New diagnosed type 2

[clinton137]

Hi all
Newly diagnosed, coming to terms with it all. Been glucose intolerant since 96. Now tipped the scales. Was on metformin stomach didn't like it at all. Now on gliclazde had a couple of hypo's. Testing levels regularly. Cut way back on carbs as well.

 

[4ratbags]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are on the right track. I will tag @daisy1 to post you out some great information to read. If you have any questions just ask, we are a helpful bunch

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome.

 

[Alisonjane10]

Hi all
Newly diagnosed, coming to terms with it all. Been glucose intolerant since 96. Now tipped the scales. Was on metformin stomach didn't like it at all. Now on gliclazde had a couple of hypo's. Testing levels regularly. Cut way back on carbs as well.

Hi @clinton137,

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you're doing the right things to stabilise your blood glucose...lowering carbs etc. But the fact that you've been having Hypo's since being started on Gliclazide is worrying. You didn't say what dose you're prescribed, but it may need to be amended to meet your needs since low carbing. Speak to your HCP (Diabetic Nurse or GP, whichever is managing your Diabetes,) and discuss correcting your dose. I was prescribed 160mg of Gliclazide twice a day at one point this year. Reduced this dose gradually, in consultation with my DSN, until I no longer needed it. (120mg, then 80mg, 40mg & finally 20mg before stopping completely.) The fact that I reduced my carb intake to a moderate amount & lost weight helped my body utilise what Insulin I was producing much more efficiently. Thus, making the need for Gliclazide redundant. Now I only take Metformin, which after initial gastric problems, is doing the job. You say you had stomach probs when on Metformin...did you discuss the use of time release type of Metformin with your HCP. It's gentler on the stomach & many who aren't able to take The immediate release formula of Metformin can tolerate the modified release formula. It's worth exploring your options with your diabetes care nurse/Dr. Also, take a look around the forum. There's tons of helpful information & if you need answers to specific questions, then don't be afraid to ask. Post your own question...there are NO stupid questions, so don't feel shy about asking. Good luck & best wishes.

AJ10. X

 

[daisy1]

@clinton137

Hello Clinton and welcome to the forum To help you get going, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be pleased to help, in addition to the useful answers you have already had.


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 150,000 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.

 

[clinton137]

Thanks for all your replies

I was on 80mg a day of gliclazde. It was put up to 160. I have found through monitoring my BG that it's drops a lot between breakfast n lunch 3.3 being the worst That's when when I had a hypo. I now have a mid morning snack seems to be doing ok so far.

A bit of background I had cancerous polyps removed from my bowel. Which they punctured when removing, so now I suffer IBS big time. That's why they changed my meds to gliclazide.

I will keep testing n trying different foods.

Clint

 

[debdebc]

HI Clint, I am newly diagnosed and was put on Gliclazide for two weeks then to start metformin and when stable on that, to stop the Gliclazide. I also had a hypo so my Doc stopped it. I am still increasing the Metformin and it isnt the kindest drug in the world!

Hope you get some answers from them

Deb

 

[clinton137]

HI Clint, I am newly diagnosed and was put on Gliclazide for two weeks then to start metformin and when stable on that, to stop the Gliclazide. I also had a hypo so my Doc stopped it. I am still increasing the Metformin and it isnt the kindest drug in the world!

Hope you get some answers from them

Deb

Hi Deb

Thanks for the reply. Metformin does not agree with me at all. If needs I will drop back to 80mg gliclazide. 90% of the time I feel great on gliclazide and my BG is around 6.0.

Clint

 

[eddie1968]

Welcome to the forum and good health!

 

[BlueTwist]

Hi Clinton! I'm a newbie as well to the forum! Welcome, I think you will find this a rather friendly place!

 

[clinton137]

Hi all thanks for all ur replies. Been for a check up at docs..he is well pleased avg 6.5.. Have to stay on meds for now one 80mg glic with breakfast and one with dinner. As i was dropping below 4 in the mornings. Got repeat prescription for my test strips n lancets.
Thanks to the site and the info I have gained especially about low carbs.....all these years I have been suffering now things are getting back on track. No stomach pains headaches feeling tired etc...life is great.

 

[4ratbags]

Thats really awesome to hear. Onwards and upwards.

