Diagnosed Today

Hi @Lee1971 2 , I'll tag @daisy1 for you, who will post lots of very useful information on this thread a little later on.

Meanwhile I'll try to answer your question about numbers. The number you have been given (115) is what is called the HbA1c and it counts the amount of sugars attached to your red blood cells. It's a sort of average of the amount of sugar in your blood stream over the past three months. Above 48 is counted as diabetic, but something in the 30's or higher 20's is normal. 115 is rather high, but don't panic, many people here have started where you are and regained normality.

The small numbers that you have come across, 8, 10 etc, are a measurement of glucose in your blood stream at that exact moment. It's what people are testing when they do a finger prick test. (Just to confuse matters, there is an older measuring system for the HbA1c, which uses smaller numbers and people talk about joining the 5% club, which is normality.)

Will you have to change your lifestyle. Well, yes, it is recommended and you will feel like a new person when you get to grips with it, but do read Daisy's post and ask as many questions as you want.
Sally

Hi @Lee1971 2 welcome to the group. There will be lots of things going through your head at the moment, try not to worry you are in the best place for all the help, advice and support within this great group. Couple of questions, what meds are you on? Do you need to lose weight? I would also advise getting a Blood Glucose (Bg) meter so that you can test your bloods to see what foods spike your levels. If you cant get one from your doctor's you can get them on e-bay. I have a couple of the Codefree ones and the test strips are a reasonable price. You will need to cut down on carbs and sugars. Once you have read Daisy's info sheet it will give you some ideas. You could also look at Dr Jason Fung on YouTube also https://www.dietdoctor.com/ for more info. Ask as many questions as you like we are not medically trained but we have been where you are at the moment. You will be fine Lee.

sally and james said:

Hi @Lee1971 2 , I'll tag @daisy1 Above 48 is counted as diabetic, but something in the 30's or higher 20's is normal. 115 is rather high, but don't panic, many people here have started where you are and regained normality
Sally

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Over 48 is classed as diabetic, 41- 48 as pre diabetic, under that non diabetic
The Tee2 meter from spirit healthcare is another cost effective meter option
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/site/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/TEE2-PLUS-fact-sheet-V1.5-AW.pdf

Welcome @Lee1971 2 It is easier said than done to not worry but if you can face diabetes head on you will be rewarded in the long run. The posters above have given you good advice, take in as much as you can then keep coming back to be reminded of the bits that you can not take at the moment. It is a mantra oft written on here that T2 diabetes is a marathon not a sprint meaning to take things one step at a time and just keep going. Things will get easier when you understand what is going on in your body so do get hold of a meter and use it. Keep a record of the results and you will see your progress as the numbers drop. Take a deep breath and start a fascinating journey into finding out how your body works. Good luck.

Welcome. I was diagnosed about 8 weeks ago myself. I know it's a lot to take in at first.

I see someone has already tagged Daisy. Her post will contain a lot of very helpful information for you.

I agree with the recommendation to get yourself a blood monitor (not just for Type 1s) and start testing, it's very helpful (along with tracking what you eat) to find out which foods cause blood glucose spikes and high readings (something you want to avoid.) A lot of Type 2s find that foods higher in carbohydrates (starches ie. breads, potatoes, rice) cause spikes so we reduce or eliminate these foods.

Hi, I am a couple of weeks ahead of you with my diagnosis and have found this forum really helpful. Good luck!

You will soon get used to the different numbers. It is confusing because they are different measurement units.

Your 115 is the HbA1c and is measured in mmol/mol
Some labs still use an old way of measuring, and this is expressed as a percentage, so would look like 7.5%
Finger prick tests are measured in mmol/l.

To make matters more confusing, some countries use different measurement units, called mg/dl

There are some converters on this website.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-sugar-converter.html

Hi and welcome. It is a huge blow to hear such a diagnosis and it may be more of a shock when it sinks in further in the future, but everyone on here is very helpful.
I also had an hba1c if 115. Doc didn’t believe it and with going low carb (20g per day roughly) they checked two weeks later as they didn’t believe it could be so high, it was 97. Was put on metformin but it didn’t agree and BG readings were low at between 4.8 and 7.8 through low carb so taken off Meds two weeks later. It can be fine and I’m a cold turkey kind of girl and don’t try to have “replacement” food. Just totally change your diet. I was “lucky”(?) as I am thin so don’t have to lose weight so effectively not changing much in my diet. Best of luck x

@Lee1971 2

Hello Lee and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 well over 235,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

Lee1971 2 said:

Hi all
I went to doctors for results of blood tests today and was told I am diabetic. I was told the norm was 48 and my reading was 115.
I don’t understand why other people’s readings are 8 or 10 etc???

