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I don't know how to fight this...

Swiggy

Swiggy

Well-Known Member
Messages
330
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I have a habit of waffling so I will make an effort to be brief.
April 2014 first GP visit for seven years. I was not ill, I needed a form signed by the doctor. Had a health check including blood tests. I had asked if I should ring them for results and was told that they would contact me if there was anything wrong. I didn't hear from them.
In September 2015 I saw the doctor after I hurt my shoulder and it was still very painful after six weeks. Doc said test eighteen months earlier showed that I had diabetes and to make an appointment with the practice nurse. I was stunned and confused but I went home and googled diabetes and the Newcastle research popped up.
My appointment with the nurse was just before I was due to go on holiday and she told me to go and enjoy myself and we would tackle the diabetes when I got back. She took another blood sample and made me a further appointment.
The nurse was lovely but when she told me that after my first hba1c the GP said that he would contact me I felt very let down and decided to change to another practice.
April 2014 hba1c 80
September 2015 hba1c 143
Started Newcastle diet September 2015 and hba1c done at new surgery in January 2016 was 58.
New GP thought I was confused about higher result but practice nurse had written it down. My records were still in transit at this point.
I had eye and foot screening and both were fine. Cholesterol was 4.1 and 24hr blood pressure monitoring showed that I was a bit high at 132/88 but no medication needed for anything.
Told to lose weight (16 stone after losing 30lb on Newcastle).
I bought a meter in August and I have tested every morning since then. Highest reading has been 9.1 lowest 6.3. Average reading 7.8.
Have been asked to make appointment with GP for review but I am terrified.
I have tried my best to lose weight but I am now 17stone and don't know what to do next.
So much for my attempt at brevity lol. Sorry post is so long.
 
I am sorry to read your having problems .. did you not loose any weight on the NC diet ? I have not done the NC diet as my Dr had never heard of it and did not want to know. I got my weight down and knocked my T2 into remission by eating low carb high fat (against my Drs advice) .. it works and for me is kind to my system as I hate being hungry on cal restrictive diets.
I dont test in the morning but do test just before eating and two hours after eating .. these numbers are more useful as you can see what foods are pushing your blood sugars up.
 
Enclave said:
I am sorry to read your having problems .. did you not loose any weight on the NC diet ? I have not done the NC diet as my Dr had never heard of it and did not want to know. I got my weight down and knocked my T2 into remission by eating low carb high fat (against my Drs advice) .. it works and for me is kind to my system as I hate being hungry on cal restrictive diets.
I dont test in the morning but do test just before eating and two hours after eating .. these numbers are more useful as you can see what foods are pushing your blood sugars up.
Click to expand...
Thanks for replying, I lost 30lb doing the Newcastle diet and I have been making an effort to make better choices. I slowly regained a stone over about six months and since last summer everything has remained pretty stable, my weight 17st, my fasting blood sugar etc.
I will try testing before and after meals as you suggest. What would be good numbers to aim for?
 
I gained a lot of weight on the gov eat well advice .. so this could be where your increased weight is coming from :(
Link to blood sugar page .. it can explain your numbers better than I can .. I aim to keep my numbers in the normal range for a non diabetic ... I can now eat what ever I want with no sharp increase .. but it took a few years of 20g of carbs a day and full fat everything to achieve this remission.

Edit to add // the low carb is great for loosing weight as the carbs turn to sugar when eaten ... Full fat to get our energy and not feel hungry ... I lost 5st .. but was heaver than you are lOL
 
Hi @Swiggy and welcome to the forum. A lot of us on here have found that adopting a Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) approach to eating has lowered our blood sugar levels and weight. Have a read round the threads to see how it works and ask anything you want to, the people on here are friendly and supportive.
 
Hi @Swiggy and welcome to the forum.

First of all I will tag @daisy1 as she will post some very useful information for newcomers. Please read it carefully and take note of the role of carbohydrate. Also follow her links to find other excellent information.

