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Another newbie post

C

cloudedskies

Member
Messages
5
Location
Nottingham
Type of diabetes
Gestational
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello,

I know there are a thousand messages just the same as this one, but I still feel this is the only place I can post right now and hopefully not feel judged.

This will be long....sorry

I'm 39 and have 5 children, with my 4th I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 35+ weeks, I delivered at 38 so didn't have much time to really deal with it. With my 5th baby, 5 years later, I was diagnosed with it again, but at only 6 weeks pregnant. I tried metformin and the slow release, didn't get on with either, and ended up starting insulin at 20 weeks. It was a tough pregnancy!

Since then I've had a couple of HBA1C tests, all normal. I still have a testing kit, albeit with old strips, and it's occasionally test myself.

A couple months ago I started with really hot flushes, really bad, I thought I might be heading for perimenopause, awesome. Decided to wait to see doc given the current pandemic. Then I started with headaches, really bad, I never suffer with headaches. After a bit of googling I decided to test my sugar, and 2 hours post meal I was 12.6, continued to do this and I was in double figure almost every time.

Got booked in for a blood test, and yesterday found out my HBA1C is 55mmol, and I was officially diagnosed with diabetes, via a phonecall with my doctor.

I'm feeling like I'm sure we everyone does at this stage, overwhelmed, frightened, alone, guilty.

The doc simply said to look up "diabetic diet" and that she'll try to get me slotted in with the diabetes nurse, she is there on a Thursday.

So now I feel like I'm in limbo until I see this nurse. I don't have a lot of strips left with my old meter and they are expired so not sure how accurate they'll be. So do I just wait now until I see the nurse?

My head is spinning and if I'm honest I'm throwing myself a bit of a pitty party. My husband immediately told me I'll have to lose weight which just made me feel even more like this is an my fault.

I'm honestly having the worst year of my life
 
Hello @cloudedskies,

Hugs -- this really seems a lot to take on at once ... and it's very normal to feel the way you feel right now.

Did you know that many consider weight gain a symptom of Type 2 diabetes rather than a cause of it? As we become insulin resistant (a hallmark of Type 2) and we produce ever more insulin to overcome this resistance, it becomes very hard for us to burn any of our body fat (high insulin prevents the burning of body fat) and thus lose any weight. So, please don't blame yourself, this is something for which you were probably genetically predisposed.

Personally, I started a low carb diet after diagnosis and this brought down my levels back to normal within three months for my next HbA1c test. I have continued eating this way and have been okay for the last 5 years.

Other have found other ways to approach Type 2. Have a read around the forum and ask any questions you may have. There are many knowledgeable, supportive and friedly members on here, who will be happy to help.

Welcome to the forum.
 
Hi and welcome. Yes, do move to a low-carb diet which will help both blood sugar and weight. As a T2 your nurse may not provide test strips on the NHS, but do try, so you may need to buy new strips yourself (they are VAT free if you use the right website etc). I'm afraid the Western diet that we have all been trained to follow has far too many carbs so most of us have had to re-train!
 
cloudedskies said:
Hello,

I know there are a thousand messages just the same as this one, but I still feel this is the only place I can post right now and hopefully not feel judged.

This will be long....sorry

I'm 39 and have 5 children, with my 4th I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 35+ weeks, I delivered at 38 so didn't have much time to really deal with it. With my 5th baby, 5 years later, I was diagnosed with it again, but at only 6 weeks pregnant. I tried metformin and the slow release, didn't get on with either, and ended up starting insulin at 20 weeks. It was a tough pregnancy!

Since then I've had a couple of HBA1C tests, all normal. I still have a testing kit, albeit with old strips, and it's occasionally test myself.

A couple months ago I started with really hot flushes, really bad, I thought I might be heading for perimenopause, awesome. Decided to wait to see doc given the current pandemic. Then I started with headaches, really bad, I never suffer with headaches. After a bit of googling I decided to test my sugar, and 2 hours post meal I was 12.6, continued to do this and I was in double figure almost every time.

Got booked in for a blood test, and yesterday found out my HBA1C is 55mmol, and I was officially diagnosed with diabetes, via a phonecall with my doctor.

I'm feeling like I'm sure we everyone does at this stage, overwhelmed, frightened, alone, guilty.

The doc simply said to look up "diabetic diet" and that she'll try to get me slotted in with the diabetes nurse, she is there on a Thursday.

So now I feel like I'm in limbo until I see this nurse. I don't have a lot of strips left with my old meter and they are expired so not sure how accurate they'll be. So do I just wait now until I see the nurse?

My head is spinning and if I'm honest I'm throwing myself a bit of a pitty party. My husband immediately told me I'll have to lose weight which just made me feel even more like this is an my fault.

I'm honestly having the worst year of my life
Click to expand...
Dear CloudSkies,
Be kind to yourself, look forwards not back. I am new to this too and felt enormous shock and disappointment.
The good thing is that you now know.
You might be able to buy new test strips from the pharmacy or online.
Lots of people on the forum recommend the low carb diet. I'm learning that cutting out carb high foods is helping my BS readings. Personally, I have been reading the Michael Mosley low blood sugar 8 week diet.

Your experience will be personal to you and over time, you'll work out what foods are best for you.

So many people on this forum have helped me, it has made a world of difference.

Take care
 
cloudedskies said:
My head is spinning and if I'm honest I'm throwing myself a bit of a pitty party. My husband immediately told me I'll have to lose weight which just made me feel even more like this is an my fault.
Click to expand...

Your husband is probably as shocked as you but I'd like to see what he would look like after 5 kids!!!! It is NOT your fault. x
 
It's a bit of a shock to the system to be diagnosed. Its definitely not your fault. With gestational diabetes you were always more likely to be t2 eventually. You're just built that way!

Weight gain can be a symptom of t2 and I found I gained lots pre-diabetes diagnosis. Once I went Low carb I lost loads.

You wont get a new meter or strips with t2 unless you are on something to lower blood glucose and your numbers aren't very high so I would be surprised if that were prescribed. Its usually metformin- which you know all about! You can buy a meter and strips quite cheaply from Tesco.

I hope you get some support from your drs. If not, here is a good place to come for it! Theres always someone to answer questions.
 
Another hello and welcome,

It is totally normal to feel very disheartened and a lot more with this diagnosis. I also had gestational diabetes \. When I was disgnosed as a type 2 I thought my life was over. A year one my blood sugars are in the normal range- I've lost 30 kgs without counting calories. I'll be honest and say I find low carb challenging. I'm a carb addict and a sweet tooth- every one of my teeth is a sweet tooth. However the possible complications from diabetes is worse than low carb.

Stop with the self blame (and tell your husband to stop too). I have a super skinny husband - he went low. arb to support me but is now eating ng carbs as he can't afford to lose weight. He has never blamed me- he has seen my struggle and he is super super supportive.

I can lose weight low arb in a way I never could with the traditionally 'healthy' diet.

You are most welcome here and know that this site is awesome and you will be supported here and you can make the changes need. You are way younger than me so have more to gain.

I threw myself a pity party too- it was more than 2 weeks before I didn't cry every day- I still have a pity party every so often but much much less frequently.

Good luck and welcome
 
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