Shell shocked!

[Rachox]

Hello everyone. I don't know where to start, but here goes. I have had high blood pressure for a couple of years now and went for a check up 2 weeks ago. My GP said I was due my annual blood test, so that was done a couple of days later just before the BH weekend. I received an email on the Tuesday after the weekend saying I needed to make an appt. to discuss my results! Online I could see there were no appts. til mid June. I phoned and explained that I couldn't sit worrying for a month, so I had a telephone appt. instead, that was last Thursday. The Dr who called said my blood test indicated possible diabetes (hbc1a was I think he said 8.6?) and he needed to send another sample. He rang just now to say this second result is the same. I now have to go and see him on Thurs (11th), to manage this diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes.
I'm feeling pretty knocked back by this, bearing in mind I was recently diagnosed with asthma too!!
What can I expect of this appt., he mentioned tablets? What questions should I be asking?
Sorry for the long post, but look forward to advise from you all.

 

[AM1874]

Hi @Rachox .. and welcome
I was diagnosed T2 in early Feb .. a bit shocked with no information and no idea what was happening to me. Since joining this forum, though, the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need .. It's still early for me but, in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly ..

Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I have tagged @daisy1 for you and I would suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program in the information that she will soon be sending you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following websites ...
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

For testing, try the website at: https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/ for the SD Codefree meter or: http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/ who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free. The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I will be able to manage them
Hope this helps

 

[Resurgam]

The advice will probably be to take some tablets and await a diabetes education session.
I reacted badly to the tablets - Metformin and a statin, and have been far happier, and successful, with eating low carb foods.
My weight my cholesterol and my blood glucose have all gone down - my blood pressure did go up when taking the tablets, so you might use that as an excuse not to take tablets but try the diet if you would feel better about it.

 

[Rachox]

Hi @Rachox .. and welcome
I was diagnosed T2 in early Feb .. a bit shocked with no information and no idea what was happening to me. Since joining this forum, though, the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need .. It's still early for me but, in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly ..

Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I have tagged @daisy1 for you and I would suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program in the information that she will soon be sending you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following websites ...
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

For testing, try the website at: https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/ for the SD Codefree meter or: http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/ who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free. The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I will be able to manage them
Hope this helps

Thanks for your reply. Looks like I've come to the right place. I predict a late night reading all the links you've given me!

 

[Rachox]

The advice will probably be to take some tablets and await a diabetes education session.
I reacted badly to the tablets - Metformin and a statin, and have been far happier, and successful, with eating low carb foods.
My weight my cholesterol and my blood glucose have all gone down - my blood pressure did go up when taking the tablets, so you might use that as an excuse not to take tablets but try the diet if you would feel better about it.

Is it possible to take tablets initially to get levels down to normal quickly and get a low carb diet on the go, and then maintain good levels on diet alone?

 

[Bluetit1802]

GPs aren't too knowledgeable about diabetes and normally delegate the care to a Practice Nurse who will see you at regular intervals. (I've never seen a GP for diabetes related stuff). The nurse should put you on the NHS diabetes care pathway, which entails an annual screening of your retina, an annual foot check, and regular repeat blood tests. These are normally every 3 months initially, then if all is well, 6 monthly, then annually. You should also be invited to attend a course, although often these are a bit of a waste of time. (Not all of them)

You need to enquire if your surgery puts test results on line, and how to register for this. All English surgeries were asked to do this by April 2016 although some haven't. If yours hasn't, then you need to ask for a print out of your test results. It is more than useful to know all these as you need to know where you are starting from to compare with all the many tests you will be having from now on.

It would also help no end if you read round our main DCUK website http://www.diabetes.co.uk/ as there is a wealth of information on the site about the tests we have, what the results mean, all about the different medications we may be given, targets to aim for, and so much more. Learning what all the numbers mean, and what all the different measurement units are will help you understand matters.

Your HbA1c of 8.6% isn't good, but it isn't drastic. With some effort on your part and advice from this forum you can get that down.

Ask any questions you like, and good luck.

 

[Nicksu]

Is it possible to take tablets initially to get levels down to normal quickly and get a low carb diet on the go, and then maintain good levels on diet alone?

And the answer is - yes. I was started on Gliclizade (at the same time I started low carbing also). 5 months after I was told by the dietician that I could come off the gliclizade as I had improved so much - HBAC1 down from diagnosis - at 102 (ouch) to 50. Still not quite there yet - but 3 stone later - and another 2½ to go. I know - its a rude shock - but you'll get there

 

[Bluetit1802]

Is it possible to take tablets initially to get levels down to normal quickly and get a low carb diet on the go, and then maintain good levels on diet alone?

Yes. Many of us, including me, have never had any medications. We are diet only. Many others have reduced their levels enough to come off medication.

However, a word of warning. The first line medication is Metformin. This is not a strong drug and will not bring your levels down on its own. There is no miracle cure. Diet is the key. Metformin helps, but only to a limited extent, and helps people with weight to lose more than those who are slim. No-one can rely on it without having a suitable diet.

