Newly diagnosed on Friday, little to no info from Doctor, is that normal?

IronLioness said:

Hi all, I'd really appreciate your advice or just general experiences. I had a random blood test for food poisoning turns out my blood results were 48, the diabetic diagnosis is 47 apparently. But my Doc was super quick on the phone - he just said I'd get invited to attend an info course and to see the nurse in 3 months for another check up and blood test. He says he thinks it's my weight pushing me over the limit, and if I reduce that drastically in the next 3 months, it's entirely possible I can reverse the diagnosis. Is that true?? I've read varying articles...

I'm 40, yes super overweight but oddly LOVE the gym - I lift weights and I lift heavy. It seems the love of food is the BIG downfall!

My Dad is type 2 and 75yrs old but he had a hell of a time with his diabetes - he lost nerve endings, half a foot to gangrene and various other side effects. This diagnosis scares the sh*t out of me ... Any advice of if this can be reversed would be much appreciated, thanks all.

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Hi and welcome to the forums,

It is possible to put your diabetes into reverse but the standard advice around these parts for a T2 would be to reduce your carb intake. As you've written that you like lifting weights I'm going to assume that any suggestion to lower carbs is not going to be recieved well?

The thing is, all carbs turn into glucose in the body, so if you're 'carbing up' for workouts then it could be causing you some issues. There are some other gym bunnies on the forum so take a look at the sport and exercise section for advice about nutrition.

One of our members @daisy1 can give you further advice when she's around.

I take it you have not had any diagnosis going as far as stating you are T1 or T2 etc.?

Hi IronLioness and welcome!
You are indeed just into the level for a diagnosis of diabetes. My reading was 70 on diagnosis to put it in perspective, others are higher still at the start. I put my diabetes into remission with Metformin (a mild drug compared to others) but mainly by reducing my carb intake. I started by keeping under 100g/day and gradually over the months reduced to 50g/day, which is where I stay to keep my blood sugars at non diabetic levels. I self fund testing kit to keep a check on things. I don’t go to the gym but feel way more energetic these days. Have a read around the forums and come back with any questions you may have.

Edit to add that I lost a shed load of weight without even trying !

IronLioness said:

Hi all, I'd really appreciate your advice or just general experiences. I had a random blood test for food poisoning turns out my blood results were 48, the diabetic diagnosis is 47 apparently. But my Doc was super quick on the phone - he just said I'd get invited to attend an info course and to see the nurse in 3 months for another check up and blood test. He says he thinks it's my weight pushing me over the limit, and if I reduce that drastically in the next 3 months, it's entirely possible I can reverse the diagnosis. Is that true?? I've read varying articles...

I'm 40, yes super overweight but oddly LOVE the gym - I lift weights and I lift heavy. It seems the love of food is the BIG downfall!

My Dad is type 2 and 75yrs old but he had a hell of a time with his diabetes - he lost nerve endings, half a foot to gangrene and various other side effects. This diagnosis scares the sh*t out of me ... Any advice of if this can be reversed would be much appreciated, thanks all.

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I totally agree that the diagnosis is scary - but you have come to the right place to get help. Your doctor is right - you can reverse Type 2 Diabetes or go into remission as have many members on this forum. I had an HB1aC of 125 and was put straight on insulin but by going low carb I lost 3 1/2 stone and am no longer on insulin or any meds.

I'll tag in @daisy1 who will be along soon with some basic information on diabetes management which you will find very helpful.

IronLioness said:

Hi UrbanRacer, thanks for the reply, much appreciated. It was all a bit odd really. My doc called when I was at a work event, dropped the bombshell, said he'd book me into this info course thing, then I'm to come back in 3 months to check blood, and that was it really. It was an odd call, he said the number of the bloods were a clinical diagnosis of diabetes but didn't mention T1 or 2. It was all such a smack in the face I was still trying to get my head around what he was saying. I don't think he specifically said what type it was but because he said I can reverse it by losing weight as its not too far over I've sort of assumed its T2. I'm hoping if it was T1 he'd have said. I think maybe I need to call him again to check

I do love the gym so I'll definitely check out the exercise forum. I really don't want to give up weightlifting if I don't have to. Just need to manage the food much better I guess. And stop eating ****!

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The other thing about the gym (sorry to be the harbinger of doom) is that sudden strenuous exercise can make your liver dump a whole load of glucose into your system as way of giving you the energy you need to repair. But the body of a diabetic cannot cope with this so it just sits in the bloodstream doing bad things.

Getting a meter and testing your glucose levels at specifc times isn't the worst thing you could do. Armed with the information, you can make adjustments.

BTW - there are a lot of information pages outside the forum on the front end of this website and there's some really good stuff in there.

Welcome to the forum, as you can't reverse type 1, it safe to assume your doctors suggesting type 2.

It's understandably a shock and will take time to process so read around and feel free to ask any questions you may have.
Options for managing and reversing type 2 are in a much better place than even a few years ago so I believe your situation can be different from your Dad's experience.

You cannot "reverse" diabetes once diagnosed .... remission, yes, control it, yes, but once you have it, you have it

@IronLioness

Hello IronLioness and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask questions if you need to 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 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.
  

Welcome to the forum @IronLioness. It does sound as if you are T2 if your gp says you can 'reverse' it by reducing weight.
Your blood glucose isn't too high. I was 49 at diagnosis, and did lower it to 44 by my 3 month retest by losing weight.
That might be more difficult if you are into lifting weights, though from what I read on here High Intensity Training can also reduce bg levels.
But reducing your sugar and starchy carbohydrate intake is going to have more effect in reducing your bg levels.

