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Greetings, T2 newbie here.

S

Stevemcm38

Newbie
Messages
1
Hello everyone.

I am a 53 year old male diagnosed 2 months ago with T2. Yes it was a shock but to be honest I wasn't surprised. Annual fasting bg levels were very borderline for a couple of years and I did nothing about it until it was too late. Rather stupidly I carried on stuffing my face with sweet stuff and all the wrong food ( I was the archetypal salad dodger) and avoided exercise like the plague, so like I said I wasn't surprised when my fasting bg was 21.5 mmol and my doc phoned me up to give me the good news.

So in the past two months I have seen a Dietician, had the inside of my eyeballs photographed and had a session with the GP's Practice Nurse. I have invested in a good set of scales and a tape measure and more importantly completely changed my diet, and I do mean completely. I have also bought my own testing gear but the GP nurse kindly informed me that my chances of my GP scripting me a reasonable supply of test strips was about as likely as me winning the London Marathon next year so I still have that particular debate to look forward to.

Having decided to buy my own test meter and strips (Accu-chek Aviva with a Fast-clik lancet device) I am testing every morning when I wake up and immediately before and 2 hours after meals so I'm consuming 7 strips a day although some days I do give it a rest and just test once in the morning. I am taking Metformin and currently titrating up to 4 x 500mg/day currently on 2 x 500mg that combined with the lifestyle changes has seen self test levels of between 4.5 and 7 with maybe one to two tests at nearly 8.0 and one surprisingly low measurement. I'm due to see my doc again for a face to face discussion (did I mention he gave me the diagnosis over the phone) and I have lots to ask him for example:
1. From what I have seen my BG levels are now pretty good for T2 so why do I need to ramp up to 4 x500mg Metformin per day?
2. He prescribed Simvastatin, my total cholesterol is 4.0 (LDL 2.7) I haven't taken it as I'm not comfortable with the default position GPs are taking on Statins.
3. How bad is my pancreas? is it possible to test my insulin levels?
4. Is there a chance I can manage this without medication?
5. I had a good exercise session 2 weeks go and came home trembling, dizzy and feeling pretty bad my bg was at 3.2 and I had to eat something sugary fairly sharpish felt ok after 15 minutes. Never felt like that before so I'm wondering what happened.

Anyway, sorry for the long post and i'm keen to hear any comments or advice. I'm fundamentally cool with what is happening having come to terms with my own stupidity I'm feeling better than I have for a few years so its not all bad for me at the moment. Hopefully the wake up call will make me look after things a bit better.

Cheers
Steve
 
Welcome Steve

My story has some similarities to yours. A couple of things:

1. I was testing heaps at the start and then slowed down once I got used to having diabetes and seeing the results always ok. I now test for 3 days once a month or if I am feeling out of sorts or if I am ill. Much cheaper.

2. Given your questions (which are very reasonable) I suggest you find a way to see a diabetes specialist or at least a different doctor. If you have the money to go private, it would be a good investment to get set up early on with the right regime and good information. Your mediocre GP can then continue to monitor you but leave the big decisions to someone who actually knows what they're doing.

I agree regarding Metformin - 4 might be appropriate but it might not. Your initial BG was very high but it seems really good now. I'm on 2 Metformin a day and keeping a 3rd up my sleeve for later. Taking more than you need can mean you have fewer options later on. But don't trust me, I'm a newbie too - get medical advice on this.

Re your pancreas - read the info on this website about Type 2 - your pancreas may be fine, but your body's ability to process insulin may not be working at its best. It sounds like you had Pre-diabetes (like me) and I know for me this involved Insulin Resistance. The dysfunction is in the fat and muscle cells all around the body, so it's not easily fixed. Metformin helps those cells to accept the insulin that's on offer in your bloodstream.

It may be possible to manage your diabetes with diet and exercise only - it depends on your body and only your health professionals can really comment on that. It's worth noting though that diabetes is a progressive condition, and many of us will end up needing oral medication and later insulin - this is not a sign of failure on our part, it's the way the condition works. I'm happy to take Metformin as it makes my life easier and it seems to help me lose weight, which reduces my insulin resistance and has a multitude of other health benefits.

Most of us seem to be quite zealous at the start - going too hard with diet and exercise can cause problems, as you have already found. My guess is that the rapid drop in BG made you feel ill. Technically at 2 you are hypoglycaemic, but us Type 2s can feel that way if we go down too fast lower than about 4-5.

Two maxims I've learnt to live by with my diabetes management:
- get the best medical advice you can find
- everything in moderation
 
Hi Steve and welcome to the forum :) You sound as though you have made an excellent start with your diabetes care. I hope that this information will help you which was written for new members. Ask as many questions as you like as there is always someone 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 30,000 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

Reduce your 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

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

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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
Click to expand...
 
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