Fairly Recently Diagnosed T2

[speedboy21]

I have been diagnosed for 3 months but looking through the info on these pages I ahve seen the following:

• 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

I have not been offered either of these. I have Metformin 3 times a day and a a4 sheet of paper and that is it. is this normal or should I go back to my GP to see what else i need??

 

[brianmt]

You're very lucky you had a sheet of paper. Last June I went for a routine blood test pre a colonoscopy, I got a call saying could I come and see the doctor. I went in and was told " You've got diabetes, he's a presciption for metaformin and some statins" . That was it !!!
I told the doc I was going to give up all sugar , he said " you don't have to go that drastic. "
Anyway a month later I went back for my second blood test and as a result of mainly diet ( never took the statins) I had alnost halved my Hba1c. My doctor was impressed and became fully supportive of my new lifestyle, he told me if he old most patients to adopt tmy drastic change they wouldn't, so he tends to be very gentle for the first month/3 month. I can understand his point, there re plenty out there that refuse to give up bread etc and in my opinion it is the first thing you mut give up.
I went to see the doctor last week, after my latest resuls he told me as far as he's concerned I no longer have diabetes, but not to go back to my old syle otherwise the diabetes will raise it's ugly head.
My blood pressure is now normal, my cholesterol is well within normal range and I'm about 25kgms lighter( 4 stone).
For me diet has been the key factor.
at the begining I tested myself after every meal ( get yourself a codefree kit) and got very confused but it did sort itself out iahter a week or so. Testing is the key to understanding what's going on
Recently I've tried a libre freestle and it has been excellent in showing me what causes my BG to peak etc. It would have been an ideal tool for a newly diagnosed T2, downside of course is it's expensive.
Best of luck with your journey, It took me just 4 months to get back to "normal" blood sugar, It can be done

 

[Bluetit1802]

I have been diagnosed for 3 months but looking through the info on these pages I ahve seen the following:

• 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

I have not been offered either of these. I have Metformin 3 times a day and a a4 sheet of paper and that is it. is this normal or should I go back to my GP to see what else i need??

Normally GP's will devolve your care to a nurse. You should initially have review blood tests and a medication review every 3 months. Once the nurse is happy with your blood sugar levels and your medication, you may be moved to 6 monthly checks, and then annual ones. The blood tests should include an HbA1c, cholesterol, full lipid panel, liver and kidney functions.

You should be referred for an annual retinal screening test (you may have to wait a while for your first test, but thereafter they should be annual), and you should also have an annual foot check, normally done by the nurse.

Additionally, you should be invited to attend an education course.

As a Type 2 not on strong medication it is highly unlikely you will be given a glucose meter and test strips on prescription. If you do get one you can count yourself very lucky. Most of us buy our own because they are essential tools in helping us to control matters and learn which foods our body reacts to.

These are the 15 health care essentials for diabetics https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-t...ls/what-are-the-15-healthcare-essentials#hce1

 

[DCUKMod]

I have been diagnosed for 3 months but looking through the info on these pages I ahve seen the following:

• 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

I have not been offered either of these. I have Metformin 3 times a day and a a4 sheet of paper and that is it. is this normal or should I go back to my GP to see what else i need??

Structured education should be offered within 9 months of diagnosis, so it could well happen yet. Very few T2s are offered testing kit, unless they take certain classes of medication which could lead to low blood sugars.

There are lots of things we can do to impact on our health, in conjunction with our Medics' support, but I would urge you not to wait for the medics to tell you what to do. Many find that to be a pretty long wait.

 

[Sue192]

An A4 sheet of paper? Luxury! I was told to go off and see what diet and exercise could do and that was that (luckily no meds). Our surgery doesn't have a DN but another surgery has a brilliant one who runs groups for diabetics which I've gatecrashed - she wasn't best impressed with my experience..... You have come to the right place for help and advice though as this Forum has given me the impetus, advice and pointers, enabling hbA1c down to pre-diabetes levels in three months. However, on phoning the surgery for December's results, I was told that no further action was required (er, yes there is?!), and only badgering gave me the hbA1c. Hopefully you'll get the structured education and health checks that others have mentioned and do a bit of badgering as well - I'm certainly going to ask for a three-month bloods review! Best of luck to you for 2018.

 

[speedboy21]

I also forgot to mention I have had 3 urine infections in the space of 3 months is the OK or is it unusual??

 

[brianmt]

I also forgot to mention I have had 3 urine infections in the space of 3 months is the OK or is it unusual??

I had urinary infections too, It seems to be a symptom of diabetes. Sugar in your wee !!!

 

[bulkbiker]

I have been diagnosed for 3 months but looking through the info on these pages I ahve seen the following:

• 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

I have not been offered either of these. I have Metformin 3 times a day and a a4 sheet of paper and that is it. is this normal or should I go back to my GP to see what else i need??

Do you know what your HbA1c was when you were diagnosed? High sugars can leads to lots of nasties like urine infections. Your body just doesn't like high blood sugar.

 

[speedboy21]

I can't remember about 17 I think at one point on a friends tester I was 32.5 before going to the Drs.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I can't remember about 17 I think at one point on a friends tester I was 32.5 before going to the Drs.

You really need to know all your test results. The best way is to ask for print outs (you can ring reception for them). It isn't just your HbA1c you need to know, it is your cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, liver and kidney functions. These are all very important for diabetics and print outs will show you which tests you had, what the results were, and what the standard range is. Alternatively, if you are in England you can ask if your surgery puts test results on line, and how to register for this. English surgeries were asked to do this before May 2016 although some are a bit slow in this respect.

Never accept comments from doctors and nurses such as "fine" or "OK". They may be teetering on the edge of not being fine, and you need to know, and you need to know test after test whether your results are improving or deteriorating - never expect a doctor or nurse to notice.