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Starting Again

R

Roxanne

Active Member
Messages
44
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all,

I was diagnosed with type 2 around 6 years ago. I got it all under control and lost 4 stone. Then (I don't mean this to sound like excuses, this is just what happened) my dad and my father-in-law died within three months of each other, our landlord sold our house and we had to move twice in a year, and I stupidly my health on the back burner. I stopped taking my metformin and starting eating rubbish again.

Recently I had to have some blood tests for an unrelated matter which flagged up that I had stopped getting my metformin. I agreed to have a hba1c and it came back as 10.7. I am disgusted with myself and determined to get back on track. I have an appointment with the nurse next week, my doctor has issued a prescription for metformin and I have started on a low carb diet which I had great success with before.

My blood glucose monitor no longer works and there is no way I can afford one until after Christmas but I know from the past I need to test to get back on track, is it worth asking at my nurse appointment to be prescribed one? This is how I got my last one, I'm not if things have changed?

Sorrt for the long post, I guess I'm just looking for a bit of encouragement from people who have been in the same position I am in now and managed to turn things around
 
Hi Roxanne, I’m sorry to hear about your tough few years. I'm now seven months from being diagnosed type 2. Once I was over the initial shock, I saw it as the proverbial kick up the bum to get healthier. I was started on Metformin tablets and tolerate them well now after a bit of stomach upset in the early days. I wasn't advised to eat low carb by my GP or Diabetes education course, but stumbled on this forum by chance and took up a low carb life style with self monitoring. I started by eating less than 100g carbs/day to begin with and then after 6 weeks reduced it to 50-70g/day, that’s what I continue on now. Caution needs to be taken on certain drugs going low carb but on just Metformin it’s ok. You already know what to do and have done it before, I’m sure you’ll manage again. I doubt you’ll get a monitor on the NHS, I have an SD Code Free, one of the cheapest around. It’s worth asking at your surgery some type 2s are lucky enough to get one.
Low carbing and self monitoring have worked for me, to date I've lost over 4 stone (still more to go) and got my HbA1c down to a non diabetic level, all due to the fantastic support and advise I got here.
 
The TEE2 monitor is free, but there's no avoiding paying for test strips, though no harm at all in asking the nurse.
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/
You can get 50 strips for the TEE2 meter for £7.75. Don't forget to tick the box to say you need them because of diabetes, so you won't need to pay VAT.
 
Roxanne said:
Oh that's not bad, the ones I had been looking at were about £30 for 50 strips
Thanks, I'll look into that one.
Click to expand...
I find that the money I save on my food bill pays for my testing strips etc. All the best, you sound like times have been tough!
 
Thanks! Just been having a look, possibly a silly question but do I need to buy anything to put the lancet thingies in? The last one I had was an Accuchek multiclix where you loaded the drums into the pen.
 
lucylocket61 said:
does it come with a lancet thingy?
Click to expand...
It comes with everything. I wrote the following recently on another thread:
I realise that The Codefree strips work out a bit cheaper if you buy lots, but I'd like to put in a word for the TEE2. Firstly, the fact that it's free, but you get a useful little carrying case, 10 free strips, 10 free lancets (which will last for ages if, like me, you re-use them) a free lancet gun and free bottles of testing fluid. Then, customer service is fantastic. You can speak directly to a REAL PERSON 24/7 on a freephone line whenever you have a question or if you prefer not to order online. Your order arrives pretty much by return of post. You can have a replacement gun, batteries and more testing fluid, as well as the CD and cable for connecting to a computer, all free. (The last two I failed to make work, but at least they didn't cost me anything.) The meter works faster than the only other one I've tried and it only requires a small drop of blood.
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/
 
Roxanne said:
Thanks! Just been having a look, possibly a silly question but do I need to buy anything to put the lancet thingies in? The last one I had was an Accuchek multiclix where you loaded the drums into the pen.
Click to expand...

You can use any lancing device with any meter. All they do is prick your finger. I use an Accu Chek Fastclix, which also has a drum. Your Multiclix will work with any meter.
 

I'm not diabetic but joined this site because the doc warned I was in a dangerous place because of huge weight gain (17.5 stone at 5' 1"), sedentary lifestyle and terrible diet so it seemed a good idea to act before potential effects crashed down. I've lost 6 stone since May 2016 thanks to LCHF, last health check was excellent in every way, but I know full well that I'm extremely lucky that there is no genetic predisposition to T2 or the story could've been very different.

I've had to start over many times in various ways, and you can do it. You really can. Think of all the benefits, how much better you feel on LCHF, and the appropriate medication, how great it is to see your levels drop. You've had a rough time but can get back on track.

I see you're a Greyhound owner! Or is he/she a Lurcher? Difficult to see the size from your avatar. My Grey is a white and black rescue hound and the sweetest, most gentle boy. He really helps because he needs walking and a bit of exercise is never a bad thing.
 
Welcome back! And knowing that you have done it before - and it worked - will help tremendously as you clamber back to health.

Well done for making the change.
 
Thanks for your words of encouragement, it really helps alot.

Mine is a retired racing greyhound, he the most placid and gentle dog I've ever met. They are really special animals aren't they! We got him in February and like you say, is definitely helping me get out and walking.
 

You can do it. Don't let the occasional slip worry you too much - everybody in the world occasionally makes a b*lls-up!

My Outlaw Pat is a retired racer too. He wasn't very good, chucked out before he was two and he's now three. We've had him since the end of March and he's so, so sweet and placid. No prey drive which may explain the lack of racing success. Scared of cats (very wise as they can take out a dog's eye), uninterested in squirrels and bunnies. Loves people. Not sure I'd ever have another breed now.
 
I had some repeat blood tests and for some reason they did my hba1c again already, it has gone down from 10.7 to 9.9 in two weeks. Could this because of starting the low carb diet again already or can results fluctuate by that much anyway?

Also my liver function tests (which is why I was having tests) are now normal which was a pleasant surprise!
 
Well, that HbA1c is heading in the right direction! Nice one.

The way HbA1cs work, is that we are told it is the average over the last 2-3 months.
But the more I have read on the subject, the more I understand that the result is heavily weighted towards the recent past (last few weeks, rather than 2.5 months ago).

So yes, your low carbing could be impacting already.

How encouraging, eh?
 

Although the HbA1c is spoken of as a 3 month average, it is significantly front end loaded - meaning the most recent period is more significant. Improving your diet significant;y can have a good impact, as you have shown, but by how much varies depending the individual and what they have actually done.

It's certainly a nice bit of news before Christmas. Well done.
 
My consultant was shedding doubt on the value of Hba1c because it is a weighted average which can give a good looking value as an average of high/low swings. It was developed 'cos there was nothing else. Not enough research has yet been done on cgm data and outcomes. There are interesting developments though eg modal/agp which may give a more realistic view. Who knows? I've already said more than I understand
.
 
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