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Newly diagnosed with some complications

J

JackJack

Member
Messages
8
Hi.

I am starting to read through many of the posts and thanks to all who have made a great contribution for us newbies.

My story is that about 14 years ago I caught ecoli food poisoning and 10 months later had to have my gall bladder removed Im not sure if this is relevant or not to my condition.The gall bladder stores bile to be pumped into the stomache to aid digestion so instead the bile goes straight into my stomache. In any case this did not really effect my life and my eating habits.

About 2 years ago a routine check with with my doctor revealed that I was sugar impaired which I was told may lead to diabetes.I was very worried about the diagnosis and bought a blood glucose monitor and told the nurse of my concerns. She was dismissive of my concerns and told me just to be carefull what I ate and cut back on my sugar intake and I should be OK due to her outlook I never took it seriously and only cut back on the sugar I put in my tea.I bitterly regret not doing something about it now.

Over the past few months I have noticed that I have been urinating more and the crunch came when I went for a reflexology session and was told that the base part of my foot was swollen and may indicate some problems with my bladder I took the advice .

I made an appointment with my GP who arranged for me to have a urine and blood check .The blood check came in at 6.9 and I was asked back for a fasting blood sugar test last Tuesday the first overnight fasting check was 6.9 then I drank a sugary drink and the second reading approximately 1hour 40 minutes later as I was early in returning to the surgery was 12.2.

Have now went on a crash diet as am a bit overweight at 16 stone 3 pounds and am 6ft 2 inches.
I weighed myself this morning and I am 15 stone 13 pounds so a 4 pound loss in a few days .

Last night I bought a new BG meter and took my readings 2 hours after a meal consisting of oven chips ,cold meat and salad and my reading was 6.1 which I thought was good.

Amazingly this morning I tested again and my reading was 8.0 and couldn’t understand why it could possibly have went up after eating nothing but thought it might be due to me being on a strict diet and I had been burning fat that had turned to sugar overnight…any thoughts on this theory would be apreciated?

I then tested tonight before my main meal of brown rice chicken curry with some Burgen brown bead recommend by someone on the forum and my first reading was 4.9.…2 hours later my reading was 7.3 this appears to be good any thoughts?

This appears to be non diabetic contrary to what the nurse says or am I just controlling my carbs too much?

I only have 4 test strips left to do me until Tuesday and thought of just testing in the morning once to determine the levels that say after 8 hours
Normal 4-5.9
Sugar impaired 6-6.9
Diabetes more than 6.9

Is the singel test in the morning of my levels the important one that will determine if I am diabetic or am I in denial?

And then just test after dinner until Tuesday does this make sense

My nurses appointment on Tuesday and have been asked to fast the night before and also provide a urine sample and have a Gps appointment the following week.

My thoughts are basically will my gall bladder removal have any bearing on my readings?

Will the fact that the nurse first tested me before the expiration of the 2 hours have any bearing on my second reading being high ?

Is my diet having any bearing on my readings and is that the reason my reading was so high this morning (8.0)after a previous low reading the night before (6.1)?

Is it possible that by losing say 2 stones that I could return to pre diabetic readings?

My nature is I am a very determined person and try to overcome adversity and if I can beat this illness through diet exercise and control I will?
 
If you can lose 2 stones, you might put diabetes into remission. It has been known. However if you can cut back on the carbs you eat, that should help too. As to high reading in the morning. there is something called "The Dawn Effect" which can do that, or if your chips were quite fatty and without a gall bladder, you might simply have been very slow digesting them.
the gall bladder removal probably didn't cause diabetes. Telling you to avoid sugqar is what they tend to do and unless they tell you to avoid starch as well, it doesn't help much. It's probably becaue they don't realise that the sugar in the packet isn't te same suff as the sugar in your blood. they should know, but molecular biology isn't necessarily taught much in a medical training.
Hana
 
Thanks Hanadr

Its all very confusing and worrying just now.If only I could get a second chance to be get my weight down and be pre diabetic again I would stick to watching my weight and what I eat.

I Just did a quick BG check and this morning it is 7.8......why is it higher this morning after being only 7.3 last night 2 hours after eating ?

Good news is that I have lost another pound since yesterday morning and I am now 15 stones 12 pound so a total of 5 pound lost in less than a week.

I have only 3 test stick left so I think I will continue to test in the morning and 2 hours after my main meal at night.

Does anyone else have an opinion on my originla post...its all really worrying?
 
Sorry forgot to ask ...is 2 weetabix and semi skimmed milk acceptable as a morning meal?
I was also wondering about eating cheese and using it with an omelette?
 
