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Totally freaked out

Andy12345

Andy12345

Expert
Messages
6,342
Location
Surrey
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
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Doctors
Hello, I'm sorry I haven't read many posts and I apologise if this has been asked before, I was drinking like a fish and wife made me test my blood, my number was 24.9 so I rang the out of hours doctor who saw me and said I had something in my blood and I had to go to a&e I spend most of last night up there and they have said I have high blood pressure 250 over 150 and have now put me on metphormin and some blood pressure capsules, I have basically eaten nothing much today because the doc said I can't eat sugar at all, I can hardly even read anything on the net, it's all bad, the more I read the worse this seems, I'm 42 and never been I'll I'm my life..... I'm totally freaked out and life seems to have been turned upside down, I have 2 wonderful kids and could do with seeing them grow up, can this be a mistake? Can blood sugar just be a blip, could I go to the docs and he say it's all fine? Sigh I'm sorry I'm rambling, if this isn't a bad dream......is life liveable with this?
 
Ok I've read few posts and maybee should have done this before posting my panic, your posts are great and will I suppose be up all night reading :)
 
They usually like a fasting blood test, not a binge induced blood test. so if you've been drinking like a fish it throws many readings out. Your blood pressure is probably of more concern. I don't think much can be ascertained until there is a certain amount of detox. There will be a settling of levels, some to normal and some may remain high. Then they can start to work things out. Chronic drinking does cause excessively high blood sugar though.

This used to be a trick in Germany in the 1970s. People would go out on a binge, an all nighter and then stay up all day. Then they'd go to the docs who would measure all sorts of things and diagnose circulation collapse - kreislaufkollaps. They'd then get a sick note.

Your A&E don't normally send you home if you are in imminent danger and I'd trust their blood sugar readings over any home meter. The problem is that alcohol affects the liver in various ways so many of your readings are probably not typical and you must wait until things settle down.
 
I might as well say it up front. You sound as if you do have a problem and the chances of the doctor saying it was all a mistake are slim and none in my opinion.

Having said that you will come to realise that things are not as bad as they seem and there is no reason to panic. You will go through the shock of it and then the feeling that this can't be happening to you but slowly you will learn what and when to eat and you will take the medication if it suits you.

Ok, so at the moment you may not wish to believe anything I say but you will slowly accept it. Stay with this site and learn from the others on here.
 
Couldn't just read and not reply - you sound really worried. I know it's really scary (my little girl was diagnosed in December). At first we were in complete shock, but even 2 months on life is a lot better - HONESTLY, it really is! I'm sure in time you will feel less worried too. Have you had an official type 2 diagnosis? I take it they've told you you are type 2, seeing you're on Metformin and not on insulin?
Diabetes isn't all doom and gloom anymore. With good control you can help prevent a lot of complications. You will need to look at your diet, hopefully you will receive help with that very soon. A lot of type 2s buy (if not prescribed) blood glucose meters and test strips, this will help you to get good control.
Please don't read too much about the worst-case scenarios. There is a lot you can do to stay healthy. Now you know what the problem is, you can start to get better (I would imagine you must have felt poorly for a while, prior to diagnosis?).
You probably feel overwhelmed right now and might not have taken in all of what the docs told you. Ask them to explain your results, what you need to do re. diet/medication etc. Life with diabetes is liveable, definitely!
 
Yorksman

When OP said he was drinking like a fish I took it to mean water. Sorry if I misunderstood.
 
Yikes sorry, drinking water like a fish thank you for replies which I'll now read, thanks
 
Andy12345 said:
Yikes sorry, drinking water like a fish thank you for replies which I'll now read, thanks
Click to expand...

Oh Andy, dont freak, its not as bad as it seems to be at first, you need to make some lifestyle adjustments and learn good bg management, believe it or not, you can be a very fit and very healthy diabetic.

