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Found out today & confused. Help please

Marieukxx

Marieukxx

Well-Known Member
Messages
240
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Diet only
I'll try and be brief. basically I am 35 and overweight. My weight piled on after always being very thin at a size 8 to going up to 15 stone 6lbs. This was all due to severe depression and I've been this way for about 4 years now.

Last year I started getting really stiff legs which I put down to being unfit. Then this year I started getting sharp stabbing pains through my legs like electric shocks but mainly when lying down and my legs were still stiff like boards and I was shuffling around. I also started to get tingling like pins and needles in my fingers. Doc said it was carpel tunnel and just muscle spasams.

Soon after that visit to the doc my appetite went. I put this down to a nasal spray I was prescribed for 2 months for fluid in my ears. I just assumed it may have affected my taste buds. It didn't bother me because I started losing weight. People noticed I had lost weight and my clothes were loose so I decided to step on the scales and had come down to 13 stone 4lbs.

But then in the last month I started to feel really really ill. I have no energy at all, boiling hot all the time. I have a very short fuse snapping at everyone. I feel dizzy all the time. My legs started tingling so bad all the way from the bottoms of my feet up my legs just buzzing like mad non stop. My hands are the same but not as bad. I even hadvethe pins and needles in the left side of my groin and my face! I have twitches all over my body that last months. One in between my thumb and index finger has been constant for months. I've been shaking and trembling some days I always bite my mouth eathing by accident all the time and in my sleep. I'm twitching in my sleep, my arms will get a jolt and twitch up. The final straw was when my legs and feet were tingling so ferociously it felt like they were vibrating or buszzing and could take off! I then realised while in the bath shaving my legs that the insides of my legs are numb! So went to the doctor last friday in desperate need of help. He took me seriously this time sne ordered a blood test which I had on wednesday.

I had a call from the surgery Thursday to say results were back and my doctor wanted to see me about them. I was given an appointment for 9am today .
The doctor said my blood sugar levels are dangerously high and at diabetic level. He asked what's been going on in my life lately straight away.

He asked if I drink which I do and how much. He ordered an immediate blood test to check my sugar level again which I just had. Test results will be back monday.

He also made me an appointment for 8.40 at a nearby practice (same surgery they just have another a few miles away) It's to see some diabetic person who will go through my diet and stuff apparently. He got me a cancellation and advised I take it so am getting seen quickly.

In the meantime I am not to drink, which I haven't done for the last week. I've been given vitamins to take and some tablets for the neuropathy. The tingling and dizziness has eased a lot since I started eating breakfast lunch and dinner last Friday. I force myself even though I am not at all hungry and fancy nothing. But my legs are still numb and a little tingly in certain positions plus very achy sore now.

I don't know what's what to be honest. What I should or shouldn't eat or drink or if I am actually diabetic or not. I asked him and he said the sugars are at diabetic levels and I could very well be but didn't say yes or no so I'm confused. Will the next blood test be a definitive answer to that?
What will happen at the diabetic clinic appointment on Monday? Am I diabetic or what?

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Just diecovered the newly diagnosed section so maybe it should go there. If so can a mod move it please, Thanks
 
Hello and welcome.

You were in a bad way, poor thing, but at least things are moving now. I suggest you ring your GP's receptionist NOW and ask her for the first blood results as regards diabetes. You need to know exactly what your levels were. She will tell you over the phone, or at least she should tell you. Insist if she argues. Then come back and tell us what they were.
 
Just rang and she said the glucose was 13.7 but that means nothing to me
 
welcome to the site, and glad you have found us, you will find a lot of answers here and a lot of helpful advise and support..

I agree with Bluetit try and get the numbers from the surgery that way you will know your starting point.

If you are diabetic or prediabetic I would recommend getting yourself a blood glucose meter, though you will probably have to buy it yourself. They are the best thing to help work out what your sugar levels are doing.

You will probably find that the information regarding diet that you receive from the surgery differs from that here, most of us here have decided to reduce our carb intake to a greater or lesser extent but that is something you will have to decide for yourself when you have read up on it.

Someone will be a long soon with links to a lot of useful information and no doubt others will be on with more advise as well.
 
I'm scared because my legs are sore and achy today, I'm worried sick tbh.
 
Many people find it hard to come to terms with the diagnosis of diabetes but, from what I can see, at least you're well on your way to working out what's been wrong with you.

IME, that's a really big step, and one that can mark a real turning point in your life. There's lots of experience on here to draw on and an awful lot of people who have already gone through what you're going through now.

