Diagnosed Diabetic 3 weeks ago...

[djreynolds76]

Hi all =) My name is Douglas and I am from the South of England and i was diagnosed with Diabetes over 3 weeks ago now, as of yet I still dont know what type I am.
I currently on Metformin 500g and Gliclazide 80g 1 of each twice a day and also 6 to 8 units of fast acting insulin after each meal.
My eyesight is still very blurry and I am struggling alittle to get my head round all this.
My symptoms came on over a 2 week period, first the thirst and the fatigue and then my eyesight just degraded over the space of 2 days that is when I went to my local Lloyds pharmacy who then did a check, my first reading was 28.6 then a second at 28.5 I was sent to my GP immediately who told me to get bloods done, that was on the Friday evening by Sunday I was in hospital and being told I had type 2 Diabetes,
I visited my Diabetic Nurse soon after and was put on medication but after a week this had no effect so the medication was upped, still no improvement the diabetic nurse asked if i was sure I was type 2, I said thats what the hospital had told me she replied she was sure I was type 1, after a chat with the GP it was decided to put me on 2 shots of insulin at 6 units a day, this did help but my blood was still in the high range of around 20, it was then decided I would have 3 shots per day at 7 units, this has got my blood down to the 10 and below 10 numbers. But as I say as of writing this I still dont know what type I am, my eye sight improved but has now degraded again. I am trying hard to get my head around this does anyone have any advice?

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I think any advice you receive should be from a type 1 since you may not benefit from dietary advice which is how type 2's control their diabetes.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome,

I'll tag @daisy1 to come along with some useful and important information for newcomers, irrespective of type.

 

[catapillar]

What sort of insulin are you on? Are you just under the care of your GP or do you have a referral to an endocrinologist?

 

[Lanzarote]

Hi all =) My name is Douglas and I am from the South of England and i was diagnosed with Diabetes over 3 weeks ago now, as of yet I still dont know what type I am.
I currently on Metformin 500g and Gliclazide 80g 1 of each twice a day and also 6 to 8 units of fast acting insulin after each meal.
My eyesight is still very blurry and I am struggling alittle to get my head round all this.
My symptoms came on over a 2 week period, first the thirst and the fatigue and then my eyesight just degraded over the space of 2 days that is when I went to my local Lloyds pharmacy who then did a check, my first reading was 28.6 then a second at 28.5 I was sent to my GP immediately who told me to get bloods done, that was on the Friday evening by Sunday I was in hospital and being told I had type 2 Diabetes,
I visited my Diabetic Nurse soon after and was put on medication but after a week this had no effect so the medication was upped, still no improvement the diabetic nurse asked if i was sure I was type 2, I said thats what the hospital had told me she replied she was sure I was type 1, after a chat with the GP it was decided to put me on 2 shots of insulin at 6 units a day, this did help but my blood was still in the high range of around 20, it was then decided I would have 3 shots per day at 7 units, this has got my blood down to the 10 and below 10 numbers. But as I say as of writing this I still dont know what type I am, my eye sight improved but has now degraded again. I am trying hard to get my head around this does anyone have any advice?

Hi Douglas,
I have been a type one diabetic for 44 years. From what you have said it sounds like you are type 1 so probably best to assume that until its confirmed. In essence, and trying to keep it as simple as possible you have three things to manage, sugar and carb intake, energy output and insulin intake. Your diabetic specialist nurse/doctor should offer some advice but if your bloods are above 10 then probably best to go for a run or walk and test again, or take a unit or two of insulin and test again 30mins later. It really is trial and error to get it right matey but only change one of the three manageable things at once. Hope this helps. Best wishes

 

[Princess3377]

Hi Douglas, maybe a change of insulin could help improve things for you. All the best to you.

Edited by a mod to remove incorrect information

 

[azure]

Hi @djreynolds76

There are tests that can be done to investigate what type you are, eg the GAD test. You could request these.

what insulin are you taking? Are you seeing a consultant for further advuce about insulin and dosage?

 

[daisy1]

@djreynolds76

Hello Douglas and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful, regardless of which type you turn out to be. Ask as many questions as you want 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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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.