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Diagnosed last week but no support

Cfaria20

Member
Messages
22
Hi
I just signed up after coming across this site and hoping I can get some support and advice on what to do next I just feel bit lost.

I have 3 daughters and was diagnosed with gestational diabetes with 2 of them last time was 3 years ago. I was on insulin and 5ablets with both as diet alone couldn't control it.
Last year I was diagnosed as pre diabetic which I've been managing with diet alone since and was told to do annul blood tests and nothing else. I dont have a consultant or been to any hospital appointments which I was told I should have been monitored more carefully, is this true?
Anyway I was suppise to do bloods this year in june but due to covid this wasn't possibly. Last week I went to a normal check up at gp the nurse said I needed to do my routine bloods soon as possible as was overdue. I went on tuesday morning and by late afternoon the gp receptionist called to book a phone appointment with doct first thing Wednesday. The nurse told me should be in within a week so I thought straight away something was wrong.
When the doctor called in the morning he told me it cone back with type 2 diabetes. He didn't give me much info and I was not taking in the numbers he was saying. Also when I asked what's next he just said to try and control it with diet alone and next month I need to do more bloods.
He d8dnt say anything about going to any appointments at the diabetes clinic or if I was going to talk to a consultant or dietician or 8f I was getting my results in writing.
I feel like I've been told this and left alone and I'm not sure how this will affect my life in the future.
Also I'm not sure what else I can do differently with my diet as I've been careful.

Any advice would be appreciated?

Also my cholesterol was high and I've since changed a few things to help with that too.
 
Also I'm not doing very well, I feel sluggish during the day and been getting migraines more often or tired eyes.
I've been going to the toilet more often and i think i may have a urine infection but its almost impossible to get an appointment with my gp.

I have already been eating less carbs, eating brown bread and pasta more veg and already lowered sugar intake quite a bit as well. I drink and eat most things with zero to low sugars in it and upped my protein and fiber intake as well.

I don't have a monitor yet and not sure when the hospital will give me one at this rate so I'm worried about my bloods.
 
Welcome to the forum. You will get all the support you need here. First have a look at the link in my signature. You need a meter. Tagging @Rachox for her brilliant info.

Do you need to lose weight? Contact your surgery and ask them what your hba1c number was. This is important to know.

Look at the section on success stories for a bit of inspiration.

What medication are you on. Statins will raise your levels.
 
Sorry you haven't had the support from your Dr or diabetic nurse in these troubled times. You don't say if you are overweight or not; if you are getting your weight down would help enormously. I am a skinny type 2 but when I changed my diet to protein and non starchy veg I went form eight and three quarter stone to seven stone! I have manager to put on a little weight since so not quite so skinny!

I had a huge shock when I was diagnosed at a routine check as I had no symptoms and, as I was a clinical biochemist, with the levels I had I was in danger of a stoke or heart attack and should have had loads of symptoms. I was seen urgently although I knew what I needed to do; I was just shocked at how many carbs were in the foods I ate regularly as I had never looked at the labels!

I cut the carbs almost completely; no bread (I love granary and seeded bread, didn't eat white), no pizza, pasta,rice (hardly ate any of that anyway), potatoes, yoghurts, goodies of any sort etc. Instead of bran flakes with a seed sprinkle and fresh fruit with lots of milk for breakfast (which I thought was really healthy!)I had bacon and chopped up low carb veg with a couple of eggs. I hated it at first but have got used to it now!!!

You can ask for a copy of your results; I got mine, had a dreadful shock and knew the consequences if I didn't change my diet. Working in a busy lab I was on my feet all day rushing around so exercise didn't change much but if you are sedentary a lot of the time you do need to up the exercise.

Hope this helps but it would be good if you get the support of your local GP practice as they all have a diabetic nurse.
 
Sadly you will mostly find that, other than the bare minimum quarterly chat with a diabetes nurse and annual foot and eye checks, you are on your own as far as your GP practice is concerned. So do not wait for anything from them before getting to grips with what you need to do, you need to be proactive about this.

However... all is well, because you have joined us here and will find that this place gives you everything you need if you are an uncomplicated T2. Hopefully you will find that your diabetes is extremely manageable with diet alone and you will be able to get your blood sugars down to non-diabetic levels very quickly.

But this does require a complete revamp of your diet - you say you are careful, but you have to forget everything you thought you knew about healthy eating and accept that all carbs, not just sugar, are off the menu and probably gone for life. But on the other hand there is a whole world of wonderful, tasty and genuinely beneficial food out there awaiting your discovery.

So take heart, you are not alone and the good people here will help you through as you learn how to manage your condition.
 