Hi JackJack!
Regarding your gall bladder, i'm afraid I casn't tell youi wether that is relevant or not. Only your doctor can comment on that.
Some of your readings seem to indicate full diabetes, others seem good considering the meal you'd eaten. You need to wait for official verdicts from your blood tests at the doctors I'm afraid.
The morning issue is, as already pointed out, probably down to the dawn effect.
You can have low BGs the night before, eat nothing, but as waking-up time approaches your system dumps glucose into your blood to give you the energy you need to start the day. If we are diabetic, our system can't react quick enough to bring the levels down fast enough so we have a high morning reading. Your rerading of 8 in the morning certainly indicates diabetes, but you do need to wait and see.
If you are diabetic, it's not the end of the world. Your 2 hour readings suggest you should be able to control it well on diet only with a bit of exercise.
Here's some info I've sent to people newly diagnosed that might be helpful:-

. In general terms you will need to reduce the total number of carbohydrates you eat per day. All carbohydrates turn to sugar when we eat them, and no type 2 diabetic on diet only, or on diet and metformin only, can control their blood sugars (BGs) without controlling their carb intake. Even those on strong medication normally choose to control their carb intake to keep the level of medication they take down. The total number of carbs per day you can eat depends on how advanced your diabetes is. It’s perhaps worth starting at about 50% of normal levels for a non-diabetic then adjusting up or down according to how you get on. That’s 150 grams of carbs per day for a man, 125 for a woman. You can read the total carb content of food under “nutritional info” on the packet or wrapping, or look it up on the internet for loose food. Just google “carb content..”
You also need to stop or reduce the bad carbs; that is the starchy ones that make your BG go up quickly.
So obviously no sugar or glucose! But also no white bread, white rice, pasta, flour products like pastry, cake and batter. You can eat a little basmati rice, wholewheat pasta or the tri-color pasta fusilli ones in small quantities. Boiled new potatos are OK but not old pots mashed, boiled or in their jackets. (Roast is not so bad, the fat slows their absorption and conversion to glucose in the blood) Amongst other veg, parsnips are about the worst for BG, and carrots not great but ok in smaller amounts.
Multi grain bread (not wholemeal) is not SO bad, but lots of us eat Burgen soya and linseed bread from tescos and sainsburys, although all bread should be in limited amounts.
All fruit has carbohydrates, and needs to be included in the amounts of carbs you eat in a day. For most people, bananas are about the worst for pushing our BG up and berries (like strawberries, raspberries etc) are the least bad.
No sweeties!
Exercise is important. I tend to exercise about an hour after eating when I know my BG will be peaking. This helps to bring it down quicker and further. I do ten minutes hard work on an exercise machine, but you could run up and down stairs for ten minutes or go for a brisk walk.
Returning to types of food and quantities of carbs - you can only find out how many you can eat by testing. Most type 2’s are not given access to testing equipment, so you should get your own – although try arguing with your Doc that you want to manage to NICE guideline blood sugar levels, and can’t do that without testing! If you have to buy a meter, they are cheap and most manufacturers will give them away for free. They make their money on the strips you have to use! So go for the meter with the cheapest testing strips. Some people test before and after eating, on waking (fasting test) and before bed. But if you have limited strips because of cost, the key to me is testing 2 hours after eating. If your BG is above, say, 7.8 at that stage, you need to cut down on the carb content the next time you have that meal. Test after various different meals and you soon get to see a pattern of what you can and can’t eat, and in what quantities. You can then reduce your testing. I said “below, say, 7.8” because NICE guidelines are below 8.5 but most of us think that’s a little high. 7.8 is the max. Level at 2 hours after eating that a non-diabetic normally gets to so is perhaps a better target. Some then set progressively lower targets.
Do ask lots of questions; there is normally an answer on here. The more you get to learn about your diabetes, the better it will be.
Good luck!
 
Hi Jack and welcome to the forum :) I don't want to flood you with information but I do think that this information will be useful to you if you are diagnosed. This was written for newly diagnosed members. Ask as many questions as you need as there is always someone here 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 30,000 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks to Daisy and Grazer for your replies it is very much appreciated.

Its an unceertain time for me just now and find have just done my weeks food shopping and am now a food Nazi.
I have spent twiced the amount of time going round Asda checking the carb content of each food.

Do any of you know of anyone who has went on a diet and went into remission?...is it actually possible that by shear will power a diet I can reverse the damage done and can the pancreas recover enough to cope.

I know that peopls lungs can recover from smoking if thry stop smoking is it the same for diabetes.

Not that i smoke and very rarely drink alcoho and lead a health lifestyle with a good diet although my weaknes has been soft drinks biscuits and chocolate.

Im annoyed at myself for not preventing this illness when I was told I had sugar impairment a few years ago.
 
Don't be annoyed at yourself - it happens!
To answer your question, you can't cure yourself. If you have full blown diabetes You have it. What you can do is manage your BG levels down to non-diabetic levels which is what lots of us aim for. So we're not cured, but the sugar levels that can harm us are the same as a non diabetic. So watch those carbs and all will be well. But don't go into denial which is what we tend to do.
 
