Newly diagnosed today 21.01.13

[AndyD]

Hi

Andy - 59 year old guy here - 186cm, 101kg. Father was a type 2 diabetic, always struggled with weight (got to be honest, I suppose)

My yearly check up last month showed that I had a BG of 17. My BP, cholesterol, kidney & liver functions were all fine. Previously I had been advised that I may have pre diabetes. My doctor asked me to wait a month and have another blood test, which was last week. The reading he advised today was 13.(I have lost 3kg in the last month). I asked if this could continue to be reduced by diet and exercise and he said maybe, but very unlikely to be reversed. He said that he was happy to see me again in 3 months to enable me to reach the target weight he has advised (another 11kg to go), and if the situation hasn't improved to his satisfaction he would put me on medication.

I don't expect to cure myself as I know this isn't possible, but I would like to prove to myself that by a combination of diet and exercise I can do some good on my own prior to starting medication.

The strange thing is that I'm not experiencing the common symptoms - excessive thirst, increased urination or fatigue etc.

Any helpful comments would be greatly appreciated as I know that I've probably only got myself to blame for damaging my health like this, and I could do with a little cheering up.

Andy

 

[Yorksman]

Hi Andy, you're the same age as me but not carrying as much weight. It's good that your doctor is happy to see if you can manage it by diet alone. 4 weeks ago I was in the 9s for fasting glucose. I'd be between 8 and 10 during the day but this has come down with my weight and now, 11Kg lighter I am in 6s and 7s and starting to get little runs of 5.4, 5.7 and so on.

I cut out all sweets, biscuits, chocolate bars and the like and started to see what carbs didn't agree with me. These were mashed potatoes, for some reason a couple of boiled new potatoes are OK, white rice and white bread. Long grain brown rice, rye bread or wholmeal breads are OK. I have yet to experiment much with pastas. I'm also cutting down on fats. Things like cheese just have to be on a smaller portion size. I love the stuff. I'm also having to learn how to cook but I find it fun. Fish of course tends to be on the very good side of things. Oily fish are meant to be good for you. I could get quite used to smoked haddock with a poached egg for breakfast, shame I don't have a butler to prepare it for me. I do miss the toast and marmelade though.

I have had no symptoms and it was picked up during annual blood testing. However, even though I had no symptoms, I do feel a lot better and am more active. Medication is not inevitable. It is often the case that people go onto meds because they cannot make the lifestyle changes. Lack of time seems to be very common, long commutes, snatched meals of the wrong sort etc. I work from home so that saves me 2 hours a day which is very handy for preparing decent meals. Ot gives me time to google up new recipes too. Another factor which causes progression is that some people on meds adopt the attitude that they can carry on as before now because they are on meds. When I told my GP that I wanted to see if I could control it by diet alone, I got that 'and pigs might fly' look. It becomes a self fullfilling prophecy. At least your doc seems happy that you want to try it for yourself.

 

[daisy1]

Hi Andy and welcome to the forum

After what you have told us in your post, I think you will find this information, which we give to new members, will help you in the right direction. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to answer.


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 30,000 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 ... rains.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 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.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Your HBa1C although high isn't high enough to give you any symptoms; that's why diabetes is an insidious illness. Yes, do follow the diet advice which will help greatly. The doc may put you onto Metformin which most of us started with. It's a good drug and will reduce your HBa1C by a bit (perhaps 0.5 to 1%?), but diet will have the most effect.