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Confused - Newly Diagnosed.

EveryCloud

EveryCloud

Well-Known Member
Messages
124
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all. I just want to tell you all my story.

I was rushed into hospital about 2 months ago from work with pains in my chest, sweating, shaking and confused. After the symptoms subsided, they tested my BG and it was 13. they explained that this may have came down from earlier and asked what I had had to eat, I told them nothing and that I had drank and energy drink. They kept me in for 6 hours. took my blood, they took my BG again and said it had gone down and I could go home and they would letter me about a scan.

After about 3 weeks I had no word as to what was going on, I had to call them and arrange a liver scan. Finally got that sorted, the scanned my liver and said they would be in touch. After another couple of weeks I still had heard nothing. I was feeling awful, lethargic, urinating all the time.

I was still going to work as usual when one day, all of a sudden, I had no clue what was going on. My manager came over to speak to me, I kind of remember her asking if I was OK, But I had to explain that she wasn't making sense to me it was like she was talking in another language (at this point I could have easily curled up under my desk and gone to sleep) I was sent home. I went into the local chemist a few hours later when I was feeling better and they took my BG, it was at 11. The staff urged me to chase up with the hospital and recommended I buy a BG meter. Anyway. I ended up making several appointments at my local surgery. It was a mess, I was put from pillar to post, nobody was giving me an answer, I had bloods taken numerous times, urine samples, blood pressure taken. I got a letter saying I had to get my eyes tested because I was a diabetic, and I was so angry. NOBODY had actually given me a diagnosis. I went back to see the nurse, she referred me to a doctor and I was given a prescription for blood pressure medication! I got extremely angry with the doctor, I explained this was not what I was in for. I explained everything that had happened over the past few weeks. I was given another appointment and eventually it was explained to me that I had type 2 diabetes and I was put on Metformin, but my doctor explained that I may have the onset of type 1 which is rare for my age (35)? I have been on Metformin a week now, I try and eat healthily, I have been a vegetarian for 2 years, I have been exercising every day, taking dogs for a walk. I cannot get my BG below 10, I am just concerned, I just feel that I have been a rushed job, I haven't spoken to a dietitian or anything. If it hadn't been for places like this forum I wouldn't have any idea what was going on.

Could Metformin be doing more harm than good? Should I ask for another appointment? Should I have had better after care? Or is this the norm?

It is horrible, I just feel nobody cares and that they couldn't wait to throw pills at me to get me to go away. I still have no real clue what is going on, I am scared to do anything that might affect my BG. I have been given a sick line for a month, but then what? I am just so angry with the way I have been treated.

Sorry about the length of what turned into a rant.. lol. Any advice greatly appreciated.
 
10 isn't that bad for now, the metformin will take 3 weeks to kick in, you may have tummy trouble, if you do ask for slow release.
reduce your carbs...bread, pasta, rice, potato, fruit, and of course no sugar honey etc, eat lots of leafy veg, normal proteins and more olive and coconut oils
this will get you started, there are veggie's here that will also help

this will help with the testing

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php
 
EveryCloud said:
Could Metformin be doing more harm than good? Should I ask for another appointment? Should I have had better after care? Or is this the norm?

.
Click to expand...

I doubt if Metformin would do more harm than good. In fact explanations about what good it does can get fairly vague and to do with future non-specific benefits. It doesn't lower the BS much either in my experience. It can give you diarrhea but the slow release version is better and easier to take.

If you have unresolved issues then of course make another appointment. I would suggest you think carefully about what you wish to ask and try to avoid ranting about your past treatment.

For some people this is the norm. Diabetes is not well understood and often not by people in the health industry. Even less so in the general population. This doesn't stop them from thinking that they understand it. In my case I was prescribed statins, Metformin and a hypertension pill (forgot name) because everyone got them. Bit of a scatter gun in the hope of hitting something.

I wish you success. If you want a rant come back here. We've all done it.
 
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Hello and welcome,sorry you are having a bad time,a lot of us have been there,do as Jack says for now,it will make a difference in about a week.
The Metformin are not all that easy at first,but will settle,hope they have given you SR as they are better.
This forum is great,there is always help if you need it.
It helps to look at posts as you can learn a lot,
I was very stressed about all this at first and got depressed,but fine now.
 
Hi and welcome.

You certainly have been badly served so far, sadly this happens with most new diabetes diagnoses, but not to the extent that you have experienced.

Hopefully your exact diagnosis (T2 or LADA) will be resolved soon and you can get on a suitable regime.

Meanwhile, don't panic and have a read around here, there is a lot of practical help available.

As Jack said, one thing you can do in the meantime is reduce your carbohydrate intake - bread, pasta, rice, potatoes - even if it has previously been part of your 'healthy diet'. Carbs are like sugar for diabetics.
 
Hello and welcome.

Please feel free to rant as much as you like. We will listen.

You do seem to have been treated very badly, but at least you now know you are a diabetic of one type or another so can start to learn about the disease and how best to control it. The others are right. Carbs are the main culprits, not just sugary stuff. If you amend your eating habits, add a little exercise, and read as much as you can, you will start to feel a lot better. Metformin is of limited help in lowering blood sugars but it can help in other ways. Please stick around and let us know how you get on.
 
Thank you all for your advice and understanding. It really is a huge learning curve. I will cut down on my carbs and see what else I can do to get my sugar down. Does anyone know of any good documentaries on the subject, or any books? I would like to be completely clued up the next time I see my doctor. Thanks.
 
Hi @EveryCloud,

I can understand your anger and it really shows how badly some people are treated.
This forum will be able to answer any questions you have and don't forget that no question is silly, we were all full of questions when first diagnosed.

This little e-book is worth reading as it explains your diagnosis and what you need to do.

http://www.diabetes-without-borders.org/FreeTiger.pdf

There are some vegetarians amongst the forum members who will be able to help you.

This article explains some of the emotions you will go through and how to deal with them.

http://www.diabetesexplained.com/the-five-stages-of-grief.html

Take care,

CC.
 
Hello and welcome ..from a veggie ....sorry to hear you have been through such an awful,time ...chat anytime ...great support here ...
 
Hello EveryCloud 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 like and someone will help. Don't worry about being confused - most of us were to start with!

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 100,000 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.
 
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