Confirmation of type 2 diabetes

Hi Ronkey welcome to the forums.

Firstly congrats on eveything you've done so far, keep up the good work.

If I understand correctly, there may be some confusion between your own daily readings and the 3 month average they use ( usually referred to as hba1c) It includes high sugar levels from 3 months back so will be higher than what you're reading at home today. Keeping up the good work will see the numbers converge somewhat by the time you have the next one done.

Does that help?

ronkey said:

Hi every one,

This is my first post on this forum. in February after having some routine blood tests I was found to have type 2 diabetes, the readings were after two test were 7.6 and 7.8.

I was advised to change my diet and take regular exercise, I was told to do this with out no medication. I was 17stone 4 pounds at that time, I am 6 foot 2inches tall.

Over the last 3 months I have changed my diet and began to exercise, I have now lost 2 stone eight pounds, I do 12-14 miles 5 days out of seven on my exercise bike.

I purchased a meter to keep tabs on my sugar levels, I tested my levels in all the ways suggested, I have found that each reading under the NICE chart have been in the normal range!!?

I saw the Diabetic nurse this week for my three monthly check up after giving blood the week before. i was told by the nurse that i have diabetes, so i told her about my meter readings and asked for the reading she had been given, she said that they were very good and i should continue with all i have been doing.

The nurse showed me the chart that go by and said to me that i am off the chart!!? it started at 6.3. my non fasting readings on my meter range from 4.8 to 5.4-8 non fasting.

I am still confused, can some one please advise me.

Thanks

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Hi Ronkey

Big similarities to myself , I was diagnosed yesterday with type 2, same height same weight . , you seem to be doing very well and your next visit should be more in line with what you expected, cheers .

Hi and welcome

I will tag along @daisy1 who will send you some info on newly diagnosed.
What are your readings like fasting and before and after meals.

Your doing well and when you get the info from daisy 1 you will do even better. Ask any questions. Somebody here will have the answers

@ronkey

Hello Ron and welcome to the forum

Good advice above and no doubt more to come from other members! Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will come and 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 over 150,000 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.

Your readings are very good, I don't see a reason why you shouldn't see your a1c fall dramatically next time around.

Hi and welcome
God it sounds like you've put in a lot of hardwork up to now keep it up your doing fantastic I'm very impressed
Well done JJ

ronkey said:

Hi NoCrbs4Me,

I am impressed with your comprehensive data. an hour after eating it around 7.5, 2 hours after 5.3 and fasting 5.7

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Excellent numbers - pretty much non-diabetic.