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Diabetes type2 just told!!!!

purp

Well-Known Member
Messages
71
Location
Glasgow
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
People, who do not stick by you in good times and bad.
Hi, I am 48 year old male i have just been told I'm diabetic. It was a bit of a shock to the system.
I was given a sheet of paper and told to stick to a diet. I had a lot of symptoms like toilet every 2 minutes at night it was terrible, my skin would not heal fast, my vision was blurry and i was feeling light headed and so tired all the time.
I'm slightly happier now that I know. I would like to know why my liver is damaged it's called non alcoholic liver disease.
I'm slightly over weight this is due to back problems I have had a couple of disks removed and they can not operate on my lower back. So it's pain management and physiotherapy this unfortunately does not let me exercise at all, but in 4 weeks I have lost 7lbs by just cutting out sugar and eating salad and fruit and brown seed bread.
The thing I want to ask is the diabetes the problem with my liver as the guy doing the scan said it looks like it started 5-6 years ago and diabetes could of been the problem. Can you have type 2 for that long?
I'm waiting on blood tests results, I do take high doses of pain killers for my left leg and back problems so, im taking it the pain killers will not be doing anygood either.
Can you tell me how the liver is damaged by diabetes and what else can I do to keep the diabetes under control I'm not sure what my blood levels are as I've been told I'm not getting a blood monitor.
As I cant exercise that much my diet is even more important so I would of thought to keep an eye on my reading I woukd be supplied a monitor.

Thanks for any response as I'm a bit in the dark at the moment.

Regards
 
Hi and welcom. Yes, yoiu can have diabetes for several years without knowing; it's a condition often without obvious symptoms. There can be many causes of liver problems and diabetes could be the cause but it usually takes many years of very high blood sugar to cause damage. I'm afraid all you can do now is keep your blood sugar under control and follow the GPs advice. The right diet will help a lot. Be aware that the typical diet advice from the NHS can often be very bad for diabetics, but with your liver problems you may have been given very specific advice. Unless the GP tells you otherwise due to your liver you should keep all carbs down and make up with proteins and fats to keep you feeling full. You may need to discuss diet in detail with the GP to sort out what is really important for you rather than, sadly, the more silly NHS advice for diabetics often provided in general. BTW, you absolutely must get a blood glucose monitor and if needed buy your own strips. The SD Codefree is often recommended on this forum as it has very low-cost strips.
 
Hi thanks for the info,
I was just shocked when he told me the amount of years the liver disease started. I've really cut our every bit of sugar I can think of, im even going round the shops looking at the traffic light system, if it's not green then I don't touch it.
I'm going to a course on the 21st of this month for the diabetes it's 3 weeks long and 2 half hours long, so I'm hoping to learn a lot more about diabetes.
You say the info the NHS provides is maybe not the best?? Can you tell me what sort of things that is. Your diabetic so you will know better, any pointers would be appreciated.
Yes I think a monitor would be the best idea I'll have a look at the one you mention, money is tight so the best value for money would be great. Why will the NHS not provide one to me. I see all type one people get one. But I don't have a clue what my blood reading is at any time. Its just the damage it could be doing to my body that's a bit scary I'd you don't know if my blood is high or low. The whole thing is just a mine field.

Regards
 
Hi again. The NHS doesn't normally provide meters to T2s due to cost of the strips. Some surgeries will do if you can twist their arm. NICE advice is that they should provide one if the patient knows what they are doing etc. Daisy may be along shortly to offer her standard, good, advice on diet etc from this forum. As all carbs, not just sugar, are converted to glucose in the blood they contribute directly to blood sugar increase. If you are an overweight T2 then you may have insulin resistance due to fat stored in the muscles. This prevents the body's insulin being used and blood sugar goes up. If you are T1, the body isn't producing enough insulin with a similar result. The trafficlight and other labelling systems are based on the (wrong) understanding that it's fat that makes you fat and coats the arteries; it doesn't. It's the carbs that are the main culprit and it's the liver that puts out the fats that can coat the arteries and it stores excess glucose as body fat (I'm simplifying all this!). So, assuming you aren't a special case with your liver condition you should keep the carbs down perhaps to 150gm/day or whatever the meter guides you based on blood sugar readings. You then make up with protein, fats and veg of course. Non-tropical fruits are OK in sensible quantities. All this means keeping bread, pasta, potatoes, rice and so on down. Have eggs and bacon instead of cereal for breakfast for example. I may have a bit of oat-based muesli with cold milk as well. Avoid hot porridge as the oats are 'stewed' and become high GI (easily turned into glucose in the stomach)For snacks have berries, nuts or cheese. Basically think carbs not calories when looking at food packaging labels. There is a lot of good food advice on this website it you look around. When you get the meter, measure every so often 2 hours after a meal and aim for a reading of less than 8.5 mmol
 
Woooow,

Thank you, it's just so much to take in.

