New type 2

[Rifkah]

hello all!

I was diagnosed diabetic on Friday and the nurse spent some time explaining all about neuropathy and retinal damage and ulcers and heart problems and furry arteries to me. Do you guys know are there any studies done on what the rough prognosis is, I'm thinking I might spend some time travelling before the real health problems kick in. Also once you start getting neuropathy about how long do you get before that progresses to having to use a wheel chair and amputations? Do you get some warning before you go blind or is it an overnight thing? I'd just like to make the best use of the time I have left and healthy but the nurse didn't seem to know how long it would be before the heart attack even roughly.

She also explained I have to cut out sugar and carbs and that fat turns to sugar in my blood too so I can't have any fats in my diet either.
I have a few other issues some with my gut that mean high fibre foods are something I have to go sparingly on. A friend explained to me that protein is also broken down into sugar if you eat too much of it, you're allowed 1g per kg body mass per day.
So I'm trying to build some diet plans around 70g of chicken or fish a day to see what I can do with that. I've managed today but the portion size seems tremendously small and I have such a gnawimg hunger I can't sleep. Does the hunger fade over time?

Also I've lost quite a bit of weight over the last month even though I've been eating like a horse and quite physically active now the sun is out. Checked the scale today and I've lost about 30% of my body weight already in about seven weeks unintentionally. Nurse says I should aim to loose 20% so about another 14kg which would put me at 56kg which would give me a bmi of 20. She says if I loose enough weight I will stop being diabetic. Has this worked for anyone and what kind of bmi did you have to get to to loose the diagnosis? These weights seem awful low to me, i was only a coupe of kilos lighter age 15 when they did medical checks.

Think that's all my questions for now, also is there anyone else out there with a psychiatric diagnosis, I'd like to know how you felt when you'd first been diagnosed? My mood has gone quite low, normally I'd be turning to chocolate but....

 

[Guzzler]

Hello and welcome. May I ask what the result of your HbA1c blood test was? And what medications were prescribed for your Diabetes? These details will help us to advise you.

Firstly, fats do not turn to sugar in the way that you were told. Also, protein will only be turned into glucose (blood sugar) when there is not enough fat or carbohydrate in your diet.

As to your prognosis, well, it does not have to be all doom and gloom. With adjustments to diet and excercise and good management of blood glucose levels you can put off many of the complications. Your Diabetes nurse will arrange eye screening which is very good at picking up tiny changes in the eyes so there is no chance of going blind overnight. Your feet will be checked at every review with your nurse and if you are worried about small wounds your GP will need to see these as soon as possible.

I'm afraid that your nurse is wrong when she says that if you lose enough weight your Diabetes will go away, a diagnosis is for life but many, many people achieve great management of Diabetes and are happy and healthier after they learn how to deal with it.

I would advise you to get a glucometer. This is a little gizmo that you use at home to monitor your blood glucose levels.

Please, ask as many questions as you like. Getting the diagnosis can be overwhelming for some of us but you have been lucky in that you have found this forum and we have all been through what you are going through now. Best wishes.

 

[Rifkah]

Hello please to meet you!

I think she said 146? They've to started me on metformin, ramipril and a statin and review weekly. The appointment was late Friday so Ive only just started them today.

I asked the nurse about getting a blood glucose meter, I had a boyfriend who was t1 a long time ago. She told me it's not worth getting one for t2 and they cause more anxiety as the readings arn't as accurate as the test she does, that's why they want me in the office once a week.

 

[Rifkah]

How do you cope with the hunger! I'm so hungry I could eat the cushions on the sofa, I'm kinda trembly too.

 

[Prem51]

I think she said 146?

Hi @Rifkah and welcome to the forum. An HbA1c of 146 would be quite high and is probably why she wants to see you weekly.
You should ask your surgery to give you online access to your medical records and test results, or a printout of your test result as it will give you more information than just your blood sugar level.

 

[Salvia]

Hi @Rifkah, and welcome to the forum. It's very early days for you since diganosis, and there's much to learn, so I don't want to overwhelm with info or too many suggestions just yet.

I will tag @daisy1 for you, and she'll be along with some really good basic information and links that should help with some initial queries you may have.

So I'm trying to build some diet plans around 70g of chicken or fish a day to see what I can do with that. I've managed today but the portion size seems tremendously small and I have such a gnawimg hunger I can't sleep. Does the hunger fade over time?

You mention being very hungry all the time; @Guzzler above has given you some pointers, but I'm wondering if you have been calculating your protein in the right way. (My apologies if that is not the case - but here goes) The use of 1g per kg of body weight is one of the ways of measuring, but that doesn't mean the actual scale weight of the protein, which would result in very small portions. I can't remember the exact ratios, but I think it is something like about one-quarter to one-fifth of the weight of, for example, a chicken leg, is protein; the rest is bone, fats, water. So a 100g weight of chicken would be about 20g-25g of protein. (I have found the range can vary depending upon the source of the breakdown of nutrients, how the meat was reared, different manufacturer estimates.) There are several on-line calculators that can give you macronutrient breakdowns, plus the suppliers websites. Also the information given on the packaging labels on the back of the product (not the traffic light things shown on the front).

