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Scared and lonely

Mazzer

Mazzer

Well-Known Member
Messages
282
Location
Wiltshire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi Everyone, I have just been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Following the results of my blood test I visited my diabetic nurse for the first time yesterday, and felt very let down by the system. I had a 10 minute appointment and this is how it went.

Nurse: All your functions are ok, i.e. liver, kidney, cholesterol, your blood results are 64 and you need to get them down to 48. I will arrange for you to start on Metformin from tomorrow, take 1 for the first week as you might suffer with stomach upsets and then increase to 2 tablet per day and come back and see me in 3 months.

Me: I might need to see a Podiatrist as I think I have the start of an ingrowing toe nail.

Nurse: we will sort that out in 3 months time.

Me: Do I need to see a dietician.

Nurse: Yes, we will do all that and get your eyes checked in 3 month time.

Me: But I have blurred vision at the moment.

Nurse: That will sort itself out when your bg goes down.

Me: Do I need to continue to check my bg (I have my own meter and strips which I bought when told by my Doctor that I was borderline Diabetic a year ago).

Nurse: You can, but no more than once a week.

Me: Can I get the strips on prescription.

Nurse: I can let you have some when you come back in 3 months time, but you can only have 2 per year (100 strips).

I feel as if I have been fobbed off and expected to deal with this on my own, however, I have been looking at this website for about 6 weeks, but didn't want to join until I was officially diagnosed and knew what treatment I would be on, and have seen some of the advice given by this Forum have been extremely helpful.

I am so sorry for my ranting, but I just felt like I needed to express my feeling to people who would understand.
 
Hi Mazzer,
welcome to the forum,
i have noticed that many type 2s get this same kind of treatment , dont worry about ranting, i dont blame you for feeling this way, if you are starting with an ingrowing toe nail i would ring the surgery and ask if you can self refer to podiatry,
i have heard that some diabetics do (ive got one at the moment), as for the eyes ..vision does start recovering when blood levels drop to normal,
have a good look around the forum and ask away
look forward to hearing from you;)
 
Hi and welcome. I have just posted another thread under 'DSN doesn't now what she let herself in for' updating where I am after 2 years. My clinic does offer regular eye and blood tests and the tests recommended by NICE BUT. get yourself a meter. Go to a private foot clinic. I am lucky I have the money to spend on my health (and I now some people haven't) but you have to take control yourself. Read this forum - ask questions. It gets easier. Good luck. You are not alone.
 
Hi Totsy,
Thank you for your reply. It's the first time I have been on a forum, so I am just learning how to use it. I think I made a mistake earlier and started a conversation with someone instead of starting a new thread. Anyway, I am sure if I do anything wrong, hopefully someone will point me in the right direction.

I start my first dose of Metformin with my dinner tonight and am a bit apprehensive. I am sure if anything happens I will be back to ask a few questions.
 
Hi, I post on several different forums so bit of an old hand but every so often I press the wrong button! I took the Met prescription to the chemist and got the tablets but never started on the Met. I was about to go away for the weekend to Germany and didn't want to be worrying about taking the tablets. By the time I got back I was on a diet anyway. For me, there seemed little sense in starting something that I would be 'taken' off of if I lost weight and that is exactly what I intended to do (and quickly did). That is only how I felt at the time. We all have to follow our own paths to reach our destinations. There are plenty of people on here who take Met, so ask if you have any questions.
All the best, Mushroom x
 
Hi, Welcome :)

it was great idea to read a little of the forum and hopefully answered some questions, if not as you no doubt already know, theres always someone willing to help if you get stuck with anything or just need a rant, weve all been where you are now so understand the emotional termoil that goes along with this beast, best of luck and dont worry about taking the met, i believe only one in ten people have a bad reaction to it and then there are other options, i know nothing about ingrowing toenails but i assume they get worse the longer you leave them so waiting three months doesnt sound very good to me, i think i would be going back and pushing for help with it much sooner.
 
Hi. Your experience is very common and similar to mine. Ref Metformin if you do have stomach upsets that don't readily clear then ask the DN for Metformin SR (Slow Release) version. They don't often prescribe it first time round as it costs a little bit more. You eyes will clear as soon as your blood sugar comes down so don't worry (unless it has another cause of course). Ref podiatry, as that has nothing directly to do with diabetes I would make another appointment to have it dealt with separately. NHS dieticians can vary from good to truly awful for diabetics as many don't understand diabetes. You will find a lot of advice around this website. To keep blood sugars down you need to control your carb intake. If you are overweight, many posters also find that low-carbing is the best way to reduce weight as the same time. Apart from that have low-GI carbs where you can and don't worry too much about fats. Proteins are fine and so are veg and fruits in sensible quantities. You can get lower cost strips on the web and in particular eBay although the latter are often ex-prescription so watch the end-date.
 
