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Diagnosed type 2 on Thursday

Jo’71

Newbie
Messages
3
Location
Gloucestershire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi everyone. I’m still getting my head round the diagnosis but I am so glad I found this forum.
Just a few questions I’m hoping you’ll all be able to answer for me.

My HbA1c reading came back at 122!
My doctor said it should be below 47.

The medication he has put me on is Metformin 500mg once a day.

He also said that I don’t need to self test my blood.

Along with this he said I should contact the DVLA and my car insurance company.

Does this all sound normal ?

He’s told me to eat a low carb diet.

The diabetic nurse will be in touch. How long until she contacts me? Has anyone got an idea?

Thanks for reading this.

Jo xx
 
I was 122 when diagnosed.

You do need to test, buy your own blood glucose meter. we can advise.

You don't need to advise DVLA (so far as I know) unless you are on glucose lowering medication such as insulin. Others will tell me if I am wrong.

Use your time before the nurse contacts you to educate yourself, particularly in regards to diet. Before they show you the Eatwell Plate which for T2s is dire.

We have a welcome pack, someone will post a link for you.

So welcome to the best place on the planet for sorting out your T2. It can be done. I got my HbA1c down to 35 in 4 months.
 
Ah, missed the bit about your Dr recommending low carb. Things are improving! Food will affect each of us differently, hence the need for the meter. I went keto, less than 20 carbs per day. Hard at first but soon second nature.
 
Hi Jo and welcome!
First let me post a link to our useful info page:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/
Now Metformin is a very mild drug and you are on a small dose so low carb diet will be your main tool to get your HbA1c down, it is also an easy way to lose weight if you have weight to lose.
I can give you info on blood sugar monitors if you decide to buy one and I very much recommend it, to learn the effect of different foods on your body.
As far as driving is concern, Metformin doesn’t cause hypos (or low blood sugars) so there’s no requirement to tell the DVLA, you do however have to phone your car insurers but it shouldn't affect your premium.
 
Everything he said sounded normal (not necessarily correct) for a doctor to say up until “eat low carb”!

Your hab1c is high at over 120,
48 and above is considered diabetic, between 42 and 47 is pre-diabetic, so aiming for low 40s is good. (Numbers from memory, and my brains not functioning well today so I could be slightly out.

Metformin is a normal starting point, and that’s a low dose so might get upped quickly for you. If it upsets your stomach and doesn’t improve after a couple of weeks you can talk to them about changing to the slow release metformin, they are kinder to some people’s stomachs.

You don’t NEED to test your blood sugars, but it’s a flipin’ useful tool to learn about how your sugar levels rise and fall. The best test times are as soon as you wake up, before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. Some people test 1.5 and 3 hours after eating also. Once you know what foods are doing you can reduce the number of tests.

Metformin doesn’t affect your driving, but better to tell them than have an accident and then find out the insurance isn’t valid or something.

It’s great that he told you to eat low carb, there’s this website, www.dietdoctor.com and the newspaper The Sun are currently running a daily pullout of low carb and diabetes information.

If the diabetic nurse from your GP surgery hasn’t contacted you or given you an appointment by Wednesday then if I were you I’d be chasing them up. Though with the wealth of information you can find on this site and these forums I’m sure you will manage just fine.
 
Antje77 said:
@xfieldok , whenever you need it, you can find it as a sticky thread in the greetings and introductions (and I think in other sub forums as well), and in the signatures of all mods. Just copy and paste
Click to expand...

Meh! Easier said than done with double vision.
 
Wow!
Thank-you so much for your informative messages. I feel I’m amongst friends already.
I will accept any advice on a glucose testing kit, I’m so grateful to you all.
 
Jo’71 said:
Wow!
Thank-you so much for your informative messages. I feel I’m amongst friends already.
I will accept any advice on a glucose testing kit, I’m so grateful to you all.
Click to expand...

Here’s some info on meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned. For a meter with cheap strips go for 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/


With more expensive strips is the 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


And to be totally transparent I used to use the SD Code Free which has the cheapest strips available. However I found itto be becoming less and less reliable. Here it is for anyone wanting to give it a go:

http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/

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


Don’t forget to check the box that you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)
 
Hi @


DN nurse took me a good few months

I drive and i never told DVLA..i did mention to insurers made no difference.

metformin 2 x 500 twice daily, caused me no real issues..but some do suffer so just be aware.

Much will have been covered in other posts, but for me, it goes like this

Petrol fuels the car,
BUT, Carbs fuel our medical crisis..

Too many and the Blood Glucose goes up
and for our own health we need to keep them low...hence the Low carb

and the meter is the speedo for how fast and far those BG rises go

So i'd very much disagree with your doctors
a meter isn't a choice, i believe it's an essential part of us getting back control.

Without a speedo you can't really judge your speed in the car, the same thing with Carbs
we all react differently to various foods, the challenge IS to find the ones that SUIT...YOU best..

On day one, we are all aware that we have an issue..
so we take stock of what we USED to eat and adjust that.

but at first we have NO way of knowing which foods we can eat and which foods we should maybe avoid.

Diet doctor and forum members will be a good source of information on what is practical

Add in the meter and you get a PERSONAL Guide to how YOUR Blood Sugars are reacting to those new food choices.
.
it helps you test your blood to see how it was affected by the foods,

as @Fndwheelie says most of us test on rising (fasting Bg)
and before and after each meal

and THAT information lets you tailor the foods YOU eat ..so you can achieve a BETTER outcome managing T2D

if you went this far to actually join the forum, ....then i reckon you have the makings of someone who wants to improve their health.

My advice..stick around, ask questions read up a few links..AND do get a meter.
Best investment you can make to help manage your Type TWO diabetes
 
Welcome to the Club.

