Confused Limbo

[Scubamup]

Hello all, newbie here in a state of confused limbo.
After a few months of odd symptoms that all had other plausible explanations I noticed that one possible cause for all of them was diabetes. So after a week or so of worrying, denial, etc etc I decide to get checked out and hey presto fasting HbA1c of 17. :0(

Given that at this point I'd read everything I could on the tests, and what they mean, I was pretty much prepared for what the doc would say, but he threw me a bit of a curve ball. High iron levels, approximately double what they should be. So he said what I *might* have is Haemochromotosis, apparently one of the symptoms of this is diabetes as the iron limits the amount of insulin you can produce. I'm now waiting to see an endochronologist to find out for sure.

In the mean time he packed me off with 30mg gliclazide tablets and told me to get a glucose meter and monitor myself so I don't drop too low.

And that was about it.

So there I am in our local supermarket last night looking at all the bits and pieces wondering what on earth to get. Strips or cartridges which make to choose. Wibble. Have bought an Accu-Chek Aviva because, basically I've seen it before and they seem to always stock the stuff. Good choice? I found out that night I have self sealing fingers. Don't seem to want to bleed, but three strips and four needles I got a reading. Got another one this morning 13, and took my first Gliclazide. When should I be checking? How often?

I've got three weeks to wait before I even get to see the endocrinologist, and no idea how long that process will take, or what wil come of it. Probably nothing, I'm never that lucky, my guess is I'm just classic type 2. But I get the feeling that between now and then I'm on my own.

I'm trying to work out what on earth to eat. Should I be trying to cut iron out now, will that skew the next set of tests the next doctor will do?

Information overload, part of the problem is I don't think I even know what questions I need to be asking. And for the moment as I've not technically been diagnosed with diabetes I seem to be outside the system, so not seeing the diabetes nurse or getting signed up for the newly diagnosed info sessions.

Any advice?

Karl

 

[Lamont D]

Hi Karl
Welcome.
You are now where most of us have been.
You have found this really helpful friendly site.
Ask away.

I've tagged @daisy1 to give the newcomers information.
Have a good read around, we recommend a low carb diet to get your blood glucose levels down. Look in the low carb forum.

As far as the haemochromitosis, I would wait until your tests come through as you may be a carrier rather than actually have the condition.

Keep posting and keep asking questions.

 

[chri5]

Hiya mate, if you are confused then welcome to a very large club.Fortunately you have come to the right place to get some reassurance and practical help, someone who knows how to tag people will send Daisy along with some very useful info soon. I`m sorry but I can`t help too much with advice except to say that some of the people you will see on here really should be rated as" expert" in my opinion and to try to reassure you that you will receive all the help that you are willing to listen to.You are not on your own here and things will get better!

 

[daisy1]

@Scubamup

Hi Karl and welcome to the forum

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will try to 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 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.