Just been diagnosed

widmerman said:

Have just been diagnosed, but everything is rather vague.My blood sugar level is 75, having another blood test in two weeks.Nothing has been explained to me so am feeling somewhat anxious.Not sure what type I have.Had a heart bypass 18 months ago and Prostate cancer last year.Feeling very depressed.No symptoms at all.Need some guidance please.

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Welcome here sad you feel uninformed But also it takes some time to get ones head around all one needs to know of taking care of ones diabetes
I'll tag @daisy1 so you'll get all the very valuable information that everybody new gets in This forum

widmerman said:

Have just been diagnosed, but everything is rather vague.My blood sugar level is 75, having another blood test in two weeks.Nothing has been explained to me so am feeling somewhat anxious.Not sure what type I have.Had a heart bypass 18 months ago and Prostate cancer last year.Feeling very depressed.No symptoms at all.Need some guidance please.

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Welcome to the forum, you've come to the right place to understand diabetes. @Freema has already tagged Daisy, that will give you great advice.

Spend as much time as you can reading the many posts in the forum - everyone here is very helpful and will have experienced what you are feeling. I was very anxious and worried when diagnosed, now I manage my condition on diet and exercise, no medication.

Best of luck, please ask any questions you need to - someone will be able to help

Welcome to the forum

@widmerman

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. You will find lots of info about carbs and levels and a link to the Low Carb Program. 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 220,000 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 free 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.

HI. A low-carb diet is a first step if not already doing that. I assume you aren't taking steroids or similar which can raise blood sugar. What is your BMI? The GPs will have guessed T2 rather than T1 probably correctly but if you are not overweight and the diet doesn't work then do come back to the forum. The GP may start you with Metformin which is a very safe drug and usually helps a bit but diet is always a more important step. You should be having 3 monthly reviews until your blood HBa1C reading (75) comes down.

Hi @widmerman and welcome to the forum. Hopefully your GP will confirm whether you are T2 or not after your blood test in 2 weeks.
It is a shock when you get that diagnosis and takes a bit of time to get to grips with it but there is a lot of good advice and support on here. If you are confirmed as T2 that is a condition that can be controlled. A lot of us on here have lowered our blood sugar levels by adopting a Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) to eating.

That's not unusual unfortunately. When I was diagnosed all my GP said was to cut down on sugary food.
If you are confirmed as diabetic when you get your second blood test and see your GP again you should be given the option of going on a diabetes management course.
But the NHS guidelines are that you should continue to eat carbohydrates. Health Care Professionals recommend the 'Eatwell Plate' which is one third protein, one third vegetable and one third carbohydrates. That advice is outdated, and a lot of HCPs and GPs now recognise that low carb eating is better for diabetics.

As I may have mentioned on here before - no advice is better than the wrong advice! At least you have come to the right place and can find out a lot before your next appointment.

widmerman said:

I have had no information whatsoever. I am a sort of in limbo.More blood tests in two weeks time then see the Dr a week after that then I have to see a nurse re legs and feet and then information about diets.Not really sure what I am supposed to eat in the meantime.Also have very slight tingling in my toes, left foot.So, totally overwhelmed.

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Hi again. The general dietary advice most of us would give is to keep the carbs down and have enough proteins and fats to keep you feeling full; go for unsaturated fats where you can to aid cholesterol levels. Be wary of any NHS diet advice as it is often simply stupid and will make your diabetes worse. Note that T2 versus T1 is rarely confirmed by tests and normally guessed by the GP. A c-peptide test is needed to confirm which of the two types it really is. If you have excess weight assume T2 and if the diet doesn't help, medication such as Metformin will be prescribed.

Hi @widmerman, I've been T2 7 days now, i follow low carb high fat and test my blood sugars. I feel so much better for it. Symptom free nearly. Been on metformin for 4 days now aswell.
I've been following this forum for a while as I was prediabetic for a while and fell of the waggon of a healthy diet and exercise.
I bought Dr David Cavan books and found them really helpful.
Keep looking on the forum and read those books. It really does help.