Newly diagnosed

[Sparkle 2]

Hi
I went to the Doctors yesterday to discuss recent blood work results. I assumed it would be about my iron.
I was told i had type 2 diabetes and have been prescribed metformin. A few months before i had experienced symptoms of diabetes and had the HbC1A test, the results indicated possible diabetes but could not be confirmed because of my extremely low iron which could have affected the true readings. I would be monitored and re- tested at a later date. I had the flu over the xmas period and a cough which i still have and that prompted me to have bloods taken again; hence, why i thought i was going to discuss iron!
I am in shock and angry at myself because i have allowed myself to become overweight and know this is probably the reason for my diabetes! I had already started slimming world a month previous but realise this is a little too late!
I understand that a good diet can keep diabetes under control, however, can i reverse the diagnosis once i am at a good healthy weight, stop taking the tablets and say that i am now "not" a diabetic? Is it a life long diagnosis that i have to declare on future application forms? I am so confused and scared that i have done so much damage to my body!

 

[Resurgam]

It really isn't your fault - look at what we are supposed to eat on the Eatwell plate - that is what is wrong.
Once a diabetic you are always going to be prone to high readings if you eat as advised by those who conform - but if you stick to low carb and eat the good things which keep you in the normal range there is no reason to fret about it very much.
You are likely to see your weight reducing when you have normal levels, and your shape changing as your fat moves to healthier places than around your organs.
Yes your anaemia could have skewed the reading of your Hba1c, but it is good that it has been discovered and can now be treated.

 

[paulus1]

yes stop bashing yourself being plump is also a side effect from insulin residence the cause of type 2. so it could be your overweight because your having to us a lot of insulin to feed your cells your hungry because your body thinks its starving. anyway has your iron issue been resolved. if not your tests will be off still. losing weight however is a good idea. as is none smoking and all the other healthy living messages. your diet will be a big factor in your future health. a lot of folks find a low carb diet highly effective. slimming world may help but not as well. basically the lower carb input the less insulin produced the lower the residence

 

[LouWilk059]

I am in shock and angry at myself because i have allowed myself to become overweight and know this is probably the reason for my diabetes!

Would you be as angry and upset to find out you had IBS? How about an allergy to food? I doubt it. Stop blaming yourself for getting diabetes. View it as a challenge. You can do it! We can help.
Tagging @daisy1 for newbie info.

 

[ixi1429]

You can reverse your condition or put it into remission but unfortunately you will always be a diabetic, which is a good thing. It means you will become more aware of what you are eating and why. Let’s face it this is a good thing as you are what you eat.

As a few of the others have said, you may be "just diabetic", your weight may not be the contributing factor. I was diagnosed last year:

I am over 40 - yup
I was over weight - yup
My dad has it - yup and this was probably the starting point
I had a "fruit habit - 7-8 pieces a day, so lots of sugar. coupled with the genetic, this is what probably tipped me over the edge. BUT we are always told to eat fruit and veg....doh!

A lot of us have controlled our condition and put into reverse through diet and exercise. My HbA1C was 52 (Diabetes good control) in June last year when diagnosed, my HbA1C is now 44 (Pre diabetes). I am still diabetic I just have a larger "safety net" that other with Higher HbA1c. The next step is to get it under 40 (“normal”).

 

[Sparkle 2]

You can reverse your condition or put it into remission but unfortunately you will always be a diabetic, which is a good thing. It means you will become more aware of what you are eating and why. Let’s face it this is a good thing as you are what you eat.

As a few of the others have said, you may be "just diabetic", your weight may not be the contributing factor. I was diagnosed last year:

I am over 40 - yup
I was over weight - yup
My dad has it - yup and this was probably the starting point
I had a "fruit habit - 7-8 pieces a day, so lots of sugar. coupled with the genetic, this is what probably tipped me over the edge. BUT we are always told to eat fruit and veg....doh!

A lot of us have controlled our condition and put into reverse through diet and exercise. My HbA1C was 52 (Diabetes good control) in June last year when diagnosed, my HbA1C is now 44 (Pre diabetes). I am still diabetic I just have a larger "safety net" that other with Higher HbA1c. The next step is to get it under 40 (“normal”).

