Newly diagnosed type 2!

Hi Paddy
Welcome aboard
I was diagnosed in August so I'm still a bit of a newbie and I'll let people far wiser than me give you the diabetic advice
I'll just say that since I found this forum I've lowered my Hba1c to prediabetic numbers, my blood pressure is coming down, I've lost 30lbs and I feel healthier than I've felt my entire adult life.
I well remember being where you are with the why mes now I'm almost (but not quite) glad.
Read, read,read and ask all the silly questions.
Good luck

Paddy1985 said:

Hello all!

Within the past few days I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. A recent HbA1c was 106.

It did come as a shock. I’m almost 39 and work shift work as a nurse and I haven’t always looked after myself very well but didn’t realise this would happen.

I am currently off work with depression but within a few weeks what followed was thrush and thirst! This has pretty much resolved but it’s what prompted the blood test.

Prior to this result I have started dieting to drop weight for the previous few weeks and it seems to be going well. I commence Metformin tonight (500mg) and this will gradually increase over the coming weeks.

I have had a few tears, a few ‘why me’s?!’ But ultimately it is what it is. I’ve realised it’s not a death sentence and as long as I work hard I can actually achieve a much healthier life than I would have pre-diagnosis.

Just wanted to say hi! Thanks all.

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Hello @Paddy1985 , and welcome!

Ooh, the dreaded why-me's... Simple answer: genetics and probably a factor, the shift work. A couple of things: High blood sugars can bring a mood down considerably. So if you get your blood sugars under control, odds are the black dog'll get to looking a bit more like a cute chocolate lab. So there's a perk. Assuming being a nurse means you're not afraid of needles, have you gotten yourself a meter yet? Dropping weight is nice, but we put the weight on due to insulin resistance... It didn't cause the diabetes, the encroaching diabetes caused the weight-gain. Get your blood sugars under control and the rest'll follow suit, which'll be a lot easier to monitor and adjust for if you have a meter at hand. At 106 you're a tad high, putting it mildly, but there are many members here who with a few tweaks in diet got their blood sugars under control -meaning into the normal range- and experienced a few other things as a happy side effect: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease melted off (should be no treatment for that, but mine should've killed me years ago and is non-existent now), the thrush will go, you'll feel more energetic, cholesterol should improve etc etc...

https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html These are the basics of how I did it 7 years ago, but it's just a little simplification of mainly what Dr. Jason Fung wrote in The Diabetes Code, which I think you'll find an interesting read. I know a lot of what is said here and in the blog will go against the grain, but again... Check with a meter. It'll tell you what works for you and what doesn't. And while I'm not a fan of metformin (the side effects were debilitating, but you might not have any at all), with shift work it might help some with the irregular hours... They can make your liver dump glucose at times when you don't want it to, and metformin heads that off. So while the biggest thing you can do is drop the carbs, in regards to getting into remission -which is entirely possible!- if you work shifts, met can help with the dumps.

In any case, welcome, and if you have any questions, there's always someone around with answers.
Good luck!
Jo
PS: You're going to be okay. I was on death's door 7 years ago. Once I knew where things went wrong, I could finally do something about it and fight back. I get to have a life now. No reason the same can't be true for you.

Paddy1985 said:

This may sound silly but this was such a lovely reply I’ve started to cry. I’m very emotional for a man!

In a twisted way I’m excited to see what I can do to get these blood glucose numbers down! I have two little boys and I need to be there for them for a long time.

Thanks again.

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Oh, you'll manage. Especially since you have two little motivators to keep you on the straight and narrow. You'll nail this in no time, I'm sure.
(And being emotional is normal after an impactful diagnosis. Part of the grief that comes with it. It'll get better).

As someone who worked shifts for around 18 years - I recommend you start the Metformin when you start your days off, as for some of us it causes gastric upset, and shift work impacts quite enough on the guts as it is.

You'll be fine. We are all here for you. Most of us have been where you are now, and it really does get better.

Another shift worker here. I worked shifts for 36 years, the last 18 of which were night shifts. My diet was appalling! Irregular mealtimes, snacking whilst on shift, not to mention the grateful clients leaving chocolates for us! I retired in 2016 and bam 9 months later was diagnosed type 2. Was devastated at the time but soon saw it as a kick up the bum to sort myself out. I found this forum and went low carb, took Metformin (side effects went after 10 days) and started self monitoring. Four months later my HbA1c was non diabetic and I was losing weight. I have maintained HbA1cs in the 30s ever since and lost 6 stone overall. You have come to the best place for getting advice and gaining control. Stick around, read and learn, it’ll take a while but there’s no huge rush, take your time.

Edited to comply with forum rules.

Paddy1985 said:

Hello all!

Within the past few days I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. A recent HbA1c was 106.

It did come as a shock. I’m almost 39 and work shift work as a nurse and I haven’t always looked after myself very well but didn’

Click to expand...

Paddy1985 said:

t realise this would happen.

I am currently off work with depression but within a few weeks what followed was thrush and thirst! This has pretty much resolved but it’s what prompted the blood test.

Prior to this result I have started dieting to drop weight for the previous few weeks and it seems to be going well. I commence Metformin tonight (500mg) and this will gradually increase over the coming weeks.

I have had a few tears, a few ‘why me’s?!’ But ultimately it is what it is. I’ve realised it’s not a death sentence and as long as I work hard I can actually achieve a much healthier life than I would have pre-diagnosis.

Just wanted to say hi! Thanks all.

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Hello, me too, just last week. Getting yiur head round different symptoms bit weird. Unfortunately apparently I showed as diabetic in last years blood test, but no-one told me, so tad annoyed

TracyPh said:

Getting yiur head round different symptoms bit weird

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Welcome to the forum @TracyPh & @Paddy1985
the many and varied side effects of T2 are caused by the high blood sugar levels.
Reducing the stuff that causes the high levels (carbs) and basing your meals mainly on healthy fats and protein, should drastically reduce the severity of any symptoms .

Paddy1985 said:

This may sound silly but this was such a lovely reply I’ve started to cry. I’m very emotional for a man!

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Uft I've cried at lots of responses. I well up every time @JoKalsbeek responds to me because she is such a cheerleader and always makes me feel good about myself. Other people make me smile, other people make me think.There are even people who make me take a deep breathe and rethink. There's nothing wrong with "the feels" its all just a sign of a good strong caring community.