I was told I have type 2 diabetes last week by my doctor, but should have been told over 6 months ago but doctor never got back to me , told by diabetic nurse to go on a diet no medication , was not given a blood testing machine , is this normally what happens my blood results was 52 is that ok , also suffering from very bad head and neck sweats could this be down to my diabetes , thank you so confused
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Type 2 newly diagnosed type 2
- Thread starter pauline12
- Start Date
Hi Pauline.
Welcome.
I'm afraid that your experience is pretty typical, I'm afraid.
The bad news is that lots of us feel that we have been left high and dry by our doctor's surgery.
The good news is that you can get all the info you need to fill the knowledge gap right here on this forum.
That's not unusual, but don't worry. Now you know what the problem is, you can start to get a handle on it - and it is great to actually know why you've been feeling so bad. And now you know you can make a few changes to your diet and lifestyle, and you should start feeling more like your old self.
Again, this is typical.
But it also means you haven't been given the standard NHS diet advice - which tells you to fill up on bread, rice, potatoes, most fruit and pasta - which sends your blood glucose high, and may lead to diabetic complications.
There is masses of diet advice on the forum. One thing we all agree on is that type 2s should reduce the carbs they eat, to portions that do not send their blood glucose too high. I eat low carb, but we all have different preferences, so I suggest you have a read, decide what best suits you, and start to make a few changes.
As a general piece of guidance, sugar and the foods I mentioned above, all send your blood glucose up (this is bad for diabetics), so the less you eat of them, the more stable your blood glucose will be. Fill up on meat, fish, eggs, dairy and all non-starchy veg, with small portions of berries (they are low in fruit sugar).
Most type 2 diabetics are told that they don't need a blood testing meter, because they shouldn't be testing. That's rubbish. How else are you supposed to know if your chosen diet is working?
Doctors and nurses give out a number of illogical reasons for this ridiculous thinking, but the real reason is that testing costs the NHS money. And the NHS doesn't have enough money. Most of us type 2diabetics buy our own testers and test strips (cheapest I've found is the Codefree meter available on Amazon and eBay. Worth it's weight in gold).
Your result of 52 is not a high result. It is into the diabetic range (that's 48 and above), but people can have test results more than twice that, and still make lifestyle changes that improve their lives amazingly. So 52 is good news, and you may find that taking sensible steps NOW rather than letting things get worse, can make great improvements.
If you are overweight, then losing the weight can help a lot. Sometimes, people can find that their symptoms disappear completely when they get slim enough. Or not. We are all different, but it is a great motivator.
Your head and neck sweats may be symptoms of diabetes (there are other causes too). Diabetes can affect out internal thermostat. I used to have hot flushes at night. I thought they were early menopause, but they disappeared when I stopped eating carbs. Maybe you will find the same.
One thing I can say for certain is that you've done a really good thing joining this forum. It's brilliant. There are friendly, supportive people. A huge amount of knowledge, and it is the best way I know of getting on top of your diabetes.
The links in my signature will take you to websites that give out some really useful information, when you are ready to read more.
Welcome to the club!
Welcome.
I'm afraid that your experience is pretty typical, I'm afraid.
The bad news is that lots of us feel that we have been left high and dry by our doctor's surgery.
The good news is that you can get all the info you need to fill the knowledge gap right here on this forum.
That's not unusual, but don't worry. Now you know what the problem is, you can start to get a handle on it - and it is great to actually know why you've been feeling so bad. And now you know you can make a few changes to your diet and lifestyle, and you should start feeling more like your old self.
Again, this is typical.
But it also means you haven't been given the standard NHS diet advice - which tells you to fill up on bread, rice, potatoes, most fruit and pasta - which sends your blood glucose high, and may lead to diabetic complications.
There is masses of diet advice on the forum. One thing we all agree on is that type 2s should reduce the carbs they eat, to portions that do not send their blood glucose too high. I eat low carb, but we all have different preferences, so I suggest you have a read, decide what best suits you, and start to make a few changes.
As a general piece of guidance, sugar and the foods I mentioned above, all send your blood glucose up (this is bad for diabetics), so the less you eat of them, the more stable your blood glucose will be. Fill up on meat, fish, eggs, dairy and all non-starchy veg, with small portions of berries (they are low in fruit sugar).
Most type 2 diabetics are told that they don't need a blood testing meter, because they shouldn't be testing. That's rubbish. How else are you supposed to know if your chosen diet is working?
Doctors and nurses give out a number of illogical reasons for this ridiculous thinking, but the real reason is that testing costs the NHS money. And the NHS doesn't have enough money. Most of us type 2diabetics buy our own testers and test strips (cheapest I've found is the Codefree meter available on Amazon and eBay. Worth it's weight in gold).
Your result of 52 is not a high result. It is into the diabetic range (that's 48 and above), but people can have test results more than twice that, and still make lifestyle changes that improve their lives amazingly. So 52 is good news, and you may find that taking sensible steps NOW rather than letting things get worse, can make great improvements.
If you are overweight, then losing the weight can help a lot. Sometimes, people can find that their symptoms disappear completely when they get slim enough. Or not. We are all different, but it is a great motivator.
Your head and neck sweats may be symptoms of diabetes (there are other causes too). Diabetes can affect out internal thermostat. I used to have hot flushes at night. I thought they were early menopause, but they disappeared when I stopped eating carbs. Maybe you will find the same.
One thing I can say for certain is that you've done a really good thing joining this forum. It's brilliant. There are friendly, supportive people. A huge amount of knowledge, and it is the best way I know of getting on top of your diabetes.
The links in my signature will take you to websites that give out some really useful information, when you are ready to read more.
Welcome to the club!
VelvetRose
Member
- Messages
- 20
- Location
- Scotland
Hi .. I was diagnosed last Aug type2 felt abandoned . thought oh sod it .. anyway around April I decided to go on a diet .. so rather than check everything I ate .. I portioned my meals .. for example .. Frozen mixed fruit tesco .80g . Homemade Veg soup 1 or 2 cups or small sandwich .. evening meal I portioned it in a soup bowl palm size potatoe and lots of veg .. hand size portion of meat ..I eat fish twice week fresh rather than frozen tho its ok long as you do it in oven chips portion oven chips best .. I have salad with mine ..3/4 times a week .. I am now on borderline .. I stay away from puddings cakes allow myself 4 plain biscuits a day ..then I have fruit in evening .. with 3 tsp of no fat greek yogurt .. everyone is different .. but in the process I have lost 3 an 1/2 stone .. I have to go back for diabetes check 6 mths .. if I keeo it up I will be in remission tho it wont go away if I revert back .. my sugar today is 5.7 .. choose a diet to suit you .. Eat little an often .. eat to suit you .. but portion yourself .. dont over indulge ..
)
)
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Pauline and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will be able to answer you.
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 over 100,000 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 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-and-whole-grains.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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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 bloodglucose 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.
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will be able to answer you.
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 over 100,000 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-and-whole-grains.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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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 bloodglucose 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.
Bluetit1802
Legend
Hello Pauline and welcome to the club.
Plenty of advice already so I won't burden you with more.
Plenty of advice already so I won't burden you with more.
