Intro and desperate help request.

[STORMRIDER]

Hi everyone,
My name is Stu.

I have arrived here to try and gleen some information which will allow me to reduce my blood glucose. I have recently been made redundant from work in Oct 08. I have recently been offered a job of a liftime working in Wets Africa. However, after a pre employment medical I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. My blood glucose levels were 7.4 and 7.5 a week apart.

The company have now delayed my employment as a result of this. I am absolutely gutted. My GP has informed me that I have to monitor the diabetes with diet only and has told me to seek advice from the dietician at the practice. The only problem is is that she is currently on holiday for 3 weeks and I have not got a clue what I am now meant to be doing.

The company have told me that the position will not be formally offered until I can reduce my blood glucose to below 7. I have very little time in order to achieve this. Is this possible and what do I need to be eating to achieve this quickly. I am very determined to do this and keep it up as the rest of mine and my families life depend on this . Please help.

STU

 

[tubolard]

Hi Stu, and welcome to the forum.

You will have to look at your carbohydrate intake and find out how what you eat impacts your blood glucose levels, changing the quantity and quality of carbs you eat will have a positive impact on your blood glucose. Unfortunately there isn't a one-size fits all diet for diabetes, and each of us has to find out how foods affect us.

Have a look in the food forum, there's a good recipes thread.

The British Diatetic Association (BDA) have a good leaflet called Diabetes - Your Food Choices, also have a look at their carbohydrates fact sheet. The BDA encourage a low GI approach in helping BG management, other members of this forum have found that significantly reducing carb intake has helped improved management of BG, there's a low carb forum where these ideas are discussed in more detail. The important thing is to ensure that your nutritional requirements are also met, whichever route you take.

Apart from changing your diet, you must be able to recognise how different foods affect you, get hold of a BG meter and test, if your GP will prescribe you test strips then all the better.

Hope this provides a good starting point for you, please don't hesitate to come back and ask, we're all more than willing to help out.

Regards, Tubs.

 

[CalicoBec]

Hi Stu,

Welcome to the forum! I was only diagnosed yesterday myself, so I can't be of any help with advice, but I really hope it all goes ok for you

Becca

 

[IanD]

I presume that they used the finger-prick blood test. If you have just eaten, the figures will be at their highest after 1 hour. Those figures are not serious, and proper control will keep them near normal. (4 - 5.5) Blood sugars fluctuate through the day, & with non-diabetics rarely exceed 7.

You need to beat them at their own game.

Get a test kit yourself - your chemist sells them, or the Dr may give you one. They come with 10 test strips. Ask if strips are on prescription. Test overnight & 1 & 2 hours after food. Choose the time of your medical, or adjust your eating for optimum results :wink:

Cut sugar & reduce drastically carbohydrates (including beer) from your diet. That means avoiding cereals, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta. Only have no added sugar drinks - not fruit juices which are 10% sugar. Meat, cheese & veg are OK, & 3 fruit per day, but not bananas.

You may be able to increase these after your next medical.

BUT consider yourself diabetic & modify your diet to prevent future problems. You should find this a "wake-up" call to a healthier lifestyle which will keep you in good health for many years to come.

Hope this helps.

 

[hanadr]

I recommend book Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution.Try the library first. It's not cheap. Most of it is directly relevant to type 1 diabetes, but it can definitely help you understand and control type 2
The Blood glucose numbers you quote are not VERY high and you should be able to get down into the 5s and 6s fairly quickly.( non-diabetics stay around 5) You might be pleased to know that there are a few type 2 diabetics who have used diet control for most of a lifetime

 

[STORMRIDER]

Thanks for the kind welcome and valuable suggestions guys and gals. I am reassured now that I can get this sorted. Its just that you hear so much about diabetes and now that I am in the family I feel totally flustered with everything being mentioned about it.

I know that this is a stupid question, but how quick do you guys think it will take to get down to below 7?

STU

 

[sugarless sue]

know that this is a stupid question, but how quick do you guys think it will take to get down to below 7?

Not a stupid question at all,but it depends on your will power.This is just a suggestion,but if you were to low carb for a couple of weeks then your blood sugar levels should drop below 7.
If,after this time ,you decide that low carbing is not for you, there are other diets which will probably maintain your blood sugar levels below 7.Please have a look at the low carb forum and see if you think you could manage that for a week or two.

 

[Katharine]

Start an aggressive interval training programme to improve your insulin resistance.

Weight training is the most important element to affect your blood sugars quickly.

Don't exercise any muscle group more than alternate days.

This and a low carb diet should make a big difference quickly.

 

[Trinkwasser]

My favourite newbie sites

http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/NewlyDiagnosed.htm

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/d-day.html

http://www.bloodsugar101.com/

Plenty more in the Stickies, and the Success Stories thread

 

[STORMRIDER]

Thanks again for all the brilliant advice guys.

Well Since this post I Have eaten low carb and ben exercising every day. I managed to buy a test kit and monitor my BG levels approx 5 times a day observing approx 2 hours after each meal. I was amazed at how quickly my BG's came down from 7.8 to around the 5.4's.

Anyway, I had my 2nd pre employment medical last night. I was worried that after a day of fasting my levels would go up as this had shown on the previous morning fasting test. I wasnt prepared to allow this as I really want this job. I managed to drink loads of water all day and went out for two runs for approx a mile each. By the time I got to the medical I was really starting to lose focus with my sight and felt really shivery and a bit unsteady. I tested my BG in the car and it was 3.2. Had I overdone it? I didnt feel too good and was now worried that my employment reading may be too low. Anyway the sample has been taken now and Ill await the result. What an amazing feeling when I got home and had something to eat. Over about twenty minutes I could literaly feel myself waking up and feeling normal again. Powerful stuff this blood glucose stuff.