Welcome to the club no one wants to join. Firstly, there is no such thing as a stupid question. If something bothers you, then bring it here. Secondly, and sadly, your inauguration to diabetes is actually quite in line with most of our first experiences. Especially T2, Those requiring insulin treatment will get more in-depth information and a specialist (Consultant?) who is usually to be found at the main hospital centre. Most GP's are not fully trained for T2D and certainly cannot offer much help with diet advice,

The DCUK is a library of information, and the Forum provides support and experiences. We cannot offer medical advice so you will need to work with you Health Care Providers (HCP's)

Please consider getting your own BGL meter, since as a T2D you will generally not be supported by the NHS unless you are an insulin user. Having a meter allows you to do what is termed Eat To Meter, which means (1) test before eating, then (2) again at around 2 hrs after the meal, and then (3) again at the 3hr or 4hr after mealtime. These readings will tell you a lot about how you react to the contents of the meal and allow you to learn and adjust from your experiences.

Keeping a food log/diary with bgl results is a good record to maintain, and can help when it comes to times when any negotiation with GP is needing backup evidence. There are phone apps that can help, and most meters have software or apps to support them now. Again, ask the question to see what others use. The cost of test strips is important since this is an ongoing cost of ownership. Without a meter, you are flying blind.
 
Welcome. Are you in the UK? I get an annual review with a diabetes nurse, and my eyes checked annually. That's it.

Dietary changes are the most important tools for managing this. There is tons of help and support here. You are not alone.
 
Thanks for the tag @xfieldok

Hi @Cfaria20 and welcome to the forum

Here’s some info on UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned.

Spirit Healthcare have a meter with cheap strips, the Tee2 + found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-plus-blood-glucose-meter/

with the strips found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-testing-strips/

Some members have got a free Tee2+ by phoning up to order, with a large order of strips they often throw the meter in for free:

Phone number 0800 8815423


With more expensive strips is their Caresens Dual which I currently use, this one has the advantage of glucose and ketone testing in one machine, it’s to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/collections/caresens-dual




Home Health have recently bought out this one, but I haven’t heard any reviews yet, links to strips and the meter:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/


There are also discount codes for when you come to buy more strips - "navii5" and "navii10" will give you 20% off purchases of 5 packs of strips and 25% off 10 packs of strips respectively (these are printed on a business card supplied with the meter).


And to be totally transparent I used to use the SD Code Free from Home Health which has the cheapest strips available if bought in quantities of 5 or 10 pots with the codes below. However I found it to be becoming less and less reliable. Here it is for anyone wanting to give it a go, just bear in mind it seems they are replacing it with the Navii, details above.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/


and here for the extra strips

http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/

There are discount codes if you buy in bulk.

5 packs 264086

10 packs 975833


Disclaimer, I haven’t used any of the discount codes I have quoted so I don’t know if they are still current.


Don’t forget to check the box if you have pre diabetes or diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)
 
Bacteria feast and multiply on the sugar in your urine, so it could well be that you do indeed have a UTI going on. You want to made your urine acidic rather than sweet, so not just to get your blood sugars under control, but also to combat this some (and if if has been a lingering infection, around for up to a week, forget home remedies and get antibiotics from your GP!), cut the carbs. That does include pasta and whatever wholemeal stuff you're eating. Cut it out, starve the bacteria, get your blood sugars down in one go. And you might want to start on cranberry or D-mannose capsules, maybe some apple cider vinegar, to up the acidity of your urine. But again... Forget the home remedies if it's been going on for a while. A lasting UTI can go up to your kidneys and you don't want that happening, it'd make you very sick indeed. Okay? Also, don't rely on the hospital or the GP for a meter, they won't give a T2 one, usually. Too many of us, we'd bankrupt the NHS. Get your own, and use it well, it'll get you back on the road to feeling like a human being again.

The bulk of us are basically left to our own devices. Your experience, sadly, doesn't stand alone. We're here though. You've already gotten the link to the Nutritional Thingy, so all that's left for me is to wish you the very best of luck, and I hope you feel better soon!
Jo
 
Just coming in on a small technicality - boy's wee is alkaline, girl's is acidic.
 
Hi all new here as well, diagnosed a few weeks ago with type 2.

I have to say my experience with my GP was the total opposite to yours and judging by other comments I must be lucky.

I know I don't have the experience like the rest but it may be worth just talking with your GP and requesting a meter from them. They won't offer it but if you ask they will provide one on prescription which also includes the needles and test strips too. I was prescribed an Agamatrix Wavesense Jazz and enough strips for testing 3 times a day which renews every month. This also won't actually cost you anything as being diabetic you can get free prescriptions if you are prescribed tablets medicine for diabetes: get an FP92A form from your GP fill it out, get them to sign it and then send it off.

This has been a life changing time for me but there is help out there and also places like this, where I have been lurking since I was diagnosed, to get all the helpful information I needed.

There's no harm in asking you might be surprised in what you get.
 
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JoKalsbeek said:
It's not about what it is, it's what it needs to be extra for a bit to kill off the bacteria. They don't like acid...
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Boys will find it difficult to deal with UTI since we are peeprogrammed to go alkaline. Also, topical creams and ointments are difficult to apply. My GP prescribed Canesten for a thrush outbreak that one of my meds caused, and when I went back to him to point out the impracticality of it, the penny dropped, and I got orals instead, The jury is still out on whether Cranberry juice is effective. It's an Old Wives cure that some swear by, others swear at. Eating meat does affect the Ph.
 
