Hi, my name is Mark and a few years ago I was diagnosed as prediabetic, I lost 30 kilos and was back to normal. Stupidly I let myself go and put back 20 kilos in 2 years. I have just had 2 blood tests and found out I am diabetic ( haven’t been told which one but due to my weight I take it that it will be T2). I am upset, angry, depressed, mainly with myself, but I’m also scared. I want to lose the weight again, no strike that, I will lose this weight again. Is it possible to reverse T2? Have I caused permanent damage to myself ? I am 50 years old and my hbac1 ? Figure is 54. Thanks for reading this, I just don’t know what to do, my appointment is in 2 weeks. Thanks
Newly diagnosed but not had first consultation
- Thread starter Numan
- Start Date
Deborahdesylva
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Another like me! I posted something similar very recently and thanks to the advice on hear I am now doing the low carb high fat diet and reading "The diabetic code" by Dr Jason Fung. I'm feeling much better in that I'm doing something and there are lots of success stories in the book as well as explaining what is and has happened to us. I would advise you to do the same and also get a monitor and check your blood glucose. Seeing that slowly reducing is really helping to keep me focused - as is reading these posts! My first appointment is in two weeks too and my plan is to be able to show an improvement and not get stuck on meds. Good luck with whatever you decide to do and keep us posted xxxx
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daisy1
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@Numan
Hello Numan and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
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:
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Hello Numan and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
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
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
HSSS
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You can definitely turn things around. Take a look at my signature. Last summer I was you, other than female and just a couple of years younger. I hadn’t had the prediabetic warnings but had the same reading and 15-20kg to lose. Within 3 months there was a big improvement and it slowly continues from there.
JoKalsbeek
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- I reversed my Type 2
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T2 is only a progressive condition if you don't change your diet, really... With a low carb/high fat diet it can be put in remission. (Plus, you'd lose the weight.). And I've seen way worse HbA1c's than yours. You should be able to get back to non-diabetic numbers soon.
Do get yourself a meter, so you know what your bloodsugars are doing. Test before a meal and 2 hours after first bite; if it goes up more than 2.0 mmol/l, the meal as carbier than you could process out again. And you already know from Daisy1 that carbs turn to glucose once ingested. Other than that, you might want to stop eating bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, cereal/weetabix/muesli/oats and fruit. Stick with meat, fish, poultry, above-ground veggies/leafy greens, eggs, butter, cheese, cream, full fat greek yoghurt, olives, nuts, extra dark chocolate... Those things will see you right. Check dietdoctor.com for more meal ideas, and maybe read Dr. jason Fung's the Diabetes Code. It's a veritable fount of information, as is this place.
You'll be okay.
Jo
Bluetit1802
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An HbA1c of 54 is by no means a disaster. Many on here had double that figure and are now in remission or very nearly there. This means you can turn it round by changing your diet and by using a meter and a food diary to help with your food choices.
Have a look at the dietdoctor site, and particularly at the lists of foods to eat or avoid.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods#foodlist
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods#foodtoavoid
Have a good read round, and ask as many questions as you like.
Have a look at the dietdoctor site, and particularly at the lists of foods to eat or avoid.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods#foodlist
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods#foodtoavoid
Have a good read round, and ask as many questions as you like.
Thank you for your advice, I had a wander round Sainsbury’s tonight looking at labels, and have managed to replace the items I have been eating with lower carb alternatives. This has knocked a 1/3 of my carb intake off, just like that. Your advice has certainly bucked me up, I will get a tester, I already use MyFitnessPal as a food diary. Thank you very much for your support
Bluetit1802
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Keep posting and let us know how you go on when you start testing.
Debandez
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Once you get a tester track your hba1c level in mysugr app, this will give you a rough idea of how you are doing.
NewTD2
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Prem51
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Welcome to the forum Mark/ @Numan. I think most of us got those emotions when we were first diagnosed. It does take a bit of time to get your head around it all, but you will get a lot of good advice and support on here.
When you see your GP or DN in two weeks you might well be prescribed medication (probably Metaformin). It's up to you whether you want to go on meds, but an HbA1c of 54 isn't very high, and you should be able to lower it from the diabetic range to pre-diabetic, possibly non-diabetic range before your 3 month retest. Personally I would tell your GP/DN that I would like to try to lower it by diet and exercise first.
As the others have said a blood glucose meter is essential in finding out which foods spike your bg levels. The NHS won't usually prescribe them for Type 2s, so you would have to fund your own meter. The main ongoing cost is the testing strips. The cheapest are the TEE2+ and the SD Codefree. I think you can buy the TEE2+ and strips in Boots, or online from Spirit Healthcare - google TEE2+ for details.
When you see your GP or DN in two weeks you might well be prescribed medication (probably Metaformin). It's up to you whether you want to go on meds, but an HbA1c of 54 isn't very high, and you should be able to lower it from the diabetic range to pre-diabetic, possibly non-diabetic range before your 3 month retest. Personally I would tell your GP/DN that I would like to try to lower it by diet and exercise first.
As the others have said a blood glucose meter is essential in finding out which foods spike your bg levels. The NHS won't usually prescribe them for Type 2s, so you would have to fund your own meter. The main ongoing cost is the testing strips. The cheapest are the TEE2+ and the SD Codefree. I think you can buy the TEE2+ and strips in Boots, or online from Spirit Healthcare - google TEE2+ for details.
Well my Doctor (a Student Doctor at my Surgery) has told me its Type 2, but as shes finishing her placement on Friday shes advised I wait until my appointment with the Diabetes Nurse next Tuesday to discuss treatment. She was very pleased with my weight loss and that I had taken control of my diet and exercise. Unfortunately my blood pressure is high and I have to have a 24 hour blood pressure test next Thursday. She did say something interesting though, she told me not to avoid medication at all costs. Not sure if she meant for the Diabetes or high blood pressure, but my feeling is I will be on first name terms with my next Doctor for a few months at least.
Bluetit1802
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Have you had a 24 hour blood pressure test before? I had one when I had suspected low blood pressure. It was very amusing. Not. I went straight from the doctors to the supermarket. Every 15 minutes the sleeve thing inflated as expected but made a loud noise that sounded like a fart. I got some very strange looks and headed off as soon as I could.
Well I have just about finished the 24 hour BP test. It’s still got a few readings to take but if I didn’t have high blood pressure before I do now lol