 

[james_1d]

Good to hear the meds work for someone. If you are having Hypos, then you need to get ontop of that sooner than later. Metformin can take some adjusting.

I was on max dose of Metformin and Glic...and did nothing for me...and found out 2 days ago I actually have Type 1 (later onset)

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi all thanks for all ur replies. Been for a check up at docs..he is well pleased avg 6.5.. Have to stay on meds for now one 80mg glic with breakfast and one with dinner. As i was dropping below 4 in the mornings. Got repeat prescription for my test strips n lancets.
Thanks to the site and the info I have gained especially about low carbs.....all these years I have been suffering now things are getting back on track. No stomach pains headaches feeling tired etc...life is great.

Hello Clinton.

It looks like you're doing really well, and I'm delighted to see your positive, up-beat attitude to it all.

My only comment so far would be to ask if your Doc has considered you having a lower dose of Gliclazide in the mornings, to ease the potential for hypos? I always feel a bit saddened when I read of people eating up to their meds, rather than having their meds trimmed to fit with their lifestyle and eating patterns. That just doesn't make sense to me.

My rationale is that your objective is to bring your blood scores under control in a safe and healthy manner? You are taking some medication to help with that, and the effect of Gliclazide is to drive down the blood sugar levels.

That's all good so far, until you find you are breaching the safe lower levels for those taking Gliclazide or similar drugs. Clearly there are two ways to tackle that. The first is eat more, so that you are driving your bloods up, whilst taking a drug to drive them down (see where I'm coming from?), or it could be considered to trim back your dosage (in the morning in your case), so that your amended diet, which seems to give you excellent average numbers can be maintained, without the snacks. Personally, I can't see the benefits of the first approach.

I don't know if you are carrying any weight. Many of us do at diagnosis. If you do carry weight, eating up to your meds could have the potential to impact on weight loss, plus one of the unfortunate reported side-effects of Gliclazide is weight gain, which is underirable for the vast majority of the population, and for most diabetics in particular.

Please don't think I'm bashing your Doc or your medication, it's just that I have a bee in my bonnet about matching meds with life, rather life to meds.

Thus far, I have been very fortunate not to need to take meds of any kind, so have no personal experience of either drugs you have taken, but I have done plenty of reading and thinking.

There are many, many knowledgeable members on this site who will try to help you with any issues you encounter. We've all been at the beginning of the journey, and most if us have hit the odd bump in the road along the way. Sometimes it's the mistakes we make that teach us the most valuable lessons.

Good luck with it all.

 

[clinton137]

Hello Clinton.

It looks like you're doing really well, and I'm delighted to see your positive, up-beat attitude to it all.

My only comment so far would be to ask if your Doc has considered you having a lower dose of Gliclazide in the mornings, to ease the potential for hypos? I always feel a bit saddened when I read of people eating up to their meds, rather than having their meds trimmed to fit with their lifestyle and eating patterns. That just doesn't make sense to me.

My rationale is that your objective is to bring your blood scores under control in a safe and healthy manner? You are taking some medication to help with that, and the effect of Gliclazide is to drive down the blood sugar levels.

That's all good so far, until you find you are breaching the safe lower levels for those taking Gliclazide or similar drugs. Clearly there are two ways to tackle that. The first is eat more, so that you are driving your bloods up, whilst taking a drug to drive them down (see where I'm coming from?), or it could be considered to trim back your dosage (in the morning in your case), so that your amended diet, which seems to give you excellent average numbers can be maintained, without the snacks. Personally, I can't see the benefits of the first approach.

I don't know if you are carrying any weight. Many of us do at diagnosis. If you do carry weight, eating up to your meds could have the potential to impact on weight loss, plus one of the unfortunate reported side-effects of Gliclazide is weight gain, which is underirable for the vast majority of the population, and for most diabetics in particular.

Please don't think I'm bashing your Doc or your medication, it's just that I have a bee in my bonnet about matching meds with life, rather life to meds.

Thus far, I have been very fortunate not to need to take meds of any kind, so have no personal experience of either drugs you have taken, but I have done plenty of reading and thinking.

There are many, many knowledgeable members on this site who will try to help you with any issues you encounter. We've all been at the beginning of the journey, and most if us have hit the odd bump in the road along the way. Sometimes it's the mistakes we make that teach us the most valuable lessons.