Where do you start? Ah its confusing, dont go reading too much, your head will be spinning, you cant take it all on board in one go, so I suggest you start off by exploring these two links, then you come back here and ask any questions you may have, dont worry, there are no daft questions, nobody is going to laugh at you, you are in good company in here, people are supportive and know what you are going through, you can let off steam, you can cry, you can share the good news and the not so good news, talk about your fears, anything really.

So here are the links to start you off:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17088

and

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/

All the best to you and yours - Judith
 
Ok a little calmer now, well all I can say is thank you so much for what you have said and the links, I have no idea what type I have I'm going to try and get an appointment with GP tommorow, and a dietician the hospital doctor has sent a letter to them, although it seems I will get much more info from you guys, ok I'm going to kiss the girls goodnight then calmly as possible read a little more, I hopefully will be a useful member of the forum one day instead of being a newbie helpee, I'm sorry for the feeling sorry for myself and for being selfish when there are children with diabetes, your already friends and that's kinda cool.
 
Squire Fulwood said:
Yorksman

When OP said he was drinking like a fish I took it to mean water. Sorry if I misunderstood.
Click to expand...

Oh right, yes he's confirmed it. Where I live it's the same as out on the razzle.
 
Arrr so happy you are feeling a lot calmer now . It will get a lot better and easier as time goes by . Please keep us posted on how u r getting on . Keep smiling
 
Andy12345 said:
Ok a little calmer now, well all I can say is thank you so much for what you have said and the links, I have no idea what type I have I'm going to try and get an appointment with GP tommorow, and a dietician the hospital doctor has sent a letter to them, although it seems I will get much more info from you guys, ok I'm going to kiss the girls goodnight then calmly as possible read a little more, I hopefully will be a useful member of the forum one day instead of being a newbie helpee, I'm sorry for the feeling sorry for myself and for being selfish when there are children with diabetes, your already friends and that's kinda cool.
Click to expand...

Heyyyyy, you are already a useful member, your intro may well be helping some other newbie feel a little less isolated. And you are not selfish in the least, you have high bg levels, high blood pressure, of course you will worry about it, but the good thing is that there is something that you can do about these issues, trust me, you will work out what works best for you, you will learn to control the beast, it wont be controlling you, you have a head start already, you were brave to join the forum and ask questions, you will be just fine.
 
Andy12345 said:
Sigh I'm sorry I'm rambling, if this isn't a bad dream......is life liveable with this?
Click to expand...

Sorry for misinterpreting the drinking thing. Yes, life is liveable. Steve Redgrave was diagnosed with diabetes in 1997 and still won a gold medal in 2000. For many people, it's just a question of being careful with what they eat and making sure they take more exercise. I'll be 60 later this year and have osteoarthritis in my ankle so potentially it was problem for me to lose weight, though important that I did. I got a rower though which has little impact on my ankle have shed 14Kg now and feel much fitter. My BGs are now 5s and 6s mostly. They were in the high teens originally. I do five four min sessions a day, one, 1 hour after every meal and that noticably drops the BG level. The exercise is basically like walking up stairs or up a hill. You just get to a point where you think bloody hell this is tough, keep it going for aother 30 secs and then give up. Short and regular produces enzymes which helps stimulate the insulin which gets rid of the glucose. It's better than one big session every evening.
 
I was diagnosed before Christmas and am finding it very difficult to control my blood sugar levels by medication alone. I've not been given that much information really from my health centre and I've found out more on-line even today. I now find I am not allowed to eat carbohydrates,sugar, alcohol and also bananas as they make my sugar levels go sky high. Had a chicken, tomato, basil & pasta dish with garlic bread and salad-for dinner this evening and my sugar levels are 22.8, what am doing wrong?? Before I was diagnosed I had lost 1.5 stones, I have now put on 1 stone in the last 3 months. I just like my food, but like the wrong things obviously. Is there a good diet someone could recommend for a carbs lover? I mean what do I replace my sandwich with a lunchtime? Or jacket potato? A salad won't do it for me!
 