Thank you for your input. Im still a bit shocked to be honest. My husband seems to think i can completely cure myself by healthy eating and is making me feel that this is no big deal, i think that is probably why i am so hard on myself. I am also a carer to a lovely Blind gentleman who has type 2. He lost his sight because of it and almost had a foot amputated due to an ulcer. It has scared me rigid, so yes it is a big deal for me. Im glad to have been directed to this site re the Doctors recommendation to talk to people going through the same experience. I guess im in the denial stage at present.

 

[Bogie]

Thank you for your input. Im still a bit shocked to be honest. My husband seems to think i can completely cure myself by healthy eating and is making me feel that this is no big deal, i think that is probably why i am so hard on myself. I am also a carer to a lovely Blind gentleman who has type 2. He lost his sight because of it and almost had a foot amputated due to an ulcer. It has scared me rigid, so yes it is a big deal for me. Im glad to have been directed to this site re the Doctors recommendation to talk to people going through the same experience. I guess im in the denial stage at present.

Denial ... I think many of us had that feeling when first diagnosed. You don't feel any different but your doctor has just told you that have Diabetes. Most have been given advance warning by being told that they were either pre-Diabetic or that it looked like they could be pre-Diabetic. "pre" likely makes you feel, "Well I don't have Diabetes". Sort of like being shot at and and it missed.

Diagnosis of definite Diabetes is a wake up call that you need to really pay attention. Of course, that is why you are here

With modern medicine, treatments, and awareness/education of what you need to do, most can take control, change their mindset to lifestyle and diet and adapt. My mother, for example, is 92, lives alone in her own home, still drives to do her shopping, and is a type 2 Diabetic on insulin, but lives a normal life. It is a family thing for me, an inheritance if you will, being passed down from generation to generation. At 69 (70 in a few months) my Type 2 was confirmed last Fall but was "pre-Diabetic" for several years before that. Controlling with medication and diet (hardest part) and seeing positive results.

This forum is great ... lots of really good advice and experiences to educate and inform. Sort of like an online group therapy ... but what a large group!

 

[ixi1429]

Many apologies in advance for the long post.

I'm taggin @daisy1 who can post an intor pack for you - lots of good stuff. in that.

Diabetes is like driving form London to Inverenss, lots of ways of getting to the sestination - fast, slow, scenici etc, you just have to figure out which one is best for you. Theres an awful lot of good advice on here and other sites. The good thing about this place, is that there are no Stupid questions and we all remember the confusion, worry etc when we were first diagnosed.

The bad news - You are never going to be Totally cured. You will always be diabetic BUT if you control it and reduce the results, you'll end up healthily that a lot of non-diabetics.
FYI Steve Redgrave is a T2 as well and he won gold medals with it and I don’t think he was overweight or lazy at the time J

You need to read up on healthy eating – If you follow the NHS guidelines “Eat well” plate, then your diet will be healthy and good, just not good for T2’s. Most of us follow a low carb diet, but “other diets” are available.
To me it’s logical. You eat Carbs, Carbs turns to Glucose, your body produces insulin to transform the glucose…too much insulin is a problem so why would I put more carbs into my body?
Some of us can tolerate some carbs. I am still discovering which ones. Weetabix – good healthy breakfast, lots of good stuff in it, no added sugar etc., but is raises my Blood glucose (BG) by over 2 points which is not a good thing.

The good news is :
a) you know you have it
b) there are lots of approaches you can take to control it.

a lot of us are successfully controlling it through diet and I think this is a key component of controlling it. I was quite shocked when I first kept a food diary. I had already cut out a lot of "sugary" stuff out but for a week I just noted down everything I ate and the rough quantity. My diet was not bad - lots of veg and fruit and low fat but also lots of unnecessary stuff - especially carbs and I could identify what I needed to change.

Your doctor (I am assuming you are in the UK) should be putting you
on an education course,
booking an eye test,
booking an appt with a Diabetic nurse/specialist.
Has this been done? If not, you need to get onto the GP surgery and organise it.

Even more good news – As a diabetic Flu jabs are now free J

You also need to obtain copies of your results (on access online) as these are useful to you (well they are for me) as you can see the trends and also look at other associated results. Quite a few diabetics have associated issues - high blood pressure, high cholesterol.

The good news is that by controlling your T2 has a very good knock on effect on all the other stuff. If you reduce your HbA1C, then all the other stuff tends to come down.

