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first post, hello

hobnail

Member
Messages
10
Hello all, newby here, 54 male, non drinker, non Smoker, I used to smoke a bit of pot (no tobacco) but an ear infection stopped this, as a little pipe of pot made my ears ring like Sunday morning bells!!!
A bit chubby round the middle now. I used to gain a bit in the winter and loose it in the summer, but unfortunatley we lost the summer and I kept the belly!
For the last 5 years I have had an ear infection that won't get better.
At last after being given loads of ear drops and asking for an ENT referral (for 5 years)
I was sent to ENT surgeon, he treated the infection said it was a yeast disorder that had become infected The treatment worked, but he said it could come back.
He suggested I get a blood sugar test, he told me recurring ear infections can be one of the signs for sugar problems. (Pity my Doc didn’t notice this!)
Yesterday I went to the docs for the results of a 12 hour fasting blood test.
The test after a 12 hour fast was 7.
I don't have a 'bottle of glue' as to what this figure 7 means, but the nurse said it was high and I had to retake the test. the results are here tomorrow 'Friday'
My Father and Mother and a couple of brothers (all dead now) and a sister (alive) were / are troubled with diabetes. I don't know what kind it was (I didn’t know there was more than 1 kind until I started reading about it) but my Farther, Mother and 2 brothers all used insulin and my sister has been using it for 10 years or so, I haven‘t told her yet to stop her worrying..
I am like a cat on a hot tin roof waiting for tomorrows’ results.
Is 7 a very high result?
I remember my old fella, he had a small chemistry set, with test tubes, droppers and tablets. He would piddle in a container, put some in a test tube with ½ a tablet. Wait a while until it had stopped fizzing.
Then he would offer it up to a chart to check the colour, He kept a note book with a log of the twice daily tests. A proper inconvenience if we ever went anywhere.
You kind folk experienced in the ways of blood sugar will probably think me right soft, thanks for reading and any help is appreciated. Hobnail

Its going be a long night!
 

Hi hobnail and welcme.
Don't spend all day and night worrying.
A fasting score of 7 isn't so bad that you have to fret.
As for blood testing all you need now is a little spot of blood from a prick on the finger placed onto a test strip in a little machine smaller than a mobile phone and Bob's your uncle your result is there in seconds. No piddling in containers unless you really want to!! :lol:
Have a look around on here, read the advice to newly diagnosed and ask as many questions as you like....we don't bite and we are all here to help. We have all been through what you are going through so you're not alone.
Best wishes
Angie
 
hello and welcome

i cant offer u much advice as my son is only 8 but dont be afraid to ask anything there is always someone who can help u, we have all been there and know what its like so dont think a question is silly we have prob all asked it before

good luck for ur result

anna marie
 
Thanks loads for the nice welcome and prompt reply's.
I've had a look round the site and its very informative. I suppose like a lot of chaps in their 50's I've let things go a bit. I have just bought a copy of 'Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars' I'm going to have to pull me socks up a bit whatever results the nurse says tomorrow. Just out of interest, is any exercise good exercise? Walking isn't to good for me, having steel plates and pins in my leg and arm, left over from a motorbike smash 35 years ago. Walking with a stick, about 50 to 100 feet is my lot. Just bought my first set of scales and weigh in at 13.4 stone, never knowingly been over 12 stone before. I was thinking of an exercise bike but don't like the idea of wasting my time peddling if it's not going to do much, my weight is on my belly, skinny as a skinny young thing everywhere else, just the jelly belly made of full English breakfasts and to many sticky pudds. Looks like I'm smuggling a bucket of water. Maybe I can fix an alternator on an exercise bike and convert it to charge battery's or something a bit more useful.
All the best and thanks again
 
Hi Hobnail and welcome to the forum I see you haven't been diagnosed yet so good luck tomorrow. In the meantime this is the advice that Angie referred to - it could be useful even if you are borderline diabetic as it could prevent you from progressing into full diabetic. Here is the link for ease of reference:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17088#p155405

Ask any questions you like and have a good read around as there is so much information on here.
 
hobnail said:
is any exercise good exercise?
my weight is on my belly, skinny as a skinny young thing everywhere else, just the jelly belly made of full English breakfasts and to many sticky pudds.

Hi,
Yes any exercise is good, whatever you can manage. Dr Bernstein recommends exercises with dumbells (you'll find that when you get reading!!)
As for your belly, you will probably find when you cut down on the carbohydrates a bit to control your sugars you may lose a bit of that. I've lost just over a stone since I changed my diet for type 2 and have had to dig out my jeans and trousers that I had hidden in the back of the wardrobe thinking I may get in them again one day!! I have now hidden the larger ones instead :lol:
Good luck for your results tomorrow,
Angie
 
Hello folks, took me a few days to get used to the idea. Have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes , I have had 2 high results one 7.4 one of 7.6, told not to panic, have to see the nurse next week about diet advise, no meds yet, doc reckons = if I get rid of the extra 2 stone I have put on in the last 2 years, do lots of exercises and alter my diet. I 'might' be able to control things for a while, but as both my parents and lots of relatives were smitten its just a matter of time. Made it clear how long is up to my behaviour though. So for now I have put myself on a 'cut out the obvious stuff' diet, up to now I've managed on 1/2 size meals, not started on the egg whites on wholemeal bread and Bovril diet yet I managed to scrounge a cross trainer. A big old fashioned thing that fills my front room up. My mates got a nice little new magnetic one and this was going to the charity shop. I've probably used up a few calories installing it! :roll:

Thanks again for calming me down the other day, you all do a grand job.

Now the fun starts.
 
hobnail said:
Thanks again for calming me down the other day, you all do a grand job.

Now the fun starts.

Hi,
Glad to hear you are getting to grips with it all and that we all helped.
Good luck and we are here to help if you need us.
Angie
 
I'm fairly newly diagnosed Type 2, and I've read Dr Bernstein's book. I found it very informative, but it's a little too extreme for me! I like my eggs with yolks :lol:

A book I've found very useful is 'Atkins Diabetes Revolution' by Dr Mary Vernon and Jacquline A Eberstein. It explains the disease very well, and has conversions from American to English, so isn't too confusing. The diet is pretty well the same as the famous 'Atkins' diet. It doesn't suit everyone, because it is quite high in fat, but it's easy to follow, you never feel hungry, and you don't need a degree in higher maths to work out what to eat. I can promise you, from personal experience, that it will lower your blood glucose, your blood pressure and your cholesterol. Unfortunately I slipped off it, went back to normal eating, and 5 years later have put all the weight back on (I lost five stone) so have it all to do again, plus diabetes!

It's basically a low-carb diet. You'll notice if you read around that a lot of people who use the forum cope better with a low-carb diet - much lower carbohydrate than that recommended by the NHS. I'm one - I eat between 20g - 50g of carbohydrate a day, and it suits me, though it doesn't suit everyone. We're all individual, and what suits one won't be right for another.

The main thing is to get your practice to give you a meter and some strips, so you can test to find out which foods affect your blood glucose readings. Potato, rice and pasta send mine high, but I can manage the odd slice of wholemeal bread, for instance. Some people can eat porridge - not me! It really is a matter of finding out your individual needs, and you'll find lots of helpful advice and support on here.

I also have a book called 'Rosie's Armchair Exercises', by Rosita Evans, which is a suppling and movement workout for the less mobile among us - like me!

Don't hesitate to ask questions on here. There's a lot to find out, and we're all in this together! This site has been a lifeline for me.

Viv
 
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