Secondly, I am sorry your first GP messed you about, but you can learn a valuable lesson from it. NEVER rely on what your doctor/nurse says about any test results. It leads to a lot of problems, as it did with you. ALWAYS ask for a print out of the test results and keep these safe at home. In future you will be having a lot of blood tests for glucose, cholesterol, liver and kidney functions, and it pays to know what they say and what they mean. Alternatively if you are in England, you may find your surgery posts test results on-line. From April 2016 all surgeries were told to do this, although a few haven't bothered as yet. It will be worth your while asking about this.

Lastly, read round the forum threads and see how others on here are managing to control their diabetes (and weight). There is no better advice anywhere.
 
I think its very empowering once you realise that the advice on here can most probably work for you too. Take a look at dietdoctor.com . if your morning fasting readings are averaging 7.8 then its probably unlikely that the next hba1c will be too terrible (almost certainly nowhere near 143!) and in any event you got your number down from 143 to 58 in 3 months once - so you can certainly make improvements again if you need to.
All in all you seem to have done very well so far in the face of not much help from the medical profession. if you make the appointment for one month's time and go back on your diet as of now, you can probably be pretty much rid of the extra 14 you put back by the time you show up anyway. Don't forget you are still 16 down from when you started!
 
Hi @Swiggy

I had a very similar Hba1c on diagnosis, and I am horrified your doctor didn't get in touch with you, based on the reaction from mine, which was "If you can't get in to see me now, it MUST be first thing tomorrow morning, I will come in early to see you, and you MUST promise to go to A&E tonight if you feel at all unwell." (as I protested I only felt a bit tired, and that was kind of normal at the end of term...)

I can also testify to LCHF helping me lose several stone, Eatwell advice helping me gain weight, and your meter being your best friend in working out what is going to work food-wise for you.
 
CherryAA said:
I think its very empowering once you realise that the advice on here can most probably work for you too. Take a look at dietdoctor.com . if your morning fasting readings are averaging 7.8 then its probably unlikely that the next hba1c will be too terrible (almost certainly nowhere near 143!) and in any event you got your number down from 143 to 58 in 3 months once - so you can certainly make improvements again if you need to.
All in all you seem to have done very well so far in the face of not much help from the medical profession. if you make the appointment for one month's time and go back on your diet as of now, you can probably be pretty much rid of the extra 14 you put back by the time you show up anyway. Don't forget you are still 16 down from when you started!
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, I wasn't thinking of the loss I still have under my belt I was focusing on the stone I gained. I am going to give lchf a try. And I will make an appointment to see the GP too.
 
@Swiggy - Have you considered having another go at the Newcastle Diet, to drop the weight you regained, and maybe a bit more? That could get you going.

A reduced carb diet does seem to work for a great number of T2s.
 
Japes said:
Hi @Swiggy

I had a very similar Hba1c on diagnosis, and I am horrified your doctor didn't get in touch with you, based on the reaction from mine, which was "If you can't get in to see me now, it MUST be first thing tomorrow morning, I will come in early to see you, and you MUST promise to go to A&E tonight if you feel at all unwell." (as I protested I only felt a bit tired, and that was kind of normal at the end of term...)

I can also testify to LCHF helping me lose several stone, Eatwell advice helping me gain weight, and your meter being your best friend in working out what is going to work food-wise for you.
Click to expand...
Changing my practice was the only way to register my disappointment and I did that straight away. I stuck to Newcastle for six weeks religiously and I regret not sticking with it for the full eight weeks but I have been making wiser choices. I also wish that I had bought a meter earlier and taken readings when I was doing Newcastle.
I am going to start testing before and after meals. I can do this.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Hi @Swiggy and welcome to the forum.

First of all I will tag @daisy1 as she will post some very useful information for newcomers. Please read it carefully and take note of the role of carbohydrate. Also follow her links to find other excellent information.

