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Newly Diagnosed

thebobo1912

thebobo1912

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello everyone,

I have been coming to and reading the articles on this site since I was diagnosed as Type 2 Diabetic on January 9th of this year. I went to the ER on Friday January 9th with some nausea and feeling dizzy for about two days. My father is Type 2 Diabetic as are all my grandparents, so I knew on some level that I had a very high chance of becoming Type 2 Diabetic as well. However, this did not decrease the shock of being diagnosed. Before I went to the ER I used my fathers BG test monitor and had a reading of 350, an hour later at the ER my BG was 400. Major shock to me, the ER doctor put me on medication (can't remember the name of the medication since I was only on it for 3 days). I took a day to let the diagnoses come to reality, I did however go out and purchase my own BG monitor on Saturday. On Sunday I went out and bought an exercise bike (years of playing football has done some damage to my knee) to use after I get off work. I will get back to my exercise routine soon though.

By Tuesday January 13th I had an appointment to speak with my doctor, since my father is Diabetic I knew that they would like to do blood tests and fasting would be needed for them. I went in and spoke with my doctor, informed her what was going on and what I had found out at the ER. She told me they would do an A1C test on me to see what my levels have been over the past 3 months. She also informed me to begin testing at least 4 times a day, before breakfast, before lunch, before dinner, and before going to bed. She also let me know to test one or two hours after I eat to see what affects different types of food have on my body. She told me to do this because as she says, "everyone is different and different types of foods affect everyone differently." She made me an appointment to speak with her a week later about my A1C results and she put me on 850 MG of Metformin 2x daily.

A week later I went in to find out the results of my A1C to my surprise my A1C came back as 11.1, definitely wasn't expecting it to be that high. My doctor informed me that my levels were on average around 275 and have been as high as 350 for at least 3 months. It was after finding out these results that she also prescribed me Invokana (can't remember the dosage) once daily. I am 27 years old and definitely wasn't expecting to be diagnosed this early, though on some level I knew it would eventually happen.

Since being diagnosed I use my exercise bike daily, for at least 20 min a day after work. I was 208lbs when diagnosed and have brought my weight down to 194lbs. I have also gone out and purchased a regular bicycle to use on the weekends and do a minimum of 60 minutes a day on my regular bike on the weekends. I am still on the Metformin and Invokana, my BG levels have decreased significantly and my readings (before breakfast, before lunch, before dinner, and before bed) are usually between 90 and 120 now. I have cut out fast food and sugary items (candy, sodas, etc.) out almost completely (exception being on my birthday I indulged on some fast food and a small piece of birthday cake).

Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to share my story with everyone.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi & welcome.
My I ask where you live? I wouldn't say your not in the UK as over here they think we don't need to test.
Your in a good place joining us on here as there is alot of good knowledgeable members here & we've all been at the diagnosis point. Never be afraid to ask questions.
& welcome once again.
 
Hi welcome, well done for coming here and getting yourself a meter. You should regard carbohydrates in the same way as sugar and reduce those significantly. Have a read of the first item linked in my sig below and ask any questions.
 
I live in the United States, thank you both for replying. I have been reducing my carbohydrate intake slowly. That's one thing that has been a battle for me since many of the foods that I enjoyed before were carbohydrate heavy, but every day has been a step in the right direction for me.
 
Hi I've just been diagnosed as Type 2 diabetic. Basically my doctors told me here's your metformin now get on with it. I have too obviously watch my diet now could you give me any advice as too eat
 
thebobo1912 said:
I live in the United States, thank you both for replying. I have been reducing my carbohydrate intake slowly. That's one thing that has been a battle for me since many of the foods that I enjoyed before were carbohydrate heavy, but every day has been a step in the right direction for me.
Click to expand...
Small steps in the right direction is the best way forward, it can be very hard to make diet changes if your use to carbs but carbs are our number one enemy so the lower the carb intake the better & increased fat & protein to replace the calories lost by the carbs are called for.
Yes we've had it drummed into us for yrs now that fat is bad but there was nothing that really backed that up, as this recent artiicle shows. 'By scaring us off butter health chiefs have made us fatter' writes JOHN NAISH | Daily Mail Online, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/a...er-ve-fatter-unhealthy-writes-JOHN-NAISH.html
 
@thebobo1912

Hi, welcome to the forum :)

You seem to have been getting good advice from your doctor. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find this useful although this does not all apply to the US. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will 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 over 130,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.
 
Hi Kieran, a lot of what I have done so far, and what has been working for me, is to reduce the amount of carbohydrates you eat. A lot of the foods I would eat before were very carbohydrate heavy so I have been slowly reducing my carbohydrate intake. I have also cut out most sugars in my diet. Exercise has been the best help for me as well. I try to do at least 20 minutes a day of exercise. Another thing I have learned is portion control. I no longer eat until I am very full, I stop eating whenever I begin to no longer feel hungry. This combined with exercise has helped me to lose weight and lower my numbers.
 
Hi and welcome @thebobo1912 and @Kieran_cunningham

Bobo - what an enlightened doctor! You had some great advice about testing. That just does not happen in the UK. We are told type 2's shouldn't test as there is no need. We all know this is rubbish so buy our own meters and test anyway.

What to eat? What not to eat? Pehaps if you both have a look at http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/a-new-low-carb-guide-for-beginners.68695/ you may find it useful. Low carb is the best way to go for controlling blood sugars and losing weight if that is an issue. The main culprits are bread, potatoes, cereals, rice, pasta and anything made with flour. All carbs convert to glucose once inside the system, and glucose is what diabetics do not want in their bloodstream. A meter will guide you as to what carbs your body can cope with, and in what quantities.

Have a good read round and come back with any questions.
 
I think I am very lucky to have the doctor that I have, she has been a lot of help with giving me information that I am realizing a lot of people don't receive from their doctors. I will definitely give that link a look as soon as I have a little more time to do so. Thank you for the additional information!
 
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