Not so much and introduction as a reintroduction

[Polgara]

My name is Pol and I joined this forum in January 2010 when my husband developed T1 diabetes at the age of 42. I actually joined the night he was in hospital on an insulin drip – I was terrified and this forum was a huge help. I hardly posted, but I read every day and honestly, it was such a help over that traumatic first year of being married to a diabetic. Seven years down the line, I still followed the forum on Facebook, but diabetes was just part of the family life – my husband managed it and that was that.

Then, last Wednesday I had a routine smear test booked at my GP. I saw the nurse and seeing as it had been a long time since I was last at the surgery, she asked if they could do a blood test and BP. Well, the BP was up, so she booked me for a repeat appointment in a fortnight and I went home and rejoined weightwatchers – because I was well aware that I was overweight. The next day I found an answer phone message that I needed to get the bloodtest redone in 2 weeks. Of course, my heart dropped, and when I picked up the form later that day from the surgery and saw the request was for HbA1c I could have cried.

Deciding there was no point in living in limbo for a fortnight, I used my husband’s spare monitor and started testing – fasting sugars are 9 to 10, pre meal 8 to 10 and 2 hours post 10-11. So there it is. I’ve not been diagnosed by the NHS yet, but I clearly have T2.

I’ve started walking everyday, I’m tracking with weightwatchers, but am also cutting carbs right down. We are away at our caravan this week – and I’m going to try and get into the best habits and try and get these figures down a bit possible before I see the doctor next week.

On the face of it I’m being very positive and doing all the right things. But honestly, I just feel sick and want to cry. I feel so stupid for not noticing this earlier. Of course I knew I was overweight, but I’ve been the same weight for years and in my mind I could get away with it and lose weight when I was a bit older. And of course now I think about it – I have been tired, but I’m a nursery teacher, and we’re all tired and stressed. My family are lovely and cuddly and kind – but the teenagers were just “Oh – mum’s diabetic – ok” – it’s not news in our household. I think I just want a few days of a pity party - so I decided that the best thing to do was to here. Last time round this forum was a life saver – so this time I’m hoping it will be just as much help.

 

[Alison Campbell]

Welcome back @Polgara , sorry to hear it is under such circumstance but hopefully you will feel better when you get your levels down.

I was shocked when I got a call at work from a practice nurse to say my results were borderline for diabetes and they wanted to retest me in 3 months. I had no idea what it meant and that weekend found this forum, thank goodness.

Sounds like you already know what your doing but will tag @daisy1 for new member info for you anyway.

This is a great place for support, inspiration and motivation!

 

[daisy1]

@Polgara

Hello Pol and welcome back to the Forum To help you, here is the Basic Information we give to new members (if you haven't already seen it in the past) and I hope this will help you, your husband too. Ask questions when you need to and someone will be able to 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 well over 147,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.

 

[Brunneria]

Hi and welcome.
Love the name. David Eddings?

I think the self-blaming thing is pretty universal when we are first diagnosed (assuming that your diagnosis comes back T2).
It sort of comes with the territory. Especially if we are carrying a few extra pounds.

But I bet you know people who carry more weight than you do, who don't have a diabetic diagnosis looming. There are a lot more fat people than there are people with T2.

The reality is that T2 is a lot more complex than the media likes to portray. There are genetics, environmental factors, individual medical histories, stress, AND ways of eating, AND weight factoring in.

So please don't beat yourself up about this. It is a complete waste of time, and it uses up energy that could be better used kicking your T2 into touch.

 

[sally and james]

Hi Pol, @Polgara
It sounds like you are already making a great start and making a start with more knowledge than most so touching the ground running. You have dealt with your husband's T1 for several years and, as your kids imply, "so what, Mum's got it too". But, actually, YOU haven't got IT. You have got something different, T2. (there are many people who say that they shouldn't both be called "diabetes") There is no reason why you should have recognised it, don't beat yourself up about it, even though most of us do.
In many ways, you have got the easy one. You won't die if you mis-calculate an injection or live in fear of losing your driving licence because of a couple of hypos. You just need to change aspects of your diet and lifestyle, changes which (if handled correctly) will also benefit your husband. Bring in these changes and, I promise you, life will be better all round. Today is not the end, it is the beginning.
Sally

 

[Prem51]

Hi @Polgara and welcome back to the forum. It is a shock when we get that diagnosis, even if we knew it was a possibility.
At 9-10mmol/L your fbgs aren't too high. You obviously know what you need to do to bring them down, and if it is confirmed that you have T2, you may well be able to come down to pre-diabetic or non-diabetic level by the 3 month retest.
Try not to get to stressed, that will only raise your bs levels.
You know you will get any help and support you need from the people on this forum.

 

[Polgara]

I knew it was the right thing to do to find lovely supportive people

 

[Polgara]

Alison Campbell - you are right about it just being such a shock - I had plans for the Easter holiday and they didn't involve monitoring blood sugars and counting calories and carbs.


Daisy1 - thank you for the info post, I'd read it last night, but there is so much information that it demands close attention.

Brunneria - yes Polgara is from Eddings, it's been my screen name for years now - I used to have brown hair with white streaks - bit now it's more white with the odd brown streak

Sally - I may be moaning over having (presumably) T2 diabetes - but goodness this is NOTHING like T1. The fear we felt when Al (my husband) was first diagnosed - the first hypos etc. And yes - Al is onboard for us both making changes together.

Prem51 - getting down to pre-diabetic levels - now that's something to aim for

 

[Freema]

it just is such a shock and a lifechanging diagnosis.... but if you right away change your ways ...of eating and start moving much more and keep measuring every day, also even the GP says you should not then you can get normal number by going low carbs...

I also went 1000 calories the first 6 month , and after loosing the first 15-17kg I also started going to a fitness center... as a pensioner I can do it more easily than you who has a job too... but actually my tiredness went away when I got much lower in carbs.. in 2-3 weeks my brain felt so much more like in my young days...to some high carb is just poison to their brains..

good luck with coping with this condition.. both type 1 and type 2 are anoying at times, and some ways the one is worse than the other...actually a well regulated type 1 can sometimes eat much more carb than a type 2... so that sucks... but on the other hand type 1 can be really hard to manage and devellops much more rapidly to servere conditions if one does not get the grib of all the measuring and timing all days long, so really I do not envy type 1 diabetics....

if you go under 100 grams of carb a day and maybe no carbs in breakfast meal at all.... then you´ll get in controll very soon..

 

[Resurgam]

I can offer no sympathy - I am enjoying being a type 2 diabetic far too much. It really has given me a new lease of life and made me look after myself a bit more.
I am a bit more selfish, I make special things for myself, I buy foods I tell myself I need to eat, frozen crab for instance - I travel to larger supermarkets to seek out all the varieties of sugar free jelly in existence, then make them up and balance them on top of defrosting crabs in the fridge to get them to set faster.
What is even better is that by buying and eating foods I find delicious, my numbers are either normal or heading that way, after only a couple of months. I have reduced my waist size, lost over a stone, and am far more cheerful - I am going out more, socialising, I feel younger.
A few days ago I thought I was doing well with an after dinner reading of 6.4 but I checked yesterday and got 5.9 - so things are definitely headed the right way.
Today I have eaten a tuna salad and plan on having chops with mushrooms and sweet peppers for dinner, followed by strawberries and cream. It really isn't a bad way to live.

 

[Polgara]

Hi Freema and Resurgam - I'm hoping that by really focussing on my eating and exercise that I will see a big improvement in blood sugars. I'm lucky really that I've got all this week on holiday so it's easy to make time for cooking and walking - crunch time is next Tuesday when I'm back in school.