Newbie confused and Very High bloods

Hi @Emmz78 Welcome to the forum. Please will you give us an indication of what you eat on a typical day, take yesterday as an example. It may be that you are no longer able to tolerate grains as well as carbs and sugars. If you are concerned about developing Type 1, and there is close family history of it, then your GP should run another test, I believe it is c peptide but there are others on the forum who know more about it than myself. It will either confirm or set your mind at rest. I will tag @daisy1 who gives excellent advice to newbies on the forum.
We can not always stop the hand that our genes have dealt us but sometimes we can delay the inevitable, and medication has come a long way since your grandmother was your age.

Good luck

Hi and welcome, have you had sudden unexplained weight loss at all? This can, though not always, be a symptom of T1. Take extra care over the next few weeks with your medication and your blood glucose levels. If they remain high or if you are unhappy about anything then be sure to contact your GP for more advice or further investigation.
If you are, indeed, T2 then look at your diet to see where you can reduce your carbohydrate intake. Look at food labels and keep a diary of what you eat and what your pre and post prandial readings are. Remember to note down your fasting blood glucose levels, too. If and when you see your GP or Diabetes Specialist Nurse take your notes with you.

Emmz78 said:

Hello, thanks for your reply,

On a typical day, it was cereals at breakfast, toast or sandwich at lunch, pasta or potatoes with cheeses or fish with veg for tea.
I also had cups of tea with 2 sugars before (that's now stopped too) I've changed cereals to not eating (I know its bad but I have no appetite now in mornings) and evening meal I've changed to brown pasta, Quinoa or brown rice instead of potatoes and white pasta.

Recently lost over half a stone also without trying, this was before the diagnosis.

thanks

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We seemed to have posted at the same time, you will notice I asked about weight loss. I would advise that if the Doctor was unaware of this fact then you should make him aware sooner rather than later.

Hi and welcome,

Keep testing yourself - as soon as you get up, and before you eat and 2 hours after first bite then record these levels next to the food you ate. (include portion sizes in your food diary) You can show this to your doctor. If indeed you are Type 1, Gliclazide is not a suitable medication. (Metformin is OK) so you need a firm diagnosis. The tests you need are the c-peptide and GAD antibodies tests - please ask your doctor for these. For breakfast, instead of not eating, try a couple of boiled eggs, or a cheese omelet, or just cheese, or a coffee with cream. It will give your stomach something to do without needing to process any carbs. If levels remain very high (over 20 and rising) drink loads and loads of water and contact your doctor as it could be an emergency.

Please let us know how you go on.

Don’t assume your grandmother had type1; it is very common for doctors to mix up the types of diabetes. Your doctor clearly at present thinks you have type2 and nothing you have said make me think otherwise. If your BG keeps going up, then you need to get back to your GP quickly.

My BG was over 30, hence I got an 8am phone call from the doctor, within about 3 months it was back to normal levels and the only medication I am now taking is Metformin. I stopped eating most carbs, but it took me a few weeks to learn about carbs and find this website.

With the glic, I assume you are aware of the danger of low BG and the need to test before driving etc. As soon as you start to often get readings below about 7 or any readings below 4, book a someday appointment with your GP, as the glic dose may need reducing. (I stopped glic after 10 days due to the low carb working so well.)

www.dietdoctor.com is a good site on learn about carbs

Until you have had time to learn about carbs, just eating steak and eggs would not be a bad option. If only eating steak and eggs over the next 3 days your BG did not drop then I would be thinking Type1.

I was eating a similar diet to yourself before diagnosis and now am down to levels where my dn and GP do not trouble me because I am medication free and am happy with my bg levels. I cut out the cereals for breakfast, and changed to eggs in some form or full fat natural yoghurt which I make at home. In winter I assemble a stew batch every 3/4 days (meat, Mediterranean vege and tin of toms cooked very long and slow) and take it to work to reheat in the microwave. Each batch is slightly different, add herbs, curry powder etc for variety. I summer I take a box of salad stuff. Evenings I have various low carb and full fat meals bit no pasta. It does not matter if it is brown, green or any other colour the grain flour is what spikes my bg.
Keep a food diary and the results of your tests before and 2 hours after meals together with weekly weigh in and body measurements. Initially it is a bind but I found it invaluable with working out what was happening. As @Guzzler and @Bluetit1802 have suggested, if you are concerned about your bg levels rising out of control then get straight back to your GP and be prepared to camp out until they see you, or go to the nearest A&E.

Bluetit1802 said:

The tests you need are the c-peptide and GAD antibodies tests - please ask your doctor for these.

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Given there no ketones in the wee, it is clearly not a case of fast developing Type1. The problem with these tests is that may not tell between a case of slow developing Type1 and Type2. Hence these tests are not likely to be useful in the first few weeks. But if the result is very high from c-peptide, it is clearly type2, or if there are lots of GAD antibodies it is clearly Type1.

Emmz78 said:

I have no strips to test myself as the doc prescribed the wrong ones.

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Get back to the doctor at 9am, and not leave until you have the correct prescription.

Emmz78 said:

The Glic was taken twice today and already I feel as if I have flu and headaches

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Drink lots of water, and have about 5g of salt, a stock cube in a mug of hot water is one option.

Emmz78 said:

Not sure what to do. I was going to not take meds any go on a mad Atkins style diet and cure my diabetes miraculously

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I think it is best to do both, take the meds AND go on a mad Atkins style die, monitoring your BG carefully so that you can get the Glic reduced as soon as your BG start getting low. Personly I am happy to take Metformin for life as I don't get the side effects, most people find that provided they take Metformin with food and slowly increase the dose, they don't get the side effects for more than a few weeks.

Emmz78 said:

Hello there,

I was diagnosed today and put on glic and metformin as my blood sugars are in high teens early 20s (even all week when I tested myself), and even with no sugar at all and min carbs they were at high teens. After my fasting blood test I was at 14 and I was called in the very next day when they rang me so I knew something was up!

they put me on the usual metformin but also Glic but the doctor mentioned that my blood sugar was very very high so tested my wee and that was ok. Anyway, what I'm worried about is how high my blood was before and is there a good chance I will end up on insulin as my grandmother developed Type 1 age 40 and I am 40 now and this has happened.

Does anyone have any advice?

thanks

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I don't mean to be cheeky but when you said that your grandmother developed type 1 age 40 are you sure it was type 1 or are you assuming that because she became insulin dependant it changed her from type 2 to type 1? I know several people who think that because I use insulin I must be type 1 but I'm just insulin dependant type 2.
Please don't be offended by my questions.

Emmz78 said:

Hello, thanks for your reply,

On a typical day, it was cereals at breakfast, toast or sandwich at lunch, pasta or potatoes with cheeses or fish with veg for tea.
I also had cups of tea with 2 sugars before (that's now stopped too) I've changed cereals to not eating (I know its bad but I have no appetite now in mornings) and evening meal I've changed to brown pasta, Quinoa or brown rice instead of potatoes and white pasta.

Recently lost over half a stone also without trying, this was before the diagnosis.

thanks

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Not eating elevates my blood glucose, and I can't eat such heavy starches as rice and pasta - and I don't eat quinoa - they are still carbohydrate and it is better to go for lower carb foods. I eat a first meal soon after getting up, with a few carbs so as to stop my BG climbing, and then I eat late evening in order to keep my BG as even as possible.

@Emmz78

Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 235,000 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 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
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