Grazer said:
Don't be annoyed at yourself - it happens!
To answer your question, you can't cure yourself. If you have full blown diabetes You have it. What you can do is manage your BG levels down to non-diabetic levels which is what lots of us aim for. So we're not cured, but the sugar levels that can harm us are the same as a non diabetic. So watch those carbs and all will be well. But don't go into denial which is what we tend to do.
Click to expand...


Just a thought about the dawn effect.

My lack of gallbladder may be relevant in this .

If my body is dumping BG into my system when I get up out of bed
Would it be in line with proper practices if I waited 2 hours before the morning test as you would after an evening meal and test ?

Would the result be a relevant point of measurement?
 
Not really. If you want a true test before dawn phenomen, you need to test early in the morning. You could set an alarm, or try a test the moment you wake up. If you wait two hours after waking, it seems our BGs still don't come down for most people if you don't eat
 
hi Jackjack

To be honest I never ever to a morning test. It's just so unreliable.

I test 2 hours after food and that's it. Although nowadays its only when I have a new food.

Mary x
 
Hi. Rather than worry about timing for a morning test why not test 2 hours after a main meal later in the day? This will guide you on which foods affect your blood sugar the most and not be affected by any Dawn Effect.
 
I had a look at the "Dawn" theory mentioned earlier and had a look at what it said on the internet....basically the information told me to set my alarm for 3am and test prior to the BG being pumped up in the morning.

The result was 5.4 was the reading and I also checked my weight this morning and I am 15 stone 11 a loss of 1 3/4 pounds since yesterday

The 5.4 reading after 8 hours of fasting is less than the guidlines of 4-5.9 over the same fasting period for a non diabetic.

Can anyone give me an explanation of these readings?
 
Just did my check 2 hours after my evening meal consisting of potato wedges,cold meat and salad and my reading after 2 hours is 6.1

Can someone with a bit of knowledge give me feedback and an opinion on my last 2 posts??

I am due to see the nurse tomorrow at 9am and am getting up at 7am intending to walk the dog first and also provide a sample of urine and a sample of blood...any thoughts??
 
Hi JackJack,

I have prediabetes (found out last August), and I've learned some surprising things during these months - things that were very encouraging. Yes, there is definitely hope. By controlling our post-prandial and fasting blood sugars first and foremost, through diet and other means (exercise, meds if necessary, weight loss in SOME cases but not necessarily all), there is good evidence to suggest we can prevent complications and even reverse some. For example, my vision has been getting progressively more blurry this last year. I did not even think it was diabetes related. I went on a lowish-carb diet. After about a month, I happened to notice one day that my vision has improved - no longer do I need to move a book farther away to read it.

I highly recommend you read Richard K. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. It is a very inspiring book for both Type 2s and Type 1s. Very practical advice, too. I don't follow his dietary recommendations rigidly, but am prepared to if it comes to that.

I also recommend Jenny Ruhl's site at Bloodsugar101.com. She's controversial but a very thorough researcher and has a great way of getting to the heart of the matter.

An important paradigm to take away from Bernstein's and Ruhl's interpretation is that the difference between diabetes, prediabetes, and in fact most blood sugar irregularities is a fairly arbitrary one - "diabetic-style" complications can occur at, it seems, every level of blood sugar irregularity. For Type 2s at least, it seems that the difference between a diagnosis of "diabetes" and one of "prediabetes" lies mostly in how much oomph your pancreas has left, rather than in any you-have-it-or-you-don't type of thing. Another important idea is that the medical care for diabetics, pardon the expression, sucks, and a diabetic's best hope lies in taking responsibility for his or her own wellness.

Just as a personal aside, I also would recommend at least questioning the traditional weight-loss "willpower" type thinking. I know it works for a lot of people, but for me at least, this kind of thinking can be too emotionally laden and sidetrack me from the goal at hand - normalizing blood sugars. Underlying it is the idea that we are at war with ourselves and have to defeat our urges. I don't do well with that kind of mindset. It's not very empowering to me, at least. Continually reminding myself that rather than being denied the joy of certain foods, I am actually being empowered to make decisions, helps me view this new lifestyle as a positive thing and helps me keep the reins of my health in my hands every moment of the day. That's important for me, especially, as I'm American and without ANY health insurance, good or bad.
 
Thanks cteld for your post.I very much appreciate the time you have taken to write it.
I will check out the material you have indicated.

Fortunately I have good will power and if I can overcome this by diet then I will.
Life is to precious to waste and I enjoy each day .

I love food but I will find ways round it.This forum has an excellent scource of information and am gratefull for all information given.

I wish I had paid attention to my pre diabetes warning a few years ago.

I wil continue to update this thread and hopefully I can be of help to you

Thanks

Jack
 
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