Rogue UK said:
. They won't offer it but if you ask they will provide one on prescription which also includes the needles and test strips too. I was prescribed an Agamatrix Wavesense Jazz and enough strips for testing 3 times a day which renews every month. This
Click to expand...
@Rogue UK , you are very lucky that your GP prescribes a meter, test strips and lancets with type 2. Unless you are on meds likely to cause hypos most GPs won’t!
 
....I don't know about the boy parts. Just the girl parts, as I've got those, and frequent UTI's since I turned 40. And since the OP had gestational diabetes, I figured it'd make some semblance of sense to assume the UTI advice for women'd apply... Guys should always head straight for antibiotics when a UTI's going on far as I know. In us women, it doesn't become alarming until it's not vanished within a week.

But I'll shut up now.

Edited to add, because I can't seem to actually shut up: Canesten is for a fungal infection like, indeed, thrush, not a bacterial issue.
 
Rachox said:
@Rogue UK , you are very lucky that your GP prescribes a meter, test strips and lancets with type 2. Unless you are on meds likely to cause hypos most GPs won’t!
Click to expand...

I did say I knew I was lucky, having seen a lot of the posts on here but with times as they are there's no harm in asking if it can save you some money.

Just to clarify I bought myself a meter having been lurking here for a while, and the one I purchased came with a slip saying hand it to the Dr's and the test strips and lancets could be prescribed so I did. That's when the doctor got back to me and said they could not prescribe those particular ones but they can do the NHS prescribed ones. He asked that I speak with the diabetic nurse first which I did and she called about 20 mins later. She just clarified why I wanted to do it as the NHS don't recommend it for type 2. I told her that being newly diagnosed I wanted to monitor my levels and see which foods I needed to avoid and she basically advised me to do 1test before food when I get up and 1 test 2 hours after my evening meal and if I needed to 1 test two hours after midday meal but that wasn't necessary. She also advised me what levels I should be trying to achieve. She asked me to go in and get my meter and told me that the lancets and test strips would be on prescription.

So I spent money I didn't need to which is why I was pointing it out as I don't think I've seen anyone on these forums, which by the way are a wealth of helpful information, do it before. Even if there is a small chance of success surely its worth a go?
 
That was an excellent response. I mentioned it so that any boys reading here should actually do as you say and not try to fix it themselves.
 
Rogue UK said:
I did say I knew I was lucky, having seen a lot of the posts on here but with times as they are there's no harm in asking if it can save you some money.
Click to expand...

Of course there is no harm in asking, thank you for pointing that out, I asked but got a flat ‘no’! I just wanted @Cfaria20 to know that she may not be as lucky as you.
 
I got one on scrip too. It is possible, but I had to really justify it. Keeping a full food diary and being able to show how I had bought my levels into control and reduced my oral meds to boot, Impressed the Doctor enough it seems. But you have to show you understand how to use it to adjust your control. Showing that you respond to the readings is key. Being a DVLA customer is another string to pull.
 
Hi thank you all for your responses, sorry took so long to reply back went to the in laws so kids could help do the tree. That's 3rd tree this weekend as done mine and went to my mums yesterday lol.

Yes I do live in uk.

Thank you @Rachox for the meter advice, when I had it before was during g pregnancy so hospital gave me the strips meter and everything and last one was 3 yrs ago I couldn't remember what brand it was. Does brand even matter?

Yes I do need lose weight im 5'2 and at check up last week weighed 80kg which is bad as start of the year I was 74kg
3 years ago after had my youngest I was 79kg. With my oldest 11 yrs ago I went up to 86kg from 63kg with my middle child 73kg to 86kg as well.
Since I've had my kids I have struggled alot with my weight but I'm big built even though I'm not tall so got wide shoulders wide hips and big chest which adds on weight too apparently :-( .

No I'm not on any medication at all this is what I'm worried about since last yr being diagnosed prediabetes I've had diet control going from normal to wholemeal with everything I can. But now from this thread i will cut it out as much as I can, I'm just not sure on portions. When i was pregnant i was given a really good book had portion sizes and calorie count on food items i cant find it anywhere.
Does anyone know a really good book? Or a recipe book?
I've looked it up but cant seem to find a decent one.

I will defo eat more fish.i normally steam my food or oven cook or use extra virgin olive oil to cook. I sometimes did use butter but now going to completely stop. Instead of using normal fryer I 7se an air fryer, is this still ok or do I need completely stop? Even when I do use it it's small portion of chips or whatever I cook in that. But i did have high cholesterol as well so going completely stop i think. I moved fro normal yourgut to low fat or natural Greek yourguts as well this week and my butter to proactively etc.

I hope I'm not a complicated diabetic as was full of complications when I was pregnant not just with diabetes but high blood pressure, blood clot and other stuff too. I'm worried.

What questions should I ask gp tomo when I call?

I did click on one of the above links that has helped get few questions going in my mind so going write it down.

Thank you all again for taking the time to respond
 
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