New to type 2, new on here and a little scared at the minute

welcome Rich

Yes welcome Rich. You will soon feel the positive vibes and get loads of useful advice here.

Hi and welcome
I'll tag @daisy1 so you can get the intro that will help greatly in advising you what to do.
Regards
Mark

@RichPJ

Hello Rich and welcome to the forum To help you along, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It includes information about carbs and a link to the Low Carb Program which you could try. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


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 well over 210,000 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

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 free 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

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 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.

Hi and welcome. Don't panic about either the Type 2 or the high cholesterol. Do ask any questions about the T2 that Daisy1 hasn't answered for you. If you know the cholesterol breakdown numbers e.g. LDL, HDL and Triglycerides it may help you work out the ratios and check against what are good ratios on this website i.e.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/Diabetes-and-cholesterol.html

RichPJ said:

thank you all - just starting to get my head around this all and the info and support will definitely help

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If it is any reassurance, I, and probably 90% of this community were once where you are now, bewildered,confused,scared....
Worry not this isn't the 100 metres, this is for life. You will soon gather up loads of information, sometimes conflicting, but you will soon work out what is best for you. You may also find that eventually you are more clued up than your HCP's
I would urge you to buy a BG meter if nothing else, that way you can see the impact of your eating on your blood sugars, and respond accordingly.

Sorry to have to welcome you to a place you never wanted to be in. They are a friendly bunch here, and there is no such thing as a stupid question, only a stupid answer :-/ so fire away

Hello and welcome @RichPJ . Did the Doctor make any suggestions about food and your diet? I hope you feel better after reading some of the threads on this website. There is some excellent information here.

The 27.2 is the finger prick test that gives you an approximate amount of glucose in your blood at that particular time. It is in mmols!
The other reading is I think your Hba1c test, haemoglobin! This test shows your last two to three months average. This is a percentage.

Do you have a monitor, if not get one and start recording you blood glucose levels, start a food diary to see which foods or a combination of foods are giving you high readings. The usual culprits are carbs and sugars.
My advice is reduced your carbs and sugars, reduce your plate size, increase your exercise if possible, even if it only means an extra half hour walk after a meal.
This will have a tremendous impact on your blood glucose levels.
The low carb higher fat diet actual works and if done properly, can lead to normal blood glucose levels and loss of weight if needs be!

Take heed of @daisy1 post!

Welcome to the forum.

I always say have a read of the low carb forum and the success stories forum.
It will inspire you.

RichPJ said:

one thing im not understanging at the minute is when the doctor did a finger prick test my reading was 27.2 and my blood test came back at 17.6 - what do these figures mean in terms a non-doctor would understand??

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Hi @RichPJ and welcome to the forum. It is a shock when you get that diagnosis and does take a bit of time to get your head around it all. But you will get a lot of useful advice and support on here.
Your fingerprick and blood test results are on the high side, but people on here have had higher readings and brought them down.
You can control this condition.
This chart gives you an idea of what the figures mean:

Hello @RichPJ and Welcome to the Forum .

RichPJ said:

Hi There my names rich and i am 37 and just been diagnosed with type 2 this week along with type 3 hyperlipidemia (high cholsterol and triglyserides) - i have so many questions but my head is all over the place at the minute

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welcome Rich, you've come to absolutely the right place. I would imagine almost everyone on here, me included, has felt safer finding this site. Just try not to panic, but post, like you have. There are some real experts on here and lots of us who are happy to share our experiences. There is a wealth of information, far more useful than your surgery can provide and its just up to you to balance the cold clinical instructions along with the friendly advice from fellow diabetics. Good luck, try not to panic and read lots of the topics. ☺

Hi Rich. I was 38 when I was diagnosed with T2. It's been 3 years now. It's well managed and at the moment not taking medication. My A1c was 9%(don't know the British conversion). I was on med for a long time but gradually the dosage dropped and been 5 months since I last took one. So there is hope. You may have heard that our condition deteriorates and we all go back to the meds and maybe later in life end up with insulin shots. I beg to differ. If you watch what you eat you should be OK. Besides low carbs, mind portion size. It doesn't mean you can eat anything low on the carbs with out any limits. There are under lying circumstance in your life that might have been a factor which lead to T2. If it's depression, seek counseling. lack of exercise, get out of your couch and hit the gym or do the 30 minutes 5X a week brisk walks. Just dropping few pounds should help keeping your blood glucose show some improvements. But you must be committed. One more thing before I go. Try to avoid whole grain(I seldom use eat moderately). If you do, you'll see a significant reduction. Until you see some changes, I strongly recommend you to stop eating fruits. When your situation improves, you can eat berries. But when I say this, don't starve yourself.

RichPJ said:

Hi There my names rich and i am 37 and just been diagnosed with type 2 this week along with type 3 hyperlipidemia (high cholsterol and triglyserides) - i have so many questions but my head is all over the place at the minute

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Hi Rich, when I was diagnosed in September last year with Tupe 2 diabetes I was shocked. But I have done everything they told me and have reversed it. Have lost 4 stone in weight. My cholesterol has come down and have been taken off the Metformin medication now. I must stick to my eating habits now to ensure I stay as I am. I am unsure what the other thing is you have been diagnosed with. Stay positive and you will be fine. There is so much help out there and this site is Marvellous and so helpful.

Hi Rich and welcome.
I was first diagnosed Type 2 just 5 weeks ago so can really relate to what you are currently feeling. I have to tell you though that Im currently feeling better both mentally and physically than I have done for a long time. Ive lost about 25lbs in weight (I was losing weight before I was diagnosed but hadn't realised why), my blood pressure is lower, Im eating healthier and most importantly my mmol/l (what you call the finger prick test) is consistently under 6. My head really does feel clearer, Im sleeping better and amazingly my eyesight is better than it has been for years!
You have to understand that this is going to affect your life, but not necessarily in a bad way. Read as much as you can (this forum has been great for me but there are loads of other useful sites) as knowledge is power.
Think positive Rich and look forward to the new you

I also have some form of familial cholesterol disorder and many people on here will recommend LCHF it may not be suitable for you, it's not for me. I need to restrict my fats or my trigs go sky high but a LCLF diet is sooooo boring . I am still working on a diet that balances the two buy is sustainable, the Mediterranean diet seems best but even olive oil affects me to some extent

The way to lower Triglycerides is with a Low Carb, High Fat diet, works like a charm for virtually everybody. Exactly how high is high? Your numbers would be good. Total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and Triglycerides. Ring up and ask your surgery for the actual readings, if you haven't got them already. Yes, if they are ridiculously high, so Familial Hypercholestermia is an issue the normal advice doesn't apply, but for most people a LCHF diet may not lower total cholesterol but is very likely to improve the ratios, i.e. HDL will go up, trigs will go down, for some people TC also goes down and LDL - for others not, but your LDL will change to the 'large fluffy' type that is not dangerous - according to some of the most able and up-to-date doctors.