Another Newly Diagnosed diabetes 2 joins the club

[zhaitana]

Hi I am Jess, I have just been diagnosed with diabetes 2, and still feel very confused about what to do and what to eat. My doctor was not very informative only gave me some options i could join if i wanted to, but non of them sounded like it was very important.
She said you could join a weight controller grp. See a dietitian or just have a look on Diabetes.co.uk. She gave me Metformin 500mg and said start with one a day for a week, and if you feel ok take two a day one morning and one evening, always with food. I chose to see a dietitian but don't know when she will call me in, or what to do until then? I have another appointment with the doc. again the 13 of November 2013, most likely to see how i am getting on and maybe test my blood again, i have no idea :?: i feel so lost...

I have been reading some of the others "newly diagnosed" post and it helped a bit, i now know a little about what i can eat, but is still unsure about the carbs, because it said on Diabetes.co.uk don't just start a low carb diet if you are on Metformin it could make it worse, so talk to your doctor first.. I also haven't been offered a meter to test my blood, but as far as i can read here it is a good idea to get one even for D2 suffers.

I will be reading more of the forum in the next few days, weeks, months :mrgreen: and hope i figure out how to change my life for the better and control my D2.

- Jess

 

[zhaitana]

Sorry forgot to mention by glucose level was 11% when i got tested, and i have no idea if that have changed or not..

 

[daisy1]

Hi Jess and welcome to the forum

Here is the information we give to new members. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will 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 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.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Hi Jess and welcome to the forum. Everyone goes through what you are experiencing right now, its quite normal and unfortunately very few doctors know a great deal about diabetes as it is a specialist medical condition. Dont despair though as things will get clearer and you will start to relax and realise that this is not the end of the world but just something that you need to deal with by making some small changes in your life.

Have a read through the above post and it will give you a good stating point but try not to get too obsessed over carbs, yes they cause our blood glucose (bg) to rise but the vast majority of T2's still eat carbs but in smaller portions so start by cutting down the portion sizes of the obvious carbs in your diet like bread, rice, pasta, cereals and flour products and making some changes to "better" carbs where possible ie swapping white bread to wholegrain bread and ordinary white rice for Basmati rice which is kinder to bg levels.

You may find that you can control your diabetes by diet alone but regardless of any dietary changes you chose to make it may be that you will need some help in the form of medication to help your control. Metformin is the first line drug of choice nowadays and is taken by many T2 diabetics.

Good luck and try not to worry too much, it does get easier, honest it does

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Don't worry about your diagnosis as we have all been thru it and you will soon realise that you are not alone. You have been given good advice so far by the posters. I never heard about Metformin and low-carbing being a problem. Your nurse is right to get you going slowly on the Met as it can cause some bowel problems initially for some. Having a meter will help you find out how much you need to reduce your carbs both by smaller portion sizes and moving to low-GI ones as Sid has suggested. If you are overweight, the Metformin will help and reducing carb intake will help with some weight reduction.

 

[zhaitana]

Thank you for all you great and informative reply's I have allot of information to take in, and it really helps, knowing that there are some great people, like you guys, out there to help me in the right direction. It is very much appreciated.

I have been reading allot of your posts about food and exercise, ups and downs in your mood etc. thank you for sharing all your info it have already help me relax allot

Thank you again for taking the time to welcome me and give me info about diabetes 2.

- Jess

 

[noblehead]

Welcome to the forum Jess

 

[2131tom]

Hi I am Jess, I have just been diagnosed with diabetes 2, and still feel very confused about what to do and what to eat. My doctor was not very informative only gave me some options i could join if i wanted to, but non of them sounded like it was very important.

She said you could join a weight controller grp. See a dietitian or just have a look on Diabetes.co.uk. She gave me Metformin 500mg and said start with one a day for a week, and if you feel ok take two a day one morning and one evening, always with food. I chose to see a dietitian but don't know when she will call me in, or what to do until then? I have another appointment with the doc. again the 13 of November 2013, most likely to see how i am getting on and maybe test my blood again, i have no idea :?: i feel so lost...

