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Diagnosed last Friday.

D

Danny72

Member
Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi All,

I hope I am finding everybody well.

I am new to the forum and being my first post I am feeling a little apprehensive.

Since the diagnosis my head has been all over the place with so many questions, what I should be doing and not doing (not counting the obvious stuff).

My diagnosis was made over the phone by my GP and the conversation felt so rushed, especially with my head was fuzzy from the news I hadn't taken a lot in with what he was telling me. He prescribed me Sukkarto SR 500mg twice a day and told me to come back in 3 months time. He also said that they will send some stuff through to the post to help me with it but I am still waiting. I will try to go see him again but it's a few weeks wait for the appointment.

Since the diagnosis I immediately tried to research as much as possible to try and understand a bit more about diabetes and how I can try and help myself and make the necessary changes immediately but I feel very concerned about how high I think my blood sugar is. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what figures he told me from my blood results or what it all means yet, but I know he said a figure of 151 for something but I don't know what it is, but he said that it should be in the 40's instead so I am way over.

I bought a testing kit on Monday and been testing every day and the figures I think are very high, the highest was 22.7 mmol/L 2 days ago, yesterday it was 16.5 and today it was 17.9. These figures seem very scary and I have been trying my best to lower it by being really good with my diet, albeit, its only been a week, but I've also lost 6lb since the diagnosis. I don't know how long the figures will remain so high and I don't even know if they are very dangerous of if I need to tell someone about them, my GP didn't seem that concerned about my blood results so I am really confused. I don't even know if I am testing myself correctly as I've been given any guidance, but I tend to test myself once a day before I eat, say around 5 - 6pm. For all I know that could be wrong.

Apologies if the above seems a mess but it just feels like (so far) I've been given a diagnosis, chucked some pills to take and to get on with it, and everything I have done thus far has been off my own back without really having a clue if what I am doing is correct.

Maybe there are others in a similar situation or have been in a situation where you've felt lost after diagnosis. Also, I get people telling me that it's ok I'll be fine I just need to lose weight and that it's very common. Again, that advice is absolutely of no use to me whatsoever because so much has to change especially my diet and to learn what I can and can't eat any longer.

Sorry for the long post and thank you for reading,
All the best
Danny.
 
Hi @Danny72 and welcome

You’ve come to exactly the right place for advice and support.

It sounds like the 151 is your HbA1c score, which is high, but this forum is full of people who started out with high numbers and are now showing huge improvements.

The most important thing you can do is modify what you eat, specifically reducing carbohydrates will rapidly bring your blood sugars down.

Below is a link to some useful information, including on diet. You might also want to take a look at dietdoctor.com

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.26870/

Have a good read of this information and around the forum and ask as many questions as you like.
 
Hi @Danny72,

Welcome to the forum. Most of us have felt what you're feeling now. In the beginning, it can be really overwhelming.

It is good that you've already managed to lower your blood sugars -- however they are still a bit high. Have you had a look at some basic information about diabetes that might be helpful? Here is a link to it: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/

Has your GP scheduled some more tests to find out if your type 1 or type 2 -- as your blood sugars were quite high at diagnosis type 1 is a real possibility.

Please have a read around the forum and fire away if you have any questions. There are loads of friendly, helpful and extremely knowledgeable members around, who will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
 
Hi Goonergal & Ziggy,

Thank you every so much for your replies, I will most certainly read and take note of everything that's in your posts as its so valuable. I want to educate and learn as much as possible so that I can get in a position that I can get everything under control.

Ziggy, to answer your questions, my GP said it was type 2 and didn't mention type 1. He did say the results were high but even with that he didn't seem overly worried about it, for example, I expected to be called in if it was that bad? He just gave me some tablets. As far as I know, I am not being sent for any more tests, but I have booked an appointment with another GP as I am not really happy with how it's all been handled.

At least I do have a test kit now but how do you think I should use it or when is it best to use it, especially for a newly diagnosed?

