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Recently diagnosed T2 hi peeps

igual88

igual88

Active Member
Hello all, I'm a 36 year old male diagnosed T2 about a month ago.
Allready have a bucket full of health issues , started to notice I was constantly needing to pee and had a really itchy tummy, put 2 and 2 together and requested a diabetes test from my GP.
4 days later doc phones up and his exact words were congratulations you have diabetes....
Thankfully I have a great relationship with my GP due to my other health issues.
I sustained a serious injury when I was a teen trapped for 3 days with broken femur and front of right lower leg ripped clean off from knee to ankle , 2 vertebra in spine crushed, 6 ribs busted, skull fracture and 2 broken fingers. Fell 80ft into a ravine then was continually burried by rockfalls, was very very lucky to be found by the helicopter crew.
I had lost a ton of blood, severe dehydration etc, spent 2 weeks in the high dependency unit then transferred to specialist hospital for massive reconstructive surgery finally got home after 14 months.
Since then I had to relearn to walk and mobilise using 2 crutches, unfortunately as the years have gone past the nerve damage has caused massive issues with neuropathic pain ( right leg feels like it's on fire 24/7 ) and scar tissue in hip and spine have calsified found nerve and muscle.
Also throw a healthy dose of PTSD into the mix just for fun...
Left ankle is shot as well as 80% of body weight is allways on that ankle, needs a fusion but the hospital are very reluctant to do anything as managing it will be a nightmare.

On the positive note I have a lovely lady in my life , and we have an adopted daughter 12 years old ( she has severe autism) she's my little gremlin and despite her driving me bonkers I love her to bits and she makes me proud everyday.

Ok on to the diabetes bits
My hab1c test was 78
Soon as I got the diagnosis I was straight on here researching and within hours had ordered the SD code free meter, started a food diary and by reading diary .
Spent the following few days really deeply reading forum etc and we decided that LCHF was the way to go.
Over the years I've gained a truck load of weight at diagnosis I was 22s 9lb.
Average by readings those first few days were 12-18 constantly.
Saw diabetic nursie and metfirmin was started, she was impressed with the diet , BP was good 118/59.

It's now a month on and the highest reading this week was 8.2 lowest was 5.1 average 6.3.
Have bought Tom kerridge book which has some cracking recipe in.
Currently on 1000mg metfirmin in morning and 500mg at night soon to increase to 2000mg a day.
Allready lost 10lb
Have purchased the bodylastics set to exercise my upper body a bit and have started trying to do some more chair exercises, still swim twice a week.
Has caused an increase in pain but unfortunately I'm used to that.
Meds for pain are transtech beuorenorphine patch 75micrograms an hour , temgesic 200mg x2 as required, solpadol 30/500 as required, and sertraline 50mg increasing to 100 mg next week.


Well if you've got this far with my essay well-done hehe.
Looking forward to learning more from you all.
 
welcome here igual88 :)

well yes you have really suffered a lot and still do... sad that you´ll have diabetes on top of all that to also fight against..

you seem to not be extremely high in blood glucose so maybe if you make a strickt strategy you´ll be able to get a really fine control of at least that part of all your struggles..

you havve a meter already which is so fine... if you choose breakfasts withhout carbs like bacon and eggs or an avocado wit a sprinkle of lemon juice , or a Lidl protein roll with cheese or whatever you find that suits your taste amoung foods with almost no carbs..then at least the breakfast will not raise the dawn phenomenon even further.

if I was you I would also take vitamin pill with k2 every day if your doctor accepts that , as vitamin k2 is really good for bone building and maintanence of bones and also according to more resent science good at preventing blood clothing and heart disease... especially combined with a vitamin d pill low dose, and just the calcium that is already in ones foods...
 
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Goodness me, what a story. You survived that dreadful accident and have overcome the severe injuries and are coping with ongoing issues with great positivism. After all that you should find managing your diabetes easy. You have started brilliantly by coming here and doing all the reading, getting a meter, and grabbing this condition by the horns. Well done.:)

Keep reading, keep posting, and ask as many questions as you want. Good luck in your journey.
 
Blimey. You have been through the wars!
Well done for making it through all that AND finding the forum.
Am so pleased you have found something that is working for you. Yes, that Tom Kerridge book is excellent, isn't it?
And have you found the DietDoctor.com recipes yet? I've been very impressed with them, too, although I have only started using them regularly a couple of weeks ago.

Good to have you joint the forum :D
 
Brunneria said:
Blimey. You have been through the wars!
Well done for making it through all that AND finding the forum.
Am so pleased you have found something that is working for you. Yes, that Tom Kerridge book is excellent, isn't it?
And have you found the DietDoctor.com recipes yet? I've been very impressed with them, too, although I have only started using them regularly a couple of weeks ago.