Just out of interest, having never done anything like this in my life, at what levels do I need to be looking out for that may trigger a hypo? Or have I answered my own question?

STU

 

[tubolard]

Stu,

As I understand it hypoglycaemia is when your plasma blood glucose falls below 3.9 mmol/L (whole blood glucose 3.4 mmol/L).

Symptoms can be experienced as blood glucose falls, and some members have reported feeling hypoglycaemic at higher levels.

Regards, Tubs.

 

[IanD]

Stu - no-one suggested a 24 hour fast - just a low carb diet. I hope you haven't overdone the BS reduction for your medical.

I do hope you get the job you want, & enjoy your work in Africa.

Meanwhile, establish a sensible eating pattern that gives you overnight BS readings below 6 (below 5 is preferable) & around 7 two hours after meals. That should be sustainable.

 

[STORMRIDER]

Sorry Ian I didnt explain myself correctly. It was the company that requested a fasting sample.

What I did was as follows:
I woke at 5.30am (BG 4.9) and had a bowl of shredded wheat for my breakfast with skimmed milk. I tested every two hours and noticed that it was going up which is why I did the two seperate runs. I drank water all day and re-tested myself in the car as I went into the medical. It was here the rading had plummeted to 3.2. I then had my blood sample taken at 4.15pm that afternoon.

However, after my tea when I got back home at 8pm I have noticed this morning that my Bg is now 7.6. Not good I know but I am now convinced that I can keep this down with determination. I just had to get the medical out of the way first.

Thanks again guys. I appreciate the advice and help.

STU

 

[Katharine]

You would have to laugh if they refused you the job because you tested too low!

 

[docarhamilton]

As far as I can see, there's not yet sufficient evidence, on the basis of the two blood sugar results you mention, to sustain a diagnosis of Diabetes. The WHO has set levels for diagnosing Diabetes and two readings of 7.4-7.5 don't necessarliy mean you have Diabetes. Was the second one a fasting glucose? If so then you need an oral Glucose tolerance test. If not, then you should have a fasting test and if that's normal then you don't have Diabetes. In fact, I've just checked your last post from yesterday and you say your glucose level first thing in the morning was only 4.9. This is a normal level!
I think you've been made unnecessarily anxious by not having had things explained properly to you. It's quite normal to have blood sugars up to 7 or 8 after a meal. The diagnostic level for Diabetes 2 hours after a glucose load (or a good meal) is 11.1 on venous blood (syringefull at the doctor) or 12.2 on capillary blood (fingerprick at home). Levels above 7.8 and 8.9 respectively are diagnostic of "Impaired Glucose Tolerance" but this is NOT Diabetes, it just means that you need to get checked regularly in case you develop Diabetes later.
I'll make myself totally clear - on the evidence so far you do NOT have Diabetes.

Andrew (General Practitioner)

 

[Dennis]

Hello Andrew and welcome to the forum. It's good to see another GP join the community.
Are you yourself diabetic?

 

[docarhamilton]

No, I'm not Diabetic myself, nor is anyone in my family. I just have an interest in the subject and, I hope, an understanding of how tricky it can be, even for a lot of doctors.
I used to teach the Medical Students on diabetes when I was a hospital doctor before going into General Practice, so had to have a good understanding of the subject myself.
I've just joined the forum recently and have found it really interesting, especially reading some of the stuff about how parents of Diabetic children cope. I hope to be able to help with useful comments from time to time.

Andrew.

 

[Trinkwasser]

Levels above 7.8 and 8.9 respectively are diagnostic of "Impaired Glucose Tolerance" but this is NOT Diabetes, it just means that you need to get checked regularly in case you develop Diabetes later.
I'll make myself totally clear - on the evidence so far you do NOT have Diabetes.

Andrew (General Practitioner)

Couldn't agree less, those are damaging levels and unless you treat yourself AS IF you were already diabetic and work on bringing them down then by the time you are finally and inevitably diagnosed you will be suffering the usual constellation of complications.

BTDT

 

[STORMRIDER]

Andrew, thanks for your entry. As you can guess from how I explain myself I am a total novice with regards to diabetes. However, I must say that what I know is purely from what has been explained to me by my own GP (infact two seperate doctors and a specialist diabetic nurse). All my main (full syringe) blood glucose tests have been done as fasting tests.

The whole testing thing came about as a result of me having a pre employment medical for a job in West Africa. This medical included amongst other things a fasting blood glucose test (full syringe). It was the doctor in Johanesburgh who initially asked me to see my Gp as he thought a result of 7.4 indicated possible diabetes. I did this and have since had received two seperate tests which were 7.6 and 7.8. I have also since had a Hba1c test result of 7.1. The other readings I have placed in previous posts were what I have since monitored myself during virtually no carb eating in order to get a lower result under 7 for my second pre employment medical which I had on wednesday.

I have to say that I do not want diabetes as I want to go and work in West Africa. However, I have placed my trust in my own GP practice to guide me on this together with using this forum, as all I want to do now is understand what it is I may have and not allow it to get any worse.

What I will say is that there is obviously a vast diffrence of opinion in the medical field as to what they treat as diabetes and what they dont. Its a shame that you were not my pre employment medical doctor that has doomed me until I get below 7. I should have been in Africa on Wednesday 28th January but all of this has placed a shank in my spokes.

STU

 

[kentishman]

Excercise will bring your readings down. If I have a light breakfast then a round of golf My readings are low. gert a good excerise routine and keep at it.