Newly Diagnosed.. time for big changes.

Welcome Luke. I know you'll find lots of information, help and inspiration on this Forum. I'm 4 months down the line and have reduced my HbA1c (and weight) considerably by taking advice from people here. No doubt Daisy will be along shortly with a wealth of reading material and other will give you a warm welcome.

WeeFergus

PS I also bought an SD Codefree and strips and they have also helped me enormously.

Welcome Luke, and well done for being so proactive

Welcome Luke! Good job on the weight loss and BS control.

Welcome mate...good luck on your journey

Welcome to the forum. I've tagged @daisy1 to give you the info for new members. Well done for losing a dress size already as this is not easy. You sound like you are going to make this the opportunity to find a new you. Hold on to your personality though as you sound great. Good luck

Luke83 said:

Thank you all so much for your replies. This place is great.

hehe thank you, I Intend to.

So... Just back from the Docs. all pretty good news, the GP is giving me another month with the cream and stretching exercises and reassessing then whether or not the little man will have to have a "make over", Something I really don't want.

Spent 20 minutes or so with the practice nurse, she weighed me, I've lost 1 stone 8lbs. I know the rate of weight loss will slow down, but I'm so pleased. Told her I'd brought myself a Blood Glucose meter and strips (something I was perfectly happy to pay for) to get an idea of how I am getting along etc, she instantly told me I didn't have to buy any more strips, gave me a new meter and added strips and lancets to my repeat prescription. BP is a little higher, that she would like but way down on a month ago (some of which she put down to the anxiety of the day) made and appointment in 4 weeks time for another full blood works.

I'm really pleased, I know this is only the start of a long journey, but it's sure as hell given me the kick up the backside I needed to make changes. next on the list to stop smoking

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Welcome and well done with the weight loss. Getting your head in the right frame of mind to deal with the diabetes diagnosis is not an easy thing but I think your doing a good job of that. I can see lots of T2s turning green with envy at the prescribed strips !!

Hi Luke welcome to the foram its suprizing what you can learn
I just found out itchy man bits can be put down to diabetes? Must have been a diabetic for years and didn't know .!!!!
Glad your GP and nurse have been so helpful , it's a good start ... Stay safe and keep well JJ

Luke83 said:

Hi all, I’m new to this and this is my first post. I’m 32, and very over weight, I’ve always known I’m over weight but unlike many rather than trying to do something about it I kind of relished in it. I realised early on I could either be the fat man looking at the dance floor with people staring back at me, Or I could fake the confidence be the first one up, the wild one, always up for laugh and joke, not afraid to say or do anything, I loved the attention, proving certain stereotypes to be wrong etc.

After three bouts of what I will call “itchy painful man bit” since last November including a rather server case. I finally plucked up the courage to go to the docs. I had a feeling it would be a complication of diabetes, so I asked for a test. GP was lovely, instantly ordered full blood works and was told to come back the next day for results. Blood works were actually a lot better than expected (much to the surprise of the practice nurse) Kidneys, Liver etc all super healthy, but HbAc1 was at 108. I was diagnosed as Type 2 diabetic and was given a prescription for Metformin 500mgx2 twice a day. Had a long chat with the practice nurse who is lovely lots of information given (most of which somewhat contradictory to what’s online and what I’ve learnt the last 4 weeks).

It’s been 4 weeks since I was diagnosed, in that time I have brought myself a SD code Free meter and with the help of that, the medication and more importantly the wealth of information on this website, I’ve managed to keep my results 2 hours after meals to around 6.7mmol/l. I have no idea how much weight I have lost but I have gone down a jean size (which are already falling off me)

I’m back at the doctors tonight for a double appointment one with the Nurse regarding my diabetes and weight, the other with the Doc in regards to the other issue (not looking forward to that, she’s had her hands on my bits way more than I am comfortable with .

Anyway, apologies for rambling on just thought I would say Hi and introduce myself and say a big thank you, I've been lurking around for 4 weeks reading everyone's stories and experiences it's really helped. I hope to see you all around soon.


Luke.

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Well done that's a great achievement and you seem to be doing all the right things, the fact you have lost weight must be a big incentive to carry on. Keep up the good work don't be afraid of asking questions and good luck with the rest of your journy

Luke83 said:

Thank you all so much for your replies. This place is great.

hehe thank you, I Intend to.

So... Just back from the Docs. all pretty good news, the GP is giving me another month with the cream and stretching exercises and reassessing then whether or not the little man will have to have a "make over", Something I really don't want.

Spent 20 minutes or so with the practice nurse, she weighed me, I've lost 1 stone 8lbs. I know the rate of weight loss will slow down, but I'm so pleased. Told her I'd brought myself a Blood Glucose meter and strips (something I was perfectly happy to pay for) to get an idea of how I am getting along etc, she instantly told me I didn't have to buy any more strips, gave me a new meter and added strips and lancets to my repeat prescription. BP is a little higher, that she would like but way down on a month ago (some of which she put down to the anxiety of the day) made and appointment in 4 weeks time for another full blood works.

I'm really pleased, I know this is only the start of a long journey, but it's sure as hell given me the kick up the backside I needed to make changes. next on the list to stop smoking

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Well done, Luke.

Welcome to the forum.

One step at a time.

Good luck with the smoking!

@Luke83

Hello Luke and welcome to the forum

This is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it 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 over 140,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.

Cheerleading for you here Luke

"Go Luke!! Go Luke!!!"

From one newbie to another

Welcome and nice to meet you ....waves

Well done Luke, you will soon be the thin man dancing.

Well done, Luke - you are doing all the right things and it's brilliant to see you have a supportive medical team behind you

Hi Luke and welcome aboard.

You've done great, well done. I bought a meter too and switched to a LCFF diet, my BG levels are looking far more acceptable and although not as impressive as you're weight loss I'm happy with my progress.

Well done on your weight loss. Not an easy thing to do, good for you

JAY1JAY1 said:

Hi Luke welcome to the foram its suprizing what you can learn
I just found out itchy man bits can be put down to diabetes? Must have been a diabetic for years and didn't know .!!!!
Glad your GP and nurse have been so helpful , it's a good start ... Stay safe and keep well JJ

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Apparently it's quite a common symptom. Thrush thrives in a sugary environment, such as a diabetic's urine.... and so it goes. On the upside, if you reduce the levels of sugar in your wee, the thrush doesn't like it and does a runner, as does the itchiness of the man bits. Well - it did in my experience, anyway.

Sorry: probably far too much information

In here there is no such thing as TMI