• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Back from GP scared and dont know what next

Mrsmac247

Mrsmac247

Well-Known Member
Messages
232
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello All, where do I even start?

I am 35 years old with 3 children the youngest 14 months old. My problems begun at the end of my last pregnancy. My blood pressure shot up, I had bad swelling and had put on a considerable amount of water weight. When my daughter was born there were complications with her size and she is subsequently disabled from delivery procedures; it turned out that she was in larger than expected waters and weighed a whopping 10lb 4 oz.

Fast forward, the last 14 months have been filled with operations on my daughter, physio, occupational therapy, eye specialists and consultants appointments and I admit, I let myself totally go thinking once she is ok, i will concentrate on myself. I comfort ate for a while and in addition moving from sometimes 2 appointments in one day, i generally eat cereal for breakfast, noodles for lunch and dinner.

Today I have just come back from the GP who in a childish tone said "you have been filling yourself with sweeties and sweet stuff, you've been eating cakes, biscuits and sweets haven't you?" i said that i occasionally have biscuits and sometimes afters on Sunday but she didn't want a conversation, she said "you have type 2 diabetes and I am putting you on metformin 3x a day before meals and book an appointment to see the diabetic nurse" followed by "diabetes is for life"I asked her what this meant and she said I need to cut back on carbohydrates and eat better and that the diabetic nurse will go through it with me.

Just before I left she looked at my baby and said "be careful what you feed the baby as you don't want her to get ill"

The appointment with the nurse is 4 weeks away and i have not a clue what I am supposed to be doing and what the tablets are for. I don't know what I should eat/shouldn't eat, I've just come back and made some cereal and feel physically sick about whether I should have eaten it or not. I have a print out of my results but have not a clue what they mean either and no way of understanding the levels or what this means for my diet for another 4 weeks.

My results following a 12hour fast are HBa1c 60 mmol and Blood glucose level 7.5mmol, what do I do now, please help
 
I would first go back and punch your doctor!!!! What she said and how she said it
is scandalous
I don't know very much about diabetes myself having only being diagnosed in December someone will be long soon that does know
All I can say is don't panic it is all controllable the best thing you did was join this site someone will soon be along to help you
Mean while love and hugs to you
Jan
 
What a truly shocking thing to say to you, no wonder you are confused and upset , make use of all the resources on here , you will always find help and support , hugs x
 
First of all don't panic as Type2 can be managed.
You did not have a very pleasant experience with your Dr. but a lot of other forum members didn't either and it is such a shame as there is no need for it.

I suggest you read around the forum and see how others are controlling their diabetes and ask as many question as as you need to.

@daisy1 has some basic information that you will find useful and I have tagged her.

Remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint and we never stop learning.
 
Thanks for the welcome everyone, yesterday there was a segment on This Morning and Loose Women where they were slating people with type 2 diabetes and to be honest, leaving the surgery this morning, i felt like such a looser and that everything is my fault and i had the power to change it. I guess that is what the GP thought of me too.

Anyone know what the test results mean please?
 
Hi MrsMac, welcome :)

Horrible bedside manner from your GP, they must have degrees in being crass some of them, especially with all the added issues with your daughter.

Anyway, please don't panic, your HbA1c of 60 is not too bad (lower than mine was when diagnosed) and we can support and manage you back to better numbers. One thing your GP did say was to cut down on carbs, which is right. The metformin helps with insulin resistance, one of the factors in diabetes.

There will be lots of information coming at you, some good some not so good, but you might start with the first item linked in my sig below. I would also recommend you get a test meter (e.g. SD Codefree from Amazon etc, the strips are cheapest) so you can see what foods and meals spike your blood sugars.

You have 4 weeks until you see the diabetic nurse. In that time you could make good progress towards managing this condition.

Good luck and ask any questions!
 
Mrsmac247 said:
Thanks for the welcome everyone, yesterday there was a segment on This Morning and Loose Women where they were slating people with type 2 diabetes and to be honest, leaving the surgery this morning, i felt like such a looser and that everything is my fault and i had the power to change it. I guess that is what the GP thought of me too.

Anyone know what the test results mean please?
Click to expand...

The media at the moment are unfortunately full of ignorant idiots who think that T2 is caused by gluttony. It's not your fault, some of us are predisposed to it genetically. Have a look at Jenny Ruhl's website www.phlaunt.com/diabetes

HbA1c is a measure of 'average' blood sugar over the last 2-3 months. 48 and above is regarded as diabetic, and 43-47 prediabetic. Your 60 is not so bad at all. The 7.5 mmol/l is a spot reading, the kind that a meter will give you. Again, 7.5 is not so bad (I was 10), so reducing carbs should soon get you down into 6s. Non-diabetics have numbers up to 5.5.

Hope this helps!
 
Mrsmac247 said:
Thanks for the welcome everyone, yesterday there was a segment on This Morning and Loose Women where they were slating people with type 2 diabetes and to be honest, leaving the surgery this morning, i felt like such a looser and that everything is my fault and i had the power to change it. I guess that is what the GP thought of me too.

