Diagnosed for a week now!

I'm not able to answer your specific question (but I'm sure someone else can). One week since diagnosis means it's early days, so pace yourself, and go easy on yourself. It will take more than a week for levels to drop and stabilise. If your HbA1c is, say, under 7 at the next test (I suggest 3 months) then that will be a sign of success. If it's 8, that's ok, it should be 7 the next time if things go well. One day you might choose to aim for under 6, but there is no hurry to decide this week.

Success is a combination of two factors:
1. Comorbidity. The technical term for having more than one illness. Often we discover that we have one or more other illnesses that affect our success with diabetes management. I think it's too early to know if you have other things - and clearly your GP isn't interested in being thorough (or accurate about evidence). Maintain a high level of suspicion about what he says. Do your own research. Depending on what else you have or don't have, it can help explain a less than perfect result in 3 or 6 months if that happens.
2. Your own efforts. You sound like I did at the start - very keen on trying your best, perhaps a tad guilty for missing it and annoyed at health providers for doing the same. Try not to overdo your efforts - it just wears you out and costs money for not much real benefit. But yes, ultimately, your success will be largely dependent on your own choices from now on.

There's some baseline screening you also need to get done, such as retinal screening (in NZ, this is done by optometrists).

Keep up the good work. I'm glad you've been diagnosed.

Hi Sunny!
Regarding this:-
- because my levels are constantly above what they
should be, when I check before & after a meal am I
looking for a minimum raise to see whether I can tolerate it?!!

It's a difficult one when your BGs are elevated like that. Normally, you'd be advised to try and get your BGs below 8.5 two hours after eating (NHS guidelines) or lower if poss, and if you are very restricted in number of strips I'd say only test after and not before. This doesn't help though if your levels are higher than that before you eat! As it is, I think you have two choices. Wait for a while before starting testing, to preserve your strips, while the low carb diet settles your BGs a bit; could be a week or so. Then test and aim for target.
Alternatively, test now before and two hours after eating. Ideally, your figure after 2 hours should be about the same as before eating. Say, for now, not more than 3 higher. If it is, cut out some of the starchy carbs from that meal.
If you get figures regularly over 14, and staying there, you should go back to the doc. Continually high figures can be dangerous, and it could be you need different meds to get things under control.

Been thinking about this. I think as a minimum I would keep testing 2 hours after my main meal with carbs in to make sure my numbers are heading in the right direction, hopefully out of double figures soon.

I agree with Grazer on all points, especially about getting further medical advice. I also found your original post and I see you have another condition that is quite serious (and relatively rare too).

I've had a long journey of trying to accept my lot with 2+ chronic conditions (2+ is just the term I use to refer to us "medically complex" people) 8) I think that given your other condition, you should see a diabetes consultant, at least once. And you should ask for a consultant review of your other condition in light of the diabetes diagnosis.

I know it's a pain - more time, more stress, but it gives you knowledge for the longer term, and knowledge is power.

I doubt that your GP has ever had a patient with these two conditions, and he probably knows very little about it anyway. A good GP would refer you to the consultants and work in partnership with them. I know the NHS is broke, but patients still need access to the right services for them. If patients don't ask for it, no one else will.

I got angry when first diagnosed - that someone already at risk from other conditions could have an easily screenable condition missed for so long. Eventually I came to terms with it, by putting my needs first, focusing on learning what I could, and getting help from a counsellor. It's ok to vent and express your feelings in whatever way works for you. Like any major life stress, eventually things will balance out.

I hear you, totally. Well, the good thing is that we are here now, and can ask for info from people who have experienced it themselves - they usually know more than the professionals.

Just wanted to mention the rice milk thing - I've cut out sugar (obviously) and cut down on other carbs, but I don't go crazy about it (as I don't think I need to for now). It might be possible to keep having rice milk, albeit less of it. Cow's milk has a lot of sugar in it anyway, so I'm not sure rice milk is necessarily any worse for a low carb diet.

My big enemy is bread, of any kind. I've completely cut it out and I feel so much better for it. I miss the convenience of being able to just buy a sandwich when I'm out, but it's worth it. I have been known to eat the filling and throw away the bread :wink:

Sunny, be grateful you didn't get referred to a dietician! I did, and was told I didn't eat enough potatos! I was also told that rice, pasta, pizza all fine. You'll get far better dietary advice on here than you would from MOST dieticians, accepting there are probably a few good ones out there.