Secondly, I am sorry your first GP messed you about, but you can learn a valuable lesson from it. NEVER rely on what your doctor/nurse says about any test results. It leads to a lot of problems, as it did with you. ALWAYS ask for a print out of the test results and keep these safe at home. In future you will be having a lot of blood tests for glucose, cholesterol, liver and kidney functions, and it pays to know what they say and what they mean. Alternatively if you are in England, you may find your surgery posts test results on-line. From April 2016 all surgeries were told to do this, although a few haven't bothered as yet. It will be worth your while asking about this.

Lastly, read round the forum threads and see how others on here are managing to control their diabetes (and weight). There is no better advice anywhere.
Click to expand...
Thanks
 
I don't see diabetes as something I need to fight - though as I just went to have my first blood test after diagnosis I might change that a little - but I have done low carb for a long time, and over and over again I have been persueded that it is not a good thing, despite it allowing me to lose weight and feel great, with my aching joints fading away and energy returning in just a few weeks on low carb.
I have a blood glucose meter, and now I have every reason to stick to low carb. I can see how I cope day to day on low carb, and how things which are labelled as healthy push up my readings. If I go with my natural inclination and eat such things as steak with mushrooms and a green salad then me and diabetes will get along just fine.
 
@Swiggy - Hello and Welcome to the Forum :).

Blood Glucose ranges for a Type 2 are:
Before Meals. = 4 to 7.
2 hours after a meal. = 4 to 9. (Some use up to 8.5).

Click on these links to have a look at LCHF Diet.
www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds
www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Or go to the top of the page and click on FORUMS, scroll down till you come to FOOD and NUTRITION - there you will see all kinds of diets, just click on whichever to get an idea of what others eat. :).
 
Liam1955 said:
@Swiggy - Hello and Welcome to the Forum :).

Blood Glucose ranges for a Type 2 are:
Before Meals. = 4 to 7.
2 hours after a meal. = 4 to 9. (Some use up to 8.5).

Click on these links to have a look at LCHF Diet.
www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds
www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Or go to the top of the page and click on FORUMS, scroll down till you come to FOOD and NUTRITION - there you will see all kinds of diets, just click on whichever to get an idea of what others eat. :).
Click to expand...
Thanks, I will have a look.
 
Resurgam said:
I don't see diabetes as something I need to fight - though as I just went to have my first blood test after diagnosis I might change that a little - but I have done low carb for a long time, and over and over again I have been persueded that it is not a good thing, despite it allowing me to lose weight and feel great, with my aching joints fading away and energy returning in just a few weeks on low carb.
I have a blood glucose meter, and now I have every reason to stick to low carb. I can see how I cope day to day on low carb, and how things which are labelled as healthy push up my readings. If I go with my natural inclination and eat such things as steak with mushrooms and a green salad then me and diabetes will get along just fine.
Click to expand...
I am definitely going to make friends with my meter and test before and after meals. I am also going to keep a close eye on my carbs but, having given up bread, potatoes, pasta and rice I think that I will have to do a bit of research into hidden carbs.
 
There can be carbs hidden in things which look as though they should have none - processed meat, for instance, can have such things as 'stabilisers' which are starchy glues to hold it together - some things are soaked in a syrup to help with preservation.
 
Hi @Swiggy welcome to the forum. Do test and keep a record of what you have eaten. You may find that you also react to wheat flour. Initially it is a pain checking everything for both hidden sugars and wheat flours but you soon get the hang of it particularly if you cook for yourself. Summer is a great time to start, lots of lovely salads around and then transition into winter stews of above ground vege and protein. You have lost weight already you can get handle on losing some more and with a low carb diet you will find that the weight gradually comes off. It takes time to go on, it will take some time to come off and stay off. As you have found already the successful diet is one that you can stick to after you have reached your target weight. This is not a race, it is a change of lifestyle and old habits hang around for a long time so don't be too hard on yourself but each day is a new start.
 
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