Expected for quite some time, and now diagnosed - Hello Type 2, not nice to meet you

[Janiept]

Hey Hergen, Congrats on gaining such good control of your bloods you are obviously doing things right. Can I ask if you have lost any weight since you have been following the new regime?
If you have then I would have thought that continuing with that regime is the best way to go, but if not 700 calories is a ridiculously low amount which you won't follow for too long and then as soon as you increase quantities all the weight you have lost will come back and more.
It's crash dieting which is well documented to be a road to failure and (Imo) your DN wants shooting.

 

[Helsin]

Did she say 'Newcastle Diet' at any point and say it would be for a short time only?

 

[Tm6t7]

Hi Hergen, 700? Wow!! I couldn't get out of bed on that amount I am by no means in need of weight loss per se, but for a health 'professional' to suggest such a low calorific intake and then admonish you to boot would make me seek a second or third opinion, if what you are doing is working then stick with that until you speak WITH a dietician. Well done on your controls and the continued upbeat posts. Salutations from Britains smallest county!!!

 

[WeeFergus]

Hergen

Have you been on that 700 cals diet so long that you've actually disappeared? I hope you are well.

 

[Hergen]

Hah! Apologies for not updating for so long. But there hasn't been much change, really

I'm scheduled for my next HbA1c in June. Since my GP still refuses to prescribe me test sticks, I switched to a SD Codefree reader - which always reads too high, unfortunately, but if I deduct 1-1.5mmol it is about right (still have some Aviva sticks to counter-test).

My life has seen a decisive upswing. I'm way more energetic than before. I haven't had a depressive down in weeks, which feels quite grand I have to admit. I have continued my existing diet, and my readings have come to levels that would make me seem "normal", were it not for the 4x500mg Metformin I am taking each day. I have checked on spikes after bad food a couple more times, and they're getting lower every time, and vanish faster. So nothing to complain about, really! Right now I am actually preparing for my first vacation ever, with friends, at the end of May.

I've even started draping my food, which is a bit silly, but nice xD

 

[WeeFergus]

Hergen,
It's lovely to see you back and hear that everything is trundling along nicely. What lovely photographs. What do you mean by "draping my food" ? I've always used the SD Codefree meter as that was the one I bought when first diagnosed in mid-January. My first HbA1c test (after diagnosis) is scheduled for 28th April and my review with the DN will be on May 11th. I'm quite looking forward to it as I know my BG and weight have both improved but I've yet to decide how honest I'll be about the low carb, full fat diet I've been following.

Keep well (and keep in touch).

 

[Hergen]

Draping food as in making it look nice. As I'm living alone, usually I don't care how my food looks, as long as it's edible

 

[WeeFergus]

It's always nicer if you eat something that looks as if an effort has been made but I've never heard of 'draping'. Were those photos of dishes you had made? The sandwich, in particular, makes my mouth water but, as I'm following a low carb diet at the moment, I can't eat the bread for now.

 

[Hergen]

Yepp, that's all stuff I made. The sandwich contains Whole Grain Rye & Quinoa bread and has a total of around 50 carbs. Honey roast ham, half a tomatoe in slices, some mixed salad, edam cheese and a thin layer of mayo. It's -really- satiating for breakfast and keeps me going until lunch. It crumbles like it's nobody's business though, so you'll want to have it on a plate of sorts.

 

[Hergen]

Okay, I guess I'll have to continue shelling out for Aviva test strips... Not only do the readings on the SD CodeFree device fluctuate like crazy (from the same drop of blood earlier today I got 3 readings, ranging from 6.2 to 9.4!), but the reading just now was 2.6 mmol/L higher than the Aviva one (taken at the same time from the same drop of blood), and the Aviva was so far always coherent with readings taken at the GP. 6.8? Perfectly okay 2h after a meal. 9.4? Not disastrous, but I would probably try to kick the meal off my diet, if it's not cheat day.

