newly diagnosed and need help...

[feeyonah]

Hi. Do you mind me asking how old you are to put the T2 diagnosis in perspective?

I'm 31. Also, I'm not certain it is type 2. The nurse said "we're treating it as type 2 for now" *shrugs*

BTW +ve means 'positive' it comes as an abbreviation from electrical terminology.

...and thanks, I haven't quite picked up all the abbreviations yet

I do intend to continue with the metformin, I just want it to settle quickly so that I don't have any work drama. It's a fast paced job and there is no casual wandering off to the loo. You're at your desk for the day apart from two breaks which isn't ideal with the amount of water I'm drinking which hasn't changed yet (but hopefully will) and with the constant sick feeling and diarrhea (which we will from now on refer to as upset tummy).

Also, it's not a wholly new job, it's a move. I'm moving from one building/department to another building/department so there will be no form filling in etc, it will be straight into training and with all the understanding in the world, nobody wants their training sessions interrupted because one person needs to keep nipping to the loo and I certainly don't want to be the person interrupting the training and drawing attention to myself.

I'm trying to not bother with my GP or nurse to be honest. I really dislike my current GP (she's ill mannered and speaks over you constantly and did just that on Wednesday whilst I was clearly distressed and trying to tell her the symptoms!). I tend to see the see the locum the odd times I've been in the last few years but unfortunately the symptoms became too much this week (drinking gallons of water a day, the skin horrificness, getting light headed, the rapid weight loss, blurred vision, exhaustion etc) and the locum is on holiday so I had no choice but to see the regular GP. The nurse is nice enough, friendly etc but I'm not confident she knows what she's talking about and I of course don't want to say that to her but nor do I want to explode glucose-wee on the world either by not asking enough questions.

 

[xyzzy]

Hi feeyonah

You may want to look here for ideas on what to eat as a diabetic http://blogg.passagen.se/dahlqvistannika/?anchor=my_lowcarb_dietary_programe_in

The Swedish health system recommends a diet like this for T2 diabetics as do the Americans and an increasing number of other countries based on research done in the past few years. You may find it will conflict with dietary advice you get in the UK as we haven't updated yet. In fact the UK recommendations are now over 30 years old.

The ladies blog I've pointed you to proposed her diet in 2006 and was taken through the Swedish courts for doing so. She won her case and now the Swedish Health system recommend her system to diabetics. Sweden is recognised as having one of the best progessive health systems in the world.

It certainly worked for me. I was diagnosed 4 months ago and by following a diet similar to the Swedish one have normalised my blood sugar levels and lost a lot of weight. In my own case I had to restrict starchy foods a bit more than she suggests.

I also take Metformin and on the kind of diet described I get no side effects at all.

 

[feeyonah]

great, thanks for that. I'll definitely have a read since I'm still not sure what I can and can't eat.

Whether this is right or wrong, I think I'm in the non low-carb camp to be honest. Of course, I know nothing yet, so that may change.

Thanks again

Fee

EDIT
actually, I might be wrong, having read that post, I feel ok with what she's saying I can and can't eat. when I read the low carb discussion here and on other sites, I find it insanely limiting and a miserable life to lead.

so yeah... still confused, but getting there.

 

[xyzzy]

great, thanks for that. I'll definitely have a read since I'm still not sure what I can and can't eat.

Whether this is right or wrong, I think I'm in the non low-carb camp to be honest. Of course, I know nothing yet, so that may change.

Thanks again

Fee

EDIT
actually, I might be wrong, having read that post, I feel ok with what she's saying I can and can't eat. when I read the low carb discussion here and on other sites, I find it insanely limiting and a miserable life to lead.

so yeah... still confused, but getting there.

Fee you don't have to be in any camp as such, you just have to be realistic and accept you are now diabetic. I looked at it this way when I started out and I'm sorry if it comes across a bit harsh. If every pasty I ate or bar of chocolate or whatever bad thing sent me instantly blind for 10 minutes every time I ate one would I still eat them?

You have many choices in how to control your diabetes but control is the key. If you low(er) carb or even moderate your carbs like the Swedes and Americans suggest you may find you can minimise the amount of meds you take and pretty much normalise your levels back to a non diabetic range if you are a plain vanilla T2. If you want to eat more carbs then you just need to recognise you may need stronger meds to allow you to do that and consider the fact that you may need to go on insulin now or in the future at some point do be able to eat those carbs safely. You need to be aware that taking those stronger meds than Metformin can sometimes hasten the progression to insulin in many peoples opinion because they make the pancreas work harder. As a T2 its likely to be working very hard at the moment anyway.

Whatever you choose you need to recognise that you have to keep your blood sugar levels safe or else you will run the risks of blindness and all the other nasty stuff. It does happen I'm afraid. If it didn't you wouldn't be classed as diabetic.

Whatever way you choose it needs to be relatively healthy option and you should aim to lose weight if you need to so that you also minimise the risks of things like heart attacks and strokes. Those last two are of course applicable to diabetics and non diabetics alike but the combination of an uncontrolled overweight insulin using diabetic is pretty lethal.

