Newly diagnosed

[amzie]

Hello

Newly diagnosed this week over the phone by my gp's receptionist
I do have an appointment next week.

However a small history I had gestational diabetes from sept 15 - Dec 15 where I was on high doses of nova rapid levemir and metformin.

Both my parents are diabetic

I'm overweight but this week I have upped my physical activity from swimming to swimming and walking
I already have the bg checking machine with strips so I have constantly been checking levels and they have varied between 9.9 and 6.2

My other weakness is I think I'm depressed I want to hide from the world watch Tv all day and snack on bad things which has led me to binge on anything I get my hands on

My body feels numb legs feel tired my Hands are tingly
Since speaking with receptionist I have been confused feel like wallowing in my own self pity.

My family won't be helpful because when I mention iv been diagnosed they will be disappointed as in iv brought it on myself because I'm overweight

My hba1c result was 53


questions keep running through my mind


1) can I beat this thing and bring my levels down in 3 months

2) can I fast and how do u fast as in when do u start and when do end fast

3) how am I going to stop binging?


P.s
Sorry for ranting j don't have anyone else

 

[Alzebra]

Hi @amzie , welcome to the club that nobody wants to join, but actually finds isn't that bad once they get used to the idea I'm tagging @daisy1 for her newbie guide but I'd also like to direct you to the thread http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/dont-involve-yourself-in-the-blame-game.21894/ which I think would be a good place for you to start. Once you've read that, have a look at the low carb forum for ideas on how you can get your levels under control.
You've made a great start by joining us, we can offer lots of help, advice and support, you ask as many questions as you need and don't feel alone xxx

 

[daisy1]

@amzie

Hello Amzie and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope this will be helpful to you. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 150,000 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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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.

 

[joe-90]

I managed to get my HbA1C down from 67 to 50 in 10 weeks, so you've got a pretty good head start on me, So go for it.

 

[amzie]

Hey joe that's brilliant
what routine did u take up to bring it down so much?
Reading things on this forum making me feel more positive than I was this morning!!

 

[joe-90]

Well Metformin worked wonders for me. From baking a full sized sultana cake and eating the whole thing EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, to zero sugar, low carbs etc. I was eating over 5000 calories per day! And you think you were bad. I'd like to throttle Mary Berry. I went right off sweet stuff when I started on Metformin. Some people do, and some don't, but I've no idea why that is.

 

[Mrsass]

Well done on the swimming & walking @amzie if you are feeling depressed and not wanting to do much pushing yourself to do that should work wonders on your mood and bg's

You absolutely can bring down your levels if you work at it there's nothing stopping you! Have a look at the low carb thread which will give you an idea of the the way people do it, the 'what have you eaten today' thread will be very useful for you I think, do ask any more questions you may have X