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Hello...

Tezmum

Tezmum

Member
Messages
7
Location
Swindon
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Dramas, back stabbing, gossips.
...I'm Vicki, I was diagnosed with type 2 in 2003. To say I'm struggling at the moment is an understatement!

I have a lot of health problems from a near fatal car crash in 2002. It badly damaged my pancreas and the next thing I knew I was diabetic. I tend to be stable for ages then suddenly out of the blue it's through the roof. That's what its done again. I was put on slow release insulin 13 months ago then on Friday I was taken into hospital and they tested my sugars. 18.5!!!! From no where! Now I get that being ill pushes it up but usually its no higher than a 10 if I'm ill. So now I'm stuck. I've monitored it since I came home and its only dropped to 11.3 and thats after 24 hours with no food then another 24 on liquids only. So I'm going to make an appointment with the diabetic nurse as soon as I can.

Bottom line, I'm scared. That's why I'm here. I need some one to talk to who gets why I'm worried and hopefully others who have had the same experience as me. I'm already disabled and have to use a walking frame. I fought for 7 years to get out of a wheel chair, I don't want to go back into one because I've lost a foot to this horrible illness.

Sorry to be so miserable! I'm usually a happy, funny person! Honest!!!

Thanks x
 
Welcome to the forum Tezmum, hopefully Daisy will be along shortly with her advice to new members of the forum, however you would do well to speak with your diabetes team about your bg levels so do get in touch with them.
 
Hello welcome ,

Sorry I don't know about insulin but someone will ....

Hope you find lots of support here , best wishes Kat
 
Hello and a warm welcome. What a predicament you find yourself in. I am so sorry you have had these traumatic events in your life, but good to see you are normally a happy person! We are all miserable at times, even non-diabetic healthy folk.

Yes, you must get in touch with your health care team.

@daisy1 will be along soon with some good advice for new forumites. Meanwhile do have a read round and if you have any questions all you have to do is ask.
 
Thanks all. Bit stuck until the doctors open tomorrow. It's lousy timing, by the time I was discharged on Friday it was too late to call the doctor so I've stewed on it all weekend.
 
Tezmum said:
Thanks all. Bit stuck until the doctors open tomorrow. It's lousy timing, by the time I was discharged on Friday it was too late to call the doctor so I've stewed on it all weekend.
Click to expand...

As a suggestion, if your just under the care of your gp for your diabetes ask for a referral to the diabetes clinic at your local hospital, they are more use to dealing with complex issues and will hopefully find a solution to your problems.
 
I was under their care but as I was stable for years they signed me off. It took 8 months to get an appointment with them in 2003, gawd knows how long it will take this time!!!
 
@Tezmum

Hello Vicki and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will come along and help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 over 130,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.
 
Welcome, sounds like a bad crash, your in the right place if you need some support, lots of knowledgeable people here giving good advice.
 
@Tezmum

Welcome.
Sorry you are struggling right now.
If you are not able to get help from GP or out of hours service, and you have concerns that cannot wait, surely the hospital team that discharged you on Friday would be the place to call for advice?

Hope you get the relevant advice quickly, as the worry will not be helping.
 
I wish you all the very best ... after what you've been thru, you deserve it :)

Seek that help as others have advised

Mike
 
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