Sorry for being a bit blunt but you say you are confused and just trying to help you.

Take care

 

[feeyonah]

that's fine, and not harsh at all. i need facts. i currently know very little and that i do know Im not confident about.

i like the blind for ten minutes idea though, makes sense.

thanks a lot.

 

[Grazer]

Hi feeyonah. 2 things

1) With a new job, you don't want tummy issues. TELL your doctor you WANT metformin SR - your problems will go. Don't take no for an answer.
2) Your blood sugar levels are way too high. If they don't start coming down very soon with a lower carbvohydrate diet you need to see the doctor again as you may need different medication. Please don't leave it too long, and don't be fobbed off with the nurse or doctor. You shouldn't be in double figures before or after eating.

 

[angieG]

Feeyonah,

You may find that on regular Metformin it is better to go fairly low carb, at least initially until you establish what you can eat as the more carbs you eat the more it tends to cause the umm "tummy upsets" or that's the way it seems anyway. It's as if it decides it doesn't like what it is dealing with and expels it all as quickly as possible!! :lol:

Best of luck
Angie

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Thanks for the reply about your age of 31. I don't want to worry you at this important time for you but you need to bear in mind the possibility of late stage Type 1 LADA. It may just be Type 2 as diagnosed but obviously your nurse is looking at other possibilities which is good. If you find the tablets, hopefully Met SR or whatever, don't bring your blood sugar down over a few weeks to say, less than 10'ish, 2 hours after a meal, then the nurse or doc would need to take further tests. Do come back to ask more if your readings continue to be high and of course discuss with the nurse.

 

[Grazer]

Sorry to repeat myself, but the 21 2 hours after breakfast, and the reading of 27 you reported, are way too high. If you get more like that, you need to see the doctor again very soon - forget the nurse's shrug, it is important.

 

[tealeaves]

Hi feeyonah

I confess I've skim read this a little so might be repeating others, but just wanted to add, I was diagnosed t2 6 months ago at age 27, enormous shock and if you look at my initial posts I was having a hugely hard time dealing with it. Metfomin it is fair to say was ruining my life, the difference on the slow release stuff was amazing. I still get the occasional loose stomach if I overdo it food wise but the literally exploding off the toilet experience is gone, thank god. Likewise they also thought I might be type 1 but was quickly apparent not!

My GP team have referred me to the hospital clinics because they confess they're just not sure how to deal with someone t2 under 30. I have my first appt this afternoon and I'm hoping it's not a disaster.

I too am starting a new job next week, in a whole new city, and I'm dreading the "I'm diabetic btw" talk, cos I don't think they're going to be too thrilled about me needing the morning off for blood tests every three months, and goodness knows how often I'll be at this clinic. But hey, they can't fire me for it, so really, it's just tough.

I made myself quite poorly because I have an eating disorder as it is and suddenly everything I normally deemed safe to eat seemed poisonous to me. I am now by no means low carb but certainly much reduced and I think the key is to do it gradually. I have fallen off the wagon dramatically the past couple of weeks, through anxiety and stress, and Easter didn't help as friends and family don't really realise that I dont want Easter eggs now. But I ate them anyway. The guilt is unbearable but nothing I can do about it now.

Breakfast I eat 30g (get some scales!) of Quaker oats Oat Crisp - its pretty bland but I put a tiny bit of Splenda on or a few raisins (not great for BS but a few are ok) and it doesn't make me spike at all, or I have one large shredded wheat, a small bowl of mini ones, or two weetabix. I tried low/no carb in the morning and it just didn't work for me.

Bread wise I overdid it on the Burgen stuff and now can't touch it, but that's a psyche problem with me. It was good for BS though. I find weight watchers wholemeal or malted Danish ok too, small thin slices i pack full of a protein filling for lunch.

Evening meals I am struggling with tbh.

Life feels very bleak and unfair sometimes but I try not to complain too much. It does get easier and everyone on here is so supportive.

 

[tealeaves]

PS just read some of your readings properly - my DN told me if I got any readings of high teens or over to either call the surgery and tell them I was coming in, or go to a & e if they were closed! If you're still getting these really high readings please march back into the doctors surgery and request to be seen straight away!

 

[feeyonah]

Agreed my levels are too high. I've not had one below 14 yet BUT Thursday night I attended A&E because it was up to 27 and I was feeling ill and they only agreed to let me go on the understanding that I would be getting my new medication (the metformin) the following afternoon. I was then told off by the nurse (who wasn't concerned about the high reading) for attending A&E and also for checking my blood sugar level. Referring to the testing, she said "we don't encourage people to do that since it doesn't achieve anything and only frightens you. That's why we don't issue testing kits, because it doesn't make a difference if people don't do anything about the levels" and she made me feel like I was fussing and wasting the hospitals time... so now I feel that if I contact either her or my sucky doctor, I will be told not to fuss.

