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Newly diagnosed T2

J

Jenfy

Well-Known Member
Messages
50
Hi
I was diagnosed during a healthy heart check last Friday. Had BG in my urine and ketones, and finger prick blood test showed 15.8. The GP came right in and talked to me and made an appointment for me to see the DSN yesterday. The full blood test showed I had been diabetic for quite a while an my BG had averaged at 16. The ketones had gone yesterday. I have been prescribed Metformin twice daily and got lots of advice about diet, excercise etc. It's the ketones bit that worries me a little. Will it re-occur? Is this normal for T2? What kind of damage does it do? Will I ever get used to the jargon?! I started the meds last night with food as suggested and no ill effects so far. Did urine test first thing this morning and BG pretty high. Is that normal for early morning? Incidentally, my BMI is normal, I have never had a weight problem but did have bg during pregnancy nearly 40 years ago now! Any advice would be most welcome please!
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :D
Ketones are really only a worry if you have very high blood sugar levels and feel ill. More info for you is on this link.
http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-dia ... oacidosis/

I am also giving you a link to some advice written by Ken and Sue, who are two very knowledgeable type 2's
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17088

Please feel free to come back and ask any questions you have as and when they arise :) There is normally someone around who can answer them :D
 
Hi Jenfy and welcome to the forum :) You need to be careful with the ketones - if you get high ketones and very high BG levels it can be a medical emergency (DKA) and you would need to go to A&E. A small number of ketones is normal if you are doing a low carb diet and is even desirable as it means you have switched to fat burning mode which helps you to lose weight if you need to.

It can be quite normal to get high early morning/fasting levels. It's called dawn phenomenon which simply is your liver pumping some glucose into you to get you started on the day ahead.

Here is some general information on diabetes which was prepared by our friends Sue and Ken, former monitors, to be given to new members. Ask as many questions as you like.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.
Click to expand...
 
Hello Jenfy, probably the best advice I can offer is that things take time.

By that I mean that the medications will take time to have an effect, the changed diet will take time to have an effect and so on. Typically it takes at least a month to see any significant changes, if you read through the advice above you will read about the desirability of a test meter. With that you will be able to see what foods affect you most and whether you will need to reduce your carbohydrates (probable).

It is not a race, indeed, to rapid a change in your Blood Glucose (BGs) can be detrimental, so do it steadily over maybe a couple of months.

As regards the jargon, don't worrry, you will soon get the hang of it, we all started somewhere!

there is lots of info: on here, a search will answer many questions, the internet has millions of hits regarding T2, with millions of different opinions.

Without doubt the best place to ask questions is at the Docs. although I find my DSN (Diabetic Specialist Nurse) very knowledgable, when you think of a question write it down and when you make a visit ask them all at once.

H
 
many thanks to you and everybody with your replies, very helpful. I feel much less anxious now I am getting used to the idea of watching what I eat etc. My DSN gave me lots of info and advice, perhaps too much to take in at the time but using this site ha really helped, thank you. Ironic perhaps but I have always supported Diabetes charities as I have several friends who have Type 1 and know how important it is to have organisations who can support Diabetics, now here I am too! Thanks for the warm welcome and all the good advice.
 
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