Good luck and let us all know how you get on over the next few weeks
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Was this a fasting blood test, or just taken without fasting? It does make a difference.
Click to expand...
No that was just taken without fasting. That day I had had a bowl of special k for breakfast. Today's test they did I had not eaten anthing since the night before but he didn't know that. Jut asked for an immediate test to check it again
 
OK . It means very little on its own but it is high. Your next test (fasting) will tell you much more and will hopefully be lower.

These are the target ranges the NHS expects us to aim for:

Fasting and before meals. Non diabetics 4 to 5.9. Type 2 diabetics 4 to 7.
2 hours after eating meals. Non diabetics under 7.8. Type 2 diabetics under 8.5.

The "after eating" ranges will depend exactly on what and how much you ate. The more carbohydrates, the higher the reading will be.

Please try not to panic or fret. Stress is not good for blood sugar levels. The ball is now rolling for you, and when you have your next test your care plan will start.

In the meantime, have a look at what you eat. Cereals, especially with milk, are not good so I would change your breakfast to maybe a natural plain yogurt with some berries thrown in, or an omelette or bacon and eggs.

Bread, potatoes, rice and pasta are not good choices. You can eat meat, fish, eggs, bacon, leafy green vegetables, salads, cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, olive oil, butter. Go shopping and look at the labels on everything you buy. Compare different brands and choose the ones with the lowest total carbs. You can ignore the "of which sugars" bit, it's the total carbs you need to look at. The lower the better.

All carbs turn to sugar once in your system, some faster than others. You need to remember that Carbs = Sugar and eat as few as possible and start now!
 
Thanks. I guess I will just have to wait and see. I thought special K and skimmed ilk was good! Plus I had rice for lunch! It was one of those diet low fat meals. I will switch to a boiled egg or something. I'm scared but glad to be getting things sorted.
 
Thanks for the carbs info I will get shopping tomorrow. I did have a salad bowl yesterday for tea which was a peppery salad and I added in pastrami and low fat dressing but I did have a crusty roll with it. Will cut out the bread and stuff.
 
Please don't be afraid of fat! Many low fat foods have sugar added to make them taste nicer. The real things are better for you - butter, cheese, yogurts, mayonnaise etc. Boiled eggs are a good idea for breakfast. Have 2, but no bread unless you can find some Burgen or LivLife (this is only sold in Waitrose) or some very heavily seeded wholemeal, and only have 1 slice with lots of butter on. The butter and eggs will fill you up and stop you being hungry before lunch time. Milk is full of lactose, which is sugar! You can buy lactose free milk.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Please don't be afraid of fat! Many low fat foods have sugar added to make them taste nicer. The real things are better for you - butter, cheese, yogurts, mayonnaise etc. Boiled eggs are a good idea for breakfast. Have 2, but no bread unless you can find some Burgen or LivLife (this is only sold in Waitrose) or some very heavily seeded wholemeal, and only have 1 slice with lots of butter on. The butter and eggs will fill you up and stop you being hungry before lunch time. Milk is full of lactose, which is sugar! You can buy lactose free milk.
Click to expand...
I can't thank you enough for your advice. The neuropathy I've experienced has scared the life out of me and I am determined to get healthy. I'll come back monday and let you know how I get on in this diabetes clinic.
 
Personally I wouldn't buy it. It is quite starchy (starch isn't good). Have you thought of making your own soups, then you know exactly what is in them. I don't know why I'm saying that because I've never made one! There is a thread entitled What have you eaten today that may give you some ideas. It is best to avoid tinned soups and go for homemade. Tonight I'm having tinned red salmon, cherry toms, cheese, spring onion and real mayo with 1 slice of bread. I had a fry up at lunch time. You can have berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries) with either plain yogurt or cream as a dessert. With other fruits you need to be careful. if you buy a home monitoring meter you will be able to learn which foods you can and can't have. It is all trial and error and our metabolisms are all different.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Personally I wouldn't buy it. It is quite starchy (starch isn't good). Have you thought of making your own soups, then you know exactly what is in them. I don't know why I'm saying that because I've never made one! There is a thread entitled What have you eaten today that may give you some ideas. It is best to avoid tinned soups and go for homemade. Tonight I'm having tinned red salmon, cherry toms, cheese, spring onion and real mayo with 1 slice of bread. I had a fry up at lunch time. You can have berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries) with either plain yogurt or cream as a dessert. With other fruits you need to be careful. if you buy a home monitoring meter you will be able to learn which foods you can and can't have. It is all trial and error and our metabolisms are all different.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'm a useless cook but I guess I'm gonna have to learn now lol. Thanks for all your help I do appreciate it. Do you think they may give me a testing kit on monday? Or should I buy myself one?
 
Fruits I've been eating are clemetines/satsumas, bananas and granny smith apples. Are they bad ones? Is corn on the cob with low fat margarine allowed and a good thing to eat?
 
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