 

[Rachox]

And the answer is - yes. I was started on Gliclizade (at the same time I started low carbing also). 5 months after I was told by the dietician that I could come off the gliclizade as I had improved so much - HBAC1 down from diagnosis - at 102 (ouch) to 50. Still not quite there yet - but 3 stone later - and another 2½ to go. I know - its a rude shock - but you'll get there

That's good to know. Thanks. My hbc1a was quoted as a percentage, how does 8.6% compare to your numbers?

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Is it possible to take tablets initially to get levels down to normal quickly and get a low carb diet on the go, and then maintain good levels on diet alone?

Yes it is possible to take tablets initially but they don't have much of an effect when compared to diet. Being careful about what you eat produces a much more significant result than tablets. Many people manage on diet alone although for the moment you do as your nurse/ doctor say.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

That's good to know. Thanks. My hbc1a was quoted as a percentage, how does 8.6% compare to your numbers?

According to the converter 8.6 is about 70 in our numbers. That is high.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html

 

[Bluetit1802]

That's good to know. Thanks. My hbc1a was quoted as a percentage, how does 8.6% compare to your numbers?

About 2011 the measurement units were changed. Your percentage figure is the old one, still used by a few labs. The new units are called mmol/mol and will always be above 25 or so. There is a conversion thing here. http://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html so in new measurements your HbA1c was 70.5mmol/mol

 

[Rachox]

GPs aren't too knowledgeable about diabetes and normally delegate the care to a Practice Nurse who will see you at regular intervals. (I've never seen a GP for diabetes related stuff). The nurse should put you on the NHS diabetes care pathway, which entails an annual screening of your retina, an annual foot check, and regular repeat blood tests. These are normally every 3 months initially, then if all is well, 6 monthly, then annually. You should also be invited to attend a course, although often these are a bit of a waste of time. (Not all of them)

You need to enquire if your surgery puts test results on line, and how to register for this. All English surgeries were asked to do this by April 2016 although some haven't. If yours hasn't, then you need to ask for a print out of your test results. It is more than useful to know all these as you need to know where you are starting from to compare with all the many tests you will be having from now on.

It would also help no end if you read round our main DCUK website http://www.diabetes.co.uk/ as there is a wealth of information on the site about the tests we have, what the results mean, all about the different medications we may be given, targets to aim for, and so much more. Learning what all the numbers mean, and what all the different measurement units are will help you understand matters.

Your HbA1c of 8.6% isn't good, but it isn't drastic. With some effort on your part and advice from this forum you can get that down.

Ask any questions you like, and good luck.

Thanks for your reply. There's a lot to learn!

 

[Rachox]

Yes it is possible to take tablets initially but they don't have much of an effect when compared to diet. Being careful about what you eat produces a much more significant result than tablets. Many people manage on diet alone although for the moment you do as your nurse/ doctor say.

Indeed I will do as I'm told!

 

[Freema]

I Think you should accept the diagnosis and go really low carb right away an eat less than 100 grams of carbs a day , and buy a meter and get your HbA1c down This way to a level under 40 ... if you do that you maybe also get rid of asthma as when having very raised blood glucose the body is under a great pressure and very easily get adding diseases , so getting blood glucose down and maybe also getting fit can maybe bring your health back to normal

 

[CherryAA]

Is it possible to take tablets initially to get levels down to normal quickly and get a low carb diet on the go, and then maintain good levels on diet alone?

its should be possible to do exactly the same without the tablets - took me about 10 days to get into a more reasonable range ( under 10 ) from a starting point of 18 - then down by about 1 mol per month
strict low carb diet. No medication.

it will have taken you a while to get to the high you now have, but it shouldn't take too long to bring i back down if you adopt the LCHF diet .

 

[Resurgam]

I started with a Hba1c of 91 and dropped down to 47 in 80 days of eating low carb and not really trying - I was totally shocked at the result. I was taking the tablets for about 5 weeks to start with, but I was so ill, and have not fully recovered.
My BG numbers are normal, my cholesterol came down, the ratios are good or ideal and now that I am almost 6 months from diagnosis I would feel great if not for the lingering side effects from the tablets.

 

[TooManyCrisps]

I was diagnosed with an HBA1C of 97. I refused to be prescribed tablets as I wanted to try to adjust my diet first, and luckily my GP was supportive.

I started LCHF eating and with my next HbA1c it was down to 49, it's now dropped to 37. So it is possible to do it with diet alone.

Thd other thing I did which was crucial was to buy a meter and test before and after every meal so that I learned which foods raised my BS and what portion size I could cope with. I couldn't have done it without testing.

 

[Rachox]

I was diagnosed with an HBA1C of 97. I refused to be prescribed tablets as I wanted to try to adjust my diet first, and luckily my GP was supportive.

I started LCHF eating and with my next HbA1c it was down to 49, it's now dropped to 37. So it is possible to do it with diet alone.

Thd other thing I did which was crucial was to buy a meter and test before and after every meal so that I learned which foods raised my BS and what portion size I could cope with. I couldn't have done it without testing.

Yes, I'm wanting to get a meter. Are they ever provided by the NHS or do I have to get my own? Is the free one the Tee2 mentioned earlier a good one?

 

[kokhongw]

Is it possible to take tablets initially to get levels down to normal quickly and get a low carb diet on the go, and then maintain good levels on diet alone?

For some of us...yes...from a peak glucose reading of 23 mmols to 5.5-8 mmol within weeks.