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Newly diagnosed and confused

J

Jim 007*

Well-Known Member
Messages
66
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi brand new to the forum diagnosed start of February with type 2 and put on metformin twice a day my figures were bg 13 hma8 ive been told by the doctor i dont need to test my blood ..been for my eye check and have an appointment with diabetic nurse 2 nd April at my doctors surgery ..other than that no other information or advice ...totally lost.....ive been reading the forum and learned loads although its still confusing what i should be doing....any advice much appreciated ...forgot to say im 50 slightly overweight but reasonbly fit and go to gym regularly....sorry for the long post
thanks Jim
 
Hi Jim and welcome that's not a long post lol, going to the gym will help a lot I expect daisy will post her normal welcome post soon for you, and there will be plenty of advice out there good luck


Type 2 diagnosed 24/01/2013.
Novomix 30, Victoza, metformin 2000mg sr (but not taking them as they play havoc with my insides,
 
Hi Jim!
The NHS advice about diabetes and diet can be found on www.diabetes.org.uk . There appear to be two schools of thought: low GI, which is small amounts of pasta, rice, potatoes and bread combined with eating plenty of low fat foods or something called low carb. Some people eat limited fat with this. Lots of people eat low carb and high fat which sounds impossible. I advocate this diet and have lost 1 stone 6lbs since 28th of Jan. My husband who isn't diabetic has lost 1 stone 10lbs and is back to the correct weight. If you want to find out about this go to www.dietdoctor.com . All I do is cut out dessert , sweets, crisps, potatoes, rice, pasta and bread. At first I didn't know what to eat but having done lots of research I have found what works for me. Good luck with whatever you decide to do and please keep asking as someone will respond and help! :)
 
Hi. You sound in reasonable health so if you can try to modify your diet a bit to get a few more pounds off it should help blood sugar. I would go for reduced carbs as these are converted to glucose. Low-GI carbs are always better as they are more slowly absorbed. You don't need to high-fat; just have enough to make up for the calories you've lost thru low-carbing BUT as guidelines for calorie intake are generally too high I would just have a 'normal' amount. Despite the GP's advice about testing you must get hold of a meter and do occasional tests to see how things are going and what foods affect you. Meter manufacturers will supply a free meter as they make their money from the strips or you could buy an SD Codefree which has cheaper strips. If your sugar doesn't come into the good range extra tablets can be prescribed. As you are only slightly overweight it is always possible, but less likely, that you are in fact a late onset T1 (LADA) not T2. So, do monitor your blood sugar and discuss options with the GP if it doesn't reduce on the lower-carb diet; also come back to the forum for more advice.
 
Hello Jim
I'm new here too and was very confused when I arrived.

Thanks to this forum I'm starting to understand a bit more, and am finding the courage and confidence to make changes

This is a really helpful and friendly forum, although I'm going to slap Scandichic soon if she keeps bragging about how much weight she's lost, when I keep gaining! :p

Keep posting. The more you ask, the more answers you will get and it will all start to make sense

Good luck
 
Hi Jim, I am also new to the forum, I was diagnosed T2 in February this year and as yet haven't seen a dietician and had no dietary advice from my DSN who just told me to start taking my medication (Metformin) and come back in May for another HbA1c test. I was also told to only test once a week. (what she thinks that is going to tell me god only knows).

It is hardly surprising that we are all confused to begin with, I think the NHS needs to get its act together and give us some advice sooner, and preferably the right advice.

I suggest that you have a good look round this website and look at some of the advice given in some of the discussion groups, you will find an awful lot of excellent advice and information to help you find out what works for you. It is a bit of trial and error at first, but you must test regardless of what the doc says.

Good luck
 
Hello Jim and welcome to the most helpful forum you will ever belong to! Get a meter! No if's or but's just get a meter. Daibell has given you some great advice on that and although you may think that it's an expense you can do without...it isn't, it honestly isn't. It's by far the best tool to determine BG. How will you know otherwise what will spike your blood and what won't?

Read all you can on this forum..that's everything ok? There are a lot of paths to getting your diabetes under control, many combinations to find out about and not all of them will suit you. It's really just a case of finding the best fit for you, what to eat and what will do you no harm.

Particularly, read this forum with all the info for the newly diagnosed. It's honestly invaluable.

Good Luck Jim, and don't apologize for the length of your post, you should see some of mine! Sometimes it's just not possible to say what you have to say in a few words. :happy:
 
Jim 007* said:
Hi brand new to the forum diagnosed start of February with type 2 and put on metformin twice a day my figures were bg 13 hma8 ive been told by the doctor i dont need to test my blood ..been for my eye check and have an appointment with diabetic nurse 2 nd April at my doctors surgery ..other than that no other information or advice ...totally lost.....ive been reading the forum and learned loads although its still confusing what i should be doing....any advice much appreciated ...forgot to say im 50 slightly overweight but reasonbly fit and go to gym regularly....sorry for the long post
thanks Jim
Click to expand...


it makes me mad as to how much the "health care" system gets away with here in this country. i found often times you get medicines prescribed without due care and consideration for how they work together (or not) and important information as to how to cope with a minor thing like a major life changing event such as diabetes gets brushed off as routine ...

i am new here too and i am fuming at the incompetence, carelessness, ignorance and downright dangerous attitude of the medical profession. i would get sacked if i was as negligent in my job as they are.


anyhow, i am not new to diabetes but it is new for me to ask for support and i think we might be at a good place here :)
 
In australia as a T2, I was told to get a meter and test before breakfast and before evening meal.
Meters are free. Strips are discounted to $16 or $6 on pension per 100,
when I went to group educator session. everyone was asked if they were testing and were advised to. To find out what foods spiked and carb level serves/grams tolerance per meal.