Mike D said:

You cannot "reverse" diabetes once diagnosed .... remission, yes, control it, yes, but once you have it, you have it

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My doctor explained that it can be reversed. To the point where you don’t actually have it anymore. Other than the fact you are more at risk if it coming back you physically do not have diabetes anymore.

Having said that I know diddlysquat about diabetes. Think I’ve figured something it then it blows up and confuses me again. This usually happens daily.

So I’m probably wrong but it’s what my doctor told me. She is a diabetic doctor.

IronLioness said:

Thanks for this info, 100g a day, wowsah! That's a big shock, I guess I took carbs for granted beforehand, I love them, never thought I'd need to count them! But I will. That's good info, v helpful. I genuinely have no idea diet wise on what to do about carb reducing, the doctor didn't actually say much about the specifics or blood glucose levels, or what I need to do, I'm totally bamboozled about what the next steps are apart from I need to lose weight and up the cardio again! I wish my doctor was a bit more forthcoming with important info like that. *sigh*

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Here’s a very helpful website to get you started:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb

Sadly, once diagnosed, you're stuck with it. I have a non-diabetic bloodglucose reading, but that's because I don't eat more than 20 grams of carbs a day. That's what works for me though. For you it could be 40, or 80, maybe 100 grams? Could be anything! Getting a meter will make life, and figuring such things out, much easier for you! Just check before eating, and 2 hours after. if you didn't go up more than 2 mmol/l, that meal was perfect for you and can be repeated. Otherwise, it needs tinkering or tossing. Anyway, technically speaking I'm in remission. No meds, normal bloodglucose levels. I don't have complications, and even if I get a sinusinfection, my bloods don't usually hit the double digits, so I'm calling it good. BUT. If I up my carbs, back up my bloodglucose goes, as I am, and remain, a T2 diabetic: my body cannot process carbs properly. Basically this means that you can do loads and loads to keep your bloodsugars in check, and remain complication-free, maybe even medication free (I'm off the meds, including statins), and just, you know... Have control of this. You are NOT doomed into losing nerve sensation, you're not going to lose kidneyfunction or toes, eyesight isn't going anywhere either. *If* you tackle this, and it sounds like you want to, you could be living with this and be just fine. Losing weight will reduce some insulin resistance, but it's a bit of a chicken-egg debate, what comes first.... As a T2 you likely make loads of insulin which your body can't use properly, but it does store fat. So whether the fat was there first, or the insulin resistance...? Who knows eh. But if you do drop the carbs, your weight will go down too, more often than not. If you're into sports, upping proteine and fats will help to keep your energylevels up. (Fats are safe; Proteine can influence bloodsugars, but nowhere near as dramatically as carbs do). Just keep in mind it's all carbs you have trouble digesting: white and brown. So brown bread, rice, wholegrain pasta and the like... They won't do any favors either. Fruits like banana, will probably spike you. So take your time to figure this out, as complications and the like don't crop up overnight, you have a few weeks or months or whatever to get a handle on this. Just learn about the condition what you can, ask as many questions as you like and pick out the answers that resonate with you, figure out what works for YOU. It's different for everybody. Everyones levels of insulin resistence, insulin response and liver dumps are different, so there's no cut and dry answer for all T2's. Could be diet change and metformine, could be gliclazide and met, insulin, or diet only... And then, which diet? Low carb high fat, keto with or without intermittent fasting, mediterranian, scandinavian, newcastle? Bottom line in all diabetically-helpful diets: You have to ENJOY what you eat, because if you don't, it won't last. And this is for the long haul. I tossed out a lot of "healthy" stuff that tasted like cardboard before I found things I enjoyed eating which didn't spike me at all. Check dietdoctor.com if you need ideas for meals, They also have visual chart thingies that tell you in one glance what foods are helpful to a lifestyle change, and which aren't. As a quick little (shopping) list to get you started: Eggs, bacon, cheese, butter, nuts, berries, avocado's, full fat greek yoghurt, double cream, above-ground, non-starchy veggies and leafy greens, extra dark chocolate (YES! Chocolate!), mushrooms, meat, fish, olives, mayonaise, and hummus. Stuff to stay away from: cereal (yes, oats and wheatabix too), potatoes, fruit (other than berries and avocado), rice, pasta, corn, bread (and anything made with dough/breading really). I think that's the really short, condensed version with waaay too much info in one go. If you take away one thing from all this though, let it be the following: You're going to be okay. May even teach your dad a thing or two at the end of all this. Just, you know... Take a moment to wrap your head around the diagnosis, learn what you can, and then kick T2 *ss.

Good luck,
Jo

PS: And to answer your original question, yeah, the bulk of us got no useful information at all, were just left hanging to wait for a first appointment for weeks, sometimes months. And I'm in the Netherlands. It's not just the UK.

Two extra things spring to mind. Usually it takes two tests to be diagnosed not an isolated one. That said it’s unlikely to change what you need to do. Prediabetic still needs addressing to prevent diabetes.

Also resistance training is often quoted as being better for diabetics than cardio. (And for weight loss). More muscle to take in what glucose from the blood it can despite insulin resistance. Less muscle less chance to mop up the excess glucose. More muscle raises the base metabolic rate too helping with weight loss. I’m sure you’re already aware of this though. Cardio can produce more spikes too in the form of liver dumps due to sudden demands.

Otherwise I’d agree lowering carbs is the way to manage this. Do your research and give it a try. It’ll be a lifestyle change not a diet and you’ll almost certainly loss weight as a beneficial effect as well as lowering blood sugar.