? They are instant glucose and dissolve as soon as they hit your mouth. I hope you can manage them, I really wish I could, but they are very quick release and I just hope you haven't been missing the spikes.

I now wonder if I have the testing regime wrong, I thought a spike was if it was 2 or more mmol/ml after 2 hours so I've not even considered a shorter time because I thought the 2 hour assimilation time was for everything. I new that the body assimilates the energy from bananas very quickly because I've seen tennis players eating them during set breaks due to the quick energy release.
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
I now wonder if I have the testing regime wrong, I thought a spike was if it was 2 or more mmol/ml after 2 hours so I've not even considered a shorter time because I thought the 2 hour assimilation time was for everything. I new that the body assimilates the energy from bananas very quickly because I've seen tennis players eating them during set breaks due to the quick energy release.
Yes, foods vary a lot on assimilation time and if you eat with fats it takes longer. The 2 hours thing is a good guide but only a guide. Views vary on whether to worry about spikes or just overall carb intake; it's the latter which affects your HBa1C. As bananas have high overall carbs they are best replaced by other fruits. If you are on insulin then assimilation time can affect when it's best to inject
 
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Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
I now wonder if I have the testing regime wrong, I thought a spike was if it was 2 or more mmol/ml after 2 hours so I've not even considered a shorter time because I thought the 2 hour assimilation time was for everything. I new that the body assimilates the energy from bananas very quickly because I've seen tennis players eating them during set breaks due to the quick energy release.

Yes, the 2 hour time is just a guide. Everyone will spike after eating carbs, including non-diabetics. The timing of the peak varies according to what was eaten. From what I have read and understand, non-diabetics may spike to high 7's (and even higher depending on the food) but then return to normal quite quickly, whereas diabetics struggle to return to normal and tend to stay up much longer. It seems that for non-diabetics a sort of average is up to 7.8 at about an hour, down to under 6.6 at about 2 hours. (Note the emphasis) This is where the no more than 2mmol/l increase at about 2 hours comes from. (Non-diabetics most likely have pre-meal readings of about 4.6, so after 2 hours could be up to 6.6.)

I tend to test at 1 hour and again at 2 hours. This tells me whether I am on the way down at 2 hours, or still on the way up! If the latter, I test again at 2.5hrs. If my 1 hour spike is high (for me) but I am back under 6.6 at 2 hours, I am happy and don't worry about the 1hr spike too much. I would only worry if I was still high at 2 hours.

It's all a big learning curve.
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
I loved bananas, but as I always ate them mashed with milk and sugar, they definitely had to go!