Hope this helps.

p.s. If the above isn't quite right, I'm sure someone with better knowledge will come along & set things straight.

 

[Rachox]

Hi Rifkah, i’m Afraid your nurse has painted an unnecessarily gloomy picture, plus she has given you incorrect information. Neuropathy, retinal damage etc... will occur if you do nothing about your diabetes, but you’ve found us so we will help you not to let that happen. Fat doesn’t turn to sugar but can be used by your body as a replacement source of energy when sugar and carbohydrate intake is reduced. Fat also helps you feel full in the absence of carbohydrates. I have found low carb eating and self testing along with Metformin have put my blood sugars back into the normal range. I keep on the same regime a year later to maintain this. I started on less than 100g carbs/day, then after 6 weeks I reduced to 50-70g/day, now a days I keep between 40-60g. By reducing gradually I avoid ‘carb flu’ which is a flulike feeling you can get if you drop too quickly. Here’s a useful website for low carb planning and recipies:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb
I’ll also tag in @daisy1 for her useful info post.
This forum has been my rock, come back here with any questions you might have

 

[EllieM]

As others have said, the gloom and doom is unnecessary if you treat your illness. A lot of T2s on here achieve normal blood sugars without medication just by adopting a low carb diet. However, can I just clear something up? Have you changed your diet to cause your current weight loss or has it just happened on its own?

Just reread your opening post and it sounds like the weight loss has happened on its own. I'd have to wonder whether you've been diagnosed correctly, it sounds like you may have T1 diabetes to me. (And that isn't a death sentence either, I've been T1 for 48 years here.)

 

[dbr10]

hello all!

I was diagnosed diabetic on Friday and the nurse spent some time explaining all about neuropathy and retinal damage and ulcers and heart problems and furry arteries to me. Do you guys know are there any studies done on what the rough prognosis is, I'm thinking I might spend some time travelling before the real health problems kick in. Also once you start getting neuropathy about how long do you get before that progresses to having to use a wheel chair and amputations? Do you get some warning before you go blind or is it an overnight thing? I'd just like to make the best use of the time I have left and healthy but the nurse didn't seem to know how long it would be before the heart attack even roughly.

She also explained I have to cut out sugar and carbs and that fat turns to sugar in my blood too so I can't have any fats in my diet either.
I have a few other issues some with my gut that mean high fibre foods are something I have to go sparingly on. A friend explained to me that protein is also broken down into sugar if you eat too much of it, you're allowed 1g per kg body mass per day.
So I'm trying to build some diet plans around 70g of chicken or fish a day to see what I can do with that. I've managed today but the portion size seems tremendously small and I have such a gnawimg hunger I can't sleep. Does the hunger fade over time?

Also I've lost quite a bit of weight over the last month even though I've been eating like a horse and quite physically active now the sun is out. Checked the scale today and I've lost about 30% of my body weight already in about seven weeks unintentionally. Nurse says I should aim to loose 20% so about another 14kg which would put me at 56kg which would give me a bmi of 20. She says if I loose enough weight I will stop being diabetic. Has this worked for anyone and what kind of bmi did you have to get to to loose the diagnosis? These weights seem awful low to me, i was only a coupe of kilos lighter age 15 when they did medical checks.

Think that's all my questions for now, also is there anyone else out there with a psychiatric diagnosis, I'd like to know how you felt when you'd first been diagnosed? My mood has gone quite low, normally I'd be turning to chocolate but....

I'm not surprised. Nurse probably fightened you to death. Don't worry. Lots of more informed people on here.

 

[dbr10]

Hello please to meet you!

I think she said 146? They've to started me on metformin, ramipril and a statin and review weekly. The appointment was late Friday so Ive only just started them today.

I asked the nurse about getting a blood glucose meter, I had a boyfriend who was t1 a long time ago. She told me it's not worth getting one for t2 and they cause more anxiety as the readings arn't as accurate as the test she does, that's why they want me in the office once a week.

If you don't have a meter, how can you know what's happening to your blood glucose after meals? Nurse is probably referring to the HbA1c test which is an average of three months. As such, it is of limited use in telling you anything about the glucose spikes.

 

[Rifkah]

As others have said, the gloom and doom is unnecessary if you treat your illness. A lot of T2s on here achieve normal blood sugars without medication just by adopting a low carb diet. However, can I just clear something up? Have you changed your diet to cause your current weight loss or has it just happened on its own?

Just reread your opening post and it sounds like the weight loss has happened on its own. I'd have to wonder whether you've been diagnosed correctly, it sounds like you may have T1 diabetes to me. (And that isn't a death sentence either, I've been T1 for 48 years here.)

