Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I'm not even sure if I am posting to the right place, my apologies if this should be posted somewhere else.
My GP diagnosed me with type 2 diabetes in June 2016. This was via a HbA1c blood test which came back as 50. 12 months before in June 2015 my HbA1c was 33. I had gone to the GP with symptoms of mood swings and hair loss. I had no symptoms of diabetes and did not even know that the GP had tested for it. The surgery nurse gave me the results, she gave me some written information about type 2 diabetes, gave me some advice about healthy eating, booked me onto a diabetes education course and for eye and foot screening. She did give me another appointment for about 4 weeks' time so when I went back I had some questions, but the answers I got were rather vague, and she was trying to get me to start medication which I refused. Since then I went on a strict diet and lost 3 stone. 3 months after the initial diagnosis my HbA1c was retested with a result of 39. I have had 2 further tests since then and the result both times was 36.
At no stage have I ever been offered equipment to test my blood sugars, in fact the GP and the nurse both said I would not need to do that and a 6 monthly or even yearly blood test for HbA1c levels was sufficient.
But everything I read about diabetes seems to emphasise that it is the spikes in blood sugar levels that cause damage. So how do I know whether my blood sugar levels are going too high after a meal? Should I be insisting that I want a monitor and testing strips - and do I have the right to insist on this?
I asked to be referred to a dietitian - this took 9 months, I had one appointment 7 months ago with a student dietitian and that was it, I've heard no more since. She was useless, didn't tell me anything more than the little I had already been told.
I still eat more healthily than I did before the diagnosis, but I admit that I am eating biscuits pretty much every day now (malted milk or rich tea normally as they are low in sugar) and I do sometimes eat other things that are higher in sugars too. I still find it really hard to accept that this is going to be for the rest of my life, and that even the small amount of bad foods I do eat could be causing long-term damage.
Any help or advice would be very welcome.
My GP diagnosed me with type 2 diabetes in June 2016. This was via a HbA1c blood test which came back as 50. 12 months before in June 2015 my HbA1c was 33. I had gone to the GP with symptoms of mood swings and hair loss. I had no symptoms of diabetes and did not even know that the GP had tested for it. The surgery nurse gave me the results, she gave me some written information about type 2 diabetes, gave me some advice about healthy eating, booked me onto a diabetes education course and for eye and foot screening. She did give me another appointment for about 4 weeks' time so when I went back I had some questions, but the answers I got were rather vague, and she was trying to get me to start medication which I refused. Since then I went on a strict diet and lost 3 stone. 3 months after the initial diagnosis my HbA1c was retested with a result of 39. I have had 2 further tests since then and the result both times was 36.
At no stage have I ever been offered equipment to test my blood sugars, in fact the GP and the nurse both said I would not need to do that and a 6 monthly or even yearly blood test for HbA1c levels was sufficient.
But everything I read about diabetes seems to emphasise that it is the spikes in blood sugar levels that cause damage. So how do I know whether my blood sugar levels are going too high after a meal? Should I be insisting that I want a monitor and testing strips - and do I have the right to insist on this?
I asked to be referred to a dietitian - this took 9 months, I had one appointment 7 months ago with a student dietitian and that was it, I've heard no more since. She was useless, didn't tell me anything more than the little I had already been told.
I still eat more healthily than I did before the diagnosis, but I admit that I am eating biscuits pretty much every day now (malted milk or rich tea normally as they are low in sugar) and I do sometimes eat other things that are higher in sugars too. I still find it really hard to accept that this is going to be for the rest of my life, and that even the small amount of bad foods I do eat could be causing long-term damage.
Any help or advice would be very welcome.