- Jess

Hi, Jess.

This board is v good, if you take a little time to search through the archived threads or by entering key subjects/phrases in the search engine.

I was put on Metformin 12 days ago, with the same instructions as you, and it's been fine so far, although some people have said they experience problems with upset stomachs and diarrhoea, more often when they first start taking it.

I've found my diagnosis to have been the kick in the pants I've probably needed for a while. I've upped the exercise, cut the carbs (but not too drastically yet), stopped having sugar with/in anything (I loved sweet coffee), laid in some small cans of oily fish for snacking on 2-3 times a week, increased my vegetable intake, started having my main meal at lunchtime, with a much smaller meal in the evening, cut down on the beer (that's a bit of an ouch!), begun eating smaller amounts - but more regularly through the day.

I've also decided I'm going to try very hard not to be obsessive and I'll vary my approach once I see what's working and what isn't.

I rationalised that it was no point in going about all this blind so I got a meter. The meter doesn't cost much but the test strips that you have to use day-to-day are quite pricy. But I rationalised that, initially at least, I'd rather spend up to £2 a day testing to see what was doing what to me, than £2 a day on some other things in my daily life.

Good luck with the journey. There's a lot of people out here who are going the same way and sharing views and experiences is always a great help.

Regards,

Tom.

 

[Andy12345]

Hi & Welcome

 

[Kat100]

Hi Jess, sorry to hear that you have t2 it is a shock, it happened to me one year ago but I had also been feeling really unwell, did not know why at the time...
My health practice foes not support testing fot t2, having regular blood tests, have lowered blood sugars one year on to good management, I didn't have a lot of sugar, now I use a substititue what ever you wish, I don't do low carb and I have gone low sugar, but now know the symptoms.....I am 6.5 last readings....
I don't do low carb diet, but I have reduced my carbs a lot, portion size has reduced along with metformin.
I see a dietitein and get great gp support, one who understands this condition.
I also find this site good, but it did confuse me at first, now i feel so much more at home here, but have learnt to do what works for me, and my body everyone has suggestions which are great to read, but you must do what is right for you....
Yes take the metformin slowly, you may be offered a course as well...
Hope I have helped a little just by sharing my experience...tc and keep us posted, it's all new, look after yourself best wishes Kat

 

[Kat100]

Sorry my words jump and change, hope all makes sense

 

[Weens12]

Hi I am Jess, I have just been diagnosed with diabetes 2, and still feel very confused about what to do and what to eat. <snip>

I have been reading some of the others "newly diagnosed" post and it helped a bit, i now know a little about what i can eat, but is still unsure about the carbs, because it said on Diabetes.co.uk don't just start a low carb diet if you are on Metformin it could make it worse, so talk to your doctor first..

I also haven't been offered a meter to test my blood, but as far as i can read here it is a good idea to get one even for D2 suffers.

I will be reading more of the forum in the next few days, weeks, months :mrgreen: and hope i figure out how to change my life for the better and control my D2.

- Jess

Hi Jess, Welcome to club!

 

[zhaitana]

Hi Tom, Andy and Kat,

Thank you for your great welcome and info, it is very much appreciated

Reading what you have been trough, and how you have been dealing with it is a big help, especially because i hearty ate anything the first two days i was so afraid of eating stuff that might put my blood sugar trough the roof. I allot better now thanks to you guys, just eating less and cut out any sweets and cakes for now till i have been to the doc. again in November.

Think the meds are starting to work, i don't wee all the time now, like before at least 2 times an hour, even trough the night, it was driving me crazy and i never got a good night's sleep. I also feel my energy slowly coming back, most likely because i get my rest doing the night again.

Thanks again for all your help and info, I will keep you updated, hopefully with some good news

- Jess