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Morning blues.

P

Popsey

Member
Messages
6
Hi there,
This is my first posting. I'm hoping that this forum will help with the feelings of utter confusion and isolation I'm having!
I'm a 63 yr old female, diagnosed with type 2 about 8 weeks ago. I've attended a Desmond course, found it very helpful and informative and thought I understood what I was taught about food. I have had one appointment with a dietician who discharged me because she could find no fault with my food diary apart from an odd adjustment here and there. I'm trying to lose weight and have lost about 7lbs in the last 2 months and increased my activity levels.
I feel dreadful when I get up in the mornings and can't get my fruit 'n' fibre down my throat quick enough. I improve within half an hour or so. I am aware of good spells and not so good spells throughout the day, but don't know how these relate to what I am eating.
I was given my diagnosis by the practice nurse and told that I wouldn't need to be seen again for 6 months. How do I know whether my diet needs adjusting further? Can I avoid the 'morning blues'. I have been reading here about blood testing - no one has suggested I need to do that. I feel as though I've been dropped out of an aeroplane without a parachute!
Any advice please?
Popsey
 
Hi Popsy,
I don't know what food advice you were given and so cannot comment on that but would say that a blood glucose tester is an essentail part of kit that you will need. ( The food advice is probably general for all Type 2's. ) This is the only way to test if the food you eat is affecting your blood sugar levels. We are all different in our response to foods. Some PCT's are reluctant to issue them to Type 2's and you may have to buy your own. Management of your condition is not really possible without one.
 
Thanks for your reply Catherine.
What I cannot understand is why the practice nurse and Desmond team give the impression that the only monitoring that is needed is 6 monthly HbA1C and that monitoring is really for people on medication. Clearly from the posts here many people with type 2 not on medication use self monitoring.
I really want to get to grips with this and start to feel normal again. If Bg testing is the way to do it I will go down that route, but why don't the medical people tell you these things?
Popsey
 
As Catherine said a blood testing monitor is a must when first diagnosed. Below is the advice we give to newly diagnosed type 2's.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics.This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, 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 which includes sugars.

The main carbs to avoid or reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily 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. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the affect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) 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/doctor 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, (in the UK) but you can but try !!

As a Type 2 the latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l.
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.
If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

Sue/Ken.
Click to expand...
 
Popsey said:
Thanks for your reply Catherine.
What I cannot understand is why the practice nurse and Desmond team give the impression that the only monitoring that is needed is 6 monthly HbA1C and that monitoring is really for people on medication. Clearly from the posts here many people with type 2 not on medication use self monitoring.
I really want to get to grips with this and start to feel normal again. If Bg testing is the way to do it I will go down that route, but why don't the medical people tell you these things?
Popsey
Click to expand...

The reason why they don't tell you is because if they did and gave you a tester, or even if you bought one yourself like I did, the cost of the strips they will have to prescribe to you will come out of their budget. Seems that most GPs will not admit to this but instead tell you that you don't need to monitor because they are afraid that you will panic if your BG levels are high and stop eating carbohydrates, have hypos and blame them for it.

Then there are GPs like mine who care about their patients and give them all the help they can untill the patient knows what he/she can eat in order to maintain a good BG controll.

You said that it was the nurse who gave you the diagnoses results, have you seen the Doc since? I'd make an appointment and speak with him about it and also mention your "morning blues". Tell him that you want to take controll of your diabetes and want find out what you can eat without your BG going sky high, he may see things differently and be more helpfull than the nurse. If he doesn't want to hel you then try to find another GP who will or if you can afford it then buy the tester and strips for a few months until you know what and how much of it your body can tolerate.

When I did my Desmonds, we were told that we could eat anything we want, even full bars of chocolates and cakes with sugar in them :? :roll: , just stop using sugar in your tea they said and watch the saturated fats. Well, I knew all that even before I went on that course so it was nothing but a waste of time as far as I am concerned.

Good luck.
 
Hi Popsey,

I'm in the same position as you - it seems as tho Type 2's not on medication or insulin are very much 2nd-class citizens in my surgery!

I was diagnosed in April and have yet to see the Diabetes GP, she phoned me in May but when I said I was losing weight she said "Oh in that case I won't see you for your initial appointment till August" - what! 3 months before an INITIAL appointment!!

I've lost some more weight, and my Diabeteic symptoms are impoving, so I know I'm on the right track, but next payday I'll be "treating" myself to a glucose meter, so that I can test myself - there are times in the day when I feel desparately tired, and I suspect these are times when my levels are very high.

I realised I had two choices - either make a helluva fuss at the surgery, or do my own thing and use the GP etc simply to officially check my progress, while finding out as much as I can elsewhere.
Being a "anything for a quiet life" person, I chose the latter, but many people prefer to make a fuss - just do whichever feels right for you and your health. :)
 
Thank you so much for your replies.
I think I understand the issues better now. I'm also the kind who doesn't like to make a fuss or doesn't want to be seen as panicking needlessly! I think the point about getting an appointment with the GP is a valid one which I will follow up. I've been feeling that type 2 is at the lower end of the scale of things in relation to diabetes. The fact that numbers of people with it are so high etc kind of gives the impression that it's something you just get on with. I was told by a diagnosed (also unmedicated) friend that she too was just left to her own devises and she relies totally on her 6 monthly blood tests to confirm that things are OK. One of my sisters also falls into this category but she has never had any symptoms.
I am the 4th of 6 siblings diagnosed - 2 are now medicated, one is registered blind through the condition and has other significant circulation problems. I really want to do all the right things and to be proactive in my treatment. I want to be able to understand how I am feeling relates to what I have eaten and make relevant changes, but I have picked up the subtle message given out by the NHS that 'it's our job to monitor that don't worry about it'.
I think your responses have given me the confiednce to to 'go for it'. I'll see the GP, test the waters re self monitoring and get a monitor myself if he doesn't agree to giving me one.
many thanks

Popsey
 
Hi Popsey

I know just how you feel. I didn’t know I was being put to one side by my GP until someone suggested I went to the drop in diabetic clinic at my local Well Being Centre. It was like a breath of fresh air and they practically threw a meter at me then wrote to my GP to tell her to put the consumables on my repeat prescription. Since I’ve started testing it’s explained so many things to me. The advice I can give is to check out if you have anything similar in your area.

Alan
 
You are entitled to feel ****** in the morning... as if life aint bad enough for most folks you, I and loads of other folks have being a T2 to contend with... what gets me down on its own is what to have for breakfast. It's a tough call. Most stuff is full of carbs and or sugar etc. So no plate of toast n jam etc. No cornflakes etc. No porridge. On and on. Birch me now matron for even thinking about cheating.
No, you shouldn't have any of those things but it's a shame because they are quick and easy to make.
Then again they might be OK for you. Only way to tell is by measuring and see what readings you get. This could be your plan. Every morning try out a new meal and write down the BG readings. You will soon find out what is OK and then remove the worry.
You can match the food with the reading and your mood to avoid the off-limits stuff and it will be a positive thing you are doing for yourself. This in itself should make you feel better.
While diabetes affects lots of people it is a very personal thing. Seldom will you come across NHS staff who actually have it so in some respects you are perfectly entitled to not believe everything they tell you. It is your illness and you can be empowered to get it under control. That control will go a long way to dispel the blues.
Personally I doubt I will ever lose them. It is a hell of a shock but you are not alone on this forum - it helped and helps me a lot so come back often and share any time of the day. 8)
 
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