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Please I need some help

B

bob1965

Member
Messages
7
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi everyone I need some help

I was diagnosed with severe ischemic heart disease January 2014 went on to have a triple heart bypass March 2014, whilst in recovery, for a couple of days I was put on insulin as the Drs said they couldn’t control my blood sugar level, was asked many times by Drs and nurses if I was diabetic. Other than that recovery went well, rehab exercise was a no problem and I returned to my work as a builder end of June 2014. Started noticing I was very tired and had little energy and no stamina around July/August time, put this down to the drugs I was given to take so went back to Drs to see if anything could be done, was told I needed to take them to prevent future complications, took it upon myself to stop taking each one, one at a time to see if I improved, symptoms did not improve but steadily got worse, also double and blurred vision, feeling sick after eating and continuously need to wee all the time, Was referred back to cardiologist to see if heart was performing ok, had a stress echocardiogram and was told the heart was performing as good as could be expected considering heart attacks and surgery. The tiredness and fatigue was then put down to chronic fatigue syndrome as they could find no problems with me.

I had a fasting blood test in March 2015 and sugar level was 5.5 but was by then wondering if I did have a sugar problem so I bought an acucheck mobile monitor to see if anything showed up. First day waking up level was 7 had a bowl of cornflakes with semi skimmed milk and was at 13.4 one hour later. Continued testing and cut out the very little sugary food I was having along with lowering my carbohydrate intake and within a week felt so much better, had energy and not so tired all the time, vision improved and didn’t need to rush to the loo all the time. Went back to my Dr to discuss with her, she said sugar level was 5.5 and this is well within the normal level and diabetes is not considered till 7, also I don’t fit the profile for diabetes as I am slim, fit and have active lifestyle and they had diagnosed me with chronic fatigue syndrome anyway, she reluctantly agreed to a Hba1c test and this came back at 42 (had been on a no sugar, low carbohydrate diet for 9 weeks by the time it got done) again was told by the Dr that 42 is well within the normal level and that diabetes would not be considered till a level of 48 was reached.

I have continued monitoring my morning levels and they ranged between 6.5 and 7.8.

I had a cold in July and it hit me hard, since then I feel I am slipping back again, the tiredness and blurry vision has returned and some days I don’t have the energy to even get up a flight of stairs, started to test my blood before and after meals, before evening meal was 4.9 had home made chicken curry with 75g of brown rice 1 hour later blood sugar was 9.8. Next day had chicken casserole with a small amount of mashed potato and went from 4.9 to 9.4 In just 30 minutes

I have now cut carbohydrate as well as sugar from my diet but because of the heart disease I am reluctant to start eating fatty food, my blood sugar level has also improved and is now around 6 with little spiking after eating, when I go to the doctors they just sugar level is fine, I don’t fit the diabetic profile and disregard what I am saying about what I am eating.

Any ideas on what this may be and how do I get taken seriously? I am 49 years old, fit, active and not overweight, never smoked and don’t drink
 
Hi Bob, I am tagging @daisy1 who will be along soon with your welcome info pack ..

Back in 1992 I had the heart attacks (40yr old) and the big by pass op .. So welcome to the zipper club ... 18 months ago I had been told I was T2 .. I was eating low fat as advised by my heart team ... But I have since found this advice is becoming out of date and fats are not the bad guys .. I follow the low carb high fat way of eating now and have got my life back ... Honest .. If you cut out the carbs your body needs fats to get energy from .. I was completely wiped out most of the time .. Legs and arm hurting .. Life too much of an effort .. Then once I switched to the LCHF eating it was amazing .. Like the clock has been turned back .. My sugars are in the normal range and my heart nurse is over the moon with my unexpected recovery .. My diabetic nurse is not bothered either way ... My cholesterol is in the normal range as are all my blood results ...

Don't be afraid to try the high fat .. Throw away all the low fat foods .. They are full of sugar .. And replace then with full fat ones .. Then try to get your carb intake down to 30 to 50g a day .. Keep testing your sugars and hope you will feel better soon ..
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@bob1965

Hello Bob and welcome to the forum As mentioned above, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Carry on asking questions 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 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

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.
 
An HbA1c of 42 is not well within the normal range, it's within the pre-diabetic range, which starts at 42. I'd say it's very likely your level 3 months earlier would have been higher, towards 48, or even over it.

Hopefully over the next few days you will get some replies from people who can help you solve the puzzle. The doctors should have been doing HbA1c tests from the start, as they are the gold standard screening test for anyone over 40, and for those under 40 with risk factors like heart disease.
 
Hi thanks for the welcome and the advice,

Think you may be right about fat and heart disease, I had known for over 20 years that I was at high risk of heart disease so followed the Drs advice and ate only low/no fat foods and any bread, rice, pasta etc was wholegrain, yet still developed the heart disease.

You say you had pain in your arms and legs, was that while you were still eating low fat and carb? The last few weeks before I cut the carbs right down I was getting weak and dizzy a few hours after eating and would get aching in my calves before I started to feel hungry however my sugar level was always around 5. I could never go more than about 2.5 hours without eating, since cutting out the carbs this has all stopped. The only carb I had yesterday was approx 30 to 40g in some dumplings as we thought the suet would be a good source of fat however 1.5 hours after eating, sugar level had gone from 5.3 to 10.3 may have gone higher as felt pretty rough most of the night


I don’t have a heart nurse and don’t know what my cholesterol is at the moment. I haven’t had a test done since my operation, I am also on atorvastatin and a few other drugs and was under the impression that I should have regular testing of liver or kidney function, the Dr didn’t seem this was a necessity



My Dr does not recognize prediabetes and was not interested in the results of my own testing as according to her the home test equipment can be wildly inaccurate, I was either diabetic or not, think I only got to have the Hba1c test to shut me up and anything under 48 proved that I was not, since then I have been eating to the meter and finding that as the weeks go by I have less things that I can eat
 
Thank you Enclave and Catlady, your link to blood sugar 101 gave me a mine of information and an insight into what may be going on with me.


