Intro to newbie

hello @Kevyu welcome to the forum. I will tag @daisy1 for you who will be along with a very handy info pack for new members

Kevyu said:

Pick three words to describe your personality. Quiet, willing, good listener

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Don't want to add to your woes Kev, but that's 4.

Hi and welcome,

Is there anything in particular you want to know at the moment? Feel free to ask as many questions as you like.

Kevyu said:

Hi bluetit1802. Not really ATM. Reading posts etc helpful, but have first appt with diabetic nurse this afternoon so may have 1000s later.

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One thing you can ask her is for a print out of your test results. These will give you a lot of information you would otherwise never know. It isn't just blood glucose that matters. Cholesterol, lipids, kidney & liver functions and full blood counts are also important for us. You need to know where you are now so you can keep an eye on future trends. As you are in England your surgery may put test results on line, so you can ask about this and how to register for it. Don't ever accept the words "they are fine" or similar. They may be on the edge of not being.

Bluetit1802 said:

One thing you can ask her is for a print out of your test results

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@Kevyu Blue is right remember your new to this and your probably going to forget half of what is said to you, not knowing what needs to be remembered and what doesn't.

Hey Kev. You missed favourite cities Seriously though, times of increased or prolonged stress might trigger diabetes early, and mess with your bloodsugar once you cross the diabetic line, so try to relax a bit. (Said the woman who is ruled by anxiety, ha!). Just spoil yourself some with music, stuff you enjoy. Breathe. And rock out! As for Type 2, you're not doomed to insulin if you're willing to make dietary/lifestyle changes... Worked for me and a bunch of people here (check the success stories bit of the forum), though I realise it isn't for everyone. Personally, I went from 75+ to a non-diabetic HbA1c of 38 and dropping, quit the meds, even the statins, on low carb / high fat. And because my thyroid is a mess I'm now trying keto to lose additional weight. (Was 102 kilo's, went down to 80, then back up to 85. But I'm fighting!). So basically, there are options other than meds out there, if you're up for them. (Maybe for your dad too?). Just so you know. Good luck at your appointment!

@Kevyu

Hello Kevyu 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 need to 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 well over 235,000 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 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. Most of these are 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.
  

That sounds fairly typical for a first meeting.
You will get through those 25 strips in 4 days or less until you know what you are doing with your eating plan! You really need to supplement them or buy a meter with cheaper strips to avoid bankruptcy.

Hello and welcome. As you have already discovered we are a helpful and friendly group of people who share this condition. We are all very different and deal with our condition in various ways, however, we are there for each other. Questions are asked and answered by people who have real life examples to support what they did, how and why so that’s a great help. We motivate one another, are virtual ears and shoulders for when people need to let off steam or have a bit of a down day and love celebrating success and positive results. You are in the best place possible for finding new friends even if the circumstances that led to us finding each other wasn’t the best.

We were all the newbie once, pretty soon you will find you have answers for other newbies and that is proof to yourself that you are managing this new way of living, along with the lower numbers, improved fitness and if it was necessary loss of weight, good luck on your journey

@Kevyu
Hi Kev, Welcome to the family. There's a lot of info here to digest. Sometimes I wonder why the doctors send people to the nurse. Far simpler to just hand them a slip of paper with a link to this web site.

Your second reading of 7.6 is unfortunately not much use without context. You will find out quickly that BG measurement is highly dependant on when it is taken in relation to when and what you've eaten. Once things settle you'll see that typically, BG is lower before eating and then rises shortly after and begins to taper back to low after two to three hours. It is the size of the rise that most of us are interested in and therefore it is often the case that a reading will be taken before a meal and then a couple of later. Some ( me included ) will also take a reading after 1 hour in order to discover what the effects of untried or different foods are.

Some unlucky ones also see high readings in the mornings after awakening despite not eating for 9 to 12 hours. Anyway you'll soon discover what works best for you. We're all different and sometimes by a lot.

One other thing, you haven't mentioned if you are overweight. If so, lose it. The impact is just as big as dietary control in many cases. Personally, I've lost 18 kg and it has made a whopping difference.

Lastly, if you are going to be prescribed any drugs like metformin please don't make the mistake of thinking this will fix blood glucose without attention to diet. It simply doesn't work that way.

Enough waffle, best of luck to you.
Glenn