Have been unwell for a while and suspected diabetes, but now I have diagnosis confirmed (last Friday )and started on Metformin, I feel very stunned and shocked, as a retired nurse, I feel my retirement is being taken away from me, I know that sounds stupid, but is this reaction normal, or am I just being too sensitive.
-
Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »
Dismayed newly diagnosed T2
- Thread starter EleriWyn
- Start Date
Lamont D
Oracle
- Messages
- 17,967
- Type of diabetes
- Reactive hypoglycemia
- Treatment type
- I do not have diabetes
No!
Most of the newbie diabetics, who come on here are in total confusion and shock, they are looking for support and because the NHS is behind in what is best for most diabetics, the usual advice especially dietary does not help or improve their health.
I've tagged @daisy1 to give you the newcomers welcome information.
There is some great advice that actually does work.
Also look at the low carb forum and the success stories forum.
This condition can be controlled, with the benefits of being in better health probably than you have been in years.
There are some really knowledgeable diabetics on here.
So if you need questions answered, please ask. Someone, will answer.
Energize
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 810
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Hi EleriWyn
Welcome to the forum - the best place for advice and support
Sorry to hear you are so stunned but, yes, I can understand this, and so will many others here. I, too, am a retired nurse so, I suspect you feel you know something about diabetes but not enough. Like everythigng else, it takes on a different perspective when it's suddenly happened to you, and not someone else. All of a sudden, you feel vunerable in some ways.
No, it won't rob you of enjoying your retirement. Just as well, as you have earned your retirement, well and truly, eh?
Hopefully, you are tolerating the Metformin well. I do, but some have gastric upsets with it. If so, there is a slow release Metformin that is usually tolerated better, if necessary. Metformin won't directly affect your glucose levels but will help the insulin be more effective.
Testing your blood glucose is very useful, in spite of what your GP/Diabetes Nurse will tell you. It's one of their ploys to save cash, it seems!!! So, you would be well advised to get a meter but check the cost of the test strips as they are the ongoing cost. SDCodefree is recommended on here for cost reasons.
You will probably need to make some changes to your diet too and lowering carbohydrates seems the best way to go. Reducing or cutting out things like bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, pastry and flour are the main carbs to watch. Many on here, including myself, have drastically cut down on carbs which helps both blood glucose levels and helps lose weight.
I think that's more than enough for you just now. Sorry if I've over burdened you. Just take one thing at a time and one day at a time. You'll get your head around it soon enough but there is a lot to learn and you won't learn it all at once.
You'll have a lot of good advice and support from this forum so I hope you're a bit cheered to know you are amongst friends
Julie
Welcome to the forum - the best place for advice and support
Sorry to hear you are so stunned but, yes, I can understand this, and so will many others here. I, too, am a retired nurse so, I suspect you feel you know something about diabetes but not enough. Like everythigng else, it takes on a different perspective when it's suddenly happened to you, and not someone else. All of a sudden, you feel vunerable in some ways.
No, it won't rob you of enjoying your retirement. Just as well, as you have earned your retirement, well and truly, eh?
Hopefully, you are tolerating the Metformin well. I do, but some have gastric upsets with it. If so, there is a slow release Metformin that is usually tolerated better, if necessary. Metformin won't directly affect your glucose levels but will help the insulin be more effective.
Testing your blood glucose is very useful, in spite of what your GP/Diabetes Nurse will tell you. It's one of their ploys to save cash, it seems!!! So, you would be well advised to get a meter but check the cost of the test strips as they are the ongoing cost. SDCodefree is recommended on here for cost reasons.
You will probably need to make some changes to your diet too and lowering carbohydrates seems the best way to go. Reducing or cutting out things like bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, pastry and flour are the main carbs to watch. Many on here, including myself, have drastically cut down on carbs which helps both blood glucose levels and helps lose weight.
I think that's more than enough for you just now. Sorry if I've over burdened you. Just take one thing at a time and one day at a time. You'll get your head around it soon enough but there is a lot to learn and you won't learn it all at once.
You'll have a lot of good advice and support from this forum so I hope you're a bit cheered to know you are amongst friends
Julie
Mbaker
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 4,340
- Location
- Essex
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Available fast foods in Supermarkets
Really important to allow yourself the mental space to gently accept your new beginning, remember your mind controls the choices you make, so this has to be right. You might feel scared, angry, frustrated and other adjectives - this is normal. I can assure you all your questions will be answered here. If you search for success stories on this site, you will see good control of your diabetes is possible, and that the changes you make will become automatic.
Salvia
Well-Known Member
Hello, and welcome to the forums, @EleriWyn. I hope you feel reassured to know your reaction is entirely normal, and you will soon feel much calmer about everything. There's good advice above, so no need to repeat, just to say have a good browse around, find your feet (as it were), and ask any questions you may have. One thing - there's no silly or stupid questions, except the ones we don't ask.
Liam1955
Master
- Messages
- 10,964
- Location
- York, England, UK.
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Insulin
- Dislikes
- Anti-Gay People, Self Centre People, Two Faced People and Bad Language.
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@EleriWyn
Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be here to 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 well over 210,000 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:
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 free 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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be here to 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 well over 210,000 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
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 free 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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
Tabbyjoolz
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 556
- Location
- London
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Cruelty, bigotry
It is the most horrendous shock and there is no shame in grieving either. The good news is that once you get to grips with things, start to feel physically well and feel you have some control over the situation, that's when everything changes for the better.
Getting a blood glucose meter works wonders. Experiment with food, exercise well (I walk a lot) and read up as much as you can on this forum. Many of us eat low carb.
This is a very friendly place with loads of good advice. Good luck xxx
Getting a blood glucose meter works wonders. Experiment with food, exercise well (I walk a lot) and read up as much as you can on this forum. Many of us eat low carb.
This is a very friendly place with loads of good advice. Good luck xxx
it is a gigantic chock to most people, but when you adapt it is getting better ... you could look at it in another way; that it forces you to live in a very healthy way, and that even not allowed to relax too much and having to eat very healthy foods,,,, then maybe if you have dicipline you will live much longer and more bodyfit...if you can get your blood glucose and body weight and fitness right
