Another newbie..

Lassitude · Mar 12, 2012

Hi everybody

I've just been diagnosed type 2 by my GP. Here's a brief history.

The last 6 years have been fairly grim for me:
In 2006 I suffered depression and was 'self medicating' very heavily with Alcohol. It resulted in 'redundancy' from my job and about a year of unemployment. I did have NLP councilling and a course of anti-depressants but I am not sure if my issues were ever resolved.In 2007 my fathers partner passed away and I spent a lot of time trying to help him come to terms with it. In 2008 my father died, the company I was working went into liquidation and I had another bout of self destructive drinking. I am not going to say how much I was drinking as I am too ashamed to say but needless to say it was at a very high level. In 2010 I found another job which turned out to be very stressful for me, and I hit the bottle again. In January this year that company went into liquidation and I was unemployed again. The good news is that I found a job pretty quickly which involes 4 days a week working from home and one day in the office so at least I am working again. That's the end of the sob story. I am not asking for sympathy just giving you a background into the recent abuse I have put my body through.

The Diagnosis
In 2009 I was visiting my doctor to deal with my depression and he took blood and told me I was borderline diabetic. At that time I was deep in my own self pity so chose to ignore it. My GP did not follow up either and left it with me to arrange appointments which I never did.

I've noticed a numbness in my feet for the last 6 months or so and put it down to sciatica that I suffered from back in 2007. When is spread to the little finger of my right hand I knew something was from so last Friday I visited one of the nurses at my surgery to take a fasted blood sample. While I was there I asked if she could measure my blood sugar and she agreed. It came out at 11.1. Halfway home I got a call from my GP to come straight back and he very nearly sent me straight to hospital. After a call to the hospital he put me on Metaformin 500mg (1 a day for the first week, 2 a day second week, 3 a day the third week).
He also gave me a diet sheet.

I have now woken up and smelt the coffee. At the darkest times of my depression I knew what I was doing to myself but did not care. Now I changed my mind.

I am due to find out my blood test results tomorrow as I have another GP appointment. I have to admit to being terrified about finding out what damage I have done to myself. I have a few preliminary questions:

Questions-
1-The numbness in my feet is not dreadful and seems to affect the smaller toes and outside edge of each foot the most. I can still feel things touching the numb parts and have no sores or other foot problems. Do I have the numbness for life now?

2- Is it possible that my drinking has caused damage to my Pancreas and Liver that has impeded my Sugar control? If so if I go t-total is it possible that the damage will recover or get better?

3- I've also been suffering for powerful spells of tiredness during the day (usually early afternoon). These were so powerful I had trouble keeping my eyes open even at work. Since Friday I've stopped drinking, increased my activity and cut down on sugar and my afternoon tiredness has gone. I've only done 3 x 500mg of Metaformin since Friday but I feel a lot better. Are these tired spells common in a non diagnosed person?

4- Could my depression/low mood be a side effect of blood sugar? Even with this bad news I feel relieved and a lot less stressed. I don't know if anybody reading this has suffered from depression before but it took me to very dark place.

5- What should I expect from my GP? I need to address my weight but may need help, I have high BP and of course I need help changing my eating habits. My Surgery does not seem particularly proactive so I need to know what I can ask for.

Anyway that's all for now. I guess I'll have more news after tomorrows GP appointment.

I hope I have not bored you all witless with my story.

Thanks,

Chris

daisy1 · Mar 12, 2012

Hi Chris and welcome to the forum Some of your questions will need to be answered by your doctor, but some members will be able to help you who have experience of the same problem. No doubt you will have some answers soon. Here is some information which was written for new members which should give you some idea of how to look after yourself. Ask any more questions you may have 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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.

viviennem · Mar 12, 2012

Hi Chris, and welcome!

You have been having a hard time of it, but don't worry, you are not alone. Being diagnosed diabetic was probably the best thing that could have happened to me - a shot across my bows, telling me to pull myself together and take control, otherwise I was eating and drinking myself into an early grave.

You've a lot to get your head round at the moment, so I won't try to confuse you with my ideas before you've seen your GP again. All I will say is that it has been known for people to reverse that numbness, if it's caused by diabetes, by getting their blood glucose levels under control. Let's hope that it works for you.

Almost everyone on this forum is diabetic, or associated with diabetics, and we're here to help each other through our own knowledge and experience. Have a good look round, read up on the subject, and come back with any questions you might have. On here, there's no such thing as a silly question - you should see some of mine! :lol:

Type 2 diabetes is not the end of the world, though it may be the end of a lifestyle :wink: We were all newbies once, so we have some idea of how you're feeling right now. You're among friends :thumbup:

Viv 8)

viviennem · Mar 12, 2012

PS - are you sure that 11.1 was an HbA1c? If you were given the figure immediately, in the surgery, it might have been an ordinary finger-prick blood test. Were you fasting at the time, or had you had something to eat?