I've been taking Weetabix with bananna every morning now!!!! ( never used to have breakfast) i know that was a stupid thing to do. I have a glass of pure fruit juice?? I've been reading about the glucose content of fruit ( need to be carefull ) after that a sandwich in the afternoon. Salad, chicken tomatoes and in the evening fish potatoes salad or chicken. I do snack in-between meals but it's fruit or nuts that's all. Do you think. as I have seen a few people say that cutting out the carbs totally is more beneficial. So no bread, rice potatoes pasta that sort of thing?
I'm shocked about the meters, i know it's a coat thing with the NHS. However surely having good controll with your blood work would cost less in the long run?
I really appreciate all the info your giving me as they say "knowledge is power" I'm glad I found this site, as I was just wondering what the hell was going on, and if people have more info for me then the more the merrier. Could you tell me what to expect physically as I have a few things going on and again because of my spine problems I'm trying to know what's doing what. I have some nerve damage in my neck and also in my lower spine, my leg in the left side has constant ciatica so to say I have a lot going on is an understatement. I feel really spaced in the morning and can't string two words together, I feel light headed and dizzy. I tale it this is part of the diabetes.
Oooo I'm so sorry for going on but it's so good to get answers to thing that are going on and you don't know what they are.
Thank you very much. How long have you been diabetic and how on earth do you people cope with all the things I'm reading about. Its just such a horrible thing to have and until you get it, you honestly do not have a clue how bad it is on the people.

Thank you again for all your wonderful inform.

Regards
 
Hi and welcome. Sorry to hear of your diagnosis, I was diagnosed in 1997 and weirdly because there were several cousins, uncles, aunts and my father also diabetic, I just thought it was normal. I also have non alcoholic liver disease, my liver function deteriorated about ten years ago after taking a drug called Rosiglitazone, now withdrawn from the market. It hasn't improved and I sometimes question whether the pain killers I take for sciatica, muscular spasms and arthritic knees are part of that problem. I can only guess that any drug is going to make the liver work harder and possibly affect it's function.

Diet is going to be important and I think you might be surprised that diabetics on this and other diabetic forums have issues with the conventional advice. I can only say that in my experience I was at a point where I was already taking Metformin, Gliclazide and Januvia and preparing to start on insulin when I was recommended a low carb diet by a nutritional therapist. I was surprised because my previous GP had always said that under no circumstances was I to reduce carbs. I was trying to lose weight after following the traditional eat less exercise more routine which hadn't worked for ages, so I went with the low carb idea. I lost weight (work in progress) and more importantly, threw away Gliclazide, Januvia and the dreaded stain because my BG and total cholesterol had dropped significantly. My GP still says "well done" whenever I have an HbA1c (a blood test that gives a sort of average for the last 8 - 12 weeks)..

A monitor is essential and again, you'll be surprised to learn that the NHS recommend not monitoring for type IIs. A complete nonsense in my opinion and many other type II diabetics who want to control their BG. It's no good waiting for an HbA1c, it's better to see what's going on at the time. Different carbs have different effects on different people, you'll need to know..

There's a lot to take on board at the beginning, but DON'T PANIC! You come to a good place with a lot of diabetic people who know lots.

All the best.
 
This research shows the connection between diabetes and the liver. http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal.htm

Here is a canadian doctor who specialises in diabetes. Here is one of the last posts on his blog, a patient story about somebodys diabetes who improved by using this doctors methods. Read the whole thing.

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/patient-profile-hansraj/
 
Get a meter and test, that is by far the most important thing you can do.

I follow http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf advice and manage to keep my BG normal most of the time. I rarely go over 30 grams of carbs in a day but fill up on fat instead.

