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Type 2 new diagnosis: confused??

Eddie65

Well-Known Member
Messages
60
Location
Wales
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Can't say
Hi, newly to the whole diabetes thing. Looking for some advice and help. I was told that I was prediabetic 12 months ago. Nothing much was made of it all, two weeks ago I was told that I am now at the low end of T2 diabetes and needed a further, fasting test which I had this week. My Hba1c level was 54 mmol/mol. The receptionist was really kind and helpful but couldn't tell me or confirm a diagnosis of T2 diabetes! I was told that a nurse would ring and chat about the result and how we go forward! Getting a GP to chat to is harder than getting an audience with the Pope these days, as a result, I still haven't been told that I now have T2. Any advice would be fantastic, I'm not looking for anyone to diagnose me, I would just appreciate comparisons in order for me to make my own conclusions. Thanks in advance, and big hello to everyone from me
 
Welcome to the forum. 48 is the magic number which puts us in the diabetic range. A few tweaks with your diet should pull you back to normal range. Read the link in my signature, ask lots of questions.
 
Thanks very much for your reply! I'm sure I'll have more to ask as I begin this journey. So if 48 is the magic number, 54 is the wrong side ☹. As you say, diet and exercise for me now, d'oh!!
 
Good luck Eddie, plenty of help on here from people who are (or were) exactly where you are.
Many find that lifestyle changes, and not too drastic(!) may keep you on track. I advocate you listening to people on here because they have been there, done it and many have significantly improved, or reversed, their T2.
Some doctors and 'specialists' preach a diabetic mantra that doesn't necessarily fit with current research. (Being polite there). Automatic prescribing of medication and over-lowering your cholesterol to name but 2 areas where evidence-based thinking seems to have changed.
In fact, you may be better off giving the Vatican a call, at least you've a chance of a face to face.
 
A glucose meter can be your best friend. @Rachox has some good information, you won't get it on the NHS.

Let us know what you eat in a typical day.
 
Thanks so much. I'll give the Vatican a call or tweet @pontiff and see what happens
 
My diet is generally ok, plenty of fruit and veg, low sugar/salt. I love to cook and particularly Mediterranean foods....... to be honest, its more the alcohol that's the problem, though I'm new to the diabetes thing so I may well be wrong on the food side (unfortunately im pretty sure I wont be wrong about the alcohol side ☹. )
 
Fruit is not good for T2. Berries are OK, preferably with Greek yoghurt or double cream. Vegetables should be above ground.

Alcohol is fine, spirits with diet mixers. Stay away from beer and lager. I'm a red wine type of gal myself.
 
Oh man, are you in for good news. T2 can be controlled with a low carb diet, and there's actually a Mediterranean offshoot of that. No bread, spuds, rice and pasta, alas, nor pizza bottoms (unless you're willing to google fathead pizza, which is fine!), but plenty of cheeses, salads, fish and meats.
No fruit, save for berries with something fatty like unsweetened whipped cream or clotted. Most of it is just too full of sugar, sorry. Veg: the above ground and leafy green kind is fine, it's the underground stuff we don't usually handle well, and pulses are hit and miss. Some can handle them, some can't. Your meter'll tell you. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ should help some get you started on the new way of eating, which isn't unpleasant at all. Looking at your preferences and love of cooking, you'll be fine!

As for alcohol, well...Has your liver been checked? A lot of us have Metabolic Syndrome, which includes T2, morbid obesity, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.... And non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. You don't have to tick all the boxes, but where there's one, the others are usually following close behind. So far as alcohol goes, your liver might thank you if you knock it off.

However!

If your liver's been given a clean bill of health, and if not yet, you might want to ask for tests when you finally do speak to someone, just to make sure... There is alcohol you could have. https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/drinks#alcohol For the most part, beer is out, but the harder stuff and quite a few wines are fine.

Hope this helps!
Jo
 
There are alternatives to pasta. If you Google low carb or keto Mediterranean you will find hundreds of suggestions.
 
I love a nice red, too much in fact . I also enjoy lots of greek yogurt with blueberries or raspberries. Plenty of tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, chilli peppers etc. I guess it's about redesigning my diet to create recipes without the less desirable (or appropriate) food stuff. I eat loads of fish too, hope that's ok still?? Bu the way, thanks for all the advice and help
 
That sounds more like me...... I can change to this without too much alteration. Wow, I was unaware of the liver link too! I have fatty liver disease and I'm just waiting for a new scan date to come through. This might shed some light on things. Can I also ask, when you were first diagnosed, did you feel nauseous and exhausted all the time? Thanks again
 
I had rather severe NAFLD, and about half a year later, with low carb, those levels were back to normal. But I was pretty much teetotal to begin with, so you might want to skip the booze for a while. And when I was first diagnosed I was extremely fatigued, and suffered with muscle weakness. My husband had to cut my meat, as I no longer had the strength to get through. Sometimes while walking my knees would suddenly buckle. (Hard landings, those!). So I spent a lot of time in bed, feeling miserable, and indeed generally ill. I had infections that never healed, my liver area was very sore etc..

These days I do as much walking as I can, usually with a big bag with a couple of camera's and about 4 lenses. Aside from the phone and all that. I got my strength back, lost weight, lost the fatty liver, got my blood glucose back down.. So yeah, the odds are things'll massively improve for you too.
 
Eddie65 said:
................................................Can I also ask, when you were first diagnosed, did you feel nauseous and exhausted all the time? Thanks again
Click to expand...

Many did feel that ay at diagnosis, but that was usually with a much higher (=worse) HbA1C than yours.
It takes 2 HbA1C tests to confirm diabetes.
My HbA1C at diagnosis was 53 and I didn't have any symptoms like you describe.
 
ianf0ster said:
Many did feel that ay at diagnosis, but that was usually with a much higher (=worse) HbA1C than yours.
It takes 2 HbA1C tests to confirm diabetes.
My HbA1C at diagnosis was 53 and I didn't have any symptoms like you describe.
Click to expand...
 
This was my 2nd test to confirm the first results. Thanks for your reply
 
ianf0ster said:
Many did feel that ay at diagnosis, but that was usually with a much higher (=worse) HbA1C than yours.
It takes 2 HbA1C tests to confirm diabetes.
My HbA1C at diagnosis was 53 and I didn't have any symptoms like you describe.
Click to expand...
They could be connected to fatty liver though. Especially the fatigue.
 
Thanks so much for your feedback, feeling more positive and ready to go for this . Keep up the positive stuff. I guess it all affects us in different ways but I can very easily relate to what you have said. Thanks again
 
Eddie65 said:
Thanks so much for your feedback, feeling more positive and ready to go for this . Keep up the positive stuff. I guess it all affects us in different ways but I can very easily relate to what you have said. Thanks again
Click to expand...
You're going to be fine. Just a gut feeling I've got.
 
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