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Hi All, I am Steve, looking forward to get to know a few of you on here

toonarmy1000 said:
Hi Steve im new too. I posted this on another thread but had no replies so hjope you dont mind me copying it on yours because we are both new:

Hi everyone i was only diagnosed withe type 2 on thursday and I have my first appointment on Tuesday and I have a million and one questions to ask but came across this thread while looking about. I have had problems with my hands about 2 years now with pins and needles restricted movement, whitening etc. and for the last 6 months my feet have been killing me and sometimes numb and cramp up a lot. I had xrays at the start of this year after my GP saying it will heal itself! and they showed slight damage and have then been sent for various test for thoracic nerve damage nerve conduction tests etc. eventually in november the neurologist sent me and GP a letter saying my bloods showed slight glucose intolerance and after fortnightly fasting blood tests confirmed type 2. I have been on 2 x 300mg Gabapentin 3 times a day and 4 x 10mg Amitryptline at night time for a mixture of the pain and antidepressants as I have suffered from depression for the last 2 years. I am wondering why I havent been tested before and apparently I had full blood tests in January this year because i was in an induced coma and on life support for 3 days asuffering a gastric bleed in January this year. My GP just said there was nothing on file specifically just a record of treatment. I must be honest I am pleased in a way they have found a possible cause of my hand and feet trouble but also a bit scared of more medication with what i already take plus Metformin which i started taking Thursday
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Not at all I struggled with the way the site works , although I am normally quite adept with technology and forums .. In all sincerity I have a huge knowledge gap on diabetes .. But woul like to learn more especially from the people who have controlled it wit diet .. I have high Cholesterol as well .. Which I understand is not unusual ...
 
Steve uk said:
Hi

I am Steve .. Age 56, diagnosed type 2, 15 months ago, still trying to control it with diet. I am not a bad cook , so I have high hopes on continuing to do this, but count is moving in the wrong direction, so I am at the last chance saloon on this as far as my nurse says. I realise there will be people far worse off than me, but I hope we can share experience, knowledge, ideas to help each other
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Good morning and welcome Steve!! Hope you have managed to have a good look around here since Sunday? I knew nothing when diagnosed in June, since being here I've gained a lot of knowledge and have put it into practice!! Keep posting and asking questions!!
 
Oh dear Steve not a good start for you,my DN said to me only test twice a week that is the only bit of silly info she had given me.
The doctor said to me that the Metformin will give me the squirts but it should last for a few weeks,I decided to try diet first but do have them in my bag,hopefully you will get more information at your next visit. image.jpg
 
[QUOTE="toonarmy1000, post: 692007, member: 143561
Hello, toonarmy1000.

I've just joined on here too.

I have been a Type 2 diabetic since December 2003, before that, I was diagnosed Type 1 after I came out of a diabetic coma in March 2003, but I soon put a stop to that when I got fed up with the pain of having to keep sticking a needle in myself twice a day and suspecting I know what triggered off my diabetes in the first place, as I will explain in the fullness of time. Meanwhile, I am trying to find evidence confirming my suspicions as to what caused my diabetes that will stand up in court and there was something you said that might just be a clue when you mentioned 'depression'.

I wonder how many posters can remember if they suffered any bouts of depression and soon after, they discovered they had diabetes.
 
Percy Vere said:
[QUOTE="toonarmy1000, post: 692007, member: 143561
Hello, toonarmy1000.

I've just joined on here too.

I have been a Type 2 diabetic since December 2003, before that, I was diagnosed Type 1 after I came out of a diabetic coma in March 2003, but I soon put a stop to that when I got fed up with the pain of having to keep sticking a needle in myself twice a day and suspecting I know what triggered off my diabetes in the first place, as I will explain in the fullness of time. Meanwhile, I am trying to find evidence confirming my suspicions as to what caused my diabetes that will stand up in court and there was something you said that might just be a clue when you mentioned 'depression'.

I wonder how many posters can remember if they suffered any bouts of depression and soon after, they discovered they had diabetes.
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Hi , Ive just seen your reply this morning and thanks, yeah Im obviously a bit confused at the moment and trying to take a lot of information in. It would be really interesting to chat to you and maybe compare stories sometime to see if there are any comparisond. Cheers
 
daisy1 said:
Hello Steve and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you like and someone will be able 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 over 100,000 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.
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Many Thanks ... A lot of useful information
 
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