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Another newbie....

N

njd

Newbie
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3
Hi All,

Another newbie T2 recruit! Or at least as far as I know as I’m awaiting my second fasting blood test result but it doesn’t look good as the previous one was 7.6

Slightly convoluted story but had a routine blood test last August, followed by a fasting test a week later. Heard nothing from the doctor after the second test so assumed all was well. Recently had a medical as part of the process we are going through to become foster carers. During this the doctor looked a bit ‘sheepish’ and asked me if I had been contacted about my August fasting blood test result. When I said that I hadn’t he ummed and aahed a bit and said that the result was 7.9, which meant nothing to me. Then he said I should have another fasting test as “it doesn’t look good from where I’m sitting”. When I asked why I hadn’t been contacted about the high result from the previous test he said “someone probably ticked the wrong box” – which was comforting!

So, assuming that today’s test comes back as seven point something, which looks likely I’ll be one of the gang and hope this entitles me to ask a few questions as they occur to me.

I’m 53, male, 5’ 9” and 85kg which is a BMI of 27.7 or thereabouts. I eat a fairly healthy diet; no junk food or ready meals, regular fruit and veg, occasional sweet/cake/biscuit, quite a lot of carbs! and irregular exercise mostly at weekends.

Question one: I don’t really want to take Metformin if avoidable and am keen to up the exercise and drop the carbs (which will be hardest) and sugary treats (easier as I don’t really have a sweet tooth). Am I being reasonable to give this a try before ‘resorting’ to drugs or is there an argument for taking the Metformin straight away?

Question two: Seems to be lot of discussion about the issuing of testing meters here, what are the ‘rules’ or is it a postcode lottery? Do I need one, and if so what should I buy assuming I don’t get issued one?

More later no doubt……….

Trying to be positive!

Cheers,

Neil.
 
Hi Neil and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. More members will be along soon to answer your questions.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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.
 
Hi. Yes, try a low-carb diet before the Metformin but it is a good safe drug so don't worry about taking it. Go for the Slow Release (SR) version if you and the doc decide to prescribe it. Meters are a post code lottery and you probably won't be prescribed one. You can go for the SD Codefree on Amazon if you want low-cost test strips. Do get a meter as it will tell you which foods affect you most.
 
I can only speak about my own experiences. In my case Metformin was issued automatically along with other pills for blood pressure etc. I asked, at one point, if I could try not taking it for a while to see what happens and nobody was very happy at my request.

At my surgery a meter is not issued unless the patient is prescribed medication strong enough to give them a hypo. Metformin is not considered strong enough and I did not get a meter until I was put on Glimepiride.
 
njd said:
Hi All,

Another newbie T2 recruit! Or at least as far as I know as I’m awaiting my second fasting blood test result but it doesn’t look good as the previous one was 7.6

Slightly convoluted story but had a routine blood test last August, followed by a fasting test a week later. Heard nothing from the doctor after the second test so assumed all was well. Recently had a medical as part of the process we are going through to become foster carers. During this the doctor looked a bit ‘sheepish’ and asked me if I had been contacted about my August fasting blood test result. When I said that I hadn’t he ummed and aahed a bit and said that the result was 7.9, which meant nothing to me. Then he said I should have another fasting test as “it doesn’t look good from where I’m sitting”. When I asked why I hadn’t been contacted about the high result from the previous test he said “someone probably ticked the wrong box” – which was comforting!

So, assuming that today’s test comes back as seven point something, which looks likely I’ll be one of the gang and hope this entitles me to ask a few questions as they occur to me.

I’m 53, male, 5’ 9” and 85kg which is a BMI of 27.7 or thereabouts. I eat a fairly healthy diet; no junk food or ready meals, regular fruit and veg, occasional sweet/cake/biscuit, quite a lot of carbs! and irregular exercise mostly at weekends.

Question one: I don’t really want to take Metformin if avoidable and am keen to up the exercise and drop the carbs (which will be hardest) and sugary treats (easier as I don’t really have a sweet tooth). Am I being reasonable to give this a try before ‘resorting’ to drugs or is there an argument for taking the Metformin straight away?

Question two: Seems to be lot of discussion about the issuing of testing meters here, what are the ‘rules’ or is it a postcode lottery? Do I need one, and if so what should I buy assuming I don’t get issued one?

More later no doubt……….

Trying to be positive!

Cheers,

Neil.
Click to expand...


Hi Neil,
You are being perfectly reasonable to not opt for metformin, though it can help with blood pressure/ cholesterol and weight loss.
Diet and exercise alone could possibly be the best option, I've opted for all 3, though I took up metformin voluntarily.
My advice would be to have a read up on the drug and come to your own decision.




Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Hi all and thanks for the useful info.

I've just got my second fasting results "Normal and no further action required".

I've been on no sweets/cakes etc and reduced my carb intake by about a third for about the last ten days. The only difference between my 7.6 and normal fasting tests was that I did four hours heavy duty gardening, i.e. exercise, before the normal result. Can exercise alone make that much difference?

Hopefully when I see the GP next Monday I can opt for no Metformin and diet/exercise to control my blood sugar level myself.

I'll let you know!

Thanks again,

Neil,
 
This is good news Neil, though how was your HBA1C?
My fasting was bang on and the GTT normal, albeit the high side of normal for the latter - but my last HBA1C was double where I should be.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Had my appointment with the doc this morning. Last blood sugar 5.5 = good, but HbA1c 8.5 = bad. Apparently the latter equals an uncontrolled diabetic, not surprising as the surgery "forgot" to tell me last August that my fasting result was 7.9 so I've been eating 'normally' over the last six months. Now got a 'script for Metformin, once a day for starters so as to give my digestive system a chance to adjust. Next step is to speak to a specialist nurse and enrol on 'DESMOND'.

Someone in the office brought in home-made Lemon Cupcakes today........ **** & ar$e!

Cheers,

Neil.
 
Hi everyone! I'm another newbie too! I was diagnosed with prediabetes about a month ago, and then, on 25th Feb went round to see my GP and was promptly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Like most of you here, I am on a strict diet for breakfast I have porridge with 1 apple; for lunch I normally have fish with salad (tomatoes, cucumber and red peppers) and a kind of 'normal' evening meal with roast potatoes, lots of veg (especially broccoli) and a glass of water. Had an appointment with diabetic nurse today and was told I would not be eligible to see the podiadrist unless I had some kind of foot infection (my feet are in good condition at present but I am partially-sighted and I find it difficult to cut my toe nails - I did tell the nurse this). I am on 500 mg Metformin after breakfast and 500 mg after evening meal, and so far have had very few side effects. I am a little frustrated because I want to check my blood glucose levels, but again, the nurse refused to give me any more information on this. I know it is early days yet and I have to wait for the medication to work, etc. but I want to be in control of what I am doing. I do two hours of walking everyday if I can. From reading some of the posts, I know some others have had the same problems with the NHS. Do I buy a meter myself or should I just wait until things settle down a little? By the way, I have lost a stone in weight so that bit I am quite pleased with!

Thanks very much.
 
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