Newly diagnosed

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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Please don't worry about your morning readings at this stage of your journey. In fact, I advise you to stop testing them for now as they will just give you stress. Concentrate on your pre and post meal levels and keeping the rise as low as you can by tweaking the carbs in your meals. Dawn Phenomenon (which is mis-named because it happens at any time of the day. Best to call it a liver dump), is quite natural and normal. Everyone gets it. The difference between non-diabetics and Type 2s is simply that we notice it because our insulin isn't working properly so is unable to bring the dumped glucose into line as quickly as it does in a non-diabetic. This is due to our insulin resistance and fatty livers. Get rid of the fatty liver and reduce the insulin resistance and the morning levels will fall. Eating less carbs and fruit will speed up this process, but it takes time. It won't happen in a month or three.

The only advice I have as far as a morning liver dump is concerned, is that because your levels are high when you get up, it is sensible to choose a breakfast that is virtually zero carb, which is why eggs are so useful. Eating carbs on top of a liver dump will only add to the already high level.

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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Hi Lily, don't panic just yet. Many of the awful things you read apply mostly to those who do not manage their conditions correctly. Many times it is not necessarily their fault either. In many jurisdictions the diabetic education and program are absolutely appalling. You've been dealt from a stacked deck in finding this place.

Just on those morning highs. I don't know if this will work for you but worth a shot. I used to get high morning readings too. I now have a small snack before I go to bed. Usually just a few slices of ham or salami with cheese and a tomato or olive. Search this forum for dawn phenomenon or liver dump for more info. Some of us experience the fact that just before we wake up our liver dumps a swag of stored sugar to prepare us for the day. Unfortunately for the ones with insulin problems the level rises above the normal threshold. The bed time snack works for me.

You also didn't mention if you were overweight. If so then lose it. It really makes a big difference. I've lost 16 kg and it has made my blood sugar so much easier to look after. As a by-product, my dicky knee is much better as well. Too much praying in my misspent youth I guess or begging Mrs Croc for forgiveness.

Anyway, cheer up. It's not all bad, just a little bit.
Glenn

Lily 2 said:

I have been experiencing pains in my shoulder after sleeping on it one night and have been experiencing nerve pain since including pins and needles in my hand but just the left one only so this is worrying me,

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Hi Lily,
Just from what you have described it sounds like you could have a herniated disk in your neck This has nothing to do with diabetes. Go see the Dr this is easily treated with a couple of rounds of physio.

Obviously this is just a guess from one line of text you posted.
But the cause and symptoms are so close to an experience I had a couple of years back neck pain, pins and needles in the hand.
A herniated disk, just means squished out of place a bit, it would be pushing slightly on the nerve in your neck which causes the intermittent pins and needles in the hand.

IF this is the case one of the first things they will tell you to do is sleep on your back instead of on your side, do this while your waiting for your appointment you should start to feel the benefit in as little as a couple of days.

Hope this helps it's nothing to worry about.

Lily 2 said:

I have been experiencing pains in my shoulder after sleeping on it one night and have been experiencing nerve pain since including pins and needles in my hand but just the left one only so this is worrying me,

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I agree with @There is no Spoon I currently have the same problem, identical to those you describe. It just appeared one morning when I got up. I guessed it was a trapped nerve so booked an appointment with a chiropractor. Within a few minutes he was able to tell me it wasn't a trapped nerve, but an inflamed nerve root in my neck, causing the referred pain in the shoulder and arm, and the pins and needles (tingling) in the hand. He has been treating me, and I am now much better. I believe a chiropractor is a better bet than the GP unless you are prepared to wait for a physio appointment, which could be weeks. Mine is definitely not diabetes related.

Lily 2 said:

the advice on the arm I actually slept off it last night and it seems to have eased a fair bit today, I will definitely keep that up and see someone to get some help with it.

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Hi Lily,
Glad to hear your less stressed and we have been able to put your mind at ease about your arm. @Bluetit1802 advice about chiropractor might be right on the money, it took months for me to get a physio appointment.

@Lily 2
Best of luck tomorrow. It seems like you are getting the hang of this. After a bit of practice you will get used to the different foods and how many carbs they contain and perhaps even their GI. Nuts are great. Filling and plenty of good unsaturated fats. The testing before meals and two hours later is what most do. After a while you may feel inclined to not test certain things if you already know from experience what the reaction is. You will learn this fairly quickly and then start experimenting a bit at a time to see what affects you the most. We are all different here. For instance, I can tolerate porridge for breakfast as long as it is no more than 45g and must be the Lowan low GI rolled oats brand. Some others here can't do this. There are also food types that really blow me off the scale but not for other people. This is where testing, recording and vigilance are critical. It's hard at first and looks daunting but you get used to it.
Glenn

Lily 2 said:

Thank you all for the fantastic advice, it is my first appointment with the nurse tomorrow and I feel so much more informed and less overwhelmed, google really is not the best place to look I think it scared and confuses you more. I’m so glad I found this website, I’m not 100% sure how many carbs I have been consuming a day these past few days but I have cut out all bread, rice, cakes anything with any flour in and been living on eggs, chicken and some vegetables but no potatoes, nuts have been my snack to keep me going but plain ones, I have been testing in a morning, before and 2hrs after each meal, is this correct or should it be more or less? Sorry for all the questions. Thank you

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Best of luck today. You seem to have got the hang of it and doing all the right things.
Don't forget that your nurse may toe the NHS line and tell you not to test and to eat carbs. If she does, don't let it stress and confuse you.

