Newly diagnosed Type 2 or am I? - confused!

Welcome to the forum. If 68 was your hba1c then that is in the diabetic range. Prediabetic is 42 to 47. Did you have a second blood test?

Click on the link in my signature.

Yes, definitely get a meter.

Hi @Woodynut and welcome

The good news is you’re in the right place for information and support.

My first comment would be to say that diabetic or prediabetic, the advice would be pretty much the same - make some dietary changes and you’re likely to see a significant improvement in your health. But having said that, it’s important that you go back to the doctor to understand your diagnosis.

It’s likely that the 68 is your HbA1c and if that’s the case, it’s within diabetic ranges - in the UK diabetes is diagnosed at an HbA1c of 48 and above. 42-47 is pre-diabetic. In other countries the thresholds are different (some a bit lower, some a bit higher).

Addressing diet - reducing carbohydrates - is very important - you might find the dietary information in this link useful: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/ and the dietdoctor.com website is great.

A meter is a must. Testing is an important way to understand the impact of food on your blood sugar levels. Test immediately before and 2 hours after you’ve eaten. In that way you’ll understand the impact that meal has on your blood sugars. You’re looking for a ride of no more than 2mmols. Any more and there were too many carbs for you to handle and the meal needs adjusting.

In terms of blood glucose meters, there are a few popular ones used by type 2s on here. As we often have to self-fund, the cost of the strips is important as they’ll be what you spend most on.

The Tee2+ from Spirit Healthcare which has cheap strips (not the cheapest strips but very reasonable): http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-plus-blood-glucose-meter/ with the strips found here: http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-testing-strips/ I got a free Tee2+ by phoning up to order the meter and 10 boxes of strips and they threw the meter in for free. Phone number 0800 8815423

The meter with the cheapest strips is the SD Codefree. Strips need to be bought in bulk using the codes below and the manufacturer is in the process of switching people over to a new model (see below). http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/ and here for the extra strips http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/Discount codes for bulk orders:

5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833

Also from Spirit Healthcare, with more expensive strips than the Tee2+ is their Caresens Dual. This can be used for testing ketones too (strips for that very expensive). https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/collections/caresens-dual

Home Health have recently brought out a new meter, the Navii, which will eventually replace the Codefree. https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/. https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/gluconavii-blood-sugar-meter-glucose-monitor-starter-kit/ The latest news from Home Health states:

"We have a special promotion for switching Codefree customers to the GlucoNavii, whereby if you buy a meter with 2 or more packs of strips from the below link and add the discount code "dcuk" at checkout, we will subtract the price of the meter.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/

There are also discount codes for when you come to buy more strips - "navii5" and "navii10" will give you 20% off purchases of 5 packs of strips and 25% off 10 packs of strips.

Don’t forget to check the box if you have pre diabetes or diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)

Woodynut said:

Hi all, my first post on the group so be gentle with me!

Doctor diagnosed me 5 weeks ago as diabetic after a blood test showed my "levels are 68" - doctors words not mine.
I've been put on Metformin 500mg, slowly increased them to 3 a day, doctor then tried to increase them by another 3 a day but I didn't tolerate the increase so I'm back down to 3 a day
Drastic diet change was put in place, biscuits and sweets/chocolate have now gone completely and eating much more fruit and smaller portions. I Was 16st 2lb and now down to 15st 4lb
I have seen the nurse for my first diabetic appointment and she told me I was prediabetic, so I am unsure whether I am diabetic or prediabetic and what he difference is.
Both the doctor and the nurse told me I didn't have to do any form of testing at home.

I'm really confused at the moment, whether i'm diabetic or prediabetic. I've had just about zero information from the nurse - apart from a diet sheet about high cholesterol levels (my cholesterol levels are low)

Do I need a test meter?

I guess back to the doctor to try to find out if I am diabetic or prediabetic would be a good place to start.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Click to expand...

Good morning, though I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis... Or the lack of a proper one.

So here's a quick education to hopefully, solve some of the mysteries and get you on the path back to good health.
A HbA1c over 48 is diabetic. If you're at 68, you are a diabetic, not a prediabetic (That would be between 42 and 48). As you can see you're well over the prediabetic range. So no need to call back, you're a confirmed T2. Also, a pediabetic wouldn't/shouldn't be put on 6 (6?!) metformin a day. Metformin doesn't do much about your blood sugars, to be honest... Just tells your liver not to dump too much glucose in the morning (Known as Dawn Phenomenon), but it doesn't do anything about what you eat. Well, you might have less appetite, but that's about it.

Next step: You change what you eat. And yes, you have made changes, but kind of cringe-worthy ones... Fruit is pretty bad for diabetics. We can do berries, avocado, starfruit maybe... But anything else is basically the same as sucking sugar cubes. (There's over 10 cubes of sugar in a medium sized banana, about the same in an apple. Just sayin'.). Chocolate's okay, but the extra dark variety only. And I'm sincerely hoping you haven't cut back on fats, because you're going to need those. And you thought you were confused before! Sorry, i know I'm making it worse. You'll be okay though. https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html <-- have a read, this explains the basics. If you're interested in knowing more, there's an excellent book called The Diabetes Code by Dr. Jason Fung (he's got a load of free youtube video's too), dietdoctor.com, this place's website, diabetes.co.uk and what have you... All in all, ther's a lot of information out there, and those are good sources to start with.

Another thing: get yourself a meter. The NHS can't fund meters and strips for every diabetic, so you'll not get one from that corner. But if you don't know what foods do to your system, you can't change your diet properly to suit your exact needs. Now, your numbers so far aren't extremely bad. There's people here who started with a HbA1c that was about double of what yours is. And they got their blood glucose back into the normal range between a diet and a meter. (Get one with cheap strips, like the codefree or the tee2. You'll need a lot of them when you're just starting out, and other meters are really expensive in use.).

If you have more questions, throw them out there, it's what we're here for!
Jo