Another thing, I don't know how long I've actually had diabetes but I know that my bloods were tested a few times over the last 12 months for one thing or another and although the sugars were elevated they didn't say I had diabetes then, they said borderline, so I can only presume this must have come on full blown within the last few months.

I've also read somewhere that blood sugar levels could take months or a long time to lower to a safe limit, I am just very worried that whilst it's this high that something will happen to me whilst I try and get it lowered.

Thanks again for your replies,
Danny.
 
Hi, I was diagnosed in June 2019 with Type 1 Diabetes (I also have liver chirrosis) and for the last 3 months I have let it control me and my life. I'm starting to learn not to allow this, I regularly test my levels and adjust my insulin intake in line with the results, try to eat sensibly (which I find the hardest part) and try to maintain as normal a life as possible. Make sure you get the medical support you need, especially in the early days until you and your body come to terms with what you have, but don't let it overly control you. God luck for the future.
 
Danny72 said:
At least I do have a test kit now but how do you think I should use it or when is it best to use it, especially for a newly diagnosed
Click to expand...

That’s good news. Best use would be to test immediately before eating and again 2 hours after the first bite. The point of this is to understand the impact of foods on your blood sugar levels. Ideally you’re looking for a rise of no more than 2 mmols at the 2 hour point. Things will likely be a bit erratic at first, but in general a bigger rise than that means there were too many carbs in your meal and you need to adjust.

This article might be helpful. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-testing-for-type2-diabetes.html
 

Thank you Goonergal, I've just taken the reading again, albeit 4 hours after eating and it's gone down by a point from 17.9 to 16.9 so I suppose that's ok under the circumstances. Will do it around 2 hours after from now on, thank you for that

I wasn't 100% happy with my meal today though as I am still learning what I can and can't eat, its the not so obvious stuff that will confuse me for now. I had a house salad with boiled eggs with just malt vinegar, no dressing but I added a little bit of feta cheese to it (which I now learn isn't good), and then I had a tin of lentil soup, again learning that tined soups are not great. I'm slowing removing more and more stuff from my cupboards that I can't really eat anymore so slowly getting there.

Thanks again,
Danny.
 

Hi Danny,

I was actually looking for something else entirely differently, but came across your post and wanted to provide you with some re-assurance. I am a nurse in California, USA. I mainly work with Diabetic patients doing clinical trials, but also primary care. I did need to do some converting because we use different units here for the A1c and blood sugar.
1st: It is a fairly common diagnosis here and do not panic! Yes you are correct that your current numbers are high, BUT some patients can really compensate at these levels. Things to worry about and seek immediate medical attention are: change in consciousness (can't remember your name, or location), if you're having difficulty breathing, if you're unable to keep food or fluids down, if you're having chest pain, any combination of these symptoms together (frequent urination, extreme thirst, nausea or vomiting, and stomach pain.)
I have seen many many many many many patients that feel completely normal, walking around, with no symptoms with values between 15-20 mmol/l. This is by no means healthy long-term for your organs, but it may not warrant emergent medical attention (refer above for sign of needing to proceed to the ER).
As for the medication you were given, Metformin is a great first line medication, very effective-I see it in about 95% of my diabetic patient's charts.
Goonergal is certainly right about the time frame in which to take your blood glucose until you can get familiar with which foods to eat and which to avoid. This is a learning process and can take you several months to understand what foods cause an increase in your blood sugar (and you will be surprised on some of the foods). I will take this one step further in mentioned that blood sugar is not just affecting by how much actually sweet or sugary foods you eat (although that is important). There are a lot of foods that once processed within your body, registered as sugar to your body and thus raises your blood sugar. These are the types of foods that you need to learn about to avoid for example (processed breads, pastas, cereals, bagels, chips).
Once you have gotten the basics down, I will mention there is newer information coming out about plant based diets having significant affect on blood sugar control. There is research to support that, but not much.
If you cannot follow the PBD, we recommend to our patients to follow a Mediterranean diet (to simplify it)- fresh vegetables, fresh fish, healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, nuts, beans, legumes, whole grains (not multi-grain or white flour, not processed).
Lastly, the reason why your physician asked to see you in another 3 months is because the most accurate predictor of how well you are controlling your blood glucose is the A1c test. It is a test that essentially measures your average blood sugar level over the course of 3 months-so it only makes sense to run the test every 3 months.
Try not to worry too much, knowledge is power and you're taking a great first step by educating yourself!
I know a lot of diabetics that have been able to drop weight, control their blood sugars and live long healthy lives without any complications, even some who have worked really hard and have been able to completely get off medications with the help from doctors and nutritionists that work closely with them!
 
