Another Newbie

Barrowboy · Dec 16, 2011

Hi folks, was diagnosed as diabetic (type 2), last Friday, found out via a receptionist, but that's another story.

Been getting my blood pressure tested and having annual cholesterol checks. Found out early last week that my count last year was over 7. Nurse told me not to worry as they would look at diet first without the need for medication. On the Wednesday I went for this years' test, which I've found out was again over 7. However the next thing I know I'm handed a prescription for Metformin, initially 1 a day for a week, then 2 and finally 3.

Coupled with that was a form for prescription exemption and a form to go to the hospital for liver and renal checks. This all came as a huge surprise, especially as the nurse had said about the diet. It seems I've jumped that step.

Spoke briefly to the nurse on Monday and I'm due to go to see her on the 19th January. I haven't started on the metformin yet, as I'm going on holiday to NY on Friday and she advised to start afterwards just in case I get some side effects.

Not sure if I should hold off on the metformin until I see her on the 19th, but to be honest I'm unsure of most of this at the moment. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

daisy1 · Dec 16, 2011

Hi Barrowboy and welcome to the forum There is a lot to learn about diabetes to start with. Here is some information that we give out to new members to help them to get started. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will have an answer for 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.

Grazer · Dec 16, 2011

Welcome Barrowboy. Not sure about the figure of "7" you quote. Was this an HbA1c reading? Your receptionist should be able to tell you if you phone. It it is, it's pretty good and you've been diagnosed at an early stage. In which case you could almost certainly control it with diet and exercise if you want. Having said that, Metformin is a good drug and many doctors prescribe it up front anyway.
Suprised at the exemption certificate - you don't normally get that if you're just on metformin or diet only!
Good luck!

angieG · Dec 16, 2011

Grazer

You do get exemption if you are on just Metformin, I do.
It's if you are diet only you do not.

Regards
Angie

MaryJ · Dec 16, 2011

Hi Barrowboy.

welcome to the forum, lots of help and advice available here,

only bit i can help you with is the prescription exemption, my gp advised same as Angie, whilst diet only no exemption - on meds then exempt from paying.

Mary x

Grazer · Dec 16, 2011

angieG said:
Grazer

You do get exemption if you are on just Metformin, I do.
It's if you are diet only you do not.

Regards
Angie

Right, interesting, only I heard other people say Metformin doesn't qualify you. Doesn't affect me - I'm so ancient I get free prescriptions anyway! :thumbup:

angieG · Dec 17, 2011

Grazer said:
angieG said:

Grazer

You do get exemption if you are on just Metformin, I do.
It's if you are diet only you do not.

Regards
Angie

Click to expand...

Right, interesting, only I heard other people say Metformin doesn't qualify you. Doesn't affect me - I'm so ancient I get free prescriptions anyway! :thumbup:

When I got my exemption card on my diagnosis I was on Metformin and Gliclazide.
Once my levels were reasonable I had to scrap the Glic and I am now just on Metformin and get test strips but they haven't said anything about the exemption. I forgot my card one day when I picked up my prescription and when I asked if they wanted me to get it from my car I was told it was ok she could see by what I had got that I was exempt.
Regards
Angie

Barrowboy · Jan 19, 2012

An update on my situation. Decided to hold off on the Metformin until I spoke to the Nurse. Built myself up for the appointment today but when I got there she was off ill! So now it's next Wednesday morning.

Meantime I've looked at my diet and improved it by cutting out a lot of sugars and carbs, which given my normal diet is quite a step for me. Still getting differing advice about the medication though, so really need this appointment.

Mothman · Jan 20, 2012

Ime on diet alone but my Doc gave me an exemption card and still gives me free testing strips. I suppose ime just lucky i guess. Was originally diagnosed metformin but decided to try diet before a lifetime of pills.
So far so good and ime testing well under 6 all the time now, sometimes under 5 so well chuffed.
Been on a low carb diet since November, lost 12lb, not overweight anyway and in the last week or so have seen almost normal blood results.
Do consider reducing your carbs, worked very well fo me. All diet ideas came from this excellent forum and not the NHS.

Good luck.

Andy

milo · Jan 24, 2012

I too have just been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes - between Christmas and New Year. Taking one 500mg of Metformin twice per day, third one starts this week. Getting free prescriptions with monitor and test strips etc.
DN said I must have carbs at every meal - been reading the advice on this site and decided to experiment last night. Orignal blood sugars were running at 20+ struggled to get it down, walking for an hour helped but as soon as I ate again it would jump back up. So last night tested before evening meal 16.9 - had not eaten since 12.30pm, for dinner just had steamed smoked cod and sweetcorn with a low sugar, low fat yoghurt for desert, two hours later tested at 12.7. This morning tested at 13.4, the lowest morning result yet. So thank you to all of you for your advice, I will continue to monitor my carb intake and see how I go.

Hello to all my fellow diabetics I will post how I am getting on and thank you again for this wonderful informative site.

Milo

Helenababe · Jan 24, 2012

You get free prescriptions if you're on Metformin, and that goes for all your prescriptions, even none diabetes related.
Helena

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