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Just diagnosed

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Keano100

Well-Known Member
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Well just had a call from doctor. I had a urine test Tuesday and they found some sugar so had bloods done yesterday. I had a few possible symptoms drinking a bit more and peeing bit more but nothing excessive. I had test a year ago and everything was fine. All other tests just had were fine. But HbA1c was 100 and blood sugar 16. Doctor was very nice and have appointment with nurse on Tuesday to go through everything. He has suggested medication and obviously diet and said they will give me a meter for checking. Tbh I’m kind of shocked as I more or less feel ok and eating sweet stuff seems to have no obvious effect on how I feel. Anyway what I wanted to know is could I possibly get those numbers under control just with diet I really don’t want to take meds if possible. I’ve seen a few snippets on here people diagnosed with those numbers that have used diet ?
 
This is the thing with diabetes.. People can have it for years and not know until I get really bad and end up in hospital

So look on the bright side it found now before it get too bad.. Now comes the bit where you try and improve the situation

Good luck.. Keep positive
 
As for the meds... It's your choice if you accept them or whether you accept them short term while you get thing under control

If you are type 2 and you currently have a poor diet and are over eating etc... Then there is a high possibility of fixing it
 
Yeah I might just cut out obvious for a month and see what happens like chocolate and fizzy drinks. Also seen carbs are quite bad and I do eat a lot of bread potatoes pasta and rice so hopefully that will make a difference. Could I get some advice on bread ? Should I cut it out all together? And what’s least evil of pasta rice potatoes?
 
Hi and welcome. Yes, reducing all carbs should help with your blood sugar and any excess weight. You don't need to stop bread altogether but perhaps keep it to 2 slices a day. Have wholemeal if you can as in theory it has lower BS spikes. The effect of rice, potatoes, pasta etc varies from person to person but just keep the daily total of carbs down to, perhaps, 150gm/day or similar. You may be able avoid any meds but it's likely you will be offered Metformin which is a very safe drug many of us have. It helps a bit together with diet and exercise.
 
Keano100 said:
Yeah I might just cut out obvious for a month and see what happens like chocolate and fizzy drinks. Also seen carbs are quite bad and I do eat a lot of bread potatoes pasta and rice so hopefully that will make a difference. Could I get some advice on bread ? Should I cut it out all together? And what’s least evil of pasta rice potatoes?
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You don't need to stop anything all together.. You just need to be sensible

Bread was difficult for me if I had soup I could easily have 6 or more slices

As suggested you could set a carb limit then see how you can best reach that

I used the carbs and cals book/app to help

And of course most items have carbs on the package
 
Ok guys thanks a lot. Was a bit shocked when I heard this afternoon. But after reading stuff on here I’m much less worried. Have been a real pig during lockdown as food was one of the only treats. But I’m very good with diet once I get on it so much less concerned than I was few hours ago thanks.
 
Keano100 said:
Ok guys thanks a lot. Was a bit shocked when I heard this afternoon. But after reading stuff on here I’m much less worried. Have been a real pig during lockdown as food was one of the only treats. But I’m very good with diet once I get on it so much less concerned than I was few hours ago thanks.
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Even if you don't totally reverse it... Diabetes is not the death sentence it used to be..

But if it is just that you've pigged out and been a couch potato then I think the chances are good

Stay positive... It helps :-)
 
Hello and welcome,

What great news that they are going to give you a meter- this is the tool that will actually help you work out how many carbs your body can tolerate.

The link below I found very helpful so you may want to read it:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/

The thing is that this is not a diet- this is a way of eating. If you are a type 2 carbs are not your friend. The amount and type of carbs that someone can eat varies from person to person which is why a meter is so necessary. You may find that bread is fine or you may find that it has a disproportionate effect on your blood sugar levels. The other factor of course is how easy you find to do portion control. I for example have gone really low carb because as a all or nothing person I find it easier than having a higher level of carbs.

Good luck and let us know how you get on once you have a meter.
 
I don’t wanna sound silly but obviously done some reading up. And I’ve seen that a cold can effect your blood sugar level. I’m just wondering if the Covid vaccine could have had an effect on my result. I had the vaccine Monday, Tuesday lunch did urine, Tuesday afternoon had slight fever and felt very off then did the bloods on Thursday. Have there been any reports of the jab effecting blood sugar levels ?
 