You can eat any meat, fish, seafood, eggs and cheese, yoghurt (full fat) low carb veges and fruits - most have frozen berries with cream. I have salads - huge salads, with oil vinegar and various herbs as dressing. Stirfries are good too.
 

Hi Neil, thank you for your reply and support. You're right I must not let it control my life but for me to control it instead, like you are doing. I will be calling my GP again tomorrow to chase them up with whatever they were meant to send me through the post as I want all the advice I can get.

All the best to you Neil,
Danny
 
You might be rather disappointed by the literature provided - the low carb approach has been ignored and derided as the latest fad diet for a couple of centuries, so you might get information on the 'Eatwell' plate, which is not going to do very much to help to reduce your blood glucose.
 



I forgot to mention!
This is an extra tip for my super motivated patients. There is something called a glycemic index. GI tells you which foods will cause your blood sugar to spike up really fast (after eating) and which foods cause a steady, gradual increase in your blood sugar.
Those foods with a low-medium glycemic index are the foods you want to stick with because it will be much easier to manage/ predict your blood sugar levels when they aren't bouncing up and down in response to foods with a high glycemic index.
 
You could well find, as I did that the glycemic index makes no difference at all - I have a meter to test with and saw no difference at all, or, interestingly, worse spikes when I tested various legumes - supposedly good, but no, a small serving of peas or runner beans I can manage but they act as though they contain far more carbs than listed. I avoid all other peas and beans.
 

Hi Sam,

Thank you ever so much for your post and taking the time to reply to me, it really has helped. Everything you said makes sense and I am getting an understanding of things a bit more and what I need to do to manage it.

I just wanted to mention that I have had a few symptoms over the last few weeks and they include being thirsty almost all the time for days on end, which then would cause frequent urinating. I haven't had any of the other symptoms you mentioned (thank goodness), but I have had the odd numbness in my little fingers and ring fingers off and on but usually after I wake up, and after reporting it I was told it was because I may be laying on them during the night so I am hoping this isn't related.

The extreme thirst has become much better for well over a week now and don't feel the need to drink so much, actually I can't remember the last time I felt that thirsty and I now just keep hydrated rather than having an urge to drink a bottle of water at a time. I also don't visit the loo as often.

I wonder if at the point when I was that thirsty and unaware of my diagnosis that my readings could have been even higher than now? I don't know how long it takes for the medication to take effect, I've been taking them for 4 days so far.

Thank you again for taking the time to reply to my post,
Take Care
Danny.
 
Resurgam said:
You can eat any meat, fish, seafood, eggs and cheese, yoghurt (full fat) low carb veges and fruits - most have frozen berries with cream. I have salads - huge salads, with oil vinegar and various herbs as dressing. Stirfries are good too.
Click to expand...

Hi Resurgam,

Thank you for your reply. I do already eat some of the above especially fish, eggs and salads, I've cut down on the cheese as I need to lose weight (I really love cheese, probably a bit too much!!).

Thank you,
Danny.
 


True! diet is definitely not one size fits all, but he is eager to learn everything related.


Danny extreme thirst, hunger, and urination are known as the Three P's and they are a hallmark sign of diabetes. They are associated with your diagnosis and it's great news to hear that it's resolving or improving (that's what we are looking for and you're headed in the right direction)!
As for the medication there is no titration to efficacy needed (commonly seen in depression/anxiety medications). Should notice a difference in blood sugars within a week and a definite drop in your A1c when you follow up with your GP in 3 months. For now, all you can do is read, read, read, and maintain discipline with your diet.
 