Good luck with it all.

Hi there thanks for the reply, I know exactly where you are coming from, I now only take one 80mg glic in the morning and another one (80mg) with my evening meal. I have only just started that today so I will see how it all goes. my early mornig BG was 5.4, will test again two hours after breakfast, and so on through the day. I totally agree with you about meds and I would rather let me diet control the BG. I think the trick is getting the correct balance between meds and diet, So your living a healthy life style, As for my weight etc I am 5.8 and 80kg. so may be a little over weight but nothing too much. I get plenty of exercise as I am in the RAF, i walk to work and back (1 n half miles each way),and have use of a fee gym etc. I am in my fifities and have served in the RAF since I was 17, only three years left to the end of my service career.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi there thanks for the reply, I know exactly where you are coming from, I now only take one 80mg glic in the morning and another one (80mg) with my evening meal. I have only just started that today so I will see how it all goes. my early mornig BG was 5.4, will test again two hours after breakfast, and so on through the day. I totally agree with you about meds and I would rather let me diet control the BG. I think the trick is getting the correct balance between meds and diet, So your living a healthy life style, As for my weight etc I am 5.8 and 80kg. so may be a little over weight but nothing too much. I get plenty of exercise as I am in the RAF, i walk to work and back (1 n half miles each way),and have use of a fee gym etc. I am in my fifities and have served in the RAF since I was 17, only three years left to the end of my service career.

That's all good to hear.

There's no doubt I have been fortunate to be able to fend off the meds, but you're right, it does take a while to get the balance right so that your quality of life/lifestyle and occupational needs are in some form of balance.

The NHS BMI Calculator ( http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx ) suggests your BMI is 26.8. The published Healthy Weight range is 17.5 - 25, which translates to 75kg at the upper end and 55kg at the lower end.

There's no doubt that BMI is a bit of a blanket approach and we all differ in terms of how much muscle we might carry versus fat, but it seems likely that dropping a few pounds might help with all things. Personally, I found that as I adapted my diet to manage my sugars, I lost weight without trying (I didn't have masses to go either), and as that happened my blood scores notched down, in line with my weight. In fact, I've ended up very slim indeed, with a bit of a struggle to keep weight on for a while. Trust me, that last bit was a bit of a shock! Who would have thought it?

I would suggest your primary objective has to be getting your bloods into order, and where possible, in consultation with your Doc, trimming your meds to match the new you.

What sort of stuff are you eating these days? I see you're cutting back carbs, which is just great.

 

[clinton137]

That's all good to hear.

There's no doubt I have been fortunate to be able to fend off the meds, but you're right, it does take a while to get the balance right so that your quality of life/lifestyle and occupational needs are in some form of balance.

The NHS BMI Calculator ( http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx ) suggests your BMI is 26.8. The published Healthy Weight range is 17.5 - 25, which translates to 75kg at the upper end and 55kg at the lower end.

There's no doubt that BMI is a bit of a blanket approach and we all differ in terms of how much muscle we might carry versus fat, but it seems likely that dropping a few pounds might help with all things. Personally, I found that as I adapted my diet to manage my sugars, I lost weight without trying (I didn't have masses to go either), and as that happened my blood scores notched down, in line with my weight. In fact, I've ended up very slim indeed, with a bit of a struggle to keep weight on for a while. Trust me, that last bit was a bit of a shock! Who would have thought it?

I would suggest your primary objective has to be getting your bloods into order, and where possible, in consultation with your Doc, trimming your meds to match the new you.

What sort of stuff are you eating these days? I see you're cutting back carbs, which is just great.

Hi,

I know that i am slightly over my BMI, not to worried about that just now as am sure it will fall slowly. As for eating breakfast is manily eggs (poached or scrambled) bacon and mushrooms, snack morning small apple (also have plain nuts and mixed seeds to nibble on if i feel the need) Lunch is salad (cheese or tuna) snacks in afternoon the same as above. Evening meal meat/fish with veggies.(Desserts i have problems with not sure what to eat) Drinking water between 2-3 ltrs a day, with the odd cup of tea (full fat milk when i can). Trying to increaase the fat intake a bit when i can. I fell 100% better in myself, more get up and go, better concentration etc. Do you have any suggestions for me?

