Hi there.

[CIarebear]

Hey everyone, I'm Clare and I'm 28, got diagnosed at the begining of July.

I started to experience very frequent urination and extreme thirst, I did my usual thing and googled it, obviously diabetes came up as a possible cause which I was worried about as I'm overweight and have it on both sides of my family, but I was hoping it was a urine infection it might go away by itself, being extremely difficult to get an appointment with a doctor at my surgery I decided to leave it a while and see if it went away. A few days later the frequent urination got much worse, it was friday evening at this point so I decided I'd make an appointment with the doctor on monday.

I'd thought to myself surely if it was diabetes I'd have some other symptoms too... Then it happened, I was at work on Sunday, hadn't noticed anything unusual until I was sent to cover a break in the petrol station (I work at tesco) and I couldn't see the numbers on the pumps, everything in the distance was blurry. Thats when alarm bells started to ring, I left work early and went to the walk in centre who tested my blood sugar which was 25! They sent me to the hospital where I had a blood test and they disgnosed type 2 eventually they gave me metformin and sent me home, at one point they were going to keep me in overnight.

Anway since then my blood sugars are much better controlled, but I'm suffering the symptoms of metformin, even with the SR version. My blurry vision went away a day or 2 after I was disgnosed, despite the diabetic nurse I saw telling me it could take 3 weeks.

 

[noblehead]

Welcome to the forum @ClareBearJ , hopefully @daisy1 will be along shortly with her new members advice. Take care.

 

[Resurgam]

I had dreadful consequences taking Metformin - so I stopped it.
I have relied on diet to lower BG levels - stuck to it with grim determination rather than even think about taking tablets again. Now I have just about normal levels and find that the diet suits me very well, I can go on like this for the rest of my life.

 

[daisy1]

@ClareBearJ

Hello Clare and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to 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 well over 245,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.

 

[Art Of Flowers]

Some people stop taking Metformin because of the side effects. However, a low carb diet is much more effective at lowering blood sugars than Metformin. I suggest you get a blood glucose meter to check your fasting blood sugars and 2hrs after eating to see which food spike your blood sugars.

You need to avoid high carb food such as breakfast cereals, bread, potatoes, rice and pasta. Also avoid fruit juice and fruit such as bananas and grapes. See https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

 

[4ratbags]

Hi and welcome to the forum

 

[Liam1955]

Hi @ClareBearJ and Welcome to the Forum .
Go back and see your GP if you cannot tolerate Metformin as there are other Diabetic Medications that can be prescribed.