Newly Diagnosed And Terrified

Welcome to the forum, will tag @daisy1 for the introduction post
You have come to the right place, loads of VERY helpful and knowledgeable peopl on here who are more than willing to help

Hello @DianeMali Welcome to the forum

I know at the moment it seems daunting, diagnosis is a huge shock, the most positive point to understand is that you have been diagnosed now and are able to receive care for this so please don't feel too down. I've learn't it's not so much getting the diagnosis it's how quickly you can bounce back and show resilience. Lots of friendly folk here who can support you too so you don't feel so alone, best wishes J

Hi @DianeMali and welcome to the forum. You've come to the right place. I'm afraid that your doctor is not very well informed. Many people get a diagnosis like yours and then change their diet and reverse their diabetes and, in most cases this is done by seriously cutting back on the sugar in your diet. (Less sugar in your diet, less in your blood stream - easy) The thing that you have to learn, though, is that sugar is in much more than the obvious things, cake, cola, biscuits, sweets etc, but that breakfast cereals, bread, potatoes, indeed anything starchy or made from flour, breaks down to sugars once you start to digest it. One of the easiest sources for information about "low carb" (ie low sugar) eating is this site, https://www.dietdoctor.com/.

Just over five years ago, my husband was diagnosed with a blood sugar reading of 24 mmol/L, within a couple of weeks he was back in the normal range and three months later his HbA1c was normal, as it has been ever since, all due to "low carb". Look at the success stories on this forum. A T2 diagnosis is not life ending, in fact it's the start of a new, healthier life for many.
Sally

Here is some hope for you. We sometimes see new members with a higher HbA1c number on diagnosis. My own was 98 and like you I had none of the classic signs. I was given the maximum dose of Metformin, threatened with insulin and told to go away. Four months later my dosage of Metformin was lowered because my A1c had fallen to 43 with the aid of dietary changes. Many, many people make such improvements and some do so well that they are able to discontinue stronger drugs than Met and even cut down or discontinue insulin. There is always hope and with some changes you too can make changes that improve your health and your future well being.

Hi and welcome DianeMali, you’ve come to the right place, it’s a great little corner of the internet for us Type 2s. I was in your position 15 months ago. I didn’t think I had symptoms when I was diagnosed on a routine blood test which I had for something else. However once I’d started low carbing and got my blood sugars back to normal I realised how unwell I had been feeling and how much better I felt. I lost a shed load of weight eating this way too, a nice side effect! In addition to low carbing I bought a blood sugar meter which is a really useful tool to testing whether certain foods suit you or not. If you decide to buy a meter we can advise on the most cost effect ones to buy.

DianeMali said:

I was diagnosed yesterday after attending A&E for an unrelated problem. It came like a bokt from the blue and it all seems very bleak right now. Blood sugars were at 16 yesterday but have just seen my GP and the ' 3 month marker' level was 105, which she said was the highest she has ever seen. Ive had no symptoms whatsoever, no thirst, no peeing a lot, and I feel like my head is spinning. Ive got to start 500mg Metformin twice a day and from the GPs reaction it seems there is very little chance of me ever getting off that, no matter how hard I try. As I said...it all feels so very bleak right now...

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Another GP who gives up on their patient before they're barely even diagnosed. See it as a chance to prove them wrong! Your HbA1c is high, yeah... Kinda comes with being a newly diagnosed yet full-fledged diabetic. After I changed my diet to low carb/high fat, I dropped the meds 3 months after initial diagnosis. Metformin made me really ill, so after 2 weeks I was put on Gliclazide instead, besides statins for cholesterol. With a HbA1c back in the normal range and normalising cholesterol there was no need for the pills. Been only getting better numbers since, and these days I follow a ketogenic/intermittent fasting diet. My HbA1c is now 34. And still dropping.

There. Is. Hope!

Really. If I were you I'd just get p*ssed off enough to hit the books/internet with a vengance, figure out what diet/treatment works for you, and slap the GP silly with your next HbA1c results, 3 months from now. Start by getting yourself a bloodglucose meter (if your not on insulin, you usually have to self-fund, but it is SO worth it!). Check bloods before eating and 2 hours after first bite. If the numbers went up more than 2 mmol/l, the meal was too carby and needs revising.