I've been feeling really out of sorts for the past month or two, the doctors had tried various tests and so on. Changing out my blood pressure pills to see if it was a side effect, finding out I'm folate deficient and putting me on a suppliment....they have also been tracking some raise inflammation markers in my blood.
The weight loss is unintentional. I feel really ill today, I'm so hungry and weak.

 

[Freema]

Helle and welcome here , there are lots of low carb foods you can eat
But focus on what you Can eat a lot of like Meat fish cheese and nuts tomatos cucumber cream with berries fulfat Greek yoghurt
By the way there is loads of folic acid in liver if you can eat that and in green leaves like spinach

 

[Rifkah]

Good morning,
The nurse has said I can't have fats as they convert to glucose in the blood in diabetics so no cheese nuts or cream, she said she'd prefer no dairy at all but relented when I said I needed two cups of coffee a day with a slug of 1% milk. I'm looking at the meats and they are mostly over 5% fat so I'm quite limited on what I can choose from, fish is mostly good just not oily fish. Such a shame I don't live near a fish shop.

 

[bulkbiker]

Good morning,
The nurse has said I can't have fats as they convert to glucose in the blood in diabetics so no cheese nuts or cream, she said she'd prefer no dairy at all but relented when I said I needed two cups of coffee a day with a slug of 1% milk. I'm looking at the meats and they are mostly over 5% fat so I'm quite limited on what I can choose from, fish is mostly good just not oily fish. Such a shame I don't live near a fish shop.

Your nurse I'm afraid is talking absolute rubbish. Meats and fish of any kind are all fine for Type 2's. Fat is what keeps people full. However your unexpected weight loss is a bit worrying. Please don't blindly accept what this nurse has said. Try and get to see a doctor and get some more tests done.

 

[Rifkah]

The doctor has told me I don't need to see them any more, just nurses visits now.
I'm so hungry, and clumsy this morning doing think am understanding what people are saying properly.
Kept waking up last night with some fever sweats I've only slept about 2 hours.

 

[Guzzler]

Good morning,
The nurse has said I can't have fats as they convert to glucose in the blood in diabetics so no cheese nuts or cream, she said she'd prefer no dairy at all but relented when I said I needed two cups of coffee a day with a slug of 1% milk. I'm looking at the meats and they are mostly over 5% fat so I'm quite limited on what I can choose from, fish is mostly good just not oily fish. Such a shame I don't live near a fish shop.

Good morning.
Your nurse is simply wrong in what she is telling you. My HbA1c was 98 on diagnosis. By cutting the carbohydrate level and raising the level of healthy fats in my diet I lowered my HbA1c to 43 in just four months.
The human body runs on two types of fuel, if you choose to cut fats and carbohydrates you will always be hungry, you will feel weak within days and you will be absolutely miserable. Cutting the level of carbohydrates in your diet is crucial to avoiding the complications that you are rightly frightened of but this source of fuel must be replaced with healthy fats.
Sadly, a lot of NHS professionals will say that Type 2 Diabetes is a progressive disease but it does not have to be that way. I suggest you go to the part of the forum titled ' Testimonials and Success Stories' because thousands of people have turned around their prognosis and they have done it usually in just a few months.

 

[Rachox]

I’ll repeat what I said further up this thread “ Fat doesn’t turn to sugar but can be used by your body as a replacement source of energy when sugar and carbohydrate intake is reduced. Fat also helps you feel full in the absence of carbohydrates”. I think you are starving yourself, no wonder you feel weak, wobbly and hungry!

 

[KK123]

Hi there, are you in the UK? I cannot believe that any Nurse would send you off under the impression that you clearly have, talk about irresponsible. If that is her strategy I am surprised her patients don't leave the surgery and walk in front of the next car! Seriously, she needs addressing.

 

[Lally123]

Good morning,
The nurse has said I can't have fats as they convert to glucose in the blood in diabetics so no cheese nuts or cream, she said she'd prefer no dairy at all but relented when I said I needed two cups of coffee a day with a slug of 1% milk. I'm looking at the meats and they are mostly over 5% fat so I'm quite limited on what I can choose from, fish is mostly good just not oily fish. Such a shame I don't live near a fish shop.

Sounds like you had a lot to take in all in one go but do you think the nurse might have said something like reduce your sugar and carbs down as your body will start to use fat for energy and may be you misheard her? Because that is what happens, fats themselves don't turn to sugar but your body can and does, if you control your carbs and sugar, use fats for the energy it would otherwise got from carbs? If all you are eating is 70g of protein a day no wonder you are starving. If you're feeling that ill and weak right now you need to go and eat something straightaway. If that doesn't make you feel better then why not call 111 for some.advice.

 

[Rifkah]

Yeah I'm in the UK. To be fair the nurse was just ticking stuff of a list, part of that included a seven page print out of prognosis and progression which she spent abot half the session on. I didn't get any other hand out just advice to go to diabetes uk website.