• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Moved To Uk

Grateful

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,399
Location
Kent, United Kingdom
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello All,

I successfully moved from America to England, arriving at the beginning of May and moving into my new home. The past few months have been very stressful (fairly normal for any move, let alone an international one) and I have not been a good boy -- food regime remained low-carb but drink not so good with too much beer. Have yet to register at the NHS clinic in the Kent village where I now live but will do so soon. The last HbA1c was done in February in America and came in at 31. Wish me luck! I really love my new home so any health problems caused by the move/stress can probably be coped with.

Edited to add: The only health check I have done so far is to weigh myself. I am exactly the same weight as a few months ago (70KG, which is on the edge of an "underweight" BMI) so no real data there.

I now live in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with dozens of walking paths at my doorstep, so the "exercise" part of the checklist is abundantly catered for!!!
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the UK @Grateful! Glad to hear you like it here though you might not like the weather!
Well done on your HbA1c result - you might need to educate your doctor about T2 diabetes when you get registered. You will have to have an initial check up.
Good luck for your future in the UK!
 
Welcome to England! I wondered where you had disappeared to on the forum.

When you have your initial check up with your new NHS surgery, if you have an HbA1c similar to 31, they will say you are not diabetic! I hope you have made sure they will have details of your medical history available. If they code you as non-diabetic they may well not refer you for regular blood tests, foot checks, retinal eye screening and so on.
 
Quick question, while I'm about it (and it is something I will bring up when I go to the NHS clinic in the next few days).

There are bruises on my arms and legs. They are greenish/blueish. Not numerous, but impressive. I am fairly sure they are real bruises from shifting furniture and boxes during my move-in activities (my household goods arrived last week).

Does anyone think they could be something else? Surely nothing to do with T2D?
 
Welcome back! Good to hear from you again. Only last night I was wondering what had happened to you. I imagine that, with all its limitations, the NHS may serve you better than the US system? I am extremely envious of your A1c of 31. That is of course normal even by the hyper-exigent standards of Dr Bernstein, and it is my goal, though I don't think I'll ever get there, due to the particular nature of my bg problems. I also envy you your lovely footpaths. Looking forward to reading about your progress, and best wishes for settling in.
 
Hi and welcome back!

IF you have been shifting and moving furniture, then bruises seem quite normal. Are they healing/fading/changing colour as normal? You can mention them if you like, but I might be tempted to see whether they disappear on a normal bruise schedule.

As for your lovely location... how long are you going to be there?
If you intend to stay in the UK for 10 yrs or more, maybe a dog would help you enjoy the countryside?
 
Welcome back, @Grateful , I've missed your posts - look forward to seeing you join in again! As to the bruises, I've found as I get older the slightest knock leaves a longer lived mark so I don't worry about them.

P.S. Kent is a lovely part of the country, underrated in my opinion.
 
Welcome to the U.K. @Grateful , and more specifically the ‘sunny’ south, well it is sometimes sunny! I’d been wondering where you were. I hope you’re settling in well x
 
Brunneria said:
Hi and welcome back!
As for your lovely location... how long are you going to be there?
Click to expand...

Lovely to hear from you @Brunneria. I will be in the UK forever, I think. I've lived a very peripatetic life, having left the UK 38 years ago at the age of 23 following a mixed French/British childhood. Have lived all over the place (but mainly in the Middle East and the United States), with the choice of country dictated largely by others (employers, family, etc.). This is the first time I've actually made the choice entirely on my own selfish grounds.

To be honest I was not greatly enamored of the UK as a young adult. That was in the 1970s when (regardless of your political persuasion) the country was, shall we say, a bit of a mess. For a visceral left-winger such as myself (and a passionate European) moving to the UK now was very counter-intuitive but, much to my surprise, I found myself falling in love with the UK over the past few years during various holiday visits. And, having arrived, my feelings have strengthened.

Brunneria said:
Hi and welcome back!
If you intend to stay in the UK for 10 yrs or more, maybe a dog would help you enjoy the countryside?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I am dog-phobic. It began during my childhood near Paris when I walked to school every day and walked passed a couple of houses with fiercely barking dogs behind iron railings, with the usual "Chien Méchant" signpost on the gate. Not at all rational. I have considered getting therapy for this now: After all, dogs are abundant in the village where I now live.
 
If you are not sure where your bruising came from you should request a full blood check from your doctor or nurse.
It could be something but it may be very little. I take it your not on an anticoagulant?
Derek


 
Welcome back @Grateful youve been missed! How are those kidney stones now? Hopefully not an issue I remember when you had to give up spinach as I was eating a lot at the time but you’ll be pleased to know didn’t develop any stones!
As others have said make sure they know at drs about your history it would be a shame if you didn’t get called in for tests.
Looking forward to having you as an active member again
 
Grateful said:
............... That was in the 1970s when (regardless of your political persuasion) the country was, shall we say, a bit of a mess..........
Click to expand...

While you were away, we completely ruined it. Welcome back anyway.
 
shelley262 said:
Welcome back How are those kidney stones now?
Click to expand...

Strangely enough I've had no kidney stone issues since the last episode (that was in late November or early December, I forget). I have stuck to the low-sodium diet and the various other dietary advice, but have been less good on the constant hydration.

I am now hoping that my KS problems were a one-off caused by failing to hydrate while exercising fairly heavily immediately after my T2D diagnosis in February 2017. I suppose I will find out fairly soon. I have kept the strong painkiller pills from the last episode just in case!
 
Grateful said:
That was in the 1970s when (regardless of your political persuasion) the country was, shall we say, a bit of a mess.

. . . . . . For a visceral left-winger such as myself (and a passionate European)
Click to expand...

As urbanracer says, now we've really mucked things up. The politicians aren't anywhere near as good as the ones in the 70s, in fact I don't trust any of them, they open their mouths and I smell BS continuously.

I wish they had to have annual appraisals in the same way as so many UK employees do. Trouble is they are a law unto themselves.

Nearly forgot, welcome back after so many years, I wish you many happy years in Kent, God's Own County, as I'm sure you already know. Although Yorkshire seem to think the same LOL
 
Good to hear Hydration seems key for a lot of things!
 
Welcome back after so many years. This time four years ago the cat in my avatar was on a plane from Arizona to London. We followed her a day later...! For me it was a return after 14 years in the US.

I promised my cat a safe outdoor life free from
scorpions and coyotes. What I actually gave her was evil British fleas. But overall, she likes it better, as being a long haired cat in the US is no fun.
 
Hey @Grateful, welcome back to the Forum, although I guess in some respects you never really left us - just a LOA!! I thought maybe you had taken up residence with Mic Dodge out there in Washington Glad the move has been successful and look forward to seeing your posts when able! Blessings/L
 
My oldest son was born in Kent. Mr ickihun from there too. Great area and we used to commute into London daily. Then worked more rural once I was needed more at home.
We lived in a boathouse conversion in Rye, East Sussex facing the Quay. I highly recommend a visit to there, for you. If you haven't been there already.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…