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Recently Diagnosed

D

Dredger

Newbie
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2
Hey all.

Went to the Doctors week past Monday feeling like **** with all the symptoms, thirst, increased urination, weight loss and the general feeling like ****.
I had lost 20lb in the space of a couple of weeks without dieting which prompted the appointment. I'm Male 45 6' 16st 5lb as of just now.
The Doctor said he could smell the ketones off of me straight away, got my urine and blood sugar tested 23BS and positive with the urine and a blood sample sent away, i am sure my ketones were over 5 something or other but i'm not 100%.(i had never heard of ketones before that day)

Got another appointment for the next day and was put onto Metformin 2 x 500mg a day and 1 x 1mg Glimepiride.

Went back a few days later and was given BG star and test strips and had my levels taken again which was 27BS and 3.7 for ketones.

I am currently struggling to get my BS down to normal levels, no sugars are crossing my mouth i have tried to cut out all carbs for the time being.
It's all salad vegatables lean meat etc etc.

My average blood sugar over the last 5 days is 14.9

Emotionally I am up and down at the moment and the only way i can describe it as if i am in some sort of mourning for something lost.

I have read quite a few posts so far and it looks like i have found a good place to ask questions and discuss things with people who have and are going through the same sort of things.

Rgds

Dredger
 
Hi Dredger and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information we give to new members which should be useful to you. Ask all the questions you like 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 well over 30,000 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 ... rains.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 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.
 
Hi. It's good your doc found the keytones which are a danger sign. If your blood sugar does not reduce with the tablets and low-carbing over the next few weeks or keeps going up do go back to the doc. It's always possible you have late onset Type 1 (LADA) which causes diabetes to come on quite quickly and can cause high keytone levels which need treatment. Let's hope the tablets and diet do work for you but be prepared to seek urgent advice if things don't improve. Do have a good fluid intake.
 
I have only being a diabetic for a couple of months my feelings are up and down just hang in there and use the forum as it helps to know you are not the only one out there diabetes uk and its users have been a big help to me if it wasn't for them i would have found it harder to core
 
Dredger, welcome to the forum, but sorry that you have to be here, if you know what I mean.
You have been given good advice already so wont add any more information at the moment because I know how overwhelming this information overload can be, but just wanted to say that since you have decided to eat low carb, dont go thinking it has to be all salads and meat, that gets boring and esp during the winter months you will be wanting something a bit more comforting.
Check out the Winter Warmers thread, the Low Carb Recipes thread and the Chocolate Paradise thread, you will find lots of recipes there, no need to stick to just salads.

Ask lots of questions, and read your way through the forum
All the best to you
 
Re: Recently Diagnosed baby

Hi my story turns in to a magic ending
My daughter Betty peach had her mmr 2 weeks ago and laws feeling poorly soon after
I put this down to her mmr after 5 days of drinking lots of water and becoming even more poorly with breathing I phoned 999
I had asked my Heath visitor do u think she could be diabetic I was told it was to do with her mmr she had
Any way at this time we were rushed to Poole hospital were 10 doctors were waiting for Betty peach
And worked on her for an hr and come to conclude she was type 1 we almost lost our daughter she is only 13 mths old and were so gratefully to Poole hospital the echo had written an article on her we so delightfully she's on the mend she wears a pump all the time and has insulin every time she snacks which is up to 15 times a day we have been told this will not b as much but at first makes you hungry
Kimberly graham Betty -peach
 
Thank you for your replies.
Excellent introduction Daisy1
It makes a difference knowing there are others who i can discuss this with who have been through the same thing.
I will definately be checking out the winter warmers thread. :thumbup:

Thanks again
 
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