Newly diagnosed

Hi and welcome,

Oh dear, you have been reading all the doom and gloom propaganda about Type 2 diabetes. Forget Google - read this forum. We are all diabetics of one type or another, so stick to asking questions of fellow diabetics, and please do not panic.

Doctors tend to tell us all it is a progressive disease but there is so much we can do to prevent it progressing, and the evidence is all over this forum. Many, many members have reduced their glucose levels by changing the way they eat. Many have reduced their medication, and many have even come off insulin. The doom and gloom merchants need educating. It can take years off your life and damage organs - but only if you let it. A suitable diet is the key, and along with some effort, your own blood glucose meter, and a good understanding of what is involved, you can get your levels right down to normal. Have a read round the forum and especially the success stories, of which there are hundreds.

I am tagging @daisy1 for her introduction post. You will find it useful.

Hi Lily and welcome! You’ve come to the right place. I was diagnosed ten months ago with an HbA1c (yes I got those letters wrong in my first post too!) of 70. I started low carb eating and self monitoring after seeking advice here. I was also started on Metformin. I wanted to use it as well as diet as there was some suspicion that I had had a dodgy blood test a few years ago which wasn’t reported, so I wanted to get my levels down as quickly as possible. My last three HbA1cs have been non diabetic so I am aiming to discuss reducing the Metformin when I next have a blood test. Many people do effectively use diet alone though.

Welcome to the forum. Everyone here can help guide you through this. Many of us control our diabetes through diet and so can you. Have a look around and you'll see many success stories that will inspire you. Feel free to ask questions, even if you think they are dumb. My motto is, if you're asking, you're learning.

Hello and welcome to the forum. Most of us were in a very similar situation on diagnosis. Scared, confused and Googling fit to burst. Here you will see the facts and the personal experiences of people dealing with Diabetes and managing all of its pitfalls and celebrating our triumphs. Outcomes can and are improved by good managent of blood glucose levels through lifestyle changes. It is a learning curve that our health care professionals do not have the time to give us and sometimes they offer outdated or just plain wrong information.
Keep reading and learning because this will have a direct benefit on your health and future well being.

Hi Lily2,
I too am recently diagnosed and, like you, freaked out initially. I have already received a lot of good advice from this Forum and from the main website. As Guzzler says, some information you get from health care professionals can be misleading - they really are Jack of all trades...at least you can have robust discussions with your GP armed with knowledge gleaned from this site.
I was diagnosed just before Xmas. With Metformin and a low carb (around 120 grams), low GI diet my BG readings dropped and have remained within the guidelines since the end of January. Your shopping days may now involve a lot more label reading than before. I'm in Australia where there's a paperback book "Low GI Diet Shopper's Guide" by Prof. Jennie-Brand-Miller who pioneered GI. This book contains an extensive list of branded, unbranded and raw products with their GI and GL ratings and saves a lot of label reading! I don't know if there's a UK version, but someone in the forum will surely know.

Hi and welcome,

I was dignosted at 2015 and I too was very scared, did not sleep for 4 nights. My doctor gave me lot of information with only two main points: it is progressive and leads to death with lot of complications before: legs, eyes, heart/coronary attacks.

Thank God I understand english language and I was able to study internet, books and other materials. And I discovered the world of self-management people, which are able to control their diabetes.

And now after three years of living with diabetes? According to all the tests I am totally healthy. And I feel it too. Paradoxically I can say, that diabetes leads me to much better life.

So purchase the glucometer, a lot of strips, read the @daisy1 instructions and be prepared for new phase of your life - I belive much more healthy and productive.

@Lily 2

Hello Lily and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want 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.
  

MoB1953 said:

Hi Lily2,
I too am recently diagnosed and, like you, freaked out initially. I have already received a lot of good advice from this Forum and from the main website. As Guzzler says, some information you get from health care professionals can be misleading - they really are Jack of all trades...at least you can have robust discussions with your GP armed with knowledge gleaned from this site.
I was diagnosed just before Xmas. With Metformin and a low carb (around 120 grams), low GI diet my BG readings dropped and have remained within the guidelines since the end of January. Your shopping days may now involve a lot more label reading than before. I'm in Australia where there's a paperback book "Low GI Diet Shopper's Guide" by Prof. Jennie-Brand-Miller who pioneered GI. This book contains an extensive list of branded, unbranded and raw products with their GI and GL ratings and saves a lot of label reading! I don't know if there's a UK version, but someone in the forum will surely know.

