Just Diagnosed today....

Hi i was diagnosed a few days ago and waiting for my appt with the diabetic team at my health centre. Iam very overweight feeling very depressed. Good luck with your diet

Hi Annie and welcome to you,

You have come to the right place if you want to learn more about diabetes and how you can self-manage it. Your fasting BG readings are not too bad, above 7 is said to indicate diabetes, but your HBA1C is surprisingly healthy at 6.1 Doctors generally like diabetics to maintain an HBA1C of between 6% and 7%. However, your cholesterol is very high (around 50% higher than it should be). Your GP is highly likely to prescribe a statin treatment for the cholesterol, even if you don't need one for the blood sugar.

Edited to add well done with the weight loss - 11lbs in 5 weeks is very good going.

Lap Bands can be very successful- not just in weight terms but also on the effect in Type 2 diabetes. Lap bands are successful in about 80% of patients as well.

Good luck and well done.

Marty B

Hi annie,
your figures are not too bad at all though your cholesterol needs to come down,excuse my ignorance but what is a lap band?

Sorry- its the adjustable gastric band that is used instead of the more complicated stomach stapling procedures. I believe there is a fluid resevoir tunnelled beneath the skin that can be accessed to increase or decrease the constriction around the stomach by adjusting the amount of fluid in the system. My cousin in Ireland has one and has lost a huge amount of weight (she is not diabetic which is a suprise in my family). It is done as a minimally invasive key hole technique (laparoscopic). My former colleague in Guernsey is a wiz at these (see http://www.lapband.co.uk, no COI).

I am reasonably interested in having it done personally, but still remain a wee bit aprehensive. I need to try to reduce my insulin and get my weight down first. I need to get back into exercise once my foot allows.

Marty B

Hello, i am Moi and new to this site. I was diagnosed September 2006, just 3 years after I lost my mum who was 93 and had been diagnosed in the June of that year. I fear that most of her symptons in her latter years may have been due to her doctor not even thinking of testing her for diabetes. However, once I knew of my diagnosis it made be want to help myself as much as possible. My first and second HbA1C test came back 5.7 which I was so proud about and my slight dietary change helped as well. My doc was really impressed and wanted me to address some of her patients in what I had done to accomplish this. It was really self help and determination. Although I had brill readings for the last 12 months, my readings have been very up and down, due I think to stressful happenings in everyday life and work. Hey ho, this is what we have to deal with, but when I take a test and it is good, i feel fantastic. So back to the exercise regime I think. Good luck to Annie and Shirlee in particular. Keep positive, it is a bit doom and gloom at first, change of life etc etc, but you will come out of it on the right side. I found exercise made such a difference. I have problems with by my knees but found swimming once a week and a good brisk walk at lunchtime so helpful to get my readings lowered.

Moi,

Hello Moi and welcome to you,

You are certainly right about the exercise. We all tend to lead such sedentary lifestyles these days, its amazing how much difference even a fairly short 10 minute walk can make in helping reduce blood sugars. You'll have to let us know what were the "slight dietary changes" that were so successful for you.