Just seen cardiac nurse and she said she thinks I'm diabetic my level is 57 going to tomorrow will I need further tests to see if type 1 or 2 Thanks
Need advice please
- Thread starter Traceyolly
- Start Date
HSSS
Expert
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- 7,473
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
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- Diet only
Hi, well you’ve quickly found the right place for support and advice.
I’m assuming you’ve had an hb1ac and that’s the result. Usually they’ll be a second test unless there’s strong symptoms supporting that one but yes that is a diabetic level reading. But it’s by far not the highest we see in here. Is there any reason particularly they think it might be type 1? Typically unless it’s very high or with ketones or there’s some other indicator they usually assume it to be type 2. Probably should test us all but it’s doesnt happen and in fact some type 1’s get missed as a result.
Have a good look around the forums and the main website that hosts the forum.
At your level if they decide it’s type 2 there’s lots you can do in terms of diet (cutting carbs, not just sugars) is very very effective for many of us. They may suggest medication (likely metformin). Again at your level some take it , many others choose to trial diet and lifestyle alone first with good success for many. They may support this or be resistant. There is little consistency from one health care professional to another on this. They may also automatically want you on statins (if you aren’t already). These have the problem of raising blood sugars and there is considerably dispute over just how useful they actually are. Again it is your choice to take them, refuse them or take some time to do some research before deciding.
If it does turn out to be type 1 don’t despair. There’s a good few in here that have great advice and support and they live full and normal lives, just having to learn to manage the type 1 alongside that.
I’m assuming you’ve had an hb1ac and that’s the result. Usually they’ll be a second test unless there’s strong symptoms supporting that one but yes that is a diabetic level reading. But it’s by far not the highest we see in here. Is there any reason particularly they think it might be type 1? Typically unless it’s very high or with ketones or there’s some other indicator they usually assume it to be type 2. Probably should test us all but it’s doesnt happen and in fact some type 1’s get missed as a result.
Have a good look around the forums and the main website that hosts the forum.
At your level if they decide it’s type 2 there’s lots you can do in terms of diet (cutting carbs, not just sugars) is very very effective for many of us. They may suggest medication (likely metformin). Again at your level some take it , many others choose to trial diet and lifestyle alone first with good success for many. They may support this or be resistant. There is little consistency from one health care professional to another on this. They may also automatically want you on statins (if you aren’t already). These have the problem of raising blood sugars and there is considerably dispute over just how useful they actually are. Again it is your choice to take them, refuse them or take some time to do some research before deciding.
If it does turn out to be type 1 don’t despair. There’s a good few in here that have great advice and support and they live full and normal lives, just having to learn to manage the type 1 alongside that.
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- Type of diabetes
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Hello, and welcome to the forum, @Traceyolly !
I wanted to add a tag to @daisy1 to HSSS's story. Daisy will post a very useful info sheet about diabetes on this thread.
In the meantime, have a look around the forum!
I wanted to add a tag to @daisy1 to HSSS's story. Daisy will post a very useful info sheet about diabetes on this thread.
In the meantime, have a look around the forum!
ert
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diabetes
fasting
I'm sorry to hear that you are diabetic. With your nurse on your case, you appear to be in good hands. There is a lot of great advice already on this forum. I hope that the doctor you are referred to gets to the bottom of your result and it doesn't take too long.
dpoet
Active Member
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- 34
- Type of diabetes
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- Diet only
I know what your going through, I was just diagnosed blood test was 48. I saw nurse today for second blood sample, seeing diabetic nurse tomorrow afternoon. I had breakfast this morning and haven't eaten since, I'm that stressed.
HSSS
Expert
- Messages
- 7,473
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
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- Diet only
Starving yourself isn’t the way forward (though you might choose to do intermittent fasting where you deliberate restrict normal food intake to small eating windows). Have you had a read through some low carb info? Dietdoctor.com is a great place to start.
dpoet
Active Member
- Messages
- 34
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Yeah I know not eating isn't the way forward but I'm so stressed not hungry. I will be ok tomorrow when I've been Doc's. I'm looking at low carb recipes at the moment, I thought it might make me hungry LOL.
daisy1
Legend
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@Traceyolly
Hello and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and helpful.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
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 well over 600,000 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:
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
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.
Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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 blood glucose 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 to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and helpful.BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
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 well over 600,000 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
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
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.
Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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 blood glucose 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.