Keano100 said:
I don’t wanna sound silly but obviously done some reading up. And I’ve seen that a cold can effect your blood sugar level. I’m just wondering if the Covid vaccine could have had an effect on my result. I had the vaccine Monday, Tuesday lunch did urine, Tuesday afternoon had slight fever and felt very off then did the bloods on Thursday. Have there been any reports of the jab effecting blood sugar levels ?
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It's not silly to ask questions.

Yes I had elevated blood levels for a few days/weeks after the vaccine and immune responses do increase blood levels. But the elevation was in the order of finger reading nearer 6 than nearer 5. I have seen some on the forums mention a lot higher but that seemed to be type 1s reporting the more significant. Given you need to test more as a type 1, perhaps not surprising?

However, your hba1c looks over a 3 month period, ok it does favour more recent but your level of 100 is so high and the covid vaccine was so close to the date of your blood test that it would seem highly unlikely to have relevance here

The problem often with type 2 isnyouncan go years with no symptoms but elevated blood levels causing damage. The fact you know, have a meter (highly unusual for type 2 on prescription) means you can take control and do something now to hopefully put into remission

So welcome and good luck
 
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At diagnosis my Hba1c was 91 and my blood glucose was 17.1. By eating a low carb diet I was no longer in the diabetic range after 80 days and at the top end of normal at 6 months. I did need to stay at less than 50 gm of carbs a day though.
You can make some seriously low carb foods though, even bread, and it is easy to avoid high carb foods - replacing the pasta with strips of leek to make lasagne for instance, or cooking swede under a chicken, roasting slices of cabbage with oil and black pepper or having chopped cauliflower rather than rice with curry.
 
Good to here resurgam. I had been eating a lot of bread and pasta last month or so. Thanks for response on Covid. Yeah I realise there’s obviously an issue as the 3 month guide is high. But just wondered short term on the vaccine.
 
Keano100 said:
Good to here resurgam. I had been eating a lot of bread and pasta last month or so. Thanks for response on Covid. Yeah I realise there’s obviously an issue as the 3 month guide is high. But just wondered short term on the vaccine.
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For some the anecdotal evidence is that yes it does impact. As I said earlier, an immune response can trigger higher levels and isn't unexpected.
 
Maybe the vaccine question wasn’t so stupid. There’s actually quite a lot of stuff on twitter and diabetes UK actually mentions it as well. So maybe my numbers would have been bad but the vaccine added to that. Anyway will be interesting to see numbers next week.
 
Keano100 said:
Yeah I might just cut out obvious for a month and see what happens like chocolate and fizzy drinks. Also seen carbs are quite bad and I do eat a lot of bread potatoes pasta and rice so hopefully that will make a difference. Could I get some advice on bread ? Should I cut it out all together? And what’s least evil of pasta rice potatoes?
Click to expand...
I found a decent low-carb bread (I've only tried the rolls but they work for me keeping to ~20g carbs/day) - here's a link. https://seriouslylowcarb.com/collec...-food/products/seriously-low-carb-large-rolls
 
If you are offered a meter, accept it gladly.
If you aren't offered one buy one
It will be your best tool to show you what foods you can and cant eat safely

I find it much easier to avoid foods where I have seen the spike they cause then just to be told they might harm me. Meter readings are instant, personal and true
 
I’m seeing the nurse tomorrow and hopefully get my monitor. But I’ve been thinking my glucose was 16. I’ve cut a lot of things out last 3 or 4 days and I’m really hoping that 16 was some kind of early morning blip. I really want to lower it without meds. But if tomorrow say it’s still say 14-16 is it safe for me to give it a couple of weeks at those levels or should I go on the meds straight away ?
 
Keano100 said:
I’m seeing the nurse tomorrow and hopefully get my monitor. But I’ve been thinking my glucose was 16. I’ve cut a lot of things out last 3 or 4 days and I’m really hoping that 16 was some kind of early morning blip. I really want to lower it without meds. But if tomorrow say it’s still say 14-16 is it safe for me to give it a couple of weeks at those levels or should I go on the meds straight away ?
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Hi Keano, you said your hb1ac was a 100? That means your average levels over the last 3 months have also been high so I don't think your finger prick of 16 is a blip. Maybe wait until your appointment and discuss it with the Nurse? I don't think any of us can advise whether you should go straight onto meds or not, have you been told what type you are yet? Once you know that you can make a decision about meds etc.
 
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