Yes, the test strips for the Aviva cost FOUR TIMES what the CodeFree ones cost, but neither do they advertise with "gold plated contacts" (***?), nor have they ever fluctuated more than 0.2 mmol. What annoys me the most that I found out that I'm a diabetic with the Aviva. Now imagine someone who's fine getting a CodeFree and getting the shock of their life because it's unreliable!

 

[donnellysdogs]

Which machine did you test on first?
The first drop out for me is always lower.. Even on the same accuchek machine my first drop has been 5.5 and my 2nd test 7.2 within seconds and by squeezing my finger a little more to get the blood out.

 

[Hergen]

It was quite literally the same drop of blood - when I prick on a depth of 3 on either of my middle fingers, it flows like the River Styx. And I tested on the codefree one first. Did some research and apparently people have been reporting differences of up to 4mmol - on a medical device, that's just not acceptable, especially when 2mmol can decide between "all is fine" and "oops, diabetes"

 

[stobay]

Hi,

Great to be here and appreciate all comments. Its been a very trying period with diabetes but
I was sorted out with this miracle which is applicable to all diabetes cases. Please try this
http://bit.ly/1OL25pZ and would appreciate comments on your awesome healing

 

[WeeFergus]

@Hergen

I suspect you might be on holiday (from one of your earlier posts). I hope you have a great time and get back refreshed and raring to go. I also hope the HbA1c you get in June shows a marked improvement.

 

[vintageutopia]

Go you!

 

[RobOwen]

Okay, I guess I'll have to continue shelling out for Aviva test strips...

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but Ebay is a good source of Aviva test strips. You can usually pick up long expiry examples for between £12.50 & £15 per pot of 50, with many multiple sales of 100's, & 200's.

Hope that helps.

 

[Welshgooner]

What a good read this thread was Love the humor

 

[WeeFergus]

What a good read this thread was Love the humor

Apart from wanting to know that Hergen is OK, I thought others might appreciate his take on the start of his battle with diabetes.

 

[Alisonjane10]

Hi Hergen
I've enjoyed reading about your Diabetes journey too. The title of your post piqued my interest initially, & I've followed your posts since. You've made me laugh & cheered me up on days I've felt down. I think lots of members, including myself, have times when we struggle with our diagnosis of Diabetes. Your sense of humour is just fab & I'm sure that will help you cope with this disease.

I too use the Codefree meter. Funnily enough, I posted a question about it earlier this week. My meter has been reading low blood glucose levels. Sometimes in hypo range. I also have a meter from my GP, which I used to double check. There's always a big difference between the two, even when using the same drop of blood. What I've learnt from other members is to look at the meter reading trend to establish a pattern. Which is great unless the Codefree meter has me below 4.0mmols. I tend to check the reading on my prescribed meter before treating any low BG reading. I don't have classic hypo symptoms...no cold sweats etc. My warning signs of a hypo are quite obscure...dull headache, slow shallow breathing...& that's it really. So, I do rely on my meter to inform me there's a problem with my glucose levels. No easy answer I guess.

Anyway Hergen, I hope all goes ok with your HbA1c & review. Let us know how you're doing, huh! Best wishes.

Alison.

 

[Hergen]

Hello everyone!

Apologies for the extremely late update. I have been a very busy bee in the last few months, but thankfully the busy time is over now - until next April it should be smooth sailing. That being said, I thought that one or the other might be interested in an update on my situation, and as I have been at the GP this morning to get the results, I thought it might be time for an update!

And it's good news. Fantastic, even - so much that my GP double-checked the results. I managed to go down from a hbA1c of 74 (average of 11.2mmol or about 9%) in February to 37mmol/mol (average of 6.2 mmol or about 5.5%) in August! Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Sodium, Potassium, etc. all with great results as well. I got taken off Metformin for now and will try to keep it under 41mmol/mol just by following my diet.

The GP has been very happy with me, and I am a very happy bee right now as well. Yay