Mushroom said:
Hi, I post on several different forums so bit of an old hand but every so often I press the wrong button! I took the Met prescription to the chemist and got the tablets but never started on the Met. I was about to go away for the weekend to Germany and didn't want to be worrying about taking the tablets. By the time I got back I was on a diet anyway. For me, there seemed little sense in starting something that I would be 'taken' off of if I lost weight and that is exactly what I intended to do (and quickly did). That is only how I felt at the time. We all have to follow our own paths to reach our destinations. There are plenty of people on here who take Met, so ask if you have any questions.
All the best, Mushroom x
Click to expand...
Hi Mushroom,
Many thanks for the advice, I am not overweight, I put myself on a low carb diet before I got the results of my HBA1c, but my bg is still 9.8
Andy12345 said:
Hi, Welcome :)

it was great idea to read a little of the forum and hopefully answered some questions, if not as you no doubt already know, theres always someone willing to help if you get stuck with anything or just need a rant, weve all been where you are now so understand the emotional termoil that goes along with this beast, best of luck and dont worry about taking the met, i believe only one in ten people have a bad reaction to it and then there are other options, i know nothing about ingrowing toenails but i assume they get worse the longer you leave them so waiting three months doesnt sound very good to me, i think i would be going back and pushing for help with it much sooner.
Click to expand...
Hi Andy,
Thanks for your advice, I think I will request an appt with the Doctor and ask him to refer me to a foot specialist, fortunately I do have private medical cover, so I might a well use it. Thanks for the reassurance regarding the met. I am so glad I finally joined the Forum I have over the last few weeks been reading the advice from you guys and have learned a lot.
 
One of the things you need to do is get on a course (can't remember its name) which your surgery should arrange/give you information for; it covered metabolism, health, diet and feet and takes a day. Mine was good but I went forearmed with detailed knowledge (but that is just me). I don't know how fast your sugars will come down but my symptom (not even being able to get to work without having to stop for the toilet) cleared in a week of cutting out all of the empty carbs I had been eating. My biggest culprit was bread and I dropped that from about a dozen slices a day to 1 and it worked wonders.

Don't be scared - there are lots of scare stories and they are appropriate but many will tell you appropriately that you need to look after your sugar levels and take control of your condition (it isn't the doctors/nurses condition). There are many on this forum that will provide you with support and advice to the best of their ability so no reason to be lonely.

I hope you find that this life changing condition becomes a force for good in your life. It isn't all doom and gloom and down hill from this point on although when first diagnosed it does seem like that.

In time you will find the path that is right for you (and as I found your family as well because they have to live with you too) as there are different approaches that people follow to control their condition. What works for one will not always work for you.

I am glad you found this community - they are a good and helpful group
 
If you have problems with the met dont wait for the next prescription just contact your GP right away and ask for the slow release version .I waited and suffered but I didnt know about this forum then
CAROL
 
Welcome to the forum Mazzer, just make sure you see a podiatrist soon about that ingrowing toenail.
 
Mazzer said:
Hi Mushroom,
Many thanks for the advice, I am not overweight, I put myself on a low carb diet before I got the results of my HBA1c, but my bg is still 9.8

Hi Andy,
Thanks for your advice, I think I will request an appt with the Doctor and ask him to refer me to a foot specialist, fortunately I do have private medical cover, so I might a well use it. Thanks for the reassurance regarding the met. I am so glad I finally joined the Forum I have over the last few weeks been reading the advice from you guys and have learned a lot.
Click to expand...
Hi again, Mazzer. We all have slightly different circumstances and different places on the road to relying on insulin. (Thank goodness it is there). For me being overweight caused and/or played a large part in my health and how I have been able to manage the Diabetes so far. How long I can do it without meds, I don't know but I hope it has bought me some time. You have tried restricting carbs, then for you, meds are your next step. Very best wishes.
 
Hi Mazzer and welcome to the forum:)

In addition to all the excellent advice you have already received from many members, here is the information we give to new members which I hope you will find helpful. Ask more questions 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 70,000 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.
 
Thank you very much to all of you that have responded and given me loads of valuable advice. I am keeping to a low carb diet as I have also found that carbs do raise my bg levels quite a lot. I have been testing since Christmas as I was sure that I had diabetes, but not confirmed. I browsed this site and took advantage of the advice given to other newly diagnosed people.

In the weeks prior to getting my HBA1c test I managed to get my bg down from 21 mmol/L to just under 10 following the low carb diet and exercise (taking my Border Collie for long walks). I took my first Metformin last night with no adverse affects apart from feeling a little nauseous, but I think this was down to worrying about taking it rather than the tablet itself.

I am so glad I joined this Forum and able to converse with all you lovely helpful people. I already feel much more confident about the road ahead and hope that in time I will be able to help other that are newly diagnosed.:happy:
 
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