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Just been diagnosed as Diabetic

Hi Phil,
The High reading you had is defiantly a sign that you are probably a type 2 Diabetic.
You will possibly have a HbA1c Blood test next and this gives the average Glucose content in your blood over the last (About) 3 months.
The HbA1c is the most accurate test.
Look at Diabetes as a wake up call, It gives you the chance to get your diet right, feel better, loose weight, get fit as exercise is important as well.
If you keep it under control, you will still have many happy years ahead of you. It is defiantly not the end ;)
It is not reversible (In my Opinion) but if you look after yourself it is very controllable.
One thing no one mentioned Metformin can upset your stomach, Take it with your meals, it gets better after a few weeks. I never had a problem, im on the same dose as you
Good luck and welcome to the Club.
 
pc.blogs said:
Is type 2 reversible? Will i have to manage my diabetes for life?
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There is some evidence for potential reversal but it's a controversial subject as Brunneria said. What you can do (and what most of us here aim to do) is get our blood sugars back to non-diabetic levels. That is the best way to minimise the risk of future complications. Doing that doesn't mean you are no longer diabetic, just that you are well-controlled. So yes you will have to manage it for life.

Funny how something like this has given me the motivation to lose weight! I think my problem is that I stay in hotels a lot for work, and have been wining and dining without any consideration to my health.
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Yep - that's what it did for me, and I've lost 20 kg since March. Staying in hotels needn't be a problem - you can always have veg or salad instead of chips/rice, avoid the sweet desserts and have cheese instead, cooked breakfasts are great (but keep off the toast and hash browns!). Red wine in sensible amounts is OK, as is dry white. But stay away from beer.
 
Welcome from another Phil :)
I'm still a relative newbie (it's about 6 weeks since my diagnosis) and you've definitely come to the right place to get excellent support and advice. I can't really add much to the advice that's already been given except to say I definitely took it as a wake up call and have completely changed my diet from the carb rich one before I was diagnosed into a very restricted carb diet now (30-50g of carbs a day).

When I was diagnosed I had a fasting reading of 17.3 and an HbA1c of 107 which indicates I'd been walking around with very high blood sugar levels for at least the last 3 months.

Now I've cut the carbs out and followed the advice of people on here I very rarely see a reading of over 6 at any time (even an hour after meals) and my fasting readings are between 4.5 and 5.2 which are well within the 'non-diabetic' range. However, I know that any significant carbs will send that reading sky high - simply put, my body can't really tolerate carbs any more and I've changed my eating habits accordingly

I feel better now than I have for months (if not years) - aches and pains have cleared up and I'm not tired all the time which is well worth the "sacrifice" of not eating potatoes, normal bread, rice, pasta and cakes :)
 
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Hi all, i've been devouring this site, its been so helpful so far. Please forgive my ignorance, quick question...

Following my one and only BG test last Monday (19.8) and being told I'm diabetic by my Dr. I have radically changed my diet, exercised every day and taken my medication. How much could my BG level go down? Is it possible that when i go for further tests on the 12th January that the results are in the normal range?

Thanks in advance

Phil
 
Hi Phil,

I imagine your further tests on the 12th will be an HbA1c test as this is the main diabetes diagnostic test for type 2's. This is a sort of average of your levels over the preceding 2 to 3 months, weighted towards the last few weeks of that period. So you have nothing to compare it to. They may also be doing cholesterol and other function tests (liver and kidneys) It is unlikely, but possible, they will also do a fasting BG test (have you been asked to fast?) This link tells you all about the HbA1c http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html

Have you bought a meter yet? This will be your "must have" tool and is essential for the learning process.

It will take a while to get to normal ranges ...... baby steps. This is a marathon, not a sprint!
 
Thanks Bluetit, I have ordered a codefree meter, hopefully it be delivered tomorrow.

Yes, I've been asked to fast from 10pm the night before the test. I'll take my own readings/monitor with me and offer them to the DN. Not sure how these will be received though!
 
If you have been asked to fast then they are going to do a full profile - liver and kidney function, cholesterol, HbA1c (no need to fast for this one) and may even do a fasting blood glucose to determine your current resting level (should be under 5.6 mmol/l if they do).

I doubt that the short time you have changed your lifestyle will affect you HbA1c or fasting substantially but will have made some improvements. Do have a look at the newcastle diet threads. They follow a programme of very low calorie diet for about a month and provides a fair chance to reverse the diabetes.

I followed this approach and you canread my first 3 month journey from the thread link in my signature, It will give you some food for thought and give you a further view.

Good Luck and happy new year
 
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