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Just Diagnosed

Jeff11

Member
Hi, I have just been diagnosed with diabetes and know nothing about it. Dr's don't know if its type 1 or 2 yet. My HBAC1 is 140 and I have been given a blood monitor device and my readings on that have been 26.6 and a low of 18. Am I right in thinking these are bad levels.
 
Hello @Jeff11 - as you are newly diagnosed there is no good and bad, just the opportunity to find out if you can reduce the numbers by adjusting your intake of carbs.
If you test just before starting to eat and then two hours afterwards (after the first test that is) you can see how you reacted to a meal and if the difference is over 3 whole numbers then an analysis of the carbs in the meal and consideration of changing to lower carb alternatives might help a lot over the coming months.
With your Hba1c being rather high sudden drastic alterations in diet would not be advisable - and you might be type 1 or 'other' and not an ordinary type 2, but easing up on carbs might take the strain off whilst things are sorted out.
 
Hi @Jeff11 - truth be told 'not great', but not the end of the world and from my experience you may be able to turn that round with some concerted effort now you know - see my footer for my figures.

Everyone is different, so what worked for me might not for you, but upping my physical activity and going low carb, (but not keto-low), meant I got back in the non-diabetic range by 3 months after diagnosis. I had horrible issues with my vision as my BG came down, used insulin for a couple of weeks and ongoing with Metformin only, thought to be T2 but confirmed as T1 with GAD tests, which frustratingly take ages to come back. I have also gone from 80 to 50kg, the first 20kg were unintentional/no effort and lead to my diagnosis.

So don't panic, the wise will be along here soon to give you way better/more useful advice soon, so hang in there. This site and community is great - I am still relatively new to it all, but appreciate all the knowledge I have gleaned from here that is unfortunately very hard to get directly from the NHS.

You don't say how old you are, whether you took ill or had symptoms, or HbA1c check was part of a wider health screening, and what kind diet you currently have. Also, are you under, over or average weight? All useful for folks here to point you in a relevant direction.
 
Hi. Yes, you could do with getting those levels down. If you are overweight then it is more likely that you are T2. If you are slim and have lost weight recently without trying then T1 is more likely. Either way, make sure you keep the carbs in your diet down and don't worry about fats and proteins. The help 'prove' T1 there are two tests the GP can organise i.e. GAD and C-Peptide. There are a few different meds the HP can prescribe to help reduce blood sugar and possibly weight. If T1 is proven then insulin will be needed eventually but don't panic as it's more of a nuisance than a problem.
 
Hi, I have just been diagnosed with diabetes and know nothing about it. Dr's don't know if its type 1 or 2 yet. My HBAC1 is 140 and I have been given a blood monitor device and my readings on that have been 26.6 and a low of 18. Am I right in thinking these are bad levels.

Welcome to the forums and those levels are certainly quite high.
(On the plus side this means that your doctors will do the T1/T2 tests and have given you a meter, while they'd probably do neither of those and just assume T2 if you were lower.)

Have they given you any medication yet or are they waiting for results? There's no real way to tell the difference between T1 and T2 without the tests as even though weight loss and low weight are red flags for T1, you can get thin T2s who also lose weight before diagnosis. And forum rules don't let us diagnose even if we were able to.

Have they given you any way to test for ketones? The biggest short term risk, in my opinion, for you at the moment is if you are an undiagnosed T1 where lack of insulin can make you go into diabetic ketoacidosis. (which would need a trip to A&E and insulin).

Good luck. (Whichever type of diabetes you have, and there are more than T1/T2, welcome).
 
Hello and welcome @Jeff11

Welcome to the forum. As @EllieM said whichever type you are you are most welcome. There is a lot of advice and information on the forum and also a lot of support. It is a lot to get your head around.

Testing regularly will help as it allows you to see the effects of different foods on your levels.

Welcome and Good luck.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I'm 44 and I was fairly overweight with high blood pressure. I've lost just over 3 stone in the last 2 or 3 months down to 14 stone and my blood pressure is the lowest its ever been I will probably cone off the pills for it.

I changed my diet straight away as I lived on chocolate and Greg's at work.

Bloods down to 15 this morning so hopefully they keep in that direction.

Between thus forum and a doctor I've found on you tube I have a lot of info to take in.
 
Hi Jeff11,

Welcome to the forums.

Yes there is a lot of info to take in but although it's a tad overwhelming, take it in slow so it stays in and remember to breath.

There is lots of info to be had here and you can take it at your own pace. Just keep those numbers coming down slowly.

Keep coming back and let us know how you are getting on :)
 
My readings have gone from 27 - 30 to 11 - 15 using Glixicide and diet since Friday. No idea if this is a sign it's type 1 or 2 but I feel better.
 
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