Newly diagnosed and scared!

I'm no expert but that's a pretty low HBA1C, if you were type one I would imagine that value would be a lot higher as you'd be producing very little insulin. Most type ones I know of had HBA1Cs well over 60 or 70 when diagnosed (not to say that can't happen for type 2s as well). They can run further blood tests to fully confirm which type you are, and more confusingly diabetes doesn't always sit in just type 1 or 2 categories.

hi @Kazz94 and welcome to the forum. Like you I was diagnosed with diabetes when I got a result of 49 on my annual blood test, six weeks ago. I don't have any other symptoms, and my GP said it is Type 2. She didn't think I needed to go on medication at the moment anyway, and suggested I should try to control my blood sugar levels by diet and exercise.

This is what I have been doing, cutting down on sugar and carbs, eating more vegetables and fish, and walking almost every day, starting at 1 hour every day, increasing to 10,000 steps every day (about 5 miles) and now aiming for 20,000 steps most days. I bought a pedometer which incentivises me more.

I have lost 12lbs in six weeks, and aim to lose another 4lbs at least before my next blood test in November. I don't want to go on medication if I can avoid it.

You do not have to go on medication. If you are Type 2 you can try managing it with diet and exercise. I would suggest you ask your GP why she thinks it might be Type 1. Also you should ask to be referred to a diabetes management course.
Have you been referred to your GP practice's diabetes nurse? You should be, and the nurse should be able to give you more advice and answer your questions.

It is scary when you are first told, but after you have got over the initial shock you will come to terms with it. Took me about three
weeks. But the condition can be managed. You will find a lot of information, advice and support on here.

Assuming you are T2 which seems likely, then an HbA1c of 49 is barely scraping into the diabetes window, so you should be able to manage it back down with diet and exercise as many of us do.

Have a read of the items linked in my sig below.

Kazz94 said:

I am finding it quite astonsihing that the NHS/GP's are so happy to just give out meds and insulin and only promise a lfietime of this condition. Even the Diabetic nurse is advising a low fat diet, not low carb, incredible.

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Welcome to our world

Hi and welcome. With excess weight, T2 is more likely than T1. As Sanguine says, you are margianl enough for the right low-carb diet to bring your blood suagr into the right area. If it doesn't your GP will suggest Metformin which is a very safe good drug but only reduces blood sugar a bit but helps.

Hi @Kazz94!!

It's a scary new world but this is a great place to get advice and encouragement.
I'm sure @daisy1 will be along shortly to give you some advice, but I'd really recommend getting yourself a blood glucose meter and testing. It's the only foolproof way to find out what you can and can't eat!

Meanwhile - hang around and feel free to ask questions. It's a lot to take in but we're here to help!!

Geoff

Kazz94 said:

So if your blood sugar level moves down to normal levels are you then clased as cured? Obviously having to keep up with diet and excercise regime

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I'm pretty new to all this, but when I'm explaining it to my friends I say I'd like to get to the point where my diabetes is "in remission". To me I think this is more helpful than words like 'cured' - otherwise I'll just start eating the stuff I used to (and be back where I used to!!)

Geoff

Kazz94 said:

Good point Geoff and thanks for your welcoming words. I am feeling pretty scared but part of me is grateful for the warning and the chance to turn my life around. i hate feeling ill and being overweight. Hopefully this is my wake up call. Just want ot do it right and I'm pretty sure that I need to avoid medication at all costs. Don't trust big pharma I'm afraid.

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I agree that you probably don't need meds for diabetes at this point and that diet and exercise will be the best way to proceed. The guidelines for doctors tell them to try diet and exercise first, when the HbA1c is only just over the threshold.

I was able to lose 8 stone in 12 months through low carbing - diabetes was my wake up call too.

Did you get your blood pressure checked and do you remember what level it was?

What is it that makes you not trust "big pharma" and medications?

@Kazz94

Hello and welcome to the forum To add to the good advice you have already received, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Cut back on the carbs and you will get your levels down and keep on with the exercise. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able 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 over 150,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.

