Diagnosed last Friday with T2 Diabetes

Was diagnosed by the doctor last Friday following a second set of tests. At my previous appointment, the doctor confirmed that I was probably pre-diabetic but the latest test came back showing that my HbA1c was 49. GP did the check of my feet and everything was okay and has referred me for an eye examination to check for any complications. She thinks I should be able to control my condition through diet and exercise. Also referred me to DESMOND but I was reluctant, probably a bit shell shocked. Rang back later and asked to be referred.

I think I have a good GP and local practice, not only by the way she handled the diagnosis but at my previous appointment she got the measure of me when explaining what a portion of chips should be. Good job I did not explain the size of chip butties I used to make and my love of pork pies! My weight has crept up from 15 to over 17 stone over the last 5 or more years after torn cartledge in both knees limited exercise, especially the fell walking and long walks I once did on a regular basis. Combined with bullying at work that went on for years, I have been on and off medicines for anxiety, raised blood pressure and statins since 2007. I then made the changes to my diet , eliminated added sugar - apart from cake! - and switched to wholemeal everything but forgot to keep the weight down. Recently back on a low dose ARB for raised blood pressure, raised diastolic at 105-ish untreated.

I had previously found this community after the GP mentioned I was probably pre-diabetic so following the bad news I was able to check out the advice and threads such as daisy1. Thank you; this was greatly appreciated as it stopped me dwelling on the negative. Ordered 'Reverse your Diabetes' by Dr David Cavan; it arrived Saturday and I finished it by Sunday giving me hope rather than the despair I have felt over the last few years as the medications used to address my conditions never seemed to agree with me and I had got used to feeling a bit poorly most of the time with my partner Julie putting up with my bad moods and snappiness.

If I have read the book correctly, my first and most important goal is to reduce my weight by around 10% as matter of urgency by a significant cut in carbs and replacing those remaining with low GI/ least refined combined with plenty of non-root veg? I've started to walk vigorously which should help to burn off the fat. I have another HbA1c test in 4 weeks followed by a GP's appointment and hopefully a reduction from 49. With or without reduction, should I be discussing blood glucose monitoring as per structured testing as described in the book? I am thinking initial weekly checks to ensure a reduction followed by more focused testing to identify acceptable carb types and portion size?

And is there anything else I should be thinking about or doing at least in the initial month or so?

zacthedog said:

Give yourself time, use the diabetes to change your health, i will try go beat it, but am having this year as a settling in preriod. Put right my wrongs, exercise and lose weight . I want a stable bg level better fitness and more knowledge before going for reversal and if it fails then this year will be a good set up for the rest of my life.
Good luck with your path though, hopefully it works out.

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Thank you. I think I have been fortunate that the GP has picked my condition up just as it went from pre-diabetes to diabetes. She was looking into better treatment for my anxiety and raised blood pressure. Fortunately I have good general health and am active. Not only do I walk a mile to work via two buses but can walk 5 miles a day in the course of my work so I am hoping that I can effect a reversal as no harm appears to have been done so far as a result of this or my other conditions. So - not a million miles from yourself in some ways, I think.

4ratbags said:

I would definately start testing as it gives you a good indication of what foods you can tolerate and those that you cant. Unfortunately its like pulling teeth to try and get one from your GP though but give it a go you.might be lucky. If not you should purchase one as they are an essential tool to have in diabetes management. Good luck with your next Hb test, Im sure it would have gone down with the changes you have made so far. Please let us know the reault

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Thanks for the advice. After speaking to the receptionist at my practice today - who was herself T1 diabetic - and offered reassurance and advice, it would appear that my GP may prescribe a meter and strips for T2. If not, I will buy one.

Roytaylorjasonfunglover said:

Dont be to hard on yourself diabetes is very much about genes, but when you first have the genes you can reverse it.

Read this book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-8-Week-Blood-Sugar-Diet/dp/1780722400

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Yes it does look like my genes could be the key, as my Dad seems to have similar problems to my own mix of health issues and my mother has had T2 Diabetes for a number of years controlled through diet.

Just looked and ordered the book. Thank you.

Received the book today and while I won't drop my calorie intake to those suggested given the nature of my job and exercise I take, the menu choices are sort of thing that I have been looking for. Even my partner was impressed as I think these are the kinds she would be naturally drawn to eating.

pleinster said:

I'd say test every day! Only by testing before and a couple of hours after any "new" food will you know the impact of it on your blood sugar levels. I would also say that recording the details alerts you to patterns and equips you with personally relevant info you can discuss with your doctor. Also- a couple of litres of fluid each day keeps you hydrated ..less can produce higher levels, but we all differ.

