New To T2

Hiya, welcome and don't worry (haha, easily said). I'm going to plunge in with the diabetes charter of promises (some of it obviously won't apply to you) and when you've recovered from reading that I'll tag @daisy1 to give you her great introduction to coping with diabetes.
When you're ready, ask more stuff.

• 
  THE CARE YOU SHOULD RECEIVE
  
  There is a minimum level of healthcare that every person with diabetes deserves and should expect. Here are the 15 essential checks and services you should receive. If you aren’t getting all the care you need, take this checklist to your diabetes healthcare team and discuss it with them.
  
  1 Get your blood glucose levels measured at least once a year. An HbA1c blood test will measure your overall blood glucose control and help you and your diabetes healthcare team set your own target.
  
  2 Have your blood pressure measured and recorded at least once a year, and set a personal target that is right for you.
  
  3 Have your blood fats (such as cholesterol) measured every year. Like blood glucose levels and blood pressure, you should have your own target that is realistic and achievable.
  
  4 Have your eyes screened for signs of retinopathy every year. A special digital camera is used to take a photograph of your retina (at the back of your eye) and a specialist will look for any changes. This free test is part of the annual diabetic screening service and is different to the checks carried out by an optician. If you notice any changes between appointments it is important to contact your optometrist or GP.
  
  5 Have your feet checked. The skin, circulation and nerve supply of your feet should be examined annually. You should be told if you have any risk of foot problems, how serious they are and if you will be referred to a specialist podiatrist or specialist foot clinic.
  
  6 Have your kidney function monitored annually. You should have two tests for your kidneys: urine test for protein (a sign of possible kidney problems) and a blood test to measure kidney function.
  
  7 Have your weight checked and your waist measured to see if you need to lose weight.
  
  8 Get support if you are a smoker including advice and support on how to quit. Having diabetes already puts people at increased risk of heart disease and stroke, and smoking further increases this risk.
  
  9 Receive care planning to meet your individual needs. You live with diabetes every day so you should have a say in every aspect of your care. Your yearly care plan should be agreed as a result of a discussion between you and your diabetes healthcare team, where you talk about your individual needs and set targets.
  
  10 Attend an education course to help you understand and manage your diabetes. You should be offered and have the opportunity to attend courses in your local area.
  
  11 Receive care from a specialist paediatric team if you are a child or young person.
  
  12 Receive high quality care if admitted to hospital. If you have to stay in hospital, you should still continue to receive high-quality diabetes care from specialist diabetes healthcare professionals, regardless of whether you have been admitted due to your diabetes or not.
  
  13 Get information and specialist care if you are planning to have a baby as your diabetes control has to be a lot tighter and monitored very closely. You should expect care and support from specialist healthcare professionals at every stage from preconception to post-natal care.
  
  14 See specialist diabetes healthcare professionals to help you manage your diabetes. Diabetes affects different parts of the body and you should have the opportunity to see specialist professionals such as an ophthalmologist, podiatrist or dietitian.
  
  15 Get emotional and psychological support. Being diagnosed with diabetes and living with a long term condition can be difficult. You should be able to talk about your issues and concerns with specialist healthcare professionals.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-t...sletter&utm_campaign=15+healthcare+essentials

@JBD

Hello JBD and welcome to the forum In addition to the very useful information from @DeejayR, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will answer.


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 140,000 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.

Hi @JBD welcome .

Yep, you've had much about the same intro as many of us. The information sheets you were given I suspect will be of minimal practical value in managing your blood sugars.

Have a read around here, including the links in my sig below, and don't panic! Do you know what your levels are (HbA1c)? Do you need to lose weight?

Hi and welcome!

It's a steep learning curve, but don't worry, the more you read, and the more you hang out on the forum and absorb stuff, the quicker it will all make sense.

I think the biggest and best single thing I did was buy a blood glucose meter and start finding out what foods did to my blood glucose (we are all different).

Good luck, and keep posting!

JBD said:

Hi,

Just thought I would give a little update. I tried the Metformin 500 mg once a day and after a few weeks had to go back as I wasn't doing so good on them with having stomach cramps and forever going to toilet after I had eaten. GP changed the tablets to a SR 500 mg but after about 7/8 days I've decided to not take it today and will be contacting the Doctors surgery Monday to try get quick appointment. I felt worse on this Sr 500 than the first 500 one. Is there many types of meds that might not give me an upset stomach and the need to go toilet after eating?

Thanks in advance.

John

Click to expand...

Do you know what your blood results were at the time you were diagnosed, and do you have a testing meter?

There are lots of options for meds, although not everyone starts on meds straight away (or at all). Much depends on your blood scores when you were diagnosed and indeed if you were experiencing any symptoms. I had no symptoms, and was able to deal with my condition by adjusting my diet and getting pretty active.

If your meds aren't agreeing with you, then your planned discussion is certainly the sensible approach.

If you want to find out what the results were, then you can get them from the surgery.

Try ringing the receptionist and asking for them. Sometimes they cheerfully print them out and hand them over. Sometimes there's a small paper/print charge.

If the receptionist is less than helpful, wait til your next appt. and ask the doc or nurse.

Providing they know how to press PRINT you should get them. - and you can always write them down, if the printer technology proves to be too challenging