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Newly diagnosed, type1? type2? Confused and concerned

G2ADY

G2ADY

Well-Known Member
Messages
95
Location
UK
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello all,

My name is Steve, I'm a 45 year old male and I don't mind admitting that I'm very confused and a little afraid.

To give you a brief rundown, after noticing a marked deterioration in my vision and after having three eye tests in the space of a month, all of which were different I was referred by my optician to my GP. After struggling to get an appointment I finally got in at 6pm on Monday 2nd with a doctor I hadn't seen before. I explained my symptoms which were blurred vision, constant thirst, 5 or 6 visits to the loo during the night to pass water, an 8lb weight loss, and a little speech difficulty from time to time. The doctor performed a prick test and asked me for a water sample. My blood sugar was reading 29 and I had off the scale ketones in my water. The nurse at the surgery was called into the room and between them they told me that it looks like I have diabetes.

I was told I had to go to hospital immediately. My Doctor rang ahead so that I'd be expected. She asked if I'd drove to the surgery, which I had and she said I wouldn't be able to drive to hospital. I arranged for my partner to be dropped at the surgery so that she could drive my car. Whilst I waited for my partner to arrive, The Doctor and nurse answered the best they could the barrage of questions that had popped into my head. I had, and still do have very limited knowledge of diabetes.

I was admitted to hospital that evening, I gave blood, had an ecg, several prick tests ranging between 23 and 29 and was eventually seen by a doctor who told me that in a nutshell they suspected that I had type 2 diabetes. By this time, I had read several pamphlets and booklets and so if i'm honest I was relieved that my diagnosis was type 2 not type 1. I was told that I'd be prescribed Metaformin and I was given my first tablet with a biscuit at 2:30am Tuesday. I was also discharged and told to come back to the ward the following morning to collect a prescription. I was also told to make an appointment to see the nurse at my local GP surgery.

Both my partner and I left the hospital in a bit of a daze. I was a little emotional and had a thousand questions in my head.

Tuesday morning I rang and made an appointment at the doctors for 4:00 that afternoon. After much messing around at the hospital I finally received my prescription. I'd not eaten as I'd been waiting to get the Metaformin. On the way to the doctors I grabbed a small flapjack and a bottle of water and took what was my second Metaformin. I've been prescribed 3 x 500mg

The nurse at the Doctors was a little disappointed that the hospital had let me go without a review by a diabetes specialist. She asked if I'd been given a meter to test my own blood sugars and as I hadn't she gave me one and told me briefly how to use it. She also left the room to speak to the Diabetes team at a different hospital. I have an appointment with them at 9:30 this morning ( it's 6am Wednesday as I type this message). My nurse told me that I should be prepared for my diagnosis to change to type 1. My blood sugar was at 26.4 and I still have lots of ketones in my water.

I came home last night and was afraid to eat. Given that I'm on Metaformin but that I might be type 1 I was just confused as to what would happen if I were to eat anything. Did I need insulin? My nurse thought so. I just didn't know what to do. I eventually had a little Pasta and took another Metaformin. My blood sugar went to 31.7. I've drank as much water as possible and I went to bed at 10pm.

It's now 6am, I've been awake since 5:30am after a disturbed night. I've not eaten as yet and have just took my blood sugars which are at 22.6

Should I eat? Shouldn't I eat?

No doubt I'll get to know a lot of you as the time passes by as you've perhaps been along this same path and know it well. Naturally I'm worried, I have temporarily lost my long distance vision, I'm told I'm unable to drive. My blood sugar seems through the roof and I'm unsure what to eat etc. Any advice would be greatly received.

Kind regards
Steve
 
Hi Steve 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.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.
We are not medically trained and would be unable to give you a diagnosis but be assured that once you have a classification we will help you come to terms with this condition and it's management.

It is scary and we all know how you are feeling but it will not be long now and you will have some of the answers.

With regard to your eyesight, high blood sugars do affect eyesight but once you get things under control they will gradually return to normal.

PLease try and keep calm as stress is known to raise blood sugars.

Take care,

CC.
 
No matter what the diagnosis, it can't hurt not to eat carbs.
So the flapjack, the pasta, leave them off for the time being, and any other carby food.
I would only eat salad, meat, cheese, and green veg like cabbage, beans etc, short term.

Very basic advice, and very basic food I'm afraid, but it'll help get your bs down hopefully, and you can expand on it as you get more info what happening.
 
Dear G2ADY,
Firstly welcome to our diabetes forum. Being told that you have diabetes can be both very frightening and worrying as it can come as a terrible shock to be told you have it.

You do need to eat, especially if you are taking Metformin as this medication should be taken with food. Metformin is also know in a few cases to have a few side effects when someone first takes it but within a short time these side effects (usually an upset tummy) will go away.

