Just diagnosed with T2 and scared

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

First of all - don't panic! When you read the posts on here you'll see that lots of doctors don't issue testing kits. But don't buy one - ring manufacturers and they're only too happy to send you one free. It's the testing strips and lancets that make them money. But you really do need a testing kit. Advice is to test first thing in morning (fasting), before each meal, then one hour and two hours after each meal. That way you can see the effect that different foods have on your bg levels.

Type 2, if uncontrolled can lead to all sorts of unpleasant complications, so we all do our best to keep it under control.

Ask all the questions you want, and we will try to answer them.

Lynne

Hi Debby.
Welcome to the forum. Have a good look around and when you are ready just ask any questions you might have.

As for the rest.....Lynne has said it all.

Dont Panic!

Echo the comments about not panicking - 12 is a much higher reading than is desirable but it is not through the roof just a caution that things need to be controlled - my BS was about 30 when mine was discovered and that really did throw them into a panic :wink:

I think there are two reasons why doctors dont issue kits initially - the obvious one is that they are going to take a hit with the ongoing costs of test strips (which is where the companies make their money as pointed out already), but I think the second reason is that they are concerned people will start "living by the meter" when all they really need to do is make some changes to diet and have a fairly regular HBA1c test done.

I did choose to buy a meter when I was first diagnosed (it was pretty cheap and there are some give aways to be had) but I only used it really for a few days and then pretty much forgot about it until a bout of pancreatitis led me to becoming insulin controlled. (My personal reccommendation is the accu-check aviva - principally for having about the best blood letting pen on the market.)

The meter only becomes more important when like mine the levels need controlling with insulin on a per meal basis - if you are on diet or tablet control then you cant make immediate adjustments to levels anyway and the danger is that if you did eat something that pushed the level up then you might "starve" yourself to get it down....not the best means of control.

Anyway Diabetes is not something to panic about or worry about unduly - dont let it rule your life!

[quote="gbswales"if you are on diet or tablet control then you cant make immediate adjustments to levels anyway and the danger is that if you did eat something that pushed the level up then you might "starve" yourself to get it down....not the best means of control.

Anyway Diabetes is not something to panic about or worry about unduly - dont let it rule your life![/quote]

Hi gbswales

I think you may be missing the point of BG testing for Type 2s on diet/exercise only.

It's true that you can't make immediate adjustments but you can decide whether or not to eat that particular food again - if you don't test how can you know which foods cause a large rise in your BG, and might be best avoided or only eaten rarely, and which are fine? Testing before meals can help you to decide what and how much to eat. Testing can help you assess the effect of exercise.

There are many delicious and nutritious foods that can be eaten freely (within reason! ) so there is no need to "starve" oneself.

This is not panicking, worrying unduly or letting DM rule your life. It's obtaining information and acting on it in an attempt to avoid the possible complications which might very well "rule (or ruin) your life".

Best wishes
MaryChristine

Re: Dont Panic!

OP send away for a free meter as it's a good start.

Best of luck Debby - you'll find plenty of help and moral support here. Myself, I try and treat my diabetes like a new and interesting hobby - it helps me keep my chin up

Oh boy I like that one about a new hobby. Sort of puts it all into perspective. :lol: The trick is not to let it take over your life. You are in charge, not the diabetes. On the plus side it makes you become quite inventive on the reciepe front. I have found soooo many ways to adapt reciepes, and now regard it as a fun thing. Don't let it take over your life, (like I did at first), and you will be fine.

Welcome debbie,
As said before DON'T PANIC just be sensible regards eating habits.If you like sweet things it can be a little frustrating but certainly not the end of the world! You will soon get the hang of it and this is a great place for help and advice or just a shoulder to lean on.Good luck!

Hi everyone like Debbie I have been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes {23/10} and was a little confused, I must admit I was overweight at 12st and had been generally unwell for some time, feeling tired all the time, an unquenchable thirst and the need to pee more often than usual, but the last thought on my mind was I must have diabetes. I was diagnosed when I was admitted to hospital for surgery and bs level hit 23, was put on a sliding scale Insulin drip for 3 days untill my bs levelled out at about 6.7, I have since lost a stone in weight, have changed my eating habits and am facing a new lease of life, I have more energy than I know what to do with am no longer tired all the time it certainly has been a challenge but one that I am embracing fully, it wont stop me enjoying my food but now enjoy a fully balanced healthy diet, for me it has been a blessing in disguise. I look forward to the rest of my life with more enthusiasm and hopefully to convert my partner to a healthier life style as well.......

Hi Deb.

I joined the forum recently with a fasting GL of 12.8.
It's two weeks on and from cutting down my carbs in my diet this morning was measured at 9.

It's getting there.
Don't panic! Treat it as warning. In the long run it really is doing you a favour.

