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Newbie and totally overwhelmed

G

Geekatron

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello all, I’m new here having been diagnosed T2 during New Years. Waiting on appointments to actually understand what is happening, I was checked while in hospital but due to a lack of staff they could only give me medication and tell me to get a GP appointment.

So as a result I have had my mental health deteriorate as I go into stores and panic about what I can actually have now, I have a eating disorder which really doesn’t help. I’m trying to work out what I can eat, what do I need to do now or could wait a bit, what to ask at my appointment (when I can get one as the NHS seems really overloaded).

I don’t know what the reading were (they did it three times) other than the words “very high” from one of the nurses.

Not sure if I’m over reacting or if it is normal to have panic attacks probably more venting to avoid something worse. Family aren’t helping with the fear mongering but my partner is trying to help but we are both unsure of what to do.
 
Geekatron said:
I was checked while in hospital but due to a lack of staff they could only give me medication and tell me to get a GP appointment.
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What medication did they give you?
 
Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot to welcome you to the forums. :).

There are quite a few T2s who post here having just been diagnosed with zero help on diet or anything much, though your hospital experience does sound particularly awful.

It would help if we knew any of your diagnostic figures (blood sugar, hba1c etc), but it sounds as though you don't know them yet. (Hopefully they'll be in the release notes that the hospital sends your GP),

Can I ask if you are overweight or underweight? Many of the T2s here control their diabetes by reducing the carbs in their diet, but your mention of an eating disorder makes me very cautions to recommend anything without further information.

Lots of virtual hugs.
 
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Welcome to the forum @Geekatron
We have all been where you are at the moment and understand that diagnosis can be a very confusing and frightening time. I think the first thing you should do is learn as much as you can about what ails you.
A much better name for T2 would be insulin resistance because unlike T1's who's pancreas no longer make insulin. T2's have no problem making insulin but our bodies no longer respond to the insulin as it should so our insulin becomes less able to remove glucose from our blood.
When we digest carbohydrates they are converted to glucose and cause our blood sugar levels to rise, so if we cut as many carbs from our diet as we can there is less glucose for our struggling insulin to cope with. Here's a few links that should help.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/
https://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes
https://www.bloodsugar101.com/how-blood-sugar-control-works
https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
 
Welcome. You have come to the right place for the most up-to-date information and constructive help.

Were you in hospital for something else or for high blood glucose readings? The fight-or-flight response when in hospital spiked my bloods massively, and my experience of lack of information was similar to yours. So I empathise with how this must be for you. The good news is that once you get a handle on your dietary changes, you will be in a much better place.

If we can have more information about how the hospital treated you for the diabetes when diagnosed, and what if any medication you have been given, we can help more.
 
What you can eat - barring any other restrictions, is meat, seafood and fish, cheese, eggs, full fat yoghurt, nuts and berries, salad stuff and low carb veges, also mushrooms and anything else which you find you can cope with. Some people can manage peas and beans, but others find that the carb count for them seems wrong, or we can extract more carbs from them, so have to avoid or restrict the amount eaten.
Gradually reducing, substituting or restricting carbohydrate over several months is recommended if numbers are very high, as is using a blood glucose tester to see how after meal levels compare as carbs are reduced.
 
Terrible treatment as far as I'm concerned, sending someone off from the hospital without at least explaining the numbers, what they mean and how to manage in the meantime with no access to your GP. If I were you, I would get hold of a glucose monitor and strips. You'll have to buy it yourself but it will help give you lots of data and an understanding of how the foods you are eating are affecting your glucose levels. This will also be helpful to the GP when you finally see them.

I would also contact the hospital or GP (pandemic or no) and insist on being given your 'high' number, that could mean you were at 10 or 25 or 30 for all you know, it's important because you have just been diagnosed (type 2...apparently) and as others have said, why were you in hospital in the first place? Was it connected to the eventual diabetes diagnosis?

It's easy to panic about this and a perfectly natural reaction, many people find that if they are able to acquire a through understanding of what's going on and then adopt a strategy to manage/minimise it, it really does help their mental health.

Please know that everybody on this forum is friendly and very willing to try and help you through it. x
 
Hello and Don't Panic. There are loads of things you and your partner can do to help yourselves and this could be the start of a healthier chapter for both of you.
You are early in your diagnosis so be hopeful that you can nip things in the bud by changing food habits.
Not sure what your ED is but for all of us changing what and how we eat can be tough when using food as a way to manage your emotions whether by bingeing or restricting it. The kind of foods that make us type 2 diabetic are also the foods we tend to binge on for comfort or the ones we try to be overly strict about not eating.
I know it is hard to get NHS help so I'd recommend 2 books that tackle this part of the problem: If self help books aren't your thing then ;you will find both of these authors talking on podcasts or YouTube.
Elizabeth Benton Chasing Cupcakes - about her journey from emotional eating and extreme diets to finding peace with food.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chasing-Cupcakes-Broke-Girl-Transformed/dp/1544501242
Jen Unwin Fork In the Road (specifically about food addiction) with useful practical ideas too.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fork-Road-...sprefix=Fork+in+the+Road,stripbooks,56&sr=1-1
 
EllieM said:
What medication did they give you?
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Metformin currently on 2 tablets a day but to rise once side effects clear.

