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Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic

Doxii

Doxii

Member
Messages
10
Location
Kent, United Kingdom
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi,

I was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and put straight on to Metformin. I'm kinda scared as I haven't really been given much information, just told that I had it, told to cut out all sugar from my diet, given a prescription and told basically just to make an appointment with the diabetic nurse. Alot of my members of my family have it but I don't talk to them so I can't really ask them for help. My mum and my friends at work are being really supportive but none of them have it so I don't know how to really take their advice. It's kind of isolating.

I've done as the doctor told me and cut virtually all sugar out of my diet. It wasn't so much I was eating too much sugar but the fizzy drinks I was drinking like water. I'm looking at all of the packaging of food and drink before buying them so that I'm not tempted by them at home. But the basic things like Tea - I am scared to drink because I used to love it with sugar and I don't like tea without sugar. I'm not 100% sure what I can eat or drink anymore.

I made an appointment with what I thought was the diabetic nurse (that's who I asked the receptionist to book me in with) but when my appointment came round it was the ordinary nurse. She was more helpful than the doctor but by much. She told me that my BG was 17.9mmol after a fasting blood test and she also told me I needed to cut all sugar out of my diet. She checked my feet over and listened to them to make sure the blood was flowing properly. At the end of the appointment she just said that I need to see the diabetic nurse. So I went and tried to book an appointment - The wait is nearly 2 months. Which I personally feel is awful.

Anyway, the metformin are helping (I bought a BG checker yesterday just for peace of mind) my test last night was 6.2 but the metformin are giving me major stomach cramps and diarrhea. Which I don't know is normal or not. I've gone from taking 1 in the morning and 1 at night to 2 in the morning and 1 at night and next week I'm meant to be taking 2 in the morning and 2 at night. I'm worried that the cramps and diarrhea are going to get worse.

Sorry I've gone on abit :oops:

Any help and advice you could give would be great.
 
Hi Doxii and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask all the questions you need to 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 70,000 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.
 
I know that being newly diagnosed can be very frightening, especially when they don't seem very keen on giving you much information. I have found out far more about diabetes from searching the internet, magazines and messageboards than I have ever received from the medical profession. It's very hard when you are just starting out to know what you can and can't eat. I like sugar in my tea but have swapped over to sweeteners, although you have to choose carefully. I found that saccharine leaves an aftertaste which I have also found with the fairly new product that contains Stevia. If you use the sweeteners containing aspartame instead of sugar then you can still go ahead and drink your tea.

As well as cutting down (you'll never entirely eradicate) sugar from your diet because of all the hidden sugar in various foods, you also have to be careful of other carbohydrates as they produce sugar as well. Potatoes for instance, depending on how they are cooked, can affect blood sugar levels. Jacket potatoes are good, mashed potatoes aren't so good. Try and find articles on carbohydrates and how they affect sugar levels to see what's good and what's bad.

Metformin tablets are well known to cause stomach problems. I was put onto them, after trying other tablets, and was started on two 500mg a day then another was added at lunchtime. I took the three a day for a while but gave up the middle one because I was having stomach trouble but after a few months I introduced it again and have been OK ever since. Make sure you taken them with food and not on an empty stomach.

It's good that your sugar level was 6.2 but I was shocked that your BG was 17.9 after a fasting blood test. When I was diagnosed my non-fasting was 22. I would have thought that you'd have had some symptoms of diabetes for a while with levels like yours. Having said that, my only, as far as I knew symptom was a raging thirst for a couple of days so I went to the doctor with a specimen of urine and was diagnosed straight away. The only diabetes in the family, as far as I knew, was my father having Type 2 but I diagnosed my twin sister after she had suffered for over two years with recurring vaginal thrush, one of the symptoms of diabetes. After many treatments with ointment and pessaries she was "cured" as soon as her sugar levels were reduced.