You'll hopefully eat a lot healthier and feel sooo much better.

Best of luck.

Hi i was told over the phone that i had T2 then told no-one could se me as they were busy flu jabbing.2 weeks later i was given an appointment but was unable to make it due to a school trip.Scared witless i decided to join an online diet club that tailors the diet (i need a low fat diabetic and dairy free) That was 6 weeks ago ....good news i have lost 10kg and many of my symptoms have gone but i am told my fasting sugar is high and my average BS is poor.I am now in a complete panic my diet seems to contain alot of bread more than i used to eat.should i buy a blood test kit?

mariancoral said:

Hi i was told over the phone that i had T2 then told no-one could se me as they were busy flu jabbing.2 weeks later i was given an appointment but was unable to make it due to a school trip.Scared witless i decided to join an online diet club that tailors the diet (i need a low fat diabetic and dairy free) That was 6 weeks ago ....good news i have lost 10kg and many of my symptoms have gone but i am told my fasting sugar is high and my average BS is poor.I am now in a complete panic my diet seems to contain alot of bread more than i used to eat.should i buy a blood test kit?

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Hi mariancoral,

My advice as another Type 2 would be to cut back dramatically on the satrchy carbohydrates - i.e. cereals, bread, pototoes, rice and pasta. That usually leads to a big improvement in blood glucose levels.

Testing is a good idea so that you can see for yourself what different foods to to your body.

Any symptoms that I had have disappeared too - I hadn't associated quite a lot of them with my diabetic condition.

Best wishes - John

mariancoral said:

Hi i was told over the phone that i had T2 then told no-one could se me as they were busy flu jabbing.2 weeks later i was given an appointment but was unable to make it due to a school trip.Scared witless i decided to join an online diet club that tailors the diet (i need a low fat diabetic and dairy free) That was 6 weeks ago ....good news i have lost 10kg and many of my symptoms have gone but i am told my fasting sugar is high and my average BS is poor.I am now in a complete panic my diet seems to contain alot of bread more than i used to eat.should i buy a blood test kit?

Click to expand...

Hi marian.
Welcome to the forum. Have a good look around and if you have any questions then fire away, there is always someone with an answer.

Well done on your weight loss. As regards your Bg levels it might not just be bread that is contributing to your high, and, in your words, poor average levels. John has given you some pointers there.

What you really must do is get a meter and test strips by any means. Without this bit of kit you have no idea what certain foods do to your BG levels. This is the information we hand out to most newly diagnosed, covers most things I think.

Diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating then two hours after eating you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the nurse/GP and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription , but you can but try !!

Hi
Thanx for the advice. Saw my GP and she did a total scare job on me left unable to eat hardly anything as I have no idea what are good foods or not .thanx for the positive comments re my weight loss I needed those, my GP was quite negative "I wouldn't expect anyone to lose as much as a stone in a year"....... was her comment . However I have seen another GP at the surgery who was much more positive and open about things and I am slowly getting back to a state of calm and not missing meals because I am too frightened to eat them!

I will see the Nurse in mid Jan and will see if I can have a test kit.I feel a little miffed that I have tried hard to approach this actively and not met a positve response for doing so.I am going to look at the amount of carbs I eat as the online diet shows me a carb reading for every food ...i have naively been concerned only with sugar content of foods.

Hi Marian.

I think you should stick with the more 'positive' GP if I were you. As for your other GP, the 'not so good one.' I have no idea what she would make of me then.....a 5 stone plus loss in 12 months ???

As for a meter, you can get one from any good Chemists for not a lot of cash, or just phone one of the meter manufacturers helplines, tell them you are testing at least 6-7 times daily. They will probably fall over themselves to provide you with one !! They make their money out of the test strips.

Try and persuade your 'good' GP to prescribe you some test strips, you want to try and be pro-active, find out what certain foods do to your BG levels. Which reminds me.....I seem to recall you use an online diet plan...is that correct ? If so be very wary of so called safe foods for Diabetic's.
We checked one out recently and most of these 'safe' meals were packed full of carbohydrates, all they were interested in was sugars....which is not very good at all.

Hi
I've just checked out my online diet, it is based on currant NHS guidlines being lo fat but high carb.Spent some time yesterday looking at lo carbs diet and amended my online diet for that day as it gave me a whopping 190g of carbs .Surprisingly i didn't feel hungry at all .What is the best carb counter to get as i eat alot of fruit and veg and want to find out which are the high carb ones. I make all my own soups ,meals etc. as i am sensitve to lactose and milk protiens.Any suggestions for cookbooks that will help me adapt recipes as my family eat all together in the evening.
(Their attitude is not always positive.......'If you hadn't eaten sweet things you wouldn't have done this to yourself')