Viv 8)

Defren · Mar 12, 2012

I agree with Viv. Today is my one week anniversary since diagnosis and I got the shock of my life. I had an idea it was diabetes as I had a blood test a week before and they told me they were doing the second test to see why I had such high sugar levels. So, I found this forum, and apart from having to hear the horrible words "you are a diabetic" I too have not looked back. I dropped my carb levels over night, and now have less than 30g a day, even changing to soy milk today, because I realised milk had quite a few carbs all added up from the amount of tea I drink a day.

I test, test and test again. By doing that I am learning what I can eat and what I can't. I have peripheral neuropathy in my hands, my little and ring fingers effected, and from what I understand, they won't get better as the nerves are damaged, but by hitting the low carb diet and keeping a close eye on my sugar, I am reassured it won't get worse.

Diagnosis is hard, but for me it was empowering. It made me sit up, take notice and act. I also found out I am Vit D deficient and my GP wrote me a script, and I have started taking those today. I asked a question about Vit D deficiency and fatigue and there is a connection. So much to learn, but you will get there. The diagnosis is a real hammer blow, but with determination you will get there. I have never been so determined in all my life. To die from a diabetes related complication, is simply in my view, self neglect, I will not die from that.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Lassitude · Mar 13, 2012

Many thanks for your supporting emails. I must admit to feeling ashamed of what I have done to myself but there's no point dwelling on it. I was living a lie. I now have to learn to be more honest with myself.

I've just got back from the GP and he's filled out a form to get me booked in for an ultrasound Liver scan and referral to a neurologist for the numbness as he wants to confirm the cause.

He's also told me no more alcohol at all. I'm resigned to the idea my drinking days are over. It's going to save me a shed load of money but is going to require a lot of adjustments for me.

I've got an appointment with the diabetes nurse this afternoon to talk about diet this afternoon (It would have been nice to make one journey for both appointments but hey ho...that's life)

He's also offered to supply strips if I buy a BG meter.

viviennem: You are correct that 11.1 was a prick test (I hope that is the right terminology, it sounds very wrong :shock. My Hba1c was 102mmol and was told 48 was the target for T2. He also did another prick test. I had a bowl of porridge with a bananna at 8am, was tested at 11:20 am and it was at 16.2. I must admit to being a little baffled with these different methods of measuring. I tried to put the 102 reading from my test through the converter on this sight and got nothing sensible from it.

Again thanks to you all for your kind words. I have some questions to ask but I will start a thread in the Type 2 forum.

Defren · Mar 13, 2012

Lassitude said:
Many thanks for your supporting emails. I must admit to feeling ashamed of what I have done to myself but there's no point dwelling on it. I was living a lie. I now have to learn to be more honest with myself.

I've just got back from the GP and he's filled out a form to get me booked in for an ultrasound Liver scan and referral to a neurologist for the numbness as he wants to confirm the cause.

He's also told me no more alcohol at all. I'm resigned to the idea my drinking days are over. It's going to save me a shed load of money but is going to require a lot of adjustments for me.

I've got an appointment with the diabetes nurse this afternoon to talk about diet this afternoon (It would have been nice to make one journey for both appointments but hey ho...that's life)

He's also offered to supply strips if I buy a BG meter.

viviennem: You are correct that 11.1 was a prick test (I hope that is the right terminology, it sounds very wrong :shock. My Hba1c was 102mmol and was told 48 was the target for T2. He also did another prick test. I had a bowl of porridge with a bananna at 8am, was tested at 11:20 am and it was at 16.2. I must admit to being a little baffled with these different methods of measuring. I tried to put the 102 reading from my test through the converter on this sight and got nothing sensible from it.

Again thanks to you all for your kind words. I have some questions to ask but I will start a thread in the Type 2 forum.

I think to he honest it means adjustments for us all. I don't drink as I don't like the taste of alcohol, but I did eat a lot of fruit, mainly bananas. I can't have those now. I also would throw some oven chips in if I was running late, can't do that either. The way I see it is as a real bonus. It has made me re-evaluate so much. I'm sure that once you get on track and begin your new lifestyle, you won't look back. It's a condition that forces us to change our bad ways and take care of our bodies, or die! Pretty grim and I won't sit and die, I have far too much living to do first :mrgreen:

phoenix · Mar 13, 2012

It sounds like your doc has up to date technology and has a machine that can give an Hb A1c from a finger prick ( I've only heard of these at some hospital clinics, so well done GP). This measurement gives an indication as to your levels over the last 3 months. 102mmol/l is high and represents an average of about 15.7mmol/l .. ie high which is why your doc phoned the hospital. This was confirmed by the other finger prick test which showed an after meal glucose level of 16.2 mmol/l.
Now is the time to begin working on gradually lowering those levels. It is as is often said that this is a marathon, not a sprint, change things gradually.

Another newbie..

Lassitude

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Lassitude

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Defren

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phoenix

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Another newbie..

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