If you take sugar in your tea or coffee, I would stop that straight away and also cut out on chocolate, cakes and pastries etc. Also look towards reducing carbs such as potatoes, rice and bread. There are loads of people on here who can give great advice on what you can and can't eat.

That will give you a good start in reducing your numbers.

You have had some great advice already and I can only second it - Great idea to get a meter and test regularly and don't forget to tell your vehicle insurers about your medical condition otherwise it will be invalid.

I started with a reading of 108 and the Diabetic Nurse saw me the following week after diagnosis, then every two weeks for two months and then monthly. (First 3 Months). I think it varies depending where you live,

Good luck on the start of your journey.
 
Last edited:
Second, third and fourth what everyone else says.

I went for the Tee2. Phoned them up, ordered 200 strips and they threw in the meter for free. Bank on using around 200 per month. Testing is not forever. Have Bacon and eggs for lunch, doesn't raise your blood sugar, no point in keeping on testing for that!

Bank on around 200 strips per month to begin with. You will reduce gradually as you discover what foods suit you and those that don't.

Download the app mySugr. There is a free version. Log your food and numbers into it. In around 6 days or so you will have enough data for it to give you an estimated HbA1c. It is close enough to the real lab test and is highly motivating when you first start out.
 
Ther people on this site will become your bestest friends. However, be cautious. Do your own research. Ask lots of questions, and if something doesn't make sense to you, ask. We are here to help. We have all been where you are now.
 
I’m loving this site and all the info. I was diagnosed recently too after being told I am pre diabetic for a year. I’m just so shocked as my Hbac1 is 45 and my Dr has me on 1000mg metformin twice a day. I see a few people here only take 500mg. My problem is I was not active and have now been walking for and hour to 2 every day just to get me started because I don’t think I would cope at gym. Thank you everyone for being so informative and helpful
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. As you can tell already it is full of amazing people who are happy to share their knowledge and experience- I would have been lost without it.

I'm a newbie- only 6 weeks since my diagnosis. So from a newbie's point of view I say that a meter is essential. Without a meter you have no idea how what you are eating is effecting you- how can you make any change without that information. When I started I tested first thing in the morning and before and after meals (2hrs after), I then started to track how exercise effected my readings and became a bit too obsessive- however, it was all part of my journey to learning about this condition and how I could manage it.

This site gave me sympathy and help and above all a light at the end of what was a very dark tunnel. I hope it can do the same for you.

There is a lot of information and help to be found here- I found it a bit of information overload at first. Once you have a meter then you can start seeing how certain foods effect you. I followed the advice here and dramatically reduced the carbs I ate and that made my blood sugar levels reduce. You have to remember it is all carbs not just sugars so things like bread (any colour) rice (any colour) pasts and grains...

I have found it tough but (and it's a big but) my levels are much much lower so I will continue.

You may find yourself experiencing a lot of emotions- totally normal. We are all here to listen, empathise, sympathise and provide advice (those that have more experience/expertise than me0 and to be happy when you get good results. Whatever you want to know just ask.

Welcome!
 
My HbA1c went as high as 49 and I have managed to get my readings down to 35 by changing my diet and without meds. Finding the opportunity to exercise was difficult in my case too.
 
Hi Jo,
The low carb is absolutely 100% spot-on, so I'm glad there's some docs finally getting clued in. I don't think you ned to contact the DVLA though, as you're not on gliclazide, a medication like it, or insulin... Metformin only keeps your liver from dumping too much glucose in the morning, it doesn't do much of anything about the foods you eat and the impact they have. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ is my own little quick-start guide for low carb, for more in-fepth information try dietdoctor.com , Dr Jason Fung's The Diabetes Code and this forum's website, diabetes.co.uk (Not .org!). Before your know it your bloodsugars'll come back down. And stock up on test strips for your meter, you're going to need it a lot in the time to come. (It won't always be like that though, after a while you know which foods do what.).

@NDP, the above might be of use to you as well.

Jo, NDP, welcome to both of you. This is the moment where both of your lives and respective health, get better.
The other Jo.
 
 
Hi JO71 I’m also a newly diagnosed type 2 I saw my nurse with in a week but it can take up to a month I’m told . I don’t have to do my bloods either .What really helped was a book the nurse recommended called carbs and calories it’s recommended by diabetes U.K. it fabulous it take all the guess work out of it ,it show's portion sizes carb counts and lots more
 

Hi Jo, welcome to this friendly and very informed corner of the internet. Don’t feel alone with your high HBA1C, I was diagnosed on July 30 with a similarly high reading of 114. I was scared, couldn’t sleep and kept googling the most terrifying possibilities.

Almost a month on I’m pleased to tell you that things don’t have to get worse, in fact they can get much better. I started totally low carb on the same day as my diagnosis. I’d seen a programme on Professor Roy Taylor and I’d seen Labour MP Tom Watson on the TV talking about his weight loss and ‘reversing’ his diabetes. I looked up the specifics and found this site the same day.

My blood glucose test was 24 at the doctor’s surgery on the day before diagnosis. Within a week of starting the low carb diet and increasing my walking to a target of 10,000 steps a day, my fasting blood glucose readings (first thing in the morning) were in the pre-diabetic range. They’ve been in the non-diabetic range every day for the past two weeks. I’ve also lost about 6kg.

I’m not complacent and I don’t for a second think the job is done. I know it will take my HBA1C a few months to catch up but I’m confident that if my blood glucose stays where it is now then that will happen.

I was initially taking Metformin but I haven’t been for about two weeks. I stopped it for a few days to let my stomach settle and noticed it made no difference to my sugar levels. I didn’t see the point in starting again.

I wish you all the luck in the world. Stay positive and be reassured that the experiences of those on this site can also happen for you. It’s a great resource. Welcome!
 
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