Until you know whether you are Type 1 (which required Insulin injection) or Type 2 and have seen the dietietian who can advise on the best diet it is best to eat regularly what you have been doing, but avoid white bread, potatoes, boiled white rice and sugary foods such as cakes and sweets.

Don't panic, we've all been there at the stage you find yourself in, so take things slowly and calmly, I know its difficult what with having this new diabetic 'condition' to now deal with, but you'll get there as we all have in time.

If you need any further help or advice, no matter what it is, a simple question or otherwise then Please, Please ask you are not alone with this condition.
 
Thank you all so much for your replies, I'm sorry that I've not responded earlier, it's been quite a day. It was confirmed at the diabetes centre this morning that I am in fact type 1. It was a huge pill to swallow. Naturally I've spent many hours today talking and learning how to administer insulin and monitor my BS levels. I've gone for the four injection programme where I have 20 units of one type once a day and then three shots of the rapid acting insulin (6 units per shot) with meals.

I'm still coming to terms with it, the staff in the centre are fantastic which makes the whole thing much easier. I have so much to learn and to get used to so no doubt you'll see me about the forums looking for advice over the coming weeks, months and years.

Thank you for the warm welcome,

Best Wishes
Steve
 
hello I know how scary this is ive been diag 2 weeks with type 2, and sadly I tested another friend this am who I work with who like u had poor vision thrist etc his reading was 19.2 today . he was scared and upset and wondering what the hell is happening, read as many posts here to help u with ur diet in my expierence I have stop eating rice pasta bread sugar of any kind and processed foods and mine has come down from 18.1 to 5.7 yesterday so it does work. don't be scared and u will settle in to a routine that fits you, big hug to you and please eat have chicken breast fish salads etc lots more in recipe ideas and best luck xx
 
Hi Steve, A bit off a slap in the face eh? You've got a bit of a steep learning curve now, It's a lot to take in all at once. I'd advise you to take in as much information as you can from your diabetic team for now and don't drastically change your food intake. your team should have formulated your insulin doses to suit your carbohydrate intake and if you start taking drastically less carbs you'll put yourself at risk of hypos. Once you get your head around the insulin carb intake then you can start working out what's best for you and hopefully move on to a carb counting regime. Type 1 and Type 2 are different conditions with differing treatments so always check the advise you're given on the forum. I was diagnosed at around the same time last year but ( apart from work and eating a bit healthier) it hasn't really changed anything. A good book to start off with to understand it better is 'Think Like A Pancreas' by Gary Scheiner you'll get it on Amazon. All the best.
 
Hi Cath, Hi Garr,

Thanks for the words and advice, I'll go and check that book out now Garr, Thank you :)

Steve
 
G2ADY said:
I was given my first tablet with a biscuit at 2:30am Tuesday.
Click to expand...

What a wonderful contradiction. Only in the NHS :D

I've edited my original post as I see now that you have been diagnosed as Type 1. It's not something I know about and whilst my usual diet and exercise comments are still valid, it is a different situation.

But, there are many type 1s who have been diagnosed for 30 or 40 years and many who have brought their blood sugars down to reasonable levels. Learning what to eat and what to avoid is still applicable. Exercise is still a healthy lifestyle. Don't fall into the bad habit of thinking you can always compensate for sugary foods by adjusting your medication. Type 1s benefit from earnest attempts to help themselves just as much as type 2s.
 
Hi Yorksman,

Thanks for taking the time to answer ad for the advice, Since I originally started this thread I've been diagnosed Type 1 and so I'm getting used to insulin, I still need to educate myself as you say as to what works and what doesn't. I have a slow cooker already and if I'm honest it hasn't had a great deal of use as yet so I'll look into some soups and recipes :)

GARR: - I've just bought the Kindle edition of that book after your recommendation and after reading the preview, I't just downloaded now so I'm going to do my final BS test and then take it to bed to start my education. Thanks again.
 
Hi Steve, Just a quick note about the book, there's a good mg/dl ( American blood sugar measurement) to mmol/l converter on this website, and when you get to the carb counting part ignore the bit that says to deduct the fibre as that's for America, it's already done on the food labels over here. Although it may be a while til you start with carb counting. If you start checking the labels when you buy food to get into the swing of it and remember its not really about the sugar content it's the total carbs that's the important bit. Happy reading and I hope it helps.
 
That's great Garr, thanks for taking the time to help. After a few days of shock I'm beginning to get my head around what lies ahead. I'm hoping to find a positive in it all by eating healthy and getting as fit as I can possibly be. For too long I've taken health for granted, eaten out too often and taken too little exercise so I've decided to try to focus less on the downsides of having type 1 and more on the opportunity it's presented for me to get fit.

Thanks again
Steve
 
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