looking round the door... hi?

Hi Clare, first you look through the forums. Then you order a blood glucose meter as it it highly unlikely you will get one on prescription and testing is vital.

Most of us reduce carbs, some of us to very low levels indeed in order to keep bg in check and to feel well. I follow the advice from https://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf.

I refused statins and on strict LCHF my cholesterol breakdown is improved and the total lower.

Other will be along shortly with more advice.

Hi and welcome to the forum but not the club @clairegra . Has the doctor done an HbA1c test and what was the result? Fasting doesnt really tell you that much especially with 6.5 and 7.8 being so far apart! Why does the doctor want to place you on statins? Do you have high cholesterol and what are you Total, HDL, LDL, Trigs.

So now for maintaining yourself and avoiding a worsening condition in several easy steps:
1. Forget the NHS healthy plate
2. Reduce your carb intake
3. Lose weight - reduce your calorie intake
4. Go for a walk about an hour after eating (20 to 30 mins and if the weather is bad climb the stairs 20 times)

You can see (from my signature) I went from a much worse state than you to normal in 3 months. There is nothing stopping you doing the same. Good luck.

Hi Claire and welcome,

I won't overwhelm you with more dietary advice right now. My advice is to buy a meter and strips, which you will find the best tools you can have. Your nurse will probably tell you that Type 2's don't need to test, but that is rubbish. Best just to nod and say nothing. One or two lucky people are given them on prescription, but not many. Next piece of advice is to ask for the computer print outs of your blood test results. You are entitled to these and will find them very useful for comparisons in the future.

Good luck.

hi and welcome, do buy a monitor and test strips.
they are my lifeline

Hello Claire and welcome to the forum

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you like and someone will 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 over 100,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

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 bloodglucose 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.

Hello and welcome ...sorry you are feeling overwhelmed it is an awful shock ...
Take your time to work out what you need to do , lots of different suggestions and experiences to read about ..
Have a google ....you will want lots of information ...books etc ...
Yes lots of people in the medical profession get unwell, but it is still an unexpected shock ....and I really don't believe it is about knowing better , something's are just out of our control ....
Looking forward to hearing about how you get on...take care ...chat again ....Kat

Hello and welcome to the forum. It's a great place to be for help and support.

Take care RRB

The statins response from your doctor is fairly typical. My cholesterol (and all lipids) were normal as was my BP, but I was prescribed statins because "we prescribe statins for all diabetics due to increased risk of CVD" As usual, one size fits all. I suggest you obtain all your results, then have a good read about statins and then decide what to do.

clairegra said:

thank you for the friendly welcome...

will take the advice about metering, and getting a print out of my results.

Also finding lots of info on this forum... but probably will be back with more questions before long!

Have decided to speak to dr again about statins... my result was 'normal' though the balance between good/bad cholesterol was the wrong way... again, I cant remember the figures exactly. The reason he wanted to put me on statins was because 'all my results' ie, sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure were 'borderline'

Have been told to go and have the HbA1c test the week before I see the nurse, so I don't know what that is as yet.

(feel like I've come in through the door now... thank you!)

Claire

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Hi and welcome, I was diagnosed in May with type 2 and although I don't post a lot I view the forum regularly and have tried a lot of the recipes and collected lots of tips and information, it's been a real help. I was borderline for nearly 3 years and at every health review my GP tried to get me to take stations because of my high cholesterol which is genetic, I always refused them. I cut the sugar completely, walked more and changed my diet. Yesterday I had my review with the nurse, I came away on a cloud! My cholesterol is normal my diabetic bloods were down, BMI down my waist measurement down by 6 inches and I have lost 2 stone so keep an eye on the forum and follow the tips and recipes. I Remember feeling lost and disappointed at the beginning and could not get my head around diabetes but then I found this forum and 5 months on it's not so scary any more and you soon learn that life and 'food' can still be good. Good luck, I look forward to following your progress.

Brilliant Poohtiggy. Well done!

clairegra said:

Was diagnosed with Type 2 yesterday... despite being an ex nurse, (who should know better) am feeling totally overwhelmed and out of control of my life... and I am a control freak normally.

Last year after an over 60s check was given lifestyle advice re diabetes as my fasting blood sugar was borderline. Was supposed to go back for repeat test after 3 months, but stupidly felt so 'told off' and resentful of the way the nurse dealt with it, (and too ashamed and embarrassed when I didn't follow the advice to lose weight... yes, I am an idiot) didn't go back.

Now, after a further check, following a probably unrelated problem, I'm no longer pre diabetic but diagnosed with the real thing.

The doctor did tell me the figures for my fasting bloods and repeat, but to be honest have forgotten everything he said now. First was 6.5 (I think) second, 7.8?

He hasn't put me on tablets for diabetes, but wants me to take statins. Have filled the prescription but not sure how I feel about taking them, especially as one of the side effects is a raised blood sugar/diabetes.

Am determined to get blood sugar under control and finally lose the weight I knew I should have lost years ago.

Have an appointment in three weeks to see diabetic nurse (same one that I saw last year so am really worried about that) but have not had any specific advice otherwise.

So many questions (too much here, sorry)

Where do I begin??

Claire

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Hi Claire .
Here is another helpful info reference points/list to assist you along your way .
It can feel quite overwhelming initially but over time all things will start to make
a lot more sense .

You can write a list of questions/concerns to take with you to your next
diabetic clinic appointment .
Take a friend or family member along with you for support if you wish ?

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/newly-diagnosed-read-this-first.23279/

Any questions or worries - just ask here .
Someone will be sure to help support you .

Bluetit1802 said:

Brilliant Poohtiggy. Well done!

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Thanx hard work but worth it NO STATINS!!!!