Confused, newly diagnosed, need help please!

[pinkiepunksmummy]

Hi everyone - this is my first post!
I was diagnosed nearly 3 weeks ago, after blood tests to check for anemia. It has been a total shock to find out I have diabetes. I am 35, size 16 (I know I am over weight, but not massively), walk the dog and run around after three children as exercise (I have another health issue which restricts my exercise abilities) I eat really healthily, rarely have take-aways, never drink pop, cook all our meals from scratch, don't have a sweet tooth, don't drink much alcohol, and don't really over-eat except at Christmas!

When I was diagnosed, the GP said the diabetes was too far advanced to be controlled by diet alone, so prescribed Metformin, 500mg. He also said not to worry, just carry on as normal and wait for all the other appointments to come through (dietician, diabetes nurse, etc.) I asked for testing strips but he said that I wouldn't need them. He also said that as both my grandads died of heart attack caused by Type 2, it was genetic and inevitable....so isn't that Type 1 then?

I am now confused....is my diabetes caused by diet? If so, what should I be cutting out? Pies, pasties and pizzas? but I don't even eat those......I have two brothers, my GP has advised them to get tested, one has had a high BS result on a finger prick test (he had had 2 cups of tea with sugar earlier in the day) so has to arrange to get a fasting test. The other brother has his head firmly in the sand.

I have been on holiday for the past two weeks (self-catering, UK so mainly eat the same as at home but with extra treats!), and have limited sugar and carbs, and eat healthily. I feel so much better already with the Metformin, the awful fog of tiredness has lifted and I feel my old self again.....

Except when I had a 'last night of holiday' Chinese take-away last night. It was all the things I shouldn't have eaten: BBQ ribs, battered chicken balls with sweet and sour sauce, white rice, fried chicken in lemon sauce, chow mein, crispy beef. And, to make things worse I had three small glasses of wine and a slice of lemon cake for dessert. I felt AWFUL this morning, woke up late and felt sluggish, couldn't get any 'get up and go' and now have one of my headaches that I had thought was down broken sleep......I won't be doing that again

I know I obviously shouldn't have eaten it, but would a little have been okay? In retrospect, if I had of known it would have affected me so dramatically I would have chosen more sensible options with out batter/sauce and more vegetable based.

I am confused as to what is 'safe' because I thought I was eating healthily in the first place. I think I really need to have a blood testing kit so I can see how foods are affecting me without having a diabetes 'hang over'. From what I have read on here I know some people are not being given them. I have an appointment with the dedicated diabetes GP tomorrow, should I insist on getting testing strips? I also have a fish and shell fish allergy, so have already had to cut out one whole food group, now I feel completely lost and confused.

Anyone have any advice please? I haven't even had so much as a leaflet from the GP....

 

[mickey121]

A lot of primary care areas will not issue meters to type 2's unless on meds like glycazide ,if you go on the main diabetes UK website a lot of the manufacturers will provide free meters eg Bayers ,Abbott they come with some free test strips but if you want to buy more it is cheaper on line than high street chemists hope this helps


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[mickey121]

Diabetes UK do cook books to download


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[daisy1]

Hi pinkiepunksmummy and welcome to the forum

Here is some information which we give to new members which should help you. Carry on asking questions and you will get all the help you need from members.


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.