My total cholesterol has been above the recommended limit of 5 for “years”, it got up to 6.6 at one stage, now it is below 5. I still need to work on getting my LDL down to less than 3 (recommended for everyone) but you know what, that was high for years as well and now it is going down – currently 3.5

I am not saying it is easy (I really miss doughnuts ) but it’s is highly doable and achievable and the results can be seen within months.

 

[daisy1]

@Sparkle 2

Hello Sparkle and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope it will help you. 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 235,000 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 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

 

[Alexandra100]

I guess im in the denial stage at present.

This doesn't sound in the least like denial to me. You have recognised how serious the threat of uncontrolled diabetes is and you are diligently and intelligently setting about coping with that threat. That already sets you apart from people like the gentleman you care for who, tragically, have not informed themselves or have not acted on that information. One of the great annoyances (to put it mildly) for people on this site is that we are surrounded by a general population and even health professionals who like your husband make light of diabetes and believe we only have to eat a "healthy" (ie Mediterranean type low fat, high carbs) diet to "cure" it. That can feel very lonely - so it's beyond price to have this huge network of well-informed friends who DO understand. Regular members are always at hand with advice and well-informed sympathy. And it really is always, as we are fortunate to have lots of members living in other time zones.

A diabetes-related diagnosis is always a terrible shock. I personally shed many bitter tears over mine, and I don't for one moment think that makes me unusual. We are forced to mourn our former carefree life around food which has gone forever. BUT there are new food pleasures, new challenges and achievements, new learning, new human contacts, and even new fun and jokes to come.

It sounds to me as if your husband is the one who is in denial! But it is early days for him as well as for you.

Good luck!

 

[Sparkle 2]

This doesn't sound in the least like denial to me. You have recognised how serious the threat of uncontrolled diabetes is and you are diligently and intelligently setting about coping with that threat. That already sets you apart from people like the gentleman you care for who, tragically, have not informed themselves or have not acted on that information. One of the great annoyances (to put it mildly) for people on this site is that we are surrounded by a general population and even health professionals who like your husband make light of diabetes and believe we only have to eat a "healthy" (ie Mediterranean type low fat, high carbs) diet to "cure" it. That can feel very lonely - so it's beyond price to have this huge network of well-informed friends who DO understand. Regular members are always at hand with advice and well-informed sympathy. And it really is always, as we are fortunate to have lots of members living in other time zones.

A diabetes-related diagnosis is always a terrible shock. I personally shed many bitter tears over mine, and I don't for one moment think that makes me unusual. We are forced to mourn our former carefree life around food which has gone forever. BUT there are new food pleasures, new challenges and achievements, new learning, new human contacts, and even new fun and jokes to come.

It sounds to me as if your husband is the one who is in denial! But it is early days for him as well as for you.

Good luck!

Yes i think he is in denial and can be quite ignorant at times. Only yesterday he said i should talk to his dad about it as.... quote: "you both suffer from the weight related diabetes"
I already feel confused and would rather he educated himself before he shares his pearls of wisdom.
Thank goodness im going to a diabetic information class late march.

 

[Alexandra100]

Yes i think he is in denial and can be quite ignorant at times. Only yesterday he said i should talk to his dad about it as.... quote: "you both suffer from the weight related diabetes"
I already feel confused and would rather he educated himself before he shares his pearls of wisdom.
Thank goodness im going to a diabetic information class late march.

Oh dear! Excuse my sexism, but isn't putting his foot in it a well known husbandly activity? Maybe he has other qualities???

 

[Guzzler]

Yes i think he is in denial and can be quite ignorant at times. Only yesterday he said i should talk to his dad about it as.... quote: "you both suffer from the weight related diabetes"
I already feel confused and would rather he educated himself before he shares his pearls of wisdom.
Thank goodness im going to a diabetic information class late march.

Tell Hubby that up to 20% of those people diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes are slim or thin. Weight gain is a symptom of Type 2 never a cause. Never.

 

[paulus1]

dont treat your condition as a minor condition its not. it need to be treated like tame tiger its normally safe when your watching it and paying attention but take your eyes off it or treat it lightly and it will tear you apart. type 2 under control is an annoying condition that need us to adapt to what our body needs. type 2 left alone will at the minimum cripple you and much more likely cause a long and painful death. make sure you husband understands this because he needs to. it quite common for both partners to get the condition.