Confused, emotional, unsure

[Ladylaurax]

Hi

I was diagnosed with diabetes after requesting a test with my GP due to symptoms

Excessively tired, night time toilet trips, excessive thirst, numb patches on legs, reoccurring yeast infections, blurred vision, occasional headaches etc

Fasting blood test sugars at 18.7
Fast blood test number 2 sugars at 17.3
The hb1ac (I can’t remember what it’s called) was 107

GP thinks it’s type 1, as symptomatic and grandfather had type 1 and my age (29)

Nurse thinks might be type 2 as I’m overweight, but I’ve lost 2 stone since April

They have ordered a blood test to check if type 1 or type 2, apparently it’s expensive so it might be returned and might have to see a consultant to get it done. Does anyone know how long it takes to come back, no one at my surgery seems to know?

I’m on 500mg metformin twice a day & glixcolight (something like that) one on a morning

Nurse says I need to be low carb, low sugar & low fat as I’m at risk of high cholesterol (but they haven’t checked my cholesterol)
Nurse spent abit of time with me but it seemed like she was rushing as she was wanting to finish

I’m sooo emotional, I feel drained, I don’t know what I should be eating, I’m in limbo, I’m taking tablets with side effects that don’t seem to be doing anything as sugar is still high

Any advice would be appreciated

 

[Goonergal]

Hi @Ladylaurax and welcome.

I’m tagging @daisy1 for some useful information for newbies, particularly around diet.

Have a good read and ask as many questions as you like.

 

[Ladylaurax]

Thank you

 

[Jaylee]

Hi @Ladylaurax ,

Welcome to,the forum.

@daisy1 is already tagged in.

Your nurse is correct about lowering the carbohydrate.. The fat side of the diet? Well.. You may need to make your own mind up on that?

Feel free to ask any question. Ideally? You need your own blood test meter.. (& know how to use it.) It's the only way to find out day to day what your carb intake is doing to your blood sugars.

 

[Mbaker]

Welcome to the site. It will take time to get your head around this condition, but it is possible for you to live a normal life in everyway.

Just to get you going here are some food suggestions which might surprise you and hopefully cheer you up.

Bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, sausages. Any type of nuts around a palm full at a time (less cashews though). Natural diary in moderation such as Greek non flavoured yogurt, cheese. Anything ending in berry, again around a palm full.

Any real meat and fish (including shell fish). All above ground vegetables e.g cauliflower, spinach, greens, red peppers). All spices and herbs, onion types and garlic. Avocado. Salads without the dressing. Water, teas, coffee. These suggestions a cross section of diabetics can get on well with. If you do fast food you can ditch the bun and sauces. If you are type 2 this will give you a start you can tweak. If you are Type 1 you will get education in carb counting and a different managment regime. But the meds supplied so far are for Type 2.

If you can consider eating your last meal early evening (I eat at circa 16.30) and possibly walking after, and get great consistent sleep.

 

[Ladylaurax]

Thank you! Yeah low carb usually means high fat but nurse said low fat too. @Mbaker yeah they decided to give me metformin rather than insulin until my test comes back as if they give me insulin it’ll make me fatter apparently and that would make type two worse so rather than do nothing they decided to give me metformin

I’ve got a blood glucose monitor so I’m keeping an eye on it. The lowest it has been is 10 after I’ve had an active afternoon and the highest was 21.3, 4hrs after i had last eaten (I didn’t over indulge but I did have some white bread & some chips but not a lot)

 

[Bertyboy]

Did they test for your ketones?

 

[paulus1]

as berty boy says did they test for ketones. if not get one done either urine or blood a chemist will have them.. if you do have them you need to get back to your doctor. if your type1 why are they treating it as type 2

 

[Ladylaurax]

Yeah they tested & no ketones

I don’t know, the nurse & GP can’t seem to agree. GP says type 1 & nurse thinks type 2 so I am awaiting the results but in the meantime they’ve given me metformin & glucozamin for now

 

[Mbaker]

Thank you! Yeah low carb usually means high fat but nurse said low fat too. @Grateful

I’ve got a blood glucose monitor so I’m keeping an eye on it. The lowest it has been is 10 after I’ve had an active afternoon and the highest was 21.3, 4hrs after i had last eaten (I didn’t over indulge but I did have some white bread & some chips but not a lot)

You can do low fat if you wish, I know @Grateful does low carb low fat (yogurt at least) and seems not to be hungry; the "good" fat in the high fat yogurt is meant to help satiety. I used to do the low fat as well so it is a personal choice.

Your numbers are very similar to what I used to get. Ask any question you like on the forum, it can save months / years of guess work and allow yourself to be angry and resentful if you need to at this condition, it can be tricky.

 

[daisy1]

@Ladylaurax

Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when 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 276,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.