And reading wise I remember one device showing a 49.9 if that helps tho that was the middle one I didn’t catch the first or the other one (key tones???) which was accordingly low.

I’m a little over weight but just on the border. Been working work a bit but winter + asthma makes me a little slower this time of year
 
Outlier said:
Were you in hospital for something else or for high blood glucose readings? The fight-or-flight response when in hospital spiked my bloods massively, and my experience of lack of information was similar to yours. So I empathise with how this must be for you. The good news is that once you get a handle on your dietary changes, you will be in a much better place.
Click to expand...

I was in because my eyes sight went from very good to barely able to see more than 1m ahead in under 48 hours.

My doctors surgery have been nice, they are appalled and are gonna complain to the trust, they also are gonna slip me in between appointments tomorrow for an initial conversation with our diabetes nurse (apparently we have a dedicated one)
 
I'm glad to hear your surgery staff are behaving better than the hopital. No-one diagnosed with any sort of diabetes is anything less than shocked and to be sent home after that, with zero information or advice, is disgraceful. Good luck with your appointment tomorrow. Make a list of things you want to ask. It's too easy to forget when you actually walk in and sit down and there's probably a lot you want to clear up.
 
Geekatron said:
Metformin currently on 2 tablets a day but to rise once side effects clear.

And reading wise I remember one device showing a 49.9 if that helps tho that was the middle one I didn’t catch the first or the other one (key tones???) which was accordingly low.

I’m a little over weight but just on the border. Been working work a bit but winter + asthma makes me a little slower this time of year
Click to expand...

Oh and in case it’s important that was 13 hours after my last food
 
Geekatron said:
My doctors surgery have been nice, they are appalled and are gonna complain to the trust, they also are gonna slip me in between appointments tomorrow for an initial conversation with our diabetes nurse (apparently we have a dedicated one)
Click to expand...

Excellent that your doctor's surgery are seeing you so quickly. Given your initial very high figures and the lack of care from the hospital you are in a good position to ask them for a meter, which they may give you anyway. This will allow you to detect what foods your body can and can't tolerate as a T2. (Some can tolerate 150g of carbs a day, others have to go much lower to normalise their figures.)

Don't panic about the eyesight, that is a normal side effect of having very high blood sugar. Your eyes should return to normal with your blood sugars, though it may take a little while.

Good luck.
 
One thing I would definitely ask for is the test types and results. Armed with that info we can help explain what they mean.

i agree push for a meter to test what impact foods are having. You might get one even if it is for a limited time,
 
EllieM said:
Don't panic about the eyesight, that is a normal side effect of having very high blood sugar. Your eyes should return to normal with your blood sugars, though it may take a little while.
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Thanks for the info, yeah my sight is slowly recovering the last 24 hours, still not good enough to drive but giving the starting point it is still a very good recovery.

I will fight to get a monitor even if for a limited time, I can always then get my own if I still feel I need it.
 
Ok so the saga isn’t over, just had my appointment and to say the nurse was angry would be an understatement. They diagnosed me based solely on finger pick tests which yes confirms I am diabetic but with my older blood tests show I wasn’t only 7 months ago so this is sudden and she is very concerned I am in the honeymoon period for type 1.

So I am now going off high speed for a round of blood tests and have to wait till Monday for the results to get to her and she will call me depending on the results Monday or Tuesday … and the day was going so well, least I can see signs to get around my hospital this time :)
 
Geekatron said:
just had my appointment and to say the nurse was angry would be an understatement. They diagnosed me based solely on finger pick tests which yes confirms I am diabetic but with my older blood tests show I wasn’t only 7 months ago so this is sudden and she is very concerned I am in the honeymoon period for type 1.
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I'm sorry about your worries and your diagnosis, regardless of what type you turn out to be.

But I'm very happy with your nurse, as I was worried for your safety with those numbers!

Has she advised you to seek medical help immediately should you develop nausea, a stomach ache and/or funny breathing?
 
Antje77 said:
I'm sorry about your worries and your diagnosis, regardless of what type you turn out to be.

But I'm very happy with your nurse, as I was worried for your safety with those numbers!

Has she advised you to seek medical help immediately should you develop nausea, a stomach ache and/or funny breathing?
Click to expand...

Yes, tho I have asthma so I would have anyway for breathing. Also if I feel dizzy or faint, she wants the bloods done urgent as I still have symptoms so is not going to take any chances and is keeping an eye on my case as she will be my nurse until I either move or she moves on.
 
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