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi,

I know that i am slightly over my BMI, not to worried about that just now as am sure it will fall slowly. As for eating breakfast is manily eggs (poached or scrambled) bacon and mushrooms, snack morning small apple (also have plain nuts and mixed seeds to nibble on if i feel the need) Lunch is salad (cheese or tuna) snacks in afternoon the same as above. Evening meal meat/fish with veggies.(Desserts i have problems with not sure what to eat) Drinking water between 2-3 ltrs a day, with the odd cup of tea (full fat milk when i can). Trying to increaase the fat intake a bit when i can. I fell 100% better in myself, more get up and go, better concentration etc. Do you have any suggestions for me?

You seem to have a decent handle on it, to be honest.

Many folks find fruit to be a challenge, so it's probably important to do some testing around your apples. I know I almost went into mourning over fruit! Now though, I can tolerate it better, having got my sugars and weight right down, so I can have a bit more these days.

I'm really not the best person to ask about desserts as I've never been a sweet eater, aside from my beloved fruit. I've always been fine with berries, so raspberries, a few strawberries and/or blueberries with double cream can be very pleasant. Because I'm not a massive consumer, I tend to buy frozen, so I can take to leave them as the whim takes me. That said, if you search on the forum you'll find loads of recipes and ideas you might find useful, or alternatively start a thread? Asking questions is how we learn, and we've all done it to one extent or another.

Finally, have you done any reading on "Insulin Resistance"? For me, learning about that was a bit of a light bulb moment, and I believe my diabetic diagnosis was due to insulin resistance, rather than a failing pancreas. The way my bloods scaled back in line with my weight reinforced that belief. Most T2s, at diagnosis suffer insulin resistance, meaning we produce plenty of insulin, our bodies just can't use it very efficiently. This doesn't apply to absolutely everyone. For those with failing pancreatic function, that will come into play too, but we don't usually know that at the outset. Again there are a number of threads on the forum discussing this.

The following websites contain loads of information on low carbing, which you may find useful as you expand your knowledge:

Blood Sugar 101: http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/

Diet Doctor: http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

 

[ButtterflyLady]

I am in my fifities and have served in the RAF since I was 17, only three years left to the end of my service career.

That's awesome that you have served for so long. Much appreciated.

 

[clinton137]

You seem to have a decent handle on it, to be honest.

Many folks find fruit to be a challenge, so it's probably important to do some testing around your apples. I know I almost went into mourning over fruit! Now though, I can tolerate it better, having got my sugars and weight right down, so I can have a bit more these days.

I'm really not the best person to ask about desserts as I've never been a sweet eater, aside from my beloved fruit. I've always been fine with berries, so raspberries, a few strawberries and/or blueberries with double cream can be very pleasant. Because I'm not a massive consumer, I tend to buy frozen, so I can take to leave them as the whim takes me. That said, if you search on the forum you'll find loads of recipes and ideas you might find useful, or alternatively start a thread? Asking questions is how we learn, and we've all done it to one extent or another.

Finally, have you done any reading on "Insulin Resistance"? For me, learning about that was a bit of a light bulb moment, and I believe my diabetic diagnosis was due to insulin resistance, rather than a failing pancreas. The way my bloods scaled back in line with my weight reinforced that belief. Most T2s, at diagnosis suffer insulin resistance, meaning we produce plenty of insulin, our bodies just can't use it very efficiently. This doesn't apply to absolutely everyone. For those with failing pancreatic function, that will come into play too, but we don't usually know that at the outset. Again there are a number of threads on the forum discussing this.

The following websites contain loads of information on low carbing, which you may find useful as you expand your knowledge:

Blood Sugar 101: http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/

Diet Doctor: http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

HI,

Many thanks for the web addy's I will take a look. Its not that i want sweet desserts, just something to have after my dinner.

Will research Insulin resistance as well, and may be start another thread to see what other are eating.

As for the fruit, yesterday BG were BB 6.0 AB 7.3 BL 4.9 AL4,8 BD 4.6 AD 8.3, I had an apple in the morning and another in afternoon, didn't seem to affect things at all, however at dinner i had a small bit of cheese cake with strawberry jam on top, not sure what the base was made of, but it made my BG rise.

Clint