Good to have you joint the forum :D
Click to expand...
Think my good lady had a looksie on the dietdoctor webby.
I'll have a peruse laters
 
Freema said:
welcome here igual88 :)

well yes you have really suffered a lot and still do... sad that you´ll have diabetes on top of all that to also fight against..

you seem to not be extremely high in blood glucose so maybe if you make a strickt strategy you´ll be able to get a really fine control of at least that part of all your struggles..

you havve a meter already which is so fine... if you choose breakfasts withhout carbs like bacon and eggs or an avocado wit a sprinkle of lemon juice , or a Lidl protein roll with cheese or whatever you find that suits your taste amoung foods with almost no carbs..then at least the breakfast will not raise the dawn phenomenon even further.

if I was you I would also take vitamin pill with k2 every day if your doctor accepts that , as vitamin k2 is really good for bone building and maintanence of bones and also according to more resent science good at preventing blood clothing and heart disease... especially combined with a vitamin d pill low dose, and just the calcium that is already in ones foods...
Click to expand...

Thank-you for the reply, I do take a multi vitamin and kelp tablet daily, will check with the vet I mean doc re the vit k.
Alot of peeps have mentioned the lidl rolls, must send swmbo on a lidl trip, hopefully she can get some pickled chillies from lidl as well they are nom nom
 
igual88 vitamin K2 is not usually in multivitamin pills as it is a rather new finding that there are more different acting vitamin K's K2 is very specialised in its actions
 
igual88 said:
Thank-you for the reply, I do take a multi vitamin and kelp tablet daily, will check with the vet I mean doc re the vit k.
Alot of peeps have mentioned the lidl rolls, must send swmbo on a lidl trip, hopefully she can get some pickled chillies from lidl as well they are nom nom
Click to expand...

Pickled chillies? Now you've got me! I haven't noticed those on my regular forays to replenish my Greek Yoghurt lake, so I must do better. :)

Welcome aboard, and my respect to you for your positive outlook in the face of adversity.

If you, or your wife, like to cook there are some wonderful websites out there to get the taste buds going, and ensure your diet is varied and scrumptious. Ones I like are:
ditchthecarbs.com
ibreatheimhungry.com
sugarfreemon.com
kalynskitchen.com

.... to name just a few. If I fancy something in particular, I usually just ask Dr Google to guide me towards "Low carb whateverifancy" and he can usually oblige.

Whilst we usually find our way of eating needs to be modified, there's no reason why different has to be bland or boring.

This site also has a 10 week low carb programme which is a structured programme introducing a low carb way of eating.

Good luck with it all. You deserve a decent roll of the dice.
 
Wow, that's a lifetime or two!

There are two things I pick up on: You love your adopted autistic daughter to bits even when she's difficult. Makes you a kind, loving man. I have a severely autistic cousin and know it's a trial.

Tom Kerridge has caught your attention. He lost 11 stone in 2.5 years, an incredible achievement. Did you see him on 'Sunday Brunch'? Although he's at normal weight now, he was very careful to stay away from anything carby. I've lost 60lb and he's kind of my hero.

You are highly intelligent, self-aware and have this under control. If you ever need support, we're here for you. :)
 
As a short dumpy female I have managed to drop my numbers down to almost normal in a couple of - without much exercise by comparison with many.
You should find it even easier. Your numbers are ahead of mine by about a month, so the LCHF diet must suit you - and of course there is always something you can eat which is where most diets fail.
Onwards and upwards, or rather, downwards, in our case.
 
@igual88 wow you certainly had such a lot to deal with. Amazing. I didn't know if you had had the information from @daisy1 which is for new people. The LCHF diet is very effective and I find the food great! Welcome :)
 
Ty for the welcome and info peeps, luckily my good lady is a good cook, my mum was a chef as well so home cooking was drilled into us at a very young age.
With littleone and her autism eating has allways been a challenge for her ( very texture orientated ) she luckily loves strong flavours such as tea smoked chicken, curries , chilli's con carne , took along time to get her to try new flavours and textures.
Tonight we are having chicken satay with tabouleh , I'm having Greek salad with mine though.still trying to convince both women in my life that olives are yummy.
 
@igual88

Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find this useful. Ask as many questions as 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.
 
It sounds like you were very lucky to have got out of your initial pickle alive ! That said your resulting positivity about living with the injuries is amazing and I am sure it has been a huge struggle. Converting to LCHF will be a doddle in comparison. Apart from anything else it is so deliciously wicked to be eating the stuff many others think will kill you, even if it is in tiny quantities !

I tore a ligament about 3 months ago and am still in a lot of pain with not at great deal of movement. Not in your league at all ! I was recommended to try Magnesium citrate - its early days yet, but I think I might be able to detect a small improvement.

The weight loss will also probably help your ankle. Good luck with the journey!
 
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