I have changed to the LCHF and can say it has made a big difference to my life, the tiredness has lifted, energy has returned as well as clearer eyesight and thinking, my fasting blood sugars dropped down to 5.3 the first week but have started creeping up again and are averaging 6.4

Most of the time I have avoided eating any carbohydrate but have noticed on 3 occasions, when I have had approx 20-30g in a meal that approx 3 hours later my heart is thumping, my feet and hand feel swollen and prickly, the next day I feel like I had been run over by a truck as well as a return of the blurry vision and lack of brain power and co ordination, I feel really rough for about 4 days before feeling right. Is this a normal response to eating carbohydrate after cutting down?

Avoiding it like the plague at the moment
 
Hi Bob 1965 I note with great interest about your thumping heart, mine does that periodically and I have never related to anything really,Dr. Had me wear a monitor for 24 hrs then sent me to hospital for consultant to read it but he said nothing wrong with me but you have started me thinking but funnily enough it happens very rarely now and on reflection it is since I went LCHF but I don't know if I can tie the rare events to being a bit naughty which is also very rarely, this is food for thought probably better than extra carbs haha
 
There is something called "the last meal effect". When you cut the carbs down to a minimum your body produces less insulin because you don't need much as you are not eating carbs (glucose). Then if you suddenly have a carb binge, your body only produces the amount of insulin it has recently been used to producing, hence there is insufficient insulin produced to cope with the sudden onslaught of carbs. This means your sugar levels will shoot up and take a while to drop again, and this is most likely the reason you felt so poorly. Did you test during this period?

By the way, I would consider changing doctors if I were you.
 
Hi Bob welcome I have just joined this afternoon. All the symptoms and more but it's you that Is more important I have over come my problems I am as my name says just 3 weeks ago strictly died. Cornflakes a no no milk has sugar in it ugh. I am very lucky I have a fantastic dr who looks after me but some doctors don't deserve to be in such a position. Go to your local hospital and see if you can get a appointment with a diabetic nurse. All it takes is a blood test and your symptoms.
 
Hi guys thank again for the replies and the support, I do feel that the heart thumping episodes I get are directly related to eating carbs, I first noticed it happening in the period when I had cut out sugars (didn’t realise carbohydrate and sugars were the same until started reading posts on this forum 4 weeks ago) originally put it down the drugs I was taking for the heart disease but then It got to a point about 6 weeks ago when I could predict it would happen especially approx 3 hours after eating pasta, at the time I felt rough all the time and didn’t really to think much of it, my body has always been a bit weird lol

Thank you Bluetit for the info and explanation of the last meal effect, it makes perfect sense most of the meals I now have are carb free, especially breakfast and lunch, on one of the occasions I knew I was having approx 25g but thought it would be ok, the thumping heart I can live with it’s the 4 days of blurred vision and acting and feeling like a zombie I don’t like, the other 2 occasions were accidental and resulted in spending the next morning working out what I had eaten and the carb content, I am much more careful now.

I didn’t test at the time and this will sound pathetic but the effort of getting out of bed washing hands and testing was just too much, I did test on one of the earlier occasions after pasta and was 14.8.

I think I am noticing this more now as I am feeling really good most of the time, I did notice mild symptoms of it coming on last night after our evening meal that contained only about 4g of carb, I tested 4.7 before the meal and 1.5 hours later tested at 6.8. Fortunately today I am me and not my zombie lookalike so it wasn’t enough of a rise to set anything off


Got a bit of a problem with the Dr though, think I have jumped out of the frying pan into the fire lol.

Decided 4 weeks ago to change to another practice and see a different Dr

So went along to my first appointment last week with a diary of my diet and pre and post eating meter readings along with a nice little graph showing all my morning fasting levels, explained all my symptoms to him.

He was not impressed, told me to throw away the test meter, I should not be testing my blood the meters are inaccurate, the symptoms I had and the fact they improved with a change of diet was psycho symatic, he could see from my notes I had been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome my HbA1C was 42 this is far from being diabetic, I should eat a proper diet, he was not impressed with my diary and chart and said it indicated to him that I had an unhealthy obsession with wanting to be a diabetic and that I would benefit from taking antidepressants.


He has told me to have all the blood tests again that I have had before.


On the plus side I have to attend a health check at the surgery tomorrow as I am a new patient, hopefully the nurse that carries this out will have read the NICE guideline on preventing diabetes, that says anyone with HbA1c of 42 or over and a risk of Cardiovascular disease is at a very high risk of developing diabetes and steps should be taken to help them improve there diet and lifestyle.


Didn’t find that out till after the Drs Appointment, but thanks to a link on this forum I now know, should be interesting day tomorrow……
 
Crikey, what an extremely rude and incompetent doctor. I'd definitely not go back to him.

You're quite right, 42 is risk territory for anyone especially someone with CV disease.
 
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