Newly diagnosed - diabetes and other conditions

randomwoman said:

I have anxiety and IBS (both of these go back years, unlikely to be T2-related).

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I think your IBS may well be diabetes related. Over the years I have had two endoscopies and consumed tons of Rennies. Very soon after reducing the carbs in my diet most of my digestive problems disappeared. My worst A1c was 41 ie not even considered pre-diabetic in the UK, but nonetheless I have identified quite a few health problems which I do believe are due to raised bgs. I could never understand why, living as I did an obsessively healthy life, with exercise and a Mediterranean style diet, I should have developed such a diverse clutch of health problems. IMO raised bgs are the missing link. I am hoping that by keeping my bgs as low as possible I will gradually be able to reverse many of my problems, though in some cases it may well take years.

The great thing about T2, there is so much we can do to help ourselves. Just look at the signatures under many Forum members' posts and you will see a list of A1c tests they have had over time, very often trending downwards, sometimes spectacularly. I presume the meds you will be starting is Metformin? This is a well-tested and potentially very helpful drug, but reducing the carbs in your diet can help you far more. For useful information and a calm, soothing, kindly voice I suggest you go to Jenny Ruhl's site: https://www.bloodsugar101.com
and maybe get hold of a copy of one of her books: "Blood Sugar 101" or "Your Diabetes Questions Answered"
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_a...ch-Books-Submit.x=0&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.y=0

Welcome to the forum @randomwoman . 1) You have looked up and found that you are not alone. 2) You want to do something about the problem. You are well on the way with coming here. Have a look in the shop and order a bg monitor - there are several available and I have found it is the most useful tool to start dealing with the problem of diabetes and what you can eat. Before you buy look at the cost of the strips for the meters - they work out as being the most expensive part because they are an on-going cost. As a general guide try to cut down on the carb content of meals - ready meals and most foods in the supermarket have a guide in the microdots on the back of the pack. Try to avoid foods that have more than 10gper 100g. It will mean that bread, pasta and potatoes are out but cream, cheese, above ground veg are all back in providing your IBS is not triggered. You may be able to try diet and exercise first as a means of controlling your diabetes, and it can be done with help from people on this site and a little self discipline. View it as an interesting journey life has thrown at you to learn a little more about how your body works.

@randomwoman

Hello Randomwoman and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will help.

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

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.
  

randomwoman said:

Hi everyone

I got my diagnosis of T2 on Tuesday this week and was predictably devastated. It didn't help that I was on the fourth day of new medication for anxiety (now ditched) which my GP reckons is probably what caused the resultant panic attacks, sickness and tingling. Apparently my blood sugars are "not that high," although there was no further explanation of this so it's unlikely any of this was down to complications.

I've calmed down a little and I have a list of questions to take to my diabetes clinic appointment now, plus I'm starting meds as soon as these anxiety meds are out of my system. My question is how do people deal with having diabetes and other conditions as well? In addition to T2, I have anxiety and IBS (both of these go back years, unlikely to be T2-related). How do you identify a problem that might be diabetes-related when you're having random symptoms associated with other things anyway?

My fear is that if diabetes doesn't seriously hurt me, my paranoia will! Any advice from anyone managing multiple conditions would be welcomed.

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I walked around with T2 for years because I thought the symptoms were due to my Hashimoto's. (Wonky thyroid). I have debilitating anxiety, as a part of an introverted borderline disorder, as well as clinical depression, irritable bowel syndrome, eczema, fatty liver, astma, chronic migraines, PCOS, rickets, what have you. So yeah, sometimes it IS hard to get the symptoms straight! Thing is, you often see people with one auto-immune disease, developing others. (I have rheumatism/Sjögren's as well, for instance.). It happens, so you're certainly not alone in that regard.

Thing is, the only thing I actually have some control over is diabetes! I never thought I'd say that, two years ago, when my own little world collapsed, but it's true: I pretty much have that sorted. So any symptoms I have usually are down to my other issues, as I can rule T2 out as quick as you can say "test strips". If I feel funny, the first thing I do is pull out my meter and check my bloodsugar. If that's all good, then there's something else going on. And, also convenient, when I had a bladderinfection and diverticulitis, it was my suddenly raised bloodsugars which got me to see the doctor, because that way I knew there was an infection or two that needed looking after, not just some aches and pains I could just ignore/wait out. My numbers were off, and that told me loads.

So... Learn and read here what you can, and at sites like dietdoctor.com, get a meter, familliarise yourself with the disease and what it specifically means for you... And you'll be able to tell what's what more often than not. For me, I got it under control through diet, which also meant losing weight I REALLY needed to lose to boot. (And here my dietician was telling me to lose weight I needed more carbs. Thanks to her I went from obese to morbidly obese. I would've gone low carb years ago if I'd known about it sooner!). In any case, T2 is a disease that can be controlled through diet, even put into remission, which means complications aren't the dead certainty they were a decade ago. You're not doomed to lose your eyesight and liverfunction, there won't be any amputations and what have you.... This can be controlled. And when it is, you can focus on tackling the other issues you're dealing with.

Good luck!
Jo