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Thank you for the advice though I am a little wary of testing as I want to focus on weight loss first but yes - I am going to need to know what goes and what stays. I have eaten porridge before work for years so this is something I need to check, along with full fat milk and toast as I have recently switched to Burgen and Vogel breads. Dehydration/ frequency of urination has been a problem since before Christmas though fortunately I drink a lot of tea......Ah, expect I should test the tea too?!

pleinster said:

Hey Dave.
While clearly we all differ and it pays to test to be clear on what you personally should and shouldn't eat in relation to blood sugar, and while many doctors (evidently reading from some 1950s handbook) recommend a "healthy, balanced diet"....like we all have the same systems...there are some things I would say you don't need to test to know they are high carbs which will push your levels right up. I find that any kind of cereal, including low GI stuff, and nearly every kind of bread spikes my levels almost instantly and it stays up for a good few hours. If I don't eat this kind of stuff, levels are seldom above 7.0mmols. Milk would be a no-no for me too, but I wouldn't worry about a little drop in tea....and tea and coffee are absolutely fine. Bitter melon tea is worth trying as it does lower my levels for a short time, as can cinnamon tea. I find that drinking a couple of litres of water can be a struggle. I had to drink about 3.5 litres a day for about a month after my transplant...and got sick of it..but I found that a very small amount of Robinsons orange or summer berry in water made a huge difference. I manage to avoid dehydration (despite visits to the loo) by sipping away at a bottle of very diluted juice throughout the day, and regularly manage 2 litres plus. Anyway, good luck, mate.

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No you are right it is just that I am already making a lot of changes to my diet to eliminate most carbs and its more to do with what I can replace them with! No doubt my diet in 4 - 6 weeks will be very different to what I have eaten since diagnosis last Friday. To this end I have ordered the "The Eight Week Blood Sugar Diet..", as recommended on this thread last night, as it appears that 8 years of following healthy eating guidance to control my blood pressure etc seems to be a key factor in me developing diabetes. I did as I was told and I cut saturated fats, eliminated added sugars and increased the proportion of wholemeal 'healthy' carbs in my diet with porridge every morning before work. Once I know what I can eat I will test to ensure that it is the right choice for me. Your advice is appreciated and those alternatives to tea are definitely worth trying.

Neohdiver said:

My personal experience - FWIW - is that it is that my blood glucose levels are far more tightly tied to what I am putting in my mouth today than they are to the end result of what I put in my mouth over a period of years (my weight). I am working on both, but I'm down around 16% of my body weight since diagnosis and have not experienced any decrease in insulin resistance. Had I focused on weight loss alone, I would have been very discouraged at this point (3.5 months after diagnosis).

But limiting my carb intake - based on changing my diet in response to what elevated it, put my readings in the normal range over 96% of the time - starting within 3 days of diagnosis - makes me a very happy camper.

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My weight loss is/ will be through through a large cut in carbs and the small amount remaining will be low GI/ unrefined. Lost more than a kg since Friday. Always hated wholemeal pasta so that is an easy win! My partner is a vegetarian so I have simply switched from carbs to salad and non-root vegetables, a diet she prefers anyway. Hopefully I can repeat your experience.

zacthedog said:

Dave, forget about your weight please, a lot of diet, 'healthy' foods are so high in Carbs they probably have an effect by looking at them, follow the food advise on this forum, Good food, quick to prepare and right for us Diabetics, i am loosing weight, i was borderline obese, which surprised me, i did not think at 5'11'' and 16 stone i was overly fat! (try the carrot cake recipe, this is by no way any different to normal cake, possibly better.). And get a tester, you need to know what your levels are the food you eat will have an effect, either good or bad, and by testing to can keep track of your progress, i test 3 times a day, now beging to increase that as my levels are normal/ near normal in the three weeks i have known i have diabetes. Knowledge is power.
Good luck.

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I was following the advice from Dr David Cavan's book "Reverse your Diabetes" with regard to testing but a number of responses have made a strong case for testing earlier. Is this the what most newly diagnosed do?

With regard to weight loss this has and will be through cutting the carbs drastically. Like I said in the last reply in this thread I actually dislike pasta but I was doing what I was told to control my blood pressure and cholesterol. I enjoy my food and unfortunately cut back on meat years ago, especially bacon and eggs due to high cholesterol. This was 2007 when eggs were considered unhealthy and I was told to cut back to no more than a couple a week. Looking forward to those cooked breakfasts again

Southbeds said:

If you follow a LowCarb diet you should start losing weight and Lowering your BG in weeks not months,and like many T2D,s on this forum reverse your diabetes,when you start looking at the food you can eat there a lots things that are surprising, bacon and eggs fried in butter,nice fatty pork chops,Mayo, full day Greek yogurt ,the opposite to what you have been told and it works

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Thank you for the positive response especially pointing out that I can eat the kind of things I used to enjoy. When I was diagnosed on Friday the prospect of eating a highly restricted diet, even one that turned my previous one on its head was deeply worrying. I can even put steak back in rather than being an occasional treat. I have not had a large steak in years, a fair trade for my chips and extra salad instead