Newly diagnosed & exercise

[steveck79]

Well, after all the years of thinking I got away with it despite the oodles of diabetes in my family (type 1 & 2) it got me in the end!

Was diagnosed on Friday. I've done lots of reading, and with all the family members living with the condition, you already end up knowing a lot too.

One thing I've come across time and again on various sources of information is the pathway that your initial treatment with type 2 could be the doctor and/or nurse you see trying to just get your glucose levels down with a combination of diet and exercise. Diet of course has to change, I understand completely what has to change and why. However, the notion that I'll be able to do any exercise right now is laughable. I can't be the only person diagnosed as type 2 who felt like this. Just walking around is a huge effort. I feel so weak all the time. Things I used to take for granted like just sorting my laundry out on a Sunday takes it out of me. How can exercise be a useful tool at this stage? I couldn't manage it.

Surely the effects of drugs like metformin are needed to get your body to start being able to use its glucose supplies properly again before you can put exercise into your life?

I guess knowing the doctor that does the diabetes reviews at my GP clinic and his ways, I can imagine him ignoring the idea of medication initially. That will bring me down purely to changes in diet, which will be interesting.

 

[beetle]

HI Steveck
Sorry to hear you are at the end of your strenght. Sending good vibes your way
i hear are so tired that u r unable to to the most basic things. same here.Must say i havent been diagnosed yet but got the whole workup on sat. Bit scared but wanting to know!
I read many times on the forum that we need to push our docs to give us what we need at the time.
My doc never listend and i was so frustrated that i had to change docs to get at least a test to see if its all in my head or the real thing. My BGL's are a bit wacky and i throw hypos and hypers after meals.

I hope your doc listens to you. I could't do exercise either. Slow "creeping" aloing the beach is the only thing i can manage. and only if i dont do anything else all day :eh:

So go back to doc and ask politly if you could have pharmalogical support until you got your head around diet exercise and stuff....maybe he listens. Hope i dont tell u fips since im a newbee too. I just go after commen sense......sorry hope advice is not all srewed up.....

good luck and let us know whats happening

 

[Netty70]

Hi Steve
If your feeling so tired maybe ask your doc to test your b12 levels they could be low
But when you feel up to it exercise is something well worth fitting into your day as it will benefit your whole lifestyle
Good luck


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[mo1905]

If you're newly diagnosed, chances are you've had it a lot longer and looking back you'll probably be aware that something has not been right for a while. You're right, reducing carbs will be a big help. As for exercise, I would wait until your BG levels come down and you start to feel a little better. You'll know when the time is right. Start slowly, a walk perhaps, then build to a comfortable level that can be maintained. Depending on what meds you're on will determine how long this may take. Possiblly a couple of weeks. Good luck !
Mo


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[daisy1]

Hi Steve and welcome to the forum

Take the exercise gently at first and follow the good advice from the members who have replied here. Apart from exercise, here is the information we give to new members which I hope you will find useful. Ask more questions and someone will 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 30,000 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 ... rains.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 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.