Diagnosed with Type 2 a month ago today....

[fatgeezer]

....and am still a bit confused!. Previous to the diagnosis,I'd had severe diarrhea for 50 (yes,fifty) days which suddenly came to a stop thankfully. I was referred to the hospital for a CT scan and a colonoscopy just to rule out anything untoward. I've had the CT scan,and look forward to the colonoscopy next week (not). Anyway I had a urine sample and a blood test which revealed a high level of glucose. I'd been tested before every year or so,and the levels had been OK. All of a sudden the level was 13. I should explain that I am a 58 year old truck driver,grossly overweight,and have a penchant for bacon sandwiches,and I smoke. About the only exercise I get is walking the dog.

When I had the diarrhea,I lost weight as expected. Around 2.5 stones in those 50 days. The GP started me on Metformin (as she thought a level of 13 was too high to go the diet and exercise route) which gave me diarrhea again,so put me on the slow release ones,which seem fine. However,even though the diarrhea stopped around November 24th,I am still losing/gaining weight in a spectacular style. One week I may lose half a stone,the next week I gain a few pounds,then lose it again. I am now about 4 stones lighter than when I first got the diarrhea on October 6th.

I am now taking two Metformin a day,and starting next week it goes up to 4 a day. Next blood test booked for 4th February. The thing is,I don't feel ill!. I don't feel any different than before the diagnosis. Following a heart attack in 2001 I am on Aspirin,Atenolol,Irbesartan and Omeprazole. Until the diagnosis I was also taking Lecithin capsules to keep the cholesterol down (couldn't get on with statins) and a daily garlic capsule to help the old ticker along. GP advised to stop taking these two when on Metformin.

Guess I'll have to wait 'til February to see if there's any improvement. I did purchase an Accu-Chek monitor,but 13 seems to be out of it's range and only says 'HI'. At first I thought it was saying 'HELLO' to me!.

 

[Robinredbreast]

Hello and welcome to the forum

Best wishes RRB

 

[fatgeezer]

Forgot to add,that the diabetes 'specialist' at my Doctors told me that the diarrhea was caused by the diabetes. The jury is still out on that one. Anyone else experience this?.

 

[noblehead]

Welcome to the forum.

I'll tag @daisy1 so she can give you some basic information that you should find useful.

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. You've certainly been thru difficult times. If you see 'Hi' on a meter it means your blood sugar is extremely high (into the 30s or higher) and needs urgent action. Drink plenty of water when this happens and contact the surgery as a minimum. If not already doing so, you must reduce the carbs to help get the blood sugar down. Daisy will come along shortly to give broad advice. I'm afraid I would challenge with your 'specialist' ref diarrhea and diabetes. I've been on this forum for years and never seen anyone connecting the two apart from Metformin; I've never come across it anywhere. You may be an exception but don't just accept it's the diabetes that's causing yours as another cause might be missed.

 

[daisy1]

@fatgeezer

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope this will help you to get the hang of things as there is a lot to learn to look after yourself as well as possible. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will come along and 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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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.

 

[fatgeezer]

Hi and welcome. You've certainly been thru difficult times. If you see 'Hi' on a meter it means your blood sugar is extremely high (into the 30s or higher) and needs urgent action. Drink plenty of water when this happens and contact the surgery as a minimum. If not already doing so, you must reduce the carbs to help get the blood sugar down. Daisy will come along shortly to give broad advice. I'm afraid I would challenge with your 'specialist' ref diarrhea and diabetes. I've been on this forum for years and never seen anyone connecting the two apart from Metformin; I've never come across it anywhere. You may be an exception but don't just accept it's the diabetes that's causing yours as another cause might be missed.

Thanks. I did suggest to the 'specialist' that I cancel the colonoscopy,but he quite rightly said to go ahead with it to rule out anything particularly nasty. But what a coincidence that I get diagnosed with type 2 at the same time as the diarrhea. And the thrush,don't mention the thrush. I've had that since late September,about two weeks before the diarrhea started.Never had it before.Still got it despite using up a third of the worlds supply of Canestan. Suppose I ought to go back to GP with that one!.

 

[geoffh]

Hiya!

You've come to the right place - ask lots of questions here and we'll try to answer them.

From what I understand thrush is quite common with diabetes - it's due to the high levels of sugar in your blood - see here for more info: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-complications/diabetes-and-yeast-infections.html

It sounds like you've had a completely rubbish few months, but if you put your mind to it, this could be the point at which you turn your life (and health) around. I speak from experience - I've been massively overweight pretty much all my life, and since cutting out from my diet pretty every carb I can, I've lost 28kg and my blood glucose levels are back down to a 'normal' range.

I'm on metformin too, but it doesn't actually help to reduce your blood glucose that much. Without a change in diet it almost certainly won't be enough to get your blood glucose under control.

I didn't have any symptoms, and I was diagnosed with fasting blood glucose levels of 13mmol/l (just like you). Diabetes is a really serious condition - there are some seriously scary stories and statistics out there, but it doesn't have to be that way.

I really do believe it's a positive thing that I've been diagnosed diabetic - there's no way I'd have lost this weight and cut out all the sugar/carbs in my diet otherwise. And the best thing - I'm not even hungry!

Have a good look through the forum - read other peoples' stories and see what you think. Personally I'd take what your healthcare professional says with a pinch of salt (not literally!) - mine gave me some seriously bad advice!

 

[Phlogiston]

Hi Geezer,
Sounds like a rubbish few months. But at least you're still upright. The trots in a lorry cab must be awkward.
Roadside eating houses are not the best place for low carb snacks!
Good news is bacon's OK for diabetics.
I was diagnosed about a year ago. I found it easiest to tweak the diet byplanning meals round what I could eat.
I started off setting fairly rigid boundaries - no cakes, biscuits, sweets etc.
I limited savoury carbs (bread, potato, pasta, rice etc.) and allowed free reign to the cheese, leafy veg, nuts (good snack for when you get the munchies).
I have lost quite a lot of weight and got into a sustainable mealtime routine. Christmas has been a bit hard.
it helped that I already liked salads and vegetables.
Once you get the BG down, the thrush should ease.
Hang in there, keep talking.
Best wishes
Adam

 

[Juicyjan53]

Hello and welcome, you've come to the right place for friendly help and support. Just thought I'd mention that I too smoked and felt that giving up was an insurmountable problem especially when having to completely overhaul my diet. I was advised to go to the NHS quit smoking clinic and they were brilliant. I have stopped smoking for over six weeks and I have amazed myself. I know you have a lot to think about but it's worth a try. Take care, Jan X

 

[britishpub]

Hi. I had a colonoscopy on 21st December, after getting my T2 diagnosis in April. My symptoms were the direct opposite to yours, but I probably ignored them for a period, using T2 as the reason.

The Colonoscopy wasn't as bad, as I'd feared although the preparation was probably the worst part. The good news was the 36 hour fasting meant my BG was lower by a long way than usual, and I lost a bit of weight.