Newly diagnosed

Hi and welcome.. I'll tag in @daisy1 for the helpful into but I'm intrigued by your point

Evie-D said:

I immediately went on a low carb (not keto) diet

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Why not keto? Works well for many...

Hi @Evie-D and welcome. You’ve landed in the right place.

Evie-D said:

I find I can quite happily manage around 100g per day but don’t know how that will affect my blood sugar.

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I'd heartily suggest buying a blood sugar meter so you can see the effects of various foods and what helps or hinders your blood glucose.

Evie-D said:

but struggled with restricted fruit

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Fruit isn't great to be honest.. maybe a few berries in some cream as a treat.
With an HbA1c at 96 mmol/m I'd be doing keto for at least a month to get my numbers down asap. But I like immediate results.

Evie-D said:

How does Keto work alongside the metformin? Will it cause me any issues while taking 4 per day?

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Personally my keto and fasting meant I stopped the metformin after 3 weeks.. I decided that any medication that made me as ill as Metformin did couldn't be doing me any good. However that is only my personal experience and should not be used as advice.
Many others take it without problems - I suggest you give it a go but again in my personal experience diet will have a far greater effect on your blood sugar numbers which is why you should be measuring them and recording what you have eaten and what the impact of food was.

I had no concerns about doing low carb - I did Atkins in the past at 50 gm a day and that was the amount of carb which put my blood glucose back into the normal range - I lost weight without trying too.
The Metformin and a statin, made me really unwell but I stopped taking them and have had no problem keeping my BG level in the normal range.
I am just about to make myself a huge salad with tuna as I forgot to eat anything this morning.

Hi Evie
I was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 70. I was prescribed Metformin and went low carb, initially under 100 like you. I was successful in reducing my blood sugars but stalled at around six weeks, so then reduced my carbs to 50 - 70, this bought me down to an HbA1c of 45 2 months after diagnosis. I then reduced to 30 - 50g and after a further 2 months my HbA1c was non diabetic and has remained so ever since. By reducing slowly I avoid carb flu. I stay on between 30 - 50g carbs/day. I enjoy a few raspberries and strawberries every day with cream or full fat Greek yoghurt.

Evie-D said:

How does Keto work alongside the metformin? Will it cause me any issues while taking 4 per day?

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I had no problems while taking Metformin in ketosis. The only change was that quite quickly I no longer needed it

Evie-D said:

That’s really helpful thank you. Do you use a blood glucose meter at all?

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Yes I do, that’s how I learnt the effect of the different levels of daily carbs. In the early days I tested before and two hours after all my meals to learn which foods affected me badly. Here are the levels you need to aim for:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html
I still test a couple of meals per day to check I’m not going adrift.
If you decide you want to buy a meter we can help you choose one.

Evie-D said:

Tried Keto before but struggled with restricted fruit. I find I can quite happily manage around 100g per day but don’t know how that will affect my blood sugar. I am losing weight though

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I'm afraid that fruit is not a good choice for us. It contains a lot of fructose. Fructose is a sort of sugar that does not get digested in the ordinary way. It is dealt with by the liver, which it regards as toxic. (rather like it does with alcohol). It is converted to fat and stored round the liver. This does not help at all because a fatty liver means more insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means higher blood glucose levels. The safest fruits are strawberries and raspberries in small quantities (not a whole box full) and eaten with cream or full fat yogurt as part of a meal rather than a snack. An occasional small apple is usually OK, but tropical fruits such as bananas, oranges, grapes and all dried fruits and fruit juices are not a good idea.

I agree that your best bet is to buy a meter.

Hi @Evie-D

It's a shock when you are diagnosed. But the good news is you have found diabetes.co.uk early on. You will get some great advice on here. Brilliant support system. Ask any questions you might have.

There are plenty of useful links too. Have a look at the low carb video section. Also:

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/unread

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/success-stories-and-testimonials.43/

DIET DOCTOR has lots of brilliant visuals, info and videos.

Testing shouldn’t hurt, but occasionally it does a bit.

Wash hands with warm water (warmth helps get the blood flowing too) and dry well. This ensures an contamination free sample. Set the tester (I use an accuchek mobile and fastclix) depth to the minimum needed to draw enough blood. Experience teaches you what this is. Start shallow and work up. Different fingers can need different depths. Press it firmly against your skin and fire it off aiming towards the sides of the pad. Not the very tip or the centre. Wait a second or two for the blood. If none flows then gently from the base of the finger up towards the tip massage the finger. Not a vicious squeeze near the tip. I generally don’t activate the meter til after I’ve got the drop. That way I don’t feel rushed and can let it flow naturally. This lessens the sting that can occasionally happen after. (Bit like pricking yourself with a sewing needle)

Some fingers are easier flowing than others. Warmth helps. Windmilling your arm around before hand can also help. Being well hydrated definitely makes it easier. Rotate which finger you use. Either a different one each test or a different one each day. Whatever works for you. Many of us reuse lancets (sometimes for a long time) although the recommendation is a fresh one each time. A blunt one does hurt more. How long it takes to get blunt is a personal question.

Some tests I don’t even feel. Most it’s a tiny fleeting sensation. Every now and then there’s one that makes me jump a little and I can feel for a short while (hours at worse) when I press on it but not actually painful.

Hi Evie

I’m in the same boat as you and received my diagnosis Tuesday after being pre diabetic for 2 years but chose to ignore it. My reading was 89 and like you have weight to lose.
Get yourself a blood sugar meter it is so useful and it really doesn’t hurt and I have a needle phobia.
I have been on a low carb diet for almost a week as I was expecting the high result and by taking my reading 2 hrs after food gives me a good idea what I can and can’t eat. I am also seeing immediate results in blood sugar control but it’s going to take time and the people on here are really helpful and no so much.
Medication wise I was put on metmorfin and a statin but was told to start with 1 tablet of metmorfin and then increase to 2 if I can tolerate it.

Good look on your journey.

Evie-D said:

I think a meter sounds good but I’m unsure about the method of taking blood. Does this hurt for any length of time? I know it sounds a silly question but I’m a pianist that has to practice many hours a day and wonder if this would interfere? If not, what meter do you suggest?

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I am a musician too - mainly melodeons these days, and when testing I always used a fresh lancet. Yes, you can feel the little stab, but there is no subsequent pain - it is a teeny tiny pinprick which soon stops bleeding - sometimes too quickly and it needs a press to get a large enough drop for the test. You don't use the impact zones anyway, and you soon learn which meals are the problem and which are keepers, so the amount of testing reduces quite quickly if you keep good records.