This UK not testing thing seems to be just to save money
 
jack412 said:
In australia as a T2, I was told to get a meter and test before breakfast and before evening meal.
Meters are free. Strips are discounted to $16 or $6 on pension per 100,
when I went to group educator session. everyone was asked if they were testing and were advised to. To find out what foods spiked and carb level serves/grams tolerance per meal.

This UK not testing thing seems to be just to save money
Click to expand...
As a fellow Aussie, I can't help but wonder how long the axe-man (aka Abbott) will let the current situation continue. GPs already seem to be operating under tightened pathology guidelines.
 
Well said Joe, I couldn't agree more
snowwy said:
it makes me mad as to how much the "health care" system gets away with here in this country. i found often times you get medicines prescribed without due care and consideration for how they work together (or not) and important information as to how to cope with a minor thing like a major life changing event such as diabetes gets brushed off as routine ...

i am new here too and i am fuming at the incompetence, carelessness, ignorance and downright dangerous attitude of the medical profession. i would get sacked if i was as negligent in my job as they are.


anyhow, i am not new to diabetes but it is new for me to ask for support and i think we might be at a good place here :)
Click to expand...

I could'nt agree with you more Snowwy, I am off to see the Doctor on Friday (first time since I have been diagnosed in February this year) and I am certainly going to tell him I don't think much of the way I was fobbed off by the DN until May (next HbA1c test), I wasn't given any advice at all, I was in total shock and thought what the hell am I going to do until May. I joined this forum and quite honestly I don't need the Doctor I have managed really well with the advice of the members on this site, but my anger and frustration has got the better of me and intend to have my say when I see him on Friday. I feel sorry for the people who are not computer literate and are unable to get advice from somewhere like here. They are probably taking the doctor's advice and stacking up complications for the future.

Sorry I felt the need to have a little rant there, I feel much better now:)
 
ranting is good for the soul. i am seeing a new doc on thursday and if its the same old "you have to get this medicine before we prescribe anything useful" passion play again then i will let a few slip such as: "are you aware that you are in danger of acting negligent ... after all, nobody managed to tell me that thyroid issues can have a massive effect on blood sugars and thyroid issues i will discuss.

i have to make notes before i go to the docs because i find it impossible to concentrate while i am in there. also last "thrush" treatment was laughable. now they got it on their books that i had thrush, so they do not have to think for themselves ... turns out that i did not have it ... i figured out that i am allergic to latex condoms ... thanks doctor ;)
 
Yeah you're right, I bet in a few years time when people finally realise that the NHS have been giving T2 diabetics the wrong information regarding diet, there will be an epidemic of negligent claims against them. I can't believe that they cannot tell the difference between thrush and a latex condom allergy :woot:

I have booked myself on to the X-pert course starting in May, so I am just waiting to see what happens there, but I know what I am like I won't be able to sit there quietly and let them brainwash everyone into thinking that the NHS way of dealing with T2 Diabetes is the way forward. I will be going there armed with my own records to use as a point of discussion to at least give other people the option to try different diets to see what suits them and also make sure that everyone knows that they should invest in a meter.

I will probably be kicked off the course after the first session :p but it will be worth it.

Marilyn
 
Hi thanks for all the support and information its so good to hear from people with first hand knowledge and experience...it is quite daunting to be diagnosed and then given medication and told nothing else ...but through the magic of this forum im arming myself with tools i need to manage things ...starting off with a meter ...i have changed my diet and feel better for it ....looking back i had several symptoms but not the ckassic weight loss and thirst...i was training for a vo2 test at work and not loosing weight had the sweats and really tired all the time ...all of which has improved after taking medication ....again thank you very much for all the advice and i will apologise in advance for any daft questions i ask
Jim

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Jim 007* said:
Hi thanks for all the support and information its so good to hear from people with first hand knowledge and experience...it is quite daunting to be diagnosed and then given medication and told nothing else ...but through the magic of this forum im arming myself with tools i need to manage things ...starting off with a meter ...i have changed my diet and feel better for it ....looking back i had several symptoms but not the ckassic weight loss and thirst...i was training for a vo2 test at work and not loosing weight had the sweats and really tired all the time ...all of which has improved after taking medication ....again thank you very much for all the advice and i will apologise in advance for any daft questions i ask
Jim

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Click to expand...

Hah Jimlad! :jimlad:Don't even start apologising for daft questions ok? There are NO daft questions. Honestly, just ask what you need to know, there are some stellar people on here who can help.

Good Luck! :D
 
Hi Jim, I agree with popsy above there is no such thing as a daft question, you might be asking the very question that someone else want to ask, but feels silly asking it because they think its daft.

They are a great bunch of people on here, you have definitely made the right choice joining the Forum. It is so reassuring to be able to get information straight away from people who are very experienced.

Good luck! :happy:
 
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