Anyone know what the test results mean please?
Click to expand...

You've had such an awful time of late and your Dr's attitude hasn't helped matters, as for the tv programmes don't listen to what is said in the media as they have a habit of getting it all wrong, have a good read of the information that Daisy will provide shortly and any questions do come back and ask, your in a great place here for support and advice. Take care.
 
@Mrsmac247

Hello and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be there to help you. Please don't let your nasty doctor upset 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 over 140,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.
 
Thank you Sanguine and everyone else replying I shall definately go over the link once i've got little one to bed in a bit:) I know that this is going to be really hard as although I am was born and raised in the UK, my parents were from the Caribbean where our diet consists of meat with rice and or potatoes and veg with a side salad, at least 4 days out of 7 are like that with the odd spag bol, tuna pasta or kiev thrown in. I used to do slimming world some years ago before i got married and lost a ton of weight, but i'm guessing that would not be good for me either as it still consists of carbs. I wouldn't a clue on how to eat differently, but now is as good a time as any i'm guessing.

Do i focus on my blood sugar (not that i know what symptoms i'm looking for n terms of difference!) or weight loss or both?

And one very important question...Can i still have my cup of tea with 1% milk and splenda?
 
Hello Mrsmac247 welcome
Please ignore the comments by your ill informed and incredibly rude Gp.
You are not to blame and you have nothing to feel guilty about.
Here's a link that will explain why http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14046739.php
Your children deserve a fit & healthy mother, so you need to learn as much as you can, read, ask questions. There are many members of this forum who have lost weight, got their blood sugar down to normal levels and managed to reduce or come off their medication. So don't despair, with a little determination and hard work you can too.
 
Mrsmac247 said:
Thank you Sanguine and everyone else replying I shall definately go over the link once i've got little one to bed in a bit:) I know that this is going to be really hard as although I am was born and raised in the UK, my parents were from the Caribbean where our diet consists of meat with rice and or potatoes and veg with a side salad, at least 4 days out of 7 are like that with the odd spag bol, tuna pasta or kiev thrown in. I used to do slimming world some years ago before i got married and lost a ton of weight, but i'm guessing that would not be good for me either as it still consists of carbs. I wouldn't a clue on how to eat differently, but now is as good a time as any i'm guessing.

Do i focus on my blood sugar (not that i know what symptoms i'm looking for n terms of difference!) or weight loss or both?

And one very important question...Can i still have my cup of tea with 1% milk and splenda?
Click to expand...
Hello mrs mac, your tea is ok! I think you will find that if you lchf your weight and bs readings will all drop over time,take time to read up and your never alone,this forum has so many lovely people who go out of their way to help (((((hug)))))
 
Mrsmac247 said:
Do i focus on my blood sugar (not that i know what symptoms i'm looking for n terms of difference!) or weight loss or both?

And one very important question...Can i still have my cup of tea with 1% milk and splenda?
Click to expand...

I would focus on the blood sugars. In my experience if you do that with the right diet and lifestyle the weightloss will follow anyway.

Unfortunately I never had sugar or Splenda in my tea!
 
Just by reading responses I have a mixture of tears of sadness and feelings of relief. Knowing me, I'll take a day or two of wallowing in self pity before I kick myself into action. Trying to get through the information and links posted...one good thing...at least I can drink my tea while I do!:angelic:
 
@Mrsmac247
Sorry you have been landed with that unsympathetic nincompoop of a GP.:grumpy:
Don't worry, your blood glucose levels should be eminently sortable:)
You mentioned that your daughter was large & that you had problems through your pregnancy. did you experience a raised blood glucose during the pregnancy/ That could have been a trigger to your diabetes.
With regard to your diet, it could be as important "what you eat" as "What you can't."
You say of your diet "our diet consists of meat with rice and or potatoes and veg with a side salad" of this the meat, salad and some of the veg should be fine, we just need to swap out the potatoes(try celeriac)and the rice( try "cauliflower rice") and the starchy veg. There is a book http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_1yej2gwke6_b or app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chello.carbsandcals&hl=encalled Carbs& Cals which can be useful. any worries or queries, fire away and we will try to help:cool:
 
Thabk you so much, I shall have a look at the book and app. There is soo much information to take in...this could take a while!
 
The metformin should be taken with or just after food. Never before.
 
Croc said:
The metformin should be taken with or just after food. Never before.
Click to expand...

Oh that's interesting, the "good" doctor said I should take it before. She also said I should take one just before breakfast for a week and then up my intake the following week
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. Your experience with your GP is, unfortunately, not unusual but don't worry there's a lot of support on this forum - ask questions if you are unsure about anything. Did your Dr tell you to apply for an exemption certificate as taking medication for diabetes means that all of your prescriptions are free?
 
No I wasnt aware about the prescriptions thank you Daphne917
 
Back
Top