There is also evidence for low carb diets to be beneficial in cases of fatty liver disease.
 
Hi and thank you.

This is a lot of good reading for me.
I'm 5'10" and weigh 15.5 stone so just a bit overweight as the start of the link it says that some people can be diabetic 2 and low bmi and there are some who are very high bmi and not be effected. Yes some of my friends are heavier than me do no exercise yet are not diabetic.
Its also interesting to know that it can be reversed, so that's what I'm going to aim for if I can continue to loose weight, its a bit harder when it's painfull to exercise. I'm going in for spine injections to see if that willhelp
 
Sorry wrong button. Oooops
Yes spine injections to see I'd I can get rid of the sciatica and maybe get some exercise done.

Thank you for the links they look really helpful, i think I'll print some of them of and let the doctor see them.

The diet site looks a good bit of help with this carb intake I see a lot of this being mentioned on this site.

Its so good to be able to talk to people who are actually diabetic and know the disease I suppose it's a case of trying different thing to see what suits the person

Yes I think I'll get on to get a meter, i see the one mentioned above and will look at that.
I'm not going to panic lol I'm just a bit down as it seems to have been one thing after another disks from neck removed, disks from lower back hitting nerves, diabetic amd then liver. Haha What's next.
I can see your all very knowledgeable about diabetes and if you do not ask then you will never know. So sometimes you feel a bit silly asking.
Thank you "all" for the information and I'll keep you up to date with what's happening. If anybody can give any more info, then all is very much appreciated.

Thanks again
 

Hi and welcome. @daisy1 has some good info she posts for newbies and she will probably be along soon.

Have you thought about aquajogging? It's a great form of exercise that doesn't usually cause problems for the back or joints.

A steroid injection in your back may provide good pain relief but keep in mind it will probably increase your blood sugar levels for a short time.

One of the reasons that T1s get meters and T2s usually don't, is because T1s need to test several times a day for safety reasons, and we T2s dont. unless we are on drugs that lower BG by a lot. Getting a meter is still a very good idea for us, but it's not a safety issue like it is for T1. Even without getting a meter, the 3 monthly blood tests from the doctor will enable you to see if your BG levels are getting better or staying the same.

Many of us use the SD Codefree meter, available here:
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm

... because they have the cheapest test strips on the market, and you may need a lot initially.

There is a discount code if you buy 5 or 10 boxes, which brings the price down to about £5 for 50 strips.
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833

When you get your blood test results, ask for a printout for your own info and future reference.
 
purp said:
its a bit harder when it's painful to exercise
Click to expand...
Although exercise is useful in weight loss, you'd be surprised at how much exercise is necessary to burn any significant amount of calories. The amount of calories expended is influenced by many factors, including body weight, intensity of activity, conditioning level and metabolism (affected by liver condition). If you can get the diet right, that will be more important than trying to do any painful exercise.
 
Don't panic. There's lots to take on but you're in the right place. Diet is absolutely key to keeping your blood glucose under control and limiting any further health complications. You'll find carbs in the most unlikely places(!), but once you start to get a handle on the best and worst things to eat it all gets much easier.
 
@purp

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful in your diet choices. Ask more questions and someone will be able 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 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.
 
Hi everybody

Wooow all this information is great, I have started reading all the information you guys have provided and i will read all the links to.
I have seen a link that is very interesting, the doctor is in Canada and he has shown that type 2 can be reversed, what he says does make total sense. ( well, to me anyway. Lol.) so I have made contact with the hospital to get more information.
 
Sorry wrong button again, so I can not believe how helpful you have all been.
I feel a bit more informed and more positive with all the great information you guys have given me and not as scared. When I first went on to the Internet, all I was seeing was negative stuff. So thanks again everybody for all this wonderful information .
With all the positive people on this site I can't say I did not know. Lol and its definitely worth knowing that even though this is a terrible disease it can be made a lot easier with all the proper information and help from a site with such great people.
Thank you all very much.
 
That's exactly the attitude. ***** happens, now let's make the best of it. Interestingly a lot of diabetics will say that they are much more aware of their health and what they need to do to be and stay healthy. Almost a bonus. All the best.
 
Thanks Graj0.

Yip, **** happens it's just how you deal with it.
I'm now well equipped with a bucket and spade. Lol

Cheers
 
 
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