Hi,
Pls consider what pasta , spuds, bread etc are made of in the simplest form.
I feel that your "sugar" input via carbs MAY be contributing greatly to your BG readings.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Sorry... Try tortilla wraps.
I put a full tin of tuna in one, with a touch of salad.
Works out at about 300 kcalories max, about 30g of carb and it will fill you up.
Think how many slices f bread would be needed to envelope a full tin of tuna.


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Josephine1965 said:
I just like my food, but like the wrong things obviously.
Click to expand...

Yes, it was a big surprise to me too. A ham sandwich or beef sandwich, nothing fancy, not a lot of butter, no sauces, just a few slices of tomato and up went my BG. I couldn't believe it. The problem is the white bread. As soon as I switched to wholemeal bread, it's OK. Or rather, some are OK, some are just like white bread. You have to learn which ones you can trust. I still test before every meal and two hours after evey meal and I keep the meal very simple if I am trying a new food or even a new type of bread, so I can get a picture of how it affects me.

Good news is, there are lots of foods you can eat. Often it's just a switch, white rice to brown rice, normal pasta to wholegrain pasta and so on.

Josephine1965 said:
Had a chicken, tomato, basil & pasta dish with garlic bread and salad-for dinner this evening and my sugar levels are 22.8, what am doing wrong??
Click to expand...

Suspect foods there are the garlic bread and the pasta. I eat pasta now, but only wholemeal pasta and maybe 60gm rather than 80gm. The next thing is, was this in a sauce which was sold in a jar? They often contain sugar. Often, even yoghurts which are labelled 'Low Fat', contain more sugar. You have to check every label if you don't make the sauce yourself.
 
Hello, thanks for the great kind replies, I went to the doctor today who was relaxed about things which helps, I was a little disappointed because my level went up to 18 this morning but apparently that's just because it hasn't settled down yet, well below the twenties I was at so I suppose this good, I have a blood test on Wednesday and dietician on the 19th so hopefully that will go well,.... I was thinking of keeping a diary (first one ever) and testing my blood 2 hours after ever meal so I can work out what makes my sugar go p, do you think it's too soon and I should wait until they decide what medicine I should be on? I have key tomes in my blood but don't have acidosis so I'm not sure what that means yet,.... I went shopping today to find something delicious that I can eat but didn't find anything hehe, so I'm just eating fruit mainly,
 
Andy just take one day at a time. I was diagnosed just a few weeks ago and am still trying to get my head round what's ok and what's not food wise. The biggest problem is there is no hard set rules, everyone reacts differently so just find what works for you. A low(er) carb approach works for me, although my shopping trips now take twice as long as I compare labels but its worth it. I have also invested in the Collins Gem book Carb Counter which has helped.

There are some fantastic recipes to try out, I follow all the links supplied by the VERY helpful members on here and have a book full already to try out.

Of course its frightening and very confusing at first but I now see it as the kick up the backside I needed to change my lifestyle. I now try to exercise at least once a day (although the cross-trainer is my enemy!! I hate that evil thing in my spare room :crazy: ) and have gone back to making meals from scratch (or at least my lovely OH is :clap: )

This forum has been my lifeline though, a fab source of info and reassurance so I'd like to say thanks guys :thumbup:
 
Hello Andy. One of the adjustments we have to make, is that normal "healthy eating" guidelines don't necessarily suit us diabetics. It's not all bad news, though: you may not want to go straight onto a low carb high fat (LCHF) diet, but I find it liberating to realise that bacon & eggs for breakfast is a great meal for us, and not something to feel guilty about. What prompted my reply though, is that fruit sends my blood glucose rocketing, so now I only eat fruit in small quantities just before exercising, which brings the BG back down quickly. Obviously, sweet snacks are out, but if you feel peckish, then nuts (not with dried fruit) are pretty good.

I was diagnosed in November 2011 and am still discovering new and delicious things to eat; I did have to make sure that reading glasses were up to scratch, for reading all that small print on food labels!

Good luck with the journey - I found it a fascinating study with the added benefit of making me healthier.


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