Bluetit1802 said:

Best of luck today. You seem to have got the hang of it and doing all the right things.
Don't forget that your nurse may toe the NHS line and tell you not to test and to eat carbs. If she does, don't let it stress and confuse you.

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Tell her to take a long walk off a short plank.

Bluetit1802 said:

If she does, don't let it stress and confuse you.

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I accepted this by mouth in hospital (got a 175g of carbs diet without fat) and do LCHF at home. It's a pitty I have to tell a lie, but my health has priority. On each session the nurse is happy from the numbers how her diet works, and I'm not brave enough to tell her the true, that her diet is poison for me. I hope that in some years the experience with LCHF diet will get the path to the official T2D diabetes rules here in Czech rep.

rom35 said:

I accepted this by mouth in hospital (got a 175g of carbs diet without fat) and do LCHF at home. It's a pitty I have to tell a lie, but my health has priority. On each session the nurse is happy from the numbers how her diet works, and I'm not brave enough to tell her the true, that her diet is poison for me. I hope that in some years the experience with LCHF diet will get the path to the official T2D diabetes rules here in Czech rep.

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I think a lot of people tell porkies to their nurse about what they eat and how they have controlled their blood glucose, or say nothing at all. It is easier and less confrontational. It is a shame really because when we do this the nurse/doctor will continue to believe it is the medication that is working along with the rubbish dietary advice

Bluetit1802 said:

will continue to believe it is the medication that is working along with the rubbish dietary advice

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True. But I don't have any mood to hear the lecture, how the fat will lead me to heard attack and high cholesterol, even that the nurse holds in her hands the last blood tests with all parameters inside limits (after 2 years of LCHF) and my blood pressure is 135/80. And that without carbs my brain will be destructed and I will have Alzheimer.

Lucky lady to have such a supportive nurse - hang on to her.

Not eating breakfast isn't a bad idea. If you are suffering with high fasting levels that don't come down it is probably a good plan to do without any carbs but just have eggs or cheese, or like I do - a coffee with double cream, which sees me through to lunch time other than a cup of tea mid morning. Its worth a try. What you don't need is to add to the already high morning glucose by eating carbs. Many of us skip breakfast, but if your liver dump keeps on dumping then something fatty may halt it.

An HbA1c of 64 isn't the end of the world but it converts to an average of 10.1mmol/l. over the previous few months, so it needs lowering. But you know this!

@Lily 2 You seem to have landed a nurse with some sense. This is good. Once you get your routine worked out and are comfortable with what you need to do there is one thing that helped me with morning highs. It may not work for you but worth a shot when you're ready. I found that by having a small snack just before bed time it stopped this from happening. nothing big, I only have a couple of slices of ham or salami with a bit of cheese and tomato or an olive.
Glenn

Well - I eat first thing, as that stops my BG rising - I include a small amount of carbs, as without it my BG goes silly.
I dropped my levels to normal without losing weight or taking Metformin - not after the weeks of feeling absolutely dreadful.
It seems to be accepted knowledge that losing weight is how to reduce BG - but for me it was the reverse, once my Hba1c was below diabetic I lost weight without even trying.

@Resurgam
I was overweight when diagnosed but not obese. I lost 16kg without trying as well but I put that down to restricting carb intake. It just seems hard to make up the missing kilojoules by replacing the carbs with protein and fat. Currently I restrict carbs to 20g per meal but allow 30g if low GI. Probably a little higher than some here but with my BG now under control I find I can tolerate at least some carbs of the low GI type.

Losing weight has been a good thing. My knee doesn't hurt anymore and BG is much easier to control. I still take 1g of Metformin slow release.
Glenn

Hi Lily, I'm glad you've got a good nurse. There is one thing you mentioned on your return from the nurse - dehydration
I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping hydrated. Diabetes increases your risk of becoming dehydrated because the kidneys attempt to rid the body of sugar and keeping up your fluid intake helps the kidneys do this. I used to think that if I didn't feel thirsty I was ok. Not so, I would begin to feel lethargic or on edge, sometimes dizzy or feel the start of a headache. As soon as I was diagnosed, my GP wrote a list of things I had to do in the first week and at the top he wrote in large letters, "keep hydrated". Implement a daily routine that will quickly become a habit and you should feel better.
Some of your respondents who also helped me out will know that I had a hard time taking standard Metformin as it laid me low with diarrhoea. I am happy to say that having changed to the slow release tablets all that is now in the past, so if you are not on slow release and you get this common side effect of an upset stomach which doesn't reduce with time, ask to switch.

@Lily 2 Easier for a bloke but I can tell if I'm dehydrated by looking at the colour of my pee. Most work sites here in Aussie have posters on the wall in the toilets.

Dark yellow -> have a bottle of water
Yellow -> have two glasses
Slightly yellow - have one glass
Clear -> have a glass anyway

Seems to work well.
Glenn