Diabetes isn't a very nice thing to have but it does mean that you are checked regularly to make sure that no complications happen if it can be helped. Free prescriptions if you are on medication and it seems funny to say it but you might end up leading a much healthier way of life since being diagnosed than you had before, what with watching your diet and doing a bit of exercise. You may eventually have to go onto insulin but it's really nothing to worry about. I've been on it, four injections a day, for ten years and it's actually much easier to control your sugar levels, although it is a balancing act as you have to make sure you dont give yourself too much insulin. I'm only on a very small dose of 2 units at each meal as I am very sensitive to it but my friend who is overweight and also has diabetes, although it's steroid induced, is on 40 units! If you have any more worries or questions I am sure there are plenty of people here who can advise you and put your mind at rest.
 
If you are suffering stomach cramps, you can get slow release acting coated metformin tablets. Gp's don't like prescribing them as they are more expensive. If you are on aspirin as most type 2 are then you can get slow release tablets as well. That will stop the gripes.
Reduce your carbs especially bread and potatoes and try one of the low carb diets.
You will soon find your bg level drop.
 
hello and welcome
like yourself im very newly diagnosed, t2 yesterday and like you eneded up on here, I didn't know what to eat or drink but ask questions the people hear are great, my fasting was 18.1 now at 12 and hopefully lowering, its scary but don't be afraid to ask
lots of love to you if you would like to talk at any time im always around
 
Thanks everyone for your replies.

Daisy - thank you for the information it's good to know a little more about what I should be doing. Nor the Doctor or the Nurse told me to decrease the Carbs just the sugar.

Gloucestergirl - I nearly passed out when I was told my BG level was 17.9 after the fasting blood test. I have tried the artificial sweetener before but it gave me headaches so I stopped using it. I am definitely going to be cutting down on the carbs now I know about it. Thinking about it I did have a few symptoms - I was drinking alot, sleeping virtually all the time I'm not working, peeing alot. I should have guessed. I'm hoping not to go onto injections - needles terrify me.

nosher8355 - I haven't been given aspirin just the metformin. But i will ask the doctor about the SR ones as the stomach cramps are unbearable sometimes.

Cath - Thank you for your support it really is appreciated. I'm glad there are others out there that feel the same as me. It puts my mind a little more at rest.

Thanks again everyone :)
 
Hi. Yes, the SR version of Metformin can help if the stomach problems don't go away. The NHS doesn't talk about carbs as well as sugar because sadly they just don't understand the simple fact that sugar is just another carb hence it's all of them that need to be watched not just sugar. BTW most T2s are not on aspirin unless taken for the usual aches and pains; I wonder if the poster meant statins which are often offered to diabetics but many of us choose not to have them. BTW don't worry should you ever need to go onto insulin. The modern needles and pens are so good. My needles are only 4mm long, very thin and are less painful than checking your blood sugar with the pricker
 
If you have managed to get such a reduction in your bg levels with metformin and just cutting out sugary foods, you should make very good progress as you start to learn about the different types of carbohydrates.

The sugary stuff is obvious to most but less obvious are things like white bread, which can be just as bad as sugar. If you like fizzy drinks, most zero calorie colas and lemonades etc are OK. I like to drink a zero cal lemonade to which I add the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon. It's better than any gourmet lemonade at £2 + for a small bottle. Sweeteners can be a bit of a minefield because many cause upset stomaches or diarrhea. This is because they have a type of carbohydrate in that does not get digested by enzymes, hence they are low calorie too, but they do get broken down by bacteria in the intestine. Some of them can be very uncomfortable. If you like drinking tea, you may like Truvia. You only need a small amount of this and it is a good sugar substitute. It won't make the tea taste bitter like sweetex tablets. Over the weeks, try a few different types and see which ones suit. In general, spend time learning about what you can eat and what you should avoid. Getting hold of a meter is a big help in the learning process.
 
Most of us type 2 oldies are also on statins and aspirin, as a precaution of coronary problems. I was using aspirin as an example because of it's reported history of stomach problems.
 
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