Diagnosed with diabetes -Unknown type?

DeejayR said:

Hi and welcome. I'm not going to hazard a guess as to your diabetes type, but you've come to the right place. I recognise many of those symptoms and they are familiar to many others here who will be able to suggest a path for you to follow. Meanwhile I'll tag @daisy1 to give you an excellent guide to managing your diabetes.
It's confusing for you and you've had a bad time with the NHS but try not to worry too much

Click to expand...

Bluetit1802 said:

Hi and welcome,

None of us can tell you what type you are, but an HbA1c of 52 isn't high. It is in the diabetic range (anything 48 and over is diabetic) but many on here started with levels far higher than that. Also, Type 2 isn't restricted to the older population. It can happen at any age, and to thin, fit people in addition to fat people. It really doesn't care. It is very often genetic, so you may have been unlucky to have inherited your grandfather's genes.

Don't panic, and don't worry. You can get those levels down with a few adjustments to your diet and lifestyle. Read Daisy's post when it arrives, and read all round these forums. Then obtain your own blood glucose meter - if your doctor won't give you one then buy your own. Most of us Type 2's are self funding. You are only likely to be given one with a prescription for test strips if you are on insulin or drugs that promote insulin production. If it turns out you are Type 2, with your HbA1c it is likely you won't be given medication. You may be given 3 months to change your diet and add a little exercise to your daily routine, and in my opinion this is the best way forward. You can always have meds later if necessary. If you are Type 1 or some other type (there are several) then things may be different, but at the end of the day, diet is the key.

Good luck and ask whatever questions you like.

Click to expand...

daisy1 said:

@Newbie93

Hello Newbie and welcome to the forum I am not qualified to tell you which diabetes type you are as a professional must tell you this although members can tell you what they think. However, I can give you advice which will be valid for you regardless of which type you turn out to be. This is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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 over 150,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

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 bloodglucose 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.

Click to expand...

Bluetit1802 said:

Ask away.

Click to expand...

Bluetit1802 said:

Your body will co-operate once you cut down on the carbs and sugar. It is because of too many carbs and sugar that you are struggling to keep awake. Also, carbs make you hungry. You can replace any lost energy through eating less carbs by increasing your fats. Contrary to popular opinion, it isn't fats that make you fat, it is carbs plus too much fat combined. If you eat low fat products, try changing to the real thing. Butter, real full fat yogurts, real mayo, double cream, cheese and eggs, plus avocados and olive oil. If you feel hungry or sleepy, snack on a small handful of nuts or some cheese instead.

If you have toast, cereal or porridge for breakfast, try swapping over to a FF yogurt with 3 or 4 berries added for taste, or a full English (bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, very high meat content sausage) or some cold meat and cheese. You will find that extra fat satiates you and you will lose the need and desire for snacks. You don't need to go overboard with the fats, but eat enough to replace the lost energy. Cut those major carbs (bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, cereals and flour based foods) and you will lose weight.

Have a look at this thread, which you may find helpful. http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-new-low-carb-guide-for-beginners.68695/

You also don't need to go to the gym if you don't want to. Walking is one of the best exercises.

Click to expand...

Daibell said:

Hi and welcome. Well I am going to hazard a guess. Being younger and thin tends to imply T1 rather than T2. There are no golden rules on this, but NICE has recently changed it's guidelines to indicate to GPs that they should not just assume T2 (as mine did) when a patient is slim at diagnosis; particularly if young. What the true diagnosis is doesn't matter too much but it does influence the best medication along the way. Metformin will have very little effect if T1 and is normally the drug of choice for T2 starters. There are other tablets more suited to T1 to stimulate the pancreas or even insulin if and when needed. The main thing is the GP doesn't make assumptions but keeps an open mind which my GP didn't.

Click to expand...

CatLadyNZ said:

Welcome to the forum

Hopefully your doctor will be able to tell you soon whether you are type 1 or 2. It should be possible to get things under control fairly quickly and with any luck you will be feeling much better in a few weeks.

If your blood glucose levels don't come down within say 6 weeks, then you might have one of the other types of diabetes, and we can share some info about those with you then. Your doctor may or may not be very aware of those types.

Since it's more likely you have T1 or T2 it's better to focus on the basics of those than to have information overload at this point.

Click to expand...

Bluetit1802 said:

No, I'm no expert. I have picked all my information from this forum and the links to other websites. It's all there if you have a read round. All I can do is speak from experience. Low carb with higher fat worked for me. I lost 4st. 7lbs and brought my blood sugars right down. It is a steep learning curve, but if you apply yourself you will get there. It isn't a race or a sprint. It is a marathon, and whichever diet you decide to follow, it is a diet for life, not 3 or 4 weeks, so it has to be sustainable for you, and you have to enjoy it.

Click to expand...