Newly Diagonsed

[Wendyanne]

Hi everyone,

My name is Wendyanne and was diagnosed with Diabetes{Type2?} January 16th 2010.

I have family members who already have the condition,a brother who is on Insulin and a sister who is on Metformin and diet and through a combination of both has sucessfully lost 49lb in weight

I was actually diagonsed with Borderline/Pre Diabetes two years ago and was told by the Dr that I would probablydevelope Daibetes within ten years which has now turned into proper Diabetes.I had various symptoms over this last Christmas {Thrush,Thirst,constant peeing weight loss of 4lb over that period etc}so when I had a chance to get to a pharmacy got something for the thrush which never cleared up and while I was standing in the queue spotted a box of those Diabetic urine strip tests{Suresign}which I used the following day and the test strip went a dark brown colour :shock:

I quickly rang our Dr's and got an appointment that afternoon,taking with me another urine sample that showed I had sugar in my urine. :roll: Anyway,the Dr told me to lay off the sweets and to book an appointment with the nurse for a fasting Glucose test which I did and the results came back as 9.2.and had to make another appointment to see the Diabetic nurse who advised me to eat low fat,low sugar diet which might help the condition.I already follow a low fat diet as my hubby has high Cholesterol and mine in fact is 4.6{taken at the same time asthe blood for the fasting glucose test} and my blood pressure is always good so no problem in either of those departments.

I am due to go and see the Diabetic nurse this week for the results of my HBa1C test which I have just found out to be 9.3 but am not sure if that is too high.I was also given the Haemoglobin number which was 78 but I am not sure what it all means until I talk to the nurse.

I have suffered with PCOS since my early twenties and so find it hard to lose weight,although since November 09 until now have managed to lose 1st. :shock:

I have just bought a trampette which I use constantly plus I have my road bike attached to a trainer and do ten minutes on there twice a day plus walking with my hubby every evening in all weathers{something we had to do when we had a dog}.

Now,I have been trying to follow a good healthy diet since diagonsis although yesterday I was naughty and ate two shortbread biscuits and two toffees :roll: . Sometimes I wake up and feel like i am starving hungry but that feeling goes off when I have my porridge with a few grapes or strawberries on top

Saturday and Sunday just gone I couldn't stop peeing all day and night,but usually don't have too much of a problem with apart from Christmas.

I have seen mention on here that I shouldn't be eating bread,rice,potatoes etc,but those were the things my diabetic nurse told me to eat.{The bread is homemade in a machine so doesn't have the preservatives in it,not like the shop stuff,but he adds some sugar as the recipe suggests}

Anyway,depending on these results the nurse said we would try diet first and if the figures don't come down to a proper level then I would probably be put on Metformin.

Oh and since cutting back on portion sizes I became constipated and then when I ate more salad and fruit stuff it gave me stomache cramps and then diarreah.

I have felt a bit down yesterday and today at the thought of the disease progressing too far in the future that I end up having Hypos and other things if I can't get the sugar under control.I am terrified now in eating anything as at the moment I have no testing equipment as I am just trying to lose weight by myself.

I am also waiting a letter to come from the hospital about Retinopathy screening but have heard nothing as yet,although it is early days.

When I go back to see the nurse she is also going to weigh me and check my feet.

Sorry that my first post is so long but I need to get this off my chest as it is doing my head in :cry:

 

[sugarless sue]

Hi Wendyanne, welcome to the forum, here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics.This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different .

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating then two hours after eating you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.

As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try !!

As a Type 2 the latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l.
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.
If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

As for practical advice, this forum is the best place to find it on the web.

The bread is homemade in a machine so doesn't have the preservatives in it,not like the shop stuff,but he adds some sugar as the recipe suggests}

Some of these bread mixes are about 20 carbs a slice and adding sugar will make it more.

It is all very confusing at first but you will get there. Please have a good read round the forum and ask us questions, there's always someone to answer you.

 

[Bluenosesol]

Hi WendyAnne,

my HBA1C was 10.3 on diagnosis. I was just as confused as you are now!.
However be patient and start looking around the forum. I have lost 5 stone and got my HBA1C down to 5.6. Take in all of the advice, work out what is best for you and I promise you, in a few months you will be well in control. In the meantime - dont panic - diabetes complications are a long time coming and you have time on your side!!.

Steve.