newbie :>)

[shibbie]

hey forum !, im paul, been diagnosed officially diabetic for around 3 months, and ive gone from 1 metformin tablet to 4 insulin injections a day, which i think is a bit steep !, oh.. hang on ive skipped a bit.....

January 2011...04: 15 , delivering bread in my works van when i had an argument with a patch of ice, this resulted in 8 broken ribs and a snapped sternum, just about recovered from that (March 2011) when i was beaten heavily with gallstone pancreatitis (spelled wrong im sure) which led to 3 operations and a stay in hospital till September 2011, still not sure if these things are related ?

anyhow...

one of the operations was to remove 50% of my pancreas, which i now know to be the bit of you that deals with insulin, so i was a little surprised when i was released from hospital with an 'all clear' on the diabetic front, but... a few months later, and an eye test led to a visit to the gp and the rest as they say is history.
So ive been injecting for a month or so, things are getting better, i dont get up 58 times a night for a wee, my eyesight has improved even though ive just spent £115 on new perscription glasses (which are now useless) but, (ah... you knew there was going to be another 'but', didn't you) lately at night, around 1-2 am im woken, shaking, sweating and generally feeling terrible with sugar levels of 2.5 - 2.9, and its one of them nights i found you guys !, so here i sit, a carrot muffin and a snickers bar in one hand, and typing with the other, i think i need to speak to someone about the two point somethings...

thats me for now, sorry it was so long... on the up side my blood sugar has gone up to 6.9, on the downside if i keep eating cake and chocolate ill be 37 stone... bummer. :shock:

 

[ButtterflyLady]

That's a rough ride indeed. IMHO, a major sternal/rib trauma, gallbladder issues, pancreatitis, and glycaemic dysfunction are likely to be more than coincidental.

Trauma, illness and shock are associated with glycaemic dysfunction - for example, diabetics are at greater risk than others when having surgery. The kind of medical and surgical issues you've had would take their toll on the whole body, not just on insulin production.

I am sure you will find information at this forum to help you solve the current issues. You need good support from your medical specialists, I hope you are able to access that.

 

[daisy1]

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum You will find plenty of advice on this forum and from the members who will help you. Here is advice we give to new members and this should also be useful to you. Have a good read then ask all the questions you like as there is always someone here 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 30,000 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 ... rains.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 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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.

 

[didie]

Hello Paul

Welcome to the forum. You've had a rough time over the last year. I hope things will sort themselves out for you soon.

 

[shibbie]

thankyou all for the friendly welcome, nice to have poeple to chat with sometimes !

 

[noblehead]

You have certainly had a rough time Paul, welcome to the forum!

 

[tree-peony]

Hi Paul!