Kazz94 said:

So if your blood sugar level moves down to normal levels are you then clased as cured? Obviously having to keep up with diet and excercise regime

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Unfortunately once you are classified as diabetic, you are always diabetic. It can't be 'cured'. But you can manage the condition and keep it under control with diet, exercise, and if necessary medication.

Kazz94 said:

So if your blood sugar level moves down to normal levels are you then clased as cured? Obviously having to keep up with diet and excercise regime

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Not cured, no, because you still have the condition with reduced pancreas beta-cell performance or insulin resistance, or both. I regard myself as 'well-controlled' but as you say you can't stop doing what you do to get to that level or things will just deteriorate again.

Mind you, for NHS stats purposes they are quite happy to take you off the register if you get back to non-diabetic HbA1c numbers - I was offered but refused because I'm not cured and want to keep up the regular blood tests etc.

Kazz94 said:

Good point Geoff and thanks for your welcoming words. I am feeling pretty scared but part of me is grateful for the warning and the chance to turn my life around. i hate feeling ill and being overweight. Hopefully this is my wake up call. Just want ot do it right and I'm pretty sure that I need to avoid medication at all costs. Don't trust big pharma I'm afraid.

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Hi. I think you will find that Metformin was originally derived naturally from a flower and Big Pharma only makes money from the branded Slow Release (SR) version. The drug you need to watch out for is the statin group; very much Big Pharma at work there and the drug can have serious side effects. You may well be offered it by your GP.

Hi Kazz. I was diagnosed with T2 early Sept only because I volunteered for a pre diabetic research programme. I had none of the usual symptoms. I expected a negative result from my blood tests and was shocked when the results came in. Like you I was 49/7.6, and overweight with a BMI of 31.7. I knew nothing about this disease and luckily found this forum at the beginning of my own research. I read with interest the advice given by veterans on this website and give my heartfelt thanks to them as they have pointed me in the right direction and I feel that it is me in control and very positive on achieving my goals of losing weight and reducing BS readings.

I have read Blood Sugar 101 and The Diabetes Miracle and found both books to be extremely useful with lots of information for the beginner.

I started the low carb diet about 6 Weeks ago and have lost 12 pounds in weight. This is lower than I have been for more than 10 years and I have tried unsuccessfully to diet throughout that time.

I bought a meter through the forum and found it essential to establish what foods are good for me and what aren't. I also know the impact that exercise has in lowering blood sugars. I aim to achieve an hour minimum of exercise per day, mainly fast walking but I have also taken up Zumba classes.

So far I have achieved FBS reduction from a peak of 7.7 in Sept to 6.2. My pre meal BS is about 5.2 and post about 6. My BMI as at 6 Oct was down to 30.4. My HbA1c is down from 49 to 46.

My Gp has put me on statins because of a family history of heart attacks, although I am still in two minds whether or not to continue with this. After much deliberation I have decided to go on a very low dose of Metformin as this may help me with my weight loss. I can stop this medication at any time.

I'm not sure that the 5.2 diet would be good for any diabetic, or a fasting diet, as I have found that having regular small meals has helped me overcome some discomfort that I felt which I believe was due to my body getting use to the much lower than usual BS levels.

I have seen the Diabetic nurse and will be put on DESMOND the NHS programme for new diabetics. I am lucky enough to be admitted onto the Research programme which will also help me with fortnightly tuition sessions where they also check my weight etc at each session.

The NHS will not give you a meter or help with the cost of the strips, this assumes you are T2.

In short (!), you have similar readings to me and are overweight, just like me. I am 58 and female. I have achieved good results in weight loss and reduction in BS readings over 6 weeks from the low carb diet and from increasing exercise.

It was a big wake up call for me but I do believe that you can take control and move in the right direction regarding this disease. You will always have it, but I do hope to lead a relatively normal way of life within 3 months (reintroducing some Carbs but not at the same level as before) if I continue with my progress. I don't see why you can't achieve the same.

You will go through low points and I found it good to have a close friend that doesn't mind hearing all the moans and groans, and can give you support when needed. I do feel so much better in myself, due mainly to the weight loss.

Hope this helps. Regards Lorraine

there is a thread about statins on here .

Post edited to remove incorrect information.