Newly diagnosed T2 and puzzled

Dexterdobe

Well-Known Member
Messages
305
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Being unwell and seeing BG levels soar
Hi everyone,
I was diagnosed T2 following a Hba1c rest reading of 53 in November.
I've cut back on carbs, exercised more for a month now. I have bought a meter and it shows fasting glucose readings between 5.7 and 6.3 in the mornings and never higher than 7 during the day, which suggests prediabetic at worse. Or am I misinterpretting the situation please?
 

Rachox

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
15,811
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi Dexterdobe and welcome, your HbA1c reading puts you in the diabetic zone I’m afraid, any HbA1c over 48 is diabetic. Your cutting carbohydrates in your diet has resulted in the more normal readings taken at home. Keep up the good work you’ve already started and you’ll see an improvement in your next HbA1c reading. Here’s a couple of links to understand HbA1c:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html
And normal finger prick levels to aim for:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html
I’ll also tag in @daisy1 who’ll post loads of useful info for you
 
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Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Paging @daisy1 for you for the welcome pack which has invaluable info on our condition.

Your home testing readings are like a snapshot of your blood glucose levels at a given moment and reflects the impact of what you have eaten or done in terms of excercise just in the previous couple of hours. Your HbA1c result is an average of the blood glucose impact over a few weeks (usually 12) so the numbers do not reflect things in the same way. For instance if you have an infection this may raise your bg levels for a few days but your lower level of carb intake may counterbalance that which would mean that the higher bg readings during the infection would not make a great impact on your HbA1c results wheras the lowered carb intake would. Keep on with the good work.

Edited for clarity.
 

daisy1

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

Hello Dexterdobe and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and useful. Ask as many questions as 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 259,000 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.
 

Dexterdobe

Well-Known Member
Messages
305
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Being unwell and seeing BG levels soar
@Dexterdobe

Hello Dexterdobe and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and useful. Ask as many questions as 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 259,000 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.
 

Dexterdobe

Well-Known Member
Messages
305
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Being unwell and seeing BG levels soar
Thanks for the information.
I have another HbA1c test in February, so I'm hopeful that my efforts to lose weight and eat better will lower my score.
Let me say that I'm not a typical type 2 candidate. I know it can affect anyone regardless of lifestyle, but I am 63, 5 foot 10 inches tall and weighed under 14 stone with a 35inch waist at diagnosis. I am a rugby referee and sometimes do as many as three games each week. Nonetheless, I have cut out sugar and carbs and made sure that I get some exercise every day. I've lost 10 lbs in six weeks and my blood sugar level is now consistently around 6 mmol; a bit high in the morning, but fine at other times.
The diet and extra activity have had some unexpected benefits. I have been asthmatic all my life and was inhaling two puffs of a steroid inhaler every day. I have now halved the dose with no ill-effects. I'm not rushing it, but I think my asthma may be in remission. I was also taking 5 mg of Bisoprolol daily, to treat an erratic heartbeat. With the permission of my GP, I have progressively dropped this to 1.25 mg per day with no ill effects. Both these drugs have been linked to raised blood glucose, so reducing the doses should further help me to control my diabetes.
Thanks to the advice on this forum, I feel I am well on the way to controlling both my asthma and other long-term conditions that have affected me most of my life. If only I had made these changes decades ago. It's never too late to start I guess.