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Newly Diagnosed Type 2

H

Hackle

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Afternoon,

I have been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

I went for a wellmans check up as I had been tired and thirsty a lot for a while and my mother has type 2. He said I had a level of 80 rather than 40 (either sugar or HD1A is it, I couldn't quick concentrate at that point). His advice was to cut back on sugar and coke etc also reducing White Bread, Potatoes and Pasta. I have to book in with them again in three months for another set of bloods to see where I am at that point.

I get enough exercise at work in the occupation that I am in averaging approx 8 - 14km a day with a bit of heavy lifting most days. Some long days though upto 16hrs.

I am healthy in every other respect in regards to all checks carried out at the Wellmans clinic, not over weight, don't smoke and hardly drink anything at all.

I have been at a bit of a loose end trying to work out a diet for myself but think that I am getting there, bit confused on sugar in fruit as my GP stated that I could have 5 apples a day just spread them out but to me that may take me over my daily sugar allowance. Is natural suger in fruits acceptable to a certain level then?

The main question I have is that he has not diagnosed me as being a diabetic but says that I am, put me on a diet of sorts for three months but I have no idea of how things are going as I am not testing for levels at all. Should I go and buy a test kit to monitor how my levels are doing, what works etc etc.

Not a lot of aftercare when diagnosed with type 2 which I find very confusing with what could be such a serious illness.

Any advice and help is greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Malcolm
 
Hi @Hackle and welcome to the forums.

If you take a look at this http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html it will answer you hba1c question.

I will ask @daisy1 to give you some information. In the meantime have a look around the forums and please ask about anything that concerns you - we love to help.:)
 
urbanracer said:
Hi @Hackle and welcome to the forums.

If you take a look at this http://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html it will answer you hba1c question.

I will ask @daisy1 to give you some information. In the meantime have a look around the forums and please ask about anything that concerns you - we love to help.:)
Click to expand...


Thank you for your reply, it would suggest that I would be better off getting a testing solution to see how my overall results are doing day to day.

I will probably opt for the Freestyle Libre as it would seem to be the cheaper and more convenient option for me with the amount of testing I would like to carry out over the next three months.
 
The reading is probably your glycated haemoglobin. The magic number is 48. Exceed that and you turn into a diabetic. It indicates your level of blood glucose over the last three months or so.
You shouldn't eat five apples a day, I am pretty sure it would be more than your metabolism can cope with as they are quite high in sugar. You'd be far better off eating a variety of foods with some carb content, and you might well be able to eat quite a high number of carbs spread out through the day. I could lose weight on 80gm per day when I was more active but unless you want to lose weight, start by cutting down the dense carb foods such as sweet and starchy fruit, vegetables and grains. You might find that legumes are not your friends, but if you can get hold of a meter to test your blood glucose you'll be able to see what spikes you.
If you look for Atkins Induction on the internet it will give you lists of low carb foods which you can eat - the starting level of 20gm of carb was far too low for me, so I can't recommend trying that, but eating freely of those foods could make all the difference to you. I feel ten years younger since going back to low carb.
 
Hackle said:
Thank you for your reply, it would suggest that I would be better off getting a testing solution to see how my overall results are doing day to day.

I will probably opt for the Freestyle Libre as it would seem to be the cheaper and more convenient option for me with the amount of testing I would like to carry out over the next three months.
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome,

Firstly, the cheapest glucose monitor (very popular on this forum) is the Codefree.

http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/

Pharmacies don't sell them, and don’t forget to declare you are diabetic in order to avoid any VAT.

There are discount codes if you buy in bulk
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833

When looking round for meters, the cost of the meter is almost irrelevant because you only need one. You do need a lot of testing strips, so that is what you need to look at for cost. The Codefree strips are about the cheapest you will find. The Freestyle Libre is a sensor that you wear on your arm for 2 weeks then need to replace it. They are extremely expensive.

Secondly, the fructose found in fruit may be a natural sugar, but nonetheless is sugar and will raise your blood glucose levels. We do need to be very careful with fruit. It is best eaten as part of a meal, not as a stand-alone snack, and the best fruits for us are berries (raspberries, strawberries.)

When you get your testing kit you will find working out a suitable diet becomes easy. We can help you with this when you get one. Do read Daisy's post when it arrives as it contains a lot of important and useful information, and don't forget to follow the links in the post.
 
@Hackle - Hello Malcolm and Welcome to the Forum :).
The SD Codefree Blood Glucose Meter is popular on the Forum as the Test Strips are the cheapest to buy. And even cheaper if you buy in bulk.
Here in the uk we use mmol/l and always state you are Diabetic for vat exemption. Here is the link:

http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucos/

If you buy in bulk Here are the discount codes.
5 packs = 264086. 10 packs = 975833
 
@Hackle

Hello Malcolm and welcome to the forum :) Here is the basic information, mentioned above, which we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful, especially the diet information. Ask as many questions as 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 220,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.
 
You have been given disappointingly vague and scanty advice from your doctor - sadly this is not that unusual even though you seem to have been left to treat on diet alone, maybe because otherwise you seem 'fit'. Take a look through all the stuff in the post above.

An HbA1c of 80 mmol/mol roughly equates to an average blood sugar level over the last 8-12 weeks in excess of 12 mmol/l. As you can see this is quite a bit higher than normal levels and the levels someone with diabetes should be looking to work towards.
 
I'm a new T2D and getting a BG meter has been an eye opener to my bodies response to various carbs at different times of the day and at various quantities. With a bit of trail and error you will work out what works for you as its a very personnel thing. At the moment my body can tolerate a moderate levels of carbs over the whole day, but just have to watch each meal/snack isn't too high in carbs.

A lot of people on this forum have good experiences with LCHF diets, but at the moment its not for me as I do too much exercise and would need to eat over 2500 calories to maintain weight.

I have taken from this forum that I need to try and lower my carb's and the BG meter supports this conclusion in my experience.

I'm currently reducing my carb's gradually and seeing its effects on my weight/BG and will continue with this step approach, but really I eat my next meal to the meter readings and adjust accordingly including the timing of the meal if required.

If I had left it to the doctor and lack of BG meter I would not have noticed daily spikes and would only have been given information every 3 month via HBA1c. In my case this shows good progress, but in reality it has masked I'm eating the wrong quantities of carbs with certain meals. I can know adjust accordingly.

I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow and will be giving him a frank discussion on how he's allowed me to potentially damage my health for the last 8 months on the bases of money saving to the NHS and its taken a forum to make the biggest impact on my long term health and not the NHS.
 
I was originally diagnosed type 2 over a year ago.the doctor never mentioned it again except to ask "how much alcohol are you drinking now?" I've not had alcohol for over 15 years! It was mentioned again after blood tests were done while I was in hospital recently and hey ho I'm sort of coping. Good luck with your doctors appointment and don't let 'em fob you off.
 
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