Also worried how this will effect my lifestyle and what I can or can’t eat or drink!!

I would appreciate any info on the above
Thanks
Lee

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Hey Lee,
Others have tackled the numbers, so I'm just going to put my 2 cents in regarding lifestyle. Yeah, it might change. Technically speaking, it should, really. (Medication and insulin are an option of course, but those have their own drawbacks.) But what exactly are you worried about in that regard? What do you think you'll miss? Are there routines you don't want to go without? If you give us specifics, maybe we can offer ideas?

Diabetes had me exhausted all day. When I woke up, all I wanted to do was have a lie down, only to realise I already was laying down, and had been for 8 hours or so, and still didn't feel rested. I did change my diet to low carb, high fat. I could ditch the diabetes meds and the statins in 3 months. And after a year and a half of that I went a step further with keto and intermittent fasting. My latest HbA1c was 34 (non diabetic range), and though I stay indoors on weekdays mostly, on the weekends I go for, to me, lengthy walks, hauling camera equipment around, as photography is my outdoorsy-hobby. Which 2 years ago was all still out of the question without looking for a chair every half mile. So the diet/lifestyle change has made me a happier, healthier person than I was, (plus a whole lot lighter) so it doesn't have to be a bad thing. Honest.

Meals, for me, look like this;

Breakfast could be just tea or coffee, nothing else. If I do have breakfast it's 3 eggs, bacon, cheese and mushrooms and/or cherry tomatoes.
Lunch can be salads with tuna, mayo, capers and olives, or goats cheese based, or salmon... Sometimes if I want quick and easy I'll just have some celeey sticks with hummus. Makes me feel like a hipster saying ut though, haha.
Evenings I usually have broccoli or cauliflower rice with some bacon and cheese, and meat or fish.
Snacks for me are cheese, olives, nuts and extremely dark chocolate.
If I'm out and there's no option of having any of the above, I can still resort to a Burger King or a McD's; order any hamburger and ask for them to hold the bun. Voila, low carb, even in fast food.

Notice there are hardly any carbs in there? Mainly because as T2's, we can't process them back out of our bodies. Potatoes, bread, rice, fruit, (berries are okay) underground veggies, corn, cereal, they all tend to spike us. If you want to find out what is harmful to you, buy a meter. NHS is probably not going to pay for one, but it is truly invaluable. Test before eating and 2 hours after. If your bloodsugar's gone up more than 2 mmol/l, the meal was more than your body could handle.

You can do this. If you want to. It's not as hard as it may seem, and the rewards are pretty awesome. No complications are so worth it.

Of course, you can go with medication and insulin, but, and this is a big but, if you go that route, diabetes is a progressive disease. You will need more meds and more insulin, step by step. Some people's pancreasses are too far gone to go without meds entirely, but they have also stopped the diabetic progress by adding a diet. Quite a few of us are diet-only controlled, while still coming from a HbA1c as high as yours. So it's up to you, really.

For me, my husband was my main motivator. I am chronically ill so he takes the brunt of the housework and takes care of me, when I am unable to due to chronic pain or anxiety/depression. I didn't want him to have to deal with my amputated feet, dialysis, blindness, or becoming an early widower on top of it all. So I went into it with a vengance, and it worked. I hope you find a reason to take care of yourself too.

Good luck,
Jo

Hi Lee - welcome aboard. The readings mean that you've unwittingly entered some choppy waters. Reaching out to this site was you mayday call. From here on there are no guarantees but following the excellent advice already given above and you will make progress quickly. It won't be easy, but it won't be as hard you might think. There will still be some waves ahead, but look to this group for help, and you'll sail through them.
For now though, don't try to look too far ahead. Use everything you've been told to make a plan for tomorrow, then the next day, then next week. It will get better.