Newly Diagnosed - So Much To Take In

Rusco

Newbie
Messages
2
Hi all

I was diagnosed after losing my vision dramatically over a period of 3 days, via my optician I was referred to A&E who discovered my blood sugar was 28.9. Im T2 and not massively overweight probably only a stone and has always had a reasonable diet with only odd treat here and there, so was quite shocked to be diagnosed.

I’m injecting insulin twice a day and have also started on metformin, my bloods are now ranging between 5 and 8 with a couple of real lows chucked in.

I’m wanting to do everything I can to help myself but just don’t know where to start! Low carb seems popular?

I’ve had retina scans and nothing sinister has been found, however they believe I’ve been T2 for a while as my eye linings have thickened and I have some kidney damage. Will these resolve themselves now I’m on insulin?

I’m also trying to get on a DESMOND course.

I’m trying to learn as much as possible but it’s overwhelming. Are there any top tips from you guys to kick off my inspiration ?
 

CherryAA

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,171
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi Rusco,


You will need to discuss what follows with your healthprovider as the general advice is that those eating a low carb diet may not need insulin.

The general practitioners council have issued an app led by Dr. David Unwin that doctors can refer to if they are unfamiliar with this approach.

First of all, don't panic. Of course there is a lot to learn,

Quite a lot of tht will relate to unlearning the things you thought you knew. for example what constitutes a good diet! So many of us adopted a low fat, diet full of healthy whole grains, and not much meat and THEN got diabetes. Within a few days here, you will likely decide to join the rest of us. A Low carbohyrdate diet, rich in animal proteins and fats and fresh above ground vegetables, limit fruit to berries only and stop eating anything beige - bread, flour, pasta, potato or with sugar in it.

There is a low carbprogram you can work through on here and if you go to dietdoctor.com, you can see how to implement a low carb diet .

The insulin istelf is unlikely to" resolve" anything - except the immediately high blood sugar. Diet can possibly resolve mot things including even needing insulin . In terms of kidney damage and other bad health markers, many of us find that thse improve or resolve with the change in diet.

It is tough going for a start because your body will have become used to all the carbs in any standard diet ( even ignoring the treats!) . having said that on your new diet, butter, bacon and eggs, beef cream and avocadoes willbecome your new best freinds - so not too much to complain about there. My numbers were pretty dire to start with, but changing your diet willbring them down dramactially quickly.


Good lucl
 

Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
19,284
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
@daisy1 will provide the welcoming sheet of top tips for newbies. The other top tip I have for you is to read around, learn, but take your time. You don't have to learn everyting in a week, so go out and do something you enjoy as well! And ask away on this forum of course :)
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Rusco

Hello Rusco 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.
 

T2_2018

Member
Messages
17
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi Rusco,

I was diagnosed T2 in August, and found it all very overwhelming, especially as there were so many opinions coming from so many people, web sites and leaflets given out by my GP.

The first thing I did was try to take control by buying a test meter and measuring my fasting glucose levels. That really helped as without it I would have no idea if any of my actions were helping or not. For me, I slowly realised that the low carb advice seemed to work for me, I could see my levels improving as I slowly removed carbs from my diet. I have found that upping my exercise and reducing carbs (averaging less than 50g a day right now, though going out for first curry since diagnosis tonight, lets see what that does!) has worked well for me.

There is so much information around. I have found that most of my questions, symptoms, problems have all been experienced and discussed by others on this forum in the past and reading other peoples messages has helped me massively so far. Well done on asking for help on the forum, and good luck :)
 
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PenguinMum

Expert
Messages
6,782
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
The doctor or diabetic nurse may tell you dont need a meter but get one anyway! To me trying to control blood glucose levels without a meter is like crossing a busy road with a blindfold on! I got the Codefree from Home Health because the testing strips were cheapest. Also you can tick the box saying your diabetic to get discount. All the best.
 
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Bluey1

Well-Known Member
Messages
429
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
People who try and make Diabetes the centre of the party and poor me, I'm special because I have diabetes now everyone run around after me.
Welcome. Don't worry over a short period of time you will work out the jargon routines and how to put up with us here. As you are on insulin you are more closely related to the T1's and the fun we have. We start playing with insulin pretty much first thing in the morning and don't stop playing with it until bedtime and sometimes even latter. It's not really that bad, but it gets us all down on occasions, just come here have a whinge, get a few virtual hugs and keep plodding.
 

Shiba Park

Well-Known Member
Messages
164
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Such high glucose readings and immediate start on insulin suggest you could be in the grey area of T1/T2 diagnosis. I suggest you have a valid basis to ask for a GAD and c- peptide test to see which camp you fall into. Both suck but are eased by the correct therapy.
 

Rusco

Newbie
Messages
2
Thanks everyone, myreadings this week range between 5-9 and had my first low so my nurse is reviewing my daily humalin units. Tomorrow I’m seeing the NHS dietician so hopefully things will go in the right direction.

I do have a couple of other questions:

1. Some days I feel flulike and sick, is this normal?
2. Since starting insulin my skin has gone very dry and pinches like prickly heat. Is this a common symptom?

Thanks all for your support
 

Bluey1

Well-Known Member
Messages
429
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
People who try and make Diabetes the centre of the party and poor me, I'm special because I have diabetes now everyone run around after me.
Your body will be going through an enormous change returning back to normal. You body maybe reacting to the changes as I assume the changes to becoming diabetic were very slow as you are an adult and T2. However your return journey back is very fast and your body will take some time to adjust.
Once everything settles down you will still get sick. Diabetes will not cause the illness (hopefully), but tends to amplify the sickness, or rather it plays up even more to make certain it gets the attention it thinks it deserves.
 
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