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I really am confused

B

bleachy

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello all *Waves*

I really am confused about my diagnosis and my Doctors and wondered what your guys views would be on my situation.

I am 41 years of age. I weigh 17.5 stone - I am heavy set but not fat but am working on losing weight ( have lost almost a stone over the last month) - I play football on Sundays as a goalkeeper and Thursday nights five a side for an hour as a goalkeeper again - I occasionally play tennis and I sit down all day at work)

Last April I had a blood test which the doctor said was Diabetes Type 2 (The reading was 6.9) - He instantly wanted to put me on medication and my wife and I said that we wanted to do it by diet and exercise - The doctor told me that this was not going to be possible and he did not believe that diet and medication works and I need to take medication. A couple of weeks later I had a full medical with a company and one of the tests was a Blood sugar count (This came back at 5.09). I went back to my doctors and showed him the results - His response was "See I told you it was possible?!?!" We agreed to retest 12 months later.

I retested this March and the results came back as 7 - I was then sent to the hospital for a Glucose intolerance test - The results were 7 prior and then after 2 hours and drinking a cup of glucose of 12 - I was called back to my doctors and was seen by a doctor who specialised in gynaecology.......She said that my fasting level was 7 and after the tolerance test it was 12 where it should have been around 7.8 (Surely if your drinking a substance that high it would raise by more than 0.8?) She said that I am now officially flagged as Type 2 Diabetic and handed me a pack and told me to read it and it will help - She also told him that I would receive an appointment to have my eyes looked at and that I need to go on tablets. I explained that I was offered tablets before but I managed to get everything sorted by diet etc. - I also explained that 3 for the prior 3 months I had over indulged at Christmas and I spent 6 weeks in Madrid working away and was eating nothing but hotel restaurant food (which was quite rich). I said no to the tablets as I am sure I can get it back down by diet and exercise - The doctor replied that she would take the tablets as they were offered as she would not like the thought of a little bit of sugar stuck in her brain or in her eye......is she serious?

The doctor then went on to say that she could not really answer any of my questions as she specialised in Gynaecology and has only done a half day course on Diabetes.

I left the doctors with my wife totally unsure of what is going on and worried I may end up dying!!

I have bought a testing kit today and I had breakfast this morning and tested myself 5 hours after and my reading was 5.4 - I had my lunch and then a large flat white (full milk) as a test and waited 90 mins. I then tested myself and the reading was 6.4.

Am I ok? Does this mean I am 100% Type2?

I really am confused and somewhat worried - Does this mean that my life will end sooner?

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any comments you may leave.

Mark.
 
Hey Mark, I'm not really clued up on type 2 as I'm type 1 but sure someone else will be along to help out. You'd be best testing before food then 2 hours after a meal rather than 5 to see the effect it has on your bg.

Abbie :)
 
Yes you are likely to be diabetic from your fasting and GTT which the doctors have confirmed. However, it is not inevitable that you need medication. When you test you BG levels you need to test before and at least 2 hours after starting to eat. Personally I like to test at 1 and 3 hours as well.
A flat white will not raise you BG levels much because all you are having is full fat milk which has a lot of fat so not a good test.

Your GTT left you at 12 and as you where told should be under 7.8 ideally. This means your BG levels are spiking high and you are taking a long time to process it and bring it back down to safe levels. Ignore the sugar stuck in your eye. I do wonder about some of our doctors.

The condition is definitely controllable with diet and even reversible for some (luckily I seen to be one of those). Have a read of my journey from the link in my signature. It details my first 3 months from diagnosed with very high levels to normal and I have just improved since as you can see from my signature.

Food wise you need to stay aware from as much starchy carbs as possible - bread, pasta, beer, rice, potatoes. You can replace these lost calories with other vegetables, meat, nuts and fats. Be wary of fruit. No fruit juice and try to stick to limited portions of UK fruits (berries are best)
 
@bleachy

Hello Mark and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I think the advice we give on diet will be very important to you, helping you to keep off meds. Ask as many questions as you want 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 140,000 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.
 
Hey Mark, and welcome to the finger stabbing clan.

Diagnosed as type 2 myself aged 40 in January this year, so not long ago. Sux don't it, but hey, not the end of the world, just means you need to change your relationship with food a bit.

You asked if your life will end sooner, the short answer is, it doesn't have to. It's all about control, you will be far more successful in controlling your bloods if you ignore current NHS guidelines, I strongly urge you to join the low carb crew and test test test, until you figure out what you can and can't tolerate.

Don't worry fella, stay with the forum ask heaps of questions and read plenty, you'll soon have it under control and will be back in charge with diabetes being in the background of your life.

Daks
 
Hi Mark, welcome :)

Plenty of people on here control their T2 with diet only and lose weight in the process.

Carb reduction is the key, have a read of the first link in my sig below and come back with any questions.
 
Those sounds pretty borderline normal readings to me Mark .I wouldn't be rushing for meds at this stage .As you say ,you've slipped off the wagon a bit on your diet .I'd just hop back on it again and keep an eye on your readings over the next three months .Doctors are rather too keen to gain new diabetics nowadays .Unless you find your bloods still hovering around 10+ two hours after a meal I wouldn't be touching meds . Cut the carbs and eat well and see what happens .
This makes interesting reading .
http://www.drbriffa.com/2009/03/13/...regarding-diabetes-doing-more-harm-than-good/
 
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Hello Mark and welcome to the forum.
Dont worry,you can easy get your BS down with a new way of eating,I wont say diet,it sounds like starvation and believe me its not,Just cut the carbs as Daisy says and you will soon see a difference.
Read arround the posts.
All the best
 
I cannot stress and thank you all enough for all of this valuable input - Rest assured I will take all of your kind advice onboard and you really have eased my worries with this.

Mark.
 
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