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Hi,i am newly diagnosed be kindxx

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Boo boo

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Hi,i was diagnosed 2weeks ago. Have just taken my first met medicationand have been on statins for high cholesteral for a week. I have been looking at the forum and i am confused my hb1c? Is 11is that really bad. I spoke to the community diabetic nurse today about a monitor but she said that i didn't need one, could someone give me some friendly advice.xxxx
 
:roll: Hi Boo Boo, just to welcome you to the site. I can't as yet give you any advice because I was only diagnosed 3 weeks ago. I can assure you though, there are many people on here who can give loads of advice and tips, they have made me welcome and have helped me a lot. Did you see the Bayer competition on the home page ? Go on , apply for the meter ! Read all the replies to your post tomorrow. We will learn together. :roll:
 
I'm fairly new too, and don't know the answer to your question but I was 12.4 at diagnosis (about 2 months ago) if I remember correctly anything over 10 is considered diabetic. I know it's peace of mind where the numbers are concerned, but I feel what's important is what I do now. I've made changes and I feel fine & in fact losing weight and exercising more I'm better than ever!
 
Hi Boo boo and welcome to the forum :) I'm glad you have already started looking around. For HbA1c, for a type 2, a level of 6.5% is considered good control but many prefer a lower level than that including me. Non-diabetic levels are below 5.5%. So yours is too high at the moment but with some help, good diet and exercise you will be able to gradually reduce that. For some information about HbA1c, have a look at this link:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html

I think it is essential to test your blood sugars so that you can see what effect foods you eat are having on your levels. The ads on the forum are a good place to start for a meter. There is also the possibility of phoning manufacturers who will probably send you a free one if you say you are going to use lots of strips. They want you to buy their strips! Try choosing one which uses cheaper strips. People here buy their strips mainly from ebay or Abbott.

Go ahead and ask all the questions you like - someone will always be pleased to help if they can.


Here is some basic information written by our friends Sue and Ken, the former monitors, with advice for new members. It includes a link to arguments to try on your DN to see if she can be persuaded to give you strips.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.
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