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Hi MoB, i'm in Aussie too. May I ask where you obtained that book from. I use the GI a fair bit but I've manually written a list over time from many sources. A book would be useful.
Thanks,
Glenn

This lot comes up on amazon uk - is there an amazon australia?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8...284700:kwd-14959520435&ref=pd_sl_8mdn8wnqn9_e

Boo1979 said:

This lot comes up on amazon uk - is there an amazon australia?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8...284700:kwd-14959520435&ref=pd_sl_8mdn8wnqn9_e

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Yes we sort of do. I was thinking that perhaps there was an Aussie version.
Thanks,
Glenn

Lily 2 said:

Thank you all so much for the information, not that I wish this on anyone but it’s lovely to have a support network of people who actually have gone through this, I have a very supportive family but it is hard when you have not experienced this yourself. I feel a little calmer today and I am going to write a list of questions for the diabetic nurse, also on a positive note I have been on a low carb diet for 2 days and lost 6lb already, I am experiencing dizziness but If im honest I think it was from the state I managed to get myself into yesterday. Once again thank you so much.

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I'm glad to see you have a supportive family. That is a major benefit. You will get calmer and calmer as time goes on, and hopefully your excellent 6lb loss will motivate you and help you understand that low carb is a good way of not only losing weight but also losing a lot of your excess glucose.

Please be prepared for opposition from your nurse as regards low carb. Most of them (not all) are told to toe the NHS line that carbs are essential and that they should be included in every meal. She will most likely also tell you not to test at home. All that is very poor advice. Carry on as you are, and buy yourself a meter (we can help you with this). It will be your very best friend, I assure you. You can ask all your questions on this forum and receive excellent advice from your fellow Type 2 diabetics.

Good luck on your journey, and ask as many questions as you like.

Looks like they do have an Aussie version at Dymocks and Booktopia.

Crocodile said:

Hi MoB, i'm in Aussie too. May I ask where you obtained that book from. I use the GI a fair bit but I've manually written a list over time from many sources. A book would be useful.
Thanks,
Glenn

Click to expand...

Crocodile said:

Looks like they do have an Aussie version at Dymocks and Booktopia.

Click to expand...

Yes, Glenn I got it from Dymocks via eBay I think. Latest version is 2015 and cannot find that there's a newer one out there.

MoB1953 said:

Yes, Glenn I got it from Dymocks via eBay I think. Latest version is 2015 and cannot find that there's a newer one out there.

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Thank you. I will order my copy right away. Good luck with yours too.
Glenn

Lily 2 said:

Thank you all for the great advice, I was hoping someone could shed some light on my blood glucose readings, during the day they are sitting within the required range but in a morning they are always up at 10.2mmols or around that, is there any way I can lower this or am I expecting to much so quickly. I have been reading about dawn Phenomenon but I’m not sure what I can do to stop it as online it says increase medication and I am wanting to try and diet control this and hopefully put it into remission if possible. Thank you again.

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I don’t think you need to worry about the morning readings at the moment, they are the last to show improvements once diet (and meds) are started. I had this very markedly when I was first diagnosed, but now ten months later they are normally between 5 - 5.5mmol fasting, which is in line with the rest of the day. I always eat a small handful of nuts before I go to bed and I eat as soon as I get up, before dressing, showering etc... If I carry on fasting whilst being active even now my blood sugar creeps up a little bit during the morning.

Please stop reading online. Does not help you at all. Direct the questions here as it will assist you no end.

I'm afraid that - if you react as I do - low GI just means you get more fibre most days.
Diabetes is all about carbs - protein and fat seem to be almost benign, though I am sure it is possible to overdo them as with all things.
I made a notebook - just putting letters of the alphabet at the top of the pages and finding out the carb content - it is the net carbs you need, watch out for US sources as they include the fibre, which we do not digest. It was a lot harder to find that information when I began to low carb, as it was way back in the 70s, to control my weight.
As there is not much you can do except wait to reduce dawn phenomenon, I only tested before and after eating, and only at the after two hour point - then adjusted the amounts I was eating, or cut out foods - I ended up with exactly the same set of foods and amount of carbs to eat each day as back when using low carb to control my weight.
I have cut down from the maximum of 50gm a day now as I am trying to increase muscle and keep shrinking - my waistline is emerging and I have had to buy all new clothes - though I am finding that there are bags of older clothes emerging as I tidy up the house - which in itself is amazing.