By the way, I'm completely skipping the carb-explanation part, sorry. All carbs, white, brown, "good" and bad, turn to sugar once ingested. Being a T2 means being unable to process that glucose back out of our bloodstreams effectively, so it sticks around and damages organs, veins, what have you. That's what we don't want to happen!

Aaanyway... If you reduce your carb-intake, you automatically reduce bloodsugar. So what are the carby culprits? Bread, rice, potatoes, cereal/weetabix, fruit (berries are okay), corn, underground veggies... They'll cause a spike. So what can you eat? Leafy greens, above ground veggies, bacon, cheese, double cream, full fat greek yoghurt, bacon, eggs, meat, fish, bacon, nuts, avocado's etc... Did I mention bacon?Check Dietdoctor.com for ideas, it's a very helpful site.

All in all though... Your doc gave you the impression that your situation is hopeless. It's not. You're diabetic, and you'll stay diabetic... But you can be a well-controlled one. Meaning no complications. And a doc who'll have to pick her jaw up from the floor, because YOU can make it drop.

(Mind you... That is IF you want to jump into a diet. Some prefer or still need meds, up to a point. It's different for all of us, depending on insulin production and insulin resistance. It's the trick to find what works for you. But don't let anyone bully you into doing something you can't get behind, or tell you you can't do something. You can do anything you set your mind to. Diabetes is a highly personal condition, you decide what works for you.).

You'll be okay.

I wish doctors would keep their observations to themselves.

Anyway, welcome. I was diagnosed July 6th after an unrelated blood test. I got a frantic call the next day, went in, and was given prescriptions for meds and a meter. It was overwhelming.

It's a lot to take it. But it's not hopeless. Have a look around, see how diet changes can help - and they will!

Be gentle with yourself.

I just binned the tablets five weeks from diagnosis - they took a month of my life as I felt too ill to do anything once I had taken them at noon - I had to do all my shopping etc in the mornings due to the side effects of Metformin, and I was given a statin too - I was walking about in a daze, could not remember anything - it was dreadful.
My doctor gave me no advice at all just the prescription - fortunately I was already a long time low carber - but have always had doctors who were dead against it, but once diagnosed with diabetes I went back to it and in 80 days was no longer in the diabetic range.
I have been at the very top end of normal for a year or so now, and feel great, lots more energy and I am enjoying life.
Your doctor seems very pessimistic about the management of diabetes - it could lead one to suspect that she's not very good at it......

Welcome and I'm so sorry that you have had such gloom and doom from your GP. There are lots of people on this forum who have gone from high levels to normal levels through eating a low carb diet. Metformin helps some people in this group but I have never taken it. What you do next is in your hands and there is a lot of great advice and support on this forum. My levela were lower but they are now normal, I weigh what I did at age 21 and I would never give up eating low carb even if my diagnosis turned out to be a mistake. Good luck on your journey to better health.

DianeMali said:

I was diagnosed yesterday after attending A&E for an unrelated problem. It came like a bokt from the blue and it all seems very bleak right now. Blood sugars were at 16 yesterday but have just seen my GP and the ' 3 month marker' level was 105, which she said was the highest she has ever seen. Ive had no symptoms whatsoever, no thirst, no peeing a lot, and I feel like my head is spinning. Ive got to start 500mg Metformin twice a day and from the GPs reaction it seems there is very little chance of me ever getting off that, no matter how hard I try. As I said...it all feels so very bleak right now...

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Yes, IMO there are few of us here who haven't shed bitter tears around the time of first diagnosis. And few of us lucky enough to have really up to date, well informed doctors who understand what a lot diabetes patients can do to lower our own blood sugars. For a comforting and extremely informative read, you could do no better than to get hold of a book by Jenny Ruhl. I was lucky enough to find her "Your Diabetes Questions Answered"
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Diabe...=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534878616&sr=1-6
in my local library, and I have had it out on more or less permanent loan ever since. I also bought my own copy of her "Blood Sugart 101".
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Suga...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534878616&sr=1-1
Either would do you proud, and/or visit her site https://www.bloodsugar101.com.

@DianeMali Great attitude, you will be fine if you can stay positive and learn as much as you can about how to manage your blood glucose levels.

@DianeMali

Hello Diane and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want 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 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
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

Hi @DianeMali and welcome to the forum. It is a shock when you get that diagnosis and does take your time to get your head around it all. But you will get a lot of good advice and support on here.
Have a read round the threads, and ask any questions you want to.