Danny72 said:
Hi Resurgam,

Thank you for your reply. I do already eat some of the above especially fish, eggs and salads, I've cut down on the cheese as I need to lose weight (I really love cheese, probably a bit too much!!).

Thank you,
Danny.
Click to expand...
Go wild with the cheeses. Like I just mentioned to someone else, hard cheeses are usually zero carbs, soft cheeses are low carb.... They won't spike your blood glucose, and the fats will mitigate the effects of whatever carbs you do ingest (as practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested). You'll find that you don't need to cut out fat to lose weight, just carbs. It's the carbs that are your problem, what with an impaired metabolism and all. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ is my own quick-start guide, it may help a little get you started. Might want to try Dr. Jason Fung's the Diabetes Code too. Excellent read. I used to be morbidly obese, now I'm just a little overweight. A difference of well over 20 kilo's. Plus, my HbA1c is in the normal range, so's my cholesterol, and my fatty liver disease is gone too. And I have cheese every day.

You'll be okay, if you keep an open mind, experiment and learn! (And test your little heart out, because that's going to help you most!)
Jo, from the land of Gouda and Edam cheeses.
 

Hi @Danny72,

Sorry for not getting back to you earlier. Had a long day at work yesterday.

Agree with @Goonergal on the timing of testing -- right before you start eating and two hours after your first bite. The rise should be no more than 2 mmol.

If your blood sugars were in the prediabetic range during several tests within a year before and have now risen to an HbA1c of 151, they have gotten worse quite quickly. Maybe you could check with your HCPs again if your latest HbA1c was really 151.

High and quickly deteriorating blood sugar levels can point to Type 1 diabetes -- although being overweight is generally associated with Type 2 diabetes (but doesn't necessarily rule out Type 1). So, it's good that you continue monitoring your blood sugar levels. If you keep eating low carb and your blood sugars start rising again, it might be a good idea to take this topic up with your GP again.

Agree with @Goonergal and @JoKalsbeek -- nothing wrong with cheese -- it's low carb and satiating. Are you concerned because cheese has a lot of fat and therefore might make it hard to lose weight? Many of us have lost weight on low carb, even when eating more fat (to make up for the lost energy from carbohydrates). It is at least worth a try imo to find out if it works for you too.

IMO, there is also no need to move to a plant-based diet for diabetes as suggested above (unless of course you want to do this for other reasons). Plant-based diets have not been shown to be any better than low-carb with respect to dealing with diabetes -- and eliminating dairy, eggs, fish and meat from your diet, does make it considerably harder (but not impossible) to stay low-carb.

Many of us look at the carb content of what we eat and try to stay with foods with fewer than 5g of carbs per 100g -- unless consumed in very, very small quantities. The website dietdoctor.com has some very helpful charts listing the carb content of various foods. Btw, you don't need to sign up for the website, much of the information on there is for free.
 
Hi @Danny72

Lots of great advise above.

Let me keep it simple.
I ONLY count carbs when shopping.
Up to 5gram.. Good
5-10..I I'm umming and aahhing over whether that food is worth the cost.
Over 10, it goes right back on the shelf and I move on.

I now really only eat the food I myself have prepared.
I heard a great phrase, that the meals we eat aren't the ingredients IN dishes
The FOOD is the ingredients...aka, meat, veg, fats
(Read the labels on some ready meals, more like a chemicals lists then a recipe.)


This really is a life style change, so it's difficult early on to change what you have always done.
The testing, if you like.... is to let you know WHICH of the foods you eat now, you are most allergic to.
As in what foods you eat spike you the most.

So it's really a detective story, as we seek to eliminate the more noxious foods, we eat,( as we all respond differently.)

Once you start to moderate the foods and levels of carb intake, you'll begin to see the benefits of swapping out carbs for more meats (protein) and fats (cheese/yoghurt/cream/butter) as it bulks up your plate, and also keeps you feeling for for longer.

Good luck on your journey, we are all with you in spirit.
 
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