As for the tummy issues, I haven't gone to my new job today as they're getting worse rather than better. I rang and spoke to someone and explained the state I was in and she said to keep ringing every day. I then read a handful of horror stories from people who have been told to just get on with it over the years and so they have, and they still have upset tummy every single day. KILL. ME. NOW.

I decided this morning to follow the low-carb stuff and so for breakfast I had a 2 egg omelette - which upset my tummy horrifically. Since then I've had a cup of tea and that too upset my tummy. Can't be bothered to empty any more cupboards for stuff I can possibly eat since chances are that too won't last five minutes. I don't want to switch tablets just yet in the hope that this will settle in a few days. Rather than start from scratch again, I think it's worth hanging on for a bit longer.

With that said, I have no doubt that at tea time when I can't eat anything at all in the house, I'll be seriously considering stopping the tablets and letting my pancreas kill me... or overdose on cake... whichever!

completely fed up.

 

[Grazer]

Hi again. Please let me repeat 2 things.,
1) You don't need to suffer with the metformin. Switching to metformin SR will almost certainly stop your tummy probs immediately. Tell the doc you want the SR
2) The Metformin WON'T make a dent in readings of 20 plus. Diet might, but if it doesn't very soon, you need to go back to the doctor to consider other medication. Tell the nurse to screw herself, 20 plus is far too high and is not fussing. it can be dangerous. And testing is EXACTLY what you should be doing to find out about these problems.

 

[tealeaves]

I can only echo Grazer. You either tolerate Metfomin or you don't, from what I've heard and spoken to people about, and personally I found they made me worse if I didn't have some carbs with them. Without being graphic, I had an omelette one night and may as well have just walked into the bathroom and cracked the eggs into the toilet. The slow release Metfomin had a dramatic effect in only one day - you are seriously suffering needlessly, it isn't worth it! It isn't starting again from scratch, it's the same medication but coated to be better tolerated. Truly seems a no brainer for me!

My nurse gave me a glucose monitor before they even knew which diabetes I'd had, before they even gave me any Metfomin, because it is the best way of helping yourself. You're being told it's useless because it causes panic - what they mean is, 'sorry, they're expensive and so are the strips!'

I would be asking around and finding a better surgery and nurse, those ones sound utterly useless. Making a fuss over readings of 20+? That attitude is irresponsible and frankly dangerous.

 

[feeyonah]

Right, after another horrific day with upset tummy, I may or may not have had a breakdown on the phone to the surgery. I've managed to get an appointment with the diabetes nurse at my surgery (not the same nurse as before) and she's seeing me tonight at 6.45.

With that said, I told her my problem on the phone and that I'm taking metformin and she said that I shouldn't have such severe symptoms since I'm only taking a low dose of one tablet a day so far (to increase to two a day next week, then three a day the week after). She said I should go and see her and she'll test my blood and we'll have a chat and see whether or not I need to change medication. She seemed a lot more helpful.

Will keep you posted.

Thanks again for all the help and support, I'm at my wits end.

Fee

 

[MaryJ]

hurry back Fee, dying to know how it's gone lol

Mary x

 

[tealeaves]

Ah the phrase I so often hear from docs and nurses, "shouldn't be" - drugs are not one size fits all! I had a pretty instantaneous reaction to the metformin, whether I "should've" done or not!

Hope she's been more helpful...

 

[feeyonah]

Honestly, you wouldn't believe me unless you were sat there with me. This nurse (a diabetes nurse as opposed to the first one I saw) is absolutely fan-effing-tastic! Completely opposite to the first woman I saw.

I cried when I got there, completely low and fed up and desperate and then I cried twice as the appointment went on out of relief at her manner, her knowledge, her support, everything really.

When I left the first nurse on Friday, I came away with a three page leaflet and a "good luck then!"

When I left tonights appointment, I came away with a free blood sugar tester and a demonstration (instead of fumbling through it on my own), a diary, a plastic folder full of information, a handful of booklets and more importantly a new prescription. She was amazing, seriously.

She answered loads of my questions and said that although she was surprised that I was suffering such severe side effects, everyone is different and she'd sort me a new prescription and then I will go back a week today. I showed her yesterdays readings (14.3 before breakfast and 21.0 after two hours) and she agreed that they were worrying but that I would start to learn what I can and can't tolerate and she would see me regularly until I felt confident about my diet and medication. She also said that if I needed to call her tomorrow, she would tell the receptionist to put me straight through.

I still have upset tummy but I've got the new prescription now - the slow release metformin - so she said I would hopefully start to see a change fairly quickly as the week goes on. She also said that if work were funny about it, she'd write me a letter or get me a sick-note (or whatever the current equivalent is) or both.

Result or what?!

 

[lucylocket61]

Great news. I am very happy for you. Hopefully this can turn your health around. Can you ask for this nurse next time?

:clap:

 

[feeyonah]

yes, she said that from now on we'd re-book my appointments whilst I was with her to ensure that I get her every time.