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Type 2 newly diagnosed and scared

lucylocket61

lucylocket61

Expert
Messages
6,394
Location
Wrexham
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I have been diagnosed type 2 this week. I am scared. I have been doing high card/low fat dieting on the advice of my HCA, for the past 16 weeks cos i need to lose 10 stones of weight. My sugar levels are going up and up, I have only lost 3kg in 16 weeks, and I am now diabetic :(

Help!!!! I dont want to die of obesity and diabetes.

my next appointment with a doctor is in 3 weeks.

my Hca-thingy test last week was 7.2, up from 6.1 before i started dieting.
 
Can't BELIEVE what you've been told. Read the following, it will also lose you tons of weight.
Daisy will be along soon with dietary advice for new members which is great advice, so do read that. In general terms you will need to reduce the total number of carbohydrates you eat per day. All carbohydrates turn to sugar when we eat them, and no type 2 diabetic on diet only, or on diet and metformin only, can control their blood sugars (BGs) without controlling their carb intake. Even those on strong medication normally choose to control their carb intake to keep the level of medication they take down. The total number of carbs per day you can eat depends on how advanced your diabetes is. It’s perhaps worth starting at about 50% of normal levels for a non-diabetic then adjusting up or down according to how you get on. That’s 150 grams of carbs per day for a man, 125 for a woman. You can read the total carb content of food under “nutritional info” on the packet or wrapping, or look it up on the internet for loose food. Just google “carb content..”
You also need to stop or reduce the bad carbs; that is the starchy ones that make your BG go up quickly.
So obviously no sugar or glucose! But also no white bread, white rice, pasta, flour products like pastry, cake and batter. You can eat a little basmati rice, wholewheat pasta or the tri-color pasta fusilli ones in small quantities. Boiled new potatos are OK but not old pots mashed, boiled or in their jackets. (Roast is not so bad, the fat slows their absorption and conversion to glucose in the blood) Amongst other veg, parsnips are about the worst for BG, and carrots not great but ok in smaller amounts.
Multi grain bread (not wholemeal) is not SO bad, but lots of us eat Burgen soya and linseed bread from tescos and sainsburys, although all bread should be in limited amounts.
All fruit has carbohydrates, and needs to be included in the amounts of carbs you eat in a day. For most people, bananas are about the worst for pushing our BG up and berries (like strawberries, raspberries etc) are the least bad.
No sweeties!
Exercise is important. I tend to exercise about an hour after eating when I know my BG will be peaking. This helps to bring it down quicker and further. I do ten minutes hard work on an exercise machine, but you could run up and down stairs for ten minutes or go for a brisk walk.
Returning to types of food and quantities of carbs - you can only find out how many you can eat by testing. Most type 2’s are not given access to testing equipment, so you should get your own – although try arguing with your Doc that you want to manage to NICE guideline blood sugar levels, and can’t do that without testing! If you have to buy a meter, they are cheap and most manufacturers will give them away for free. They make their money on the strips you have to use! So go for the meter with the cheapest testing strips. Some people test before and after eating, on waking (fasting test) and before bed. But if you have limited strips because of cost, the key to me is testing 2 hours after eating. If your BG is above, say, 7.8 at that stage, you need to cut down on the carb content the next time you have that meal. Test after various different meals and you soon get to see a pattern of what you can and can’t eat, and in what quantities. You can then reduce your testing. I said “below, say, 7.8” because NICE guidelines are below 8.5 but most of us think that’s a little high. 7.8 is the max. Level at 2 hours after eating that a non-diabetic normally gets to so is perhaps a better target. Some then set progressively lower targets.
Do ask lots of questions; there is normally an answer on here. The more you get to learn about your diabetes, the better it will be.
Good luck!
 
Hi Lucy and welcome to the forum :) Cheer up! There is no need for you to die of obesity and diabetes, even though we all die one day. I am type 2 like you and am in good health and coping with no problems with my diabetes. Not everyone gets problems. If you look after yourself well you should hopefully live a long and happy life, barring other health problems or events of course which no-one can predict. Here is some information which will help you look after yourself as well as possible. Ask as many questions as you like as there is always someone here 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 30,000 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 ... rains.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 blood glucose 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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
Click to expand...
 
Thank you for your replies. That is more info than I have had in 16 weeks of medical involvement.

I want to start to cook meals from scratch. Can you recommend a book which gives the the carbs of ingredients, rather than of ready meals or ready-made food please?
 
Hi

I was effectively given the same advice as you as in "You're pre diabetic follow this diet", then "Oops now look you're fully diabetic" some months later. After following people like Grazers and others diet advice I may still be diabetic as there is no cure but I've now got the blood sugars of a non diabetic person and take just the minimum of diabetic drugs to help. I've lost over 12 kgs in 10 weeks. Hard work but well worth it and most importantly I've got control of my life again.

Keep asking questions and good luck.
 
Hi. You're already getting the sort of advice you need on this thread to help you reduce both weight and sugars. It's very sad that the NHS is so hung-up on low fat and doesn't understand the effect that carbs have on the body i.e. they get turned into glucose and if you start to become insulin resistant your body can't easily burn the glucose so it gets dumped by the kidneys and stored as fat. You might find one of the many websites that list low-GI carbs useful. These define foods that are carbs and give them a GI rating; you need to go for the lowest GI that you can consistent with some balance in the diet. This is just one UK website I picked at random:

http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/

Eating fat with carbs helps slow absorption so fats can be useful. You may well be prescribed a statin which will help keep your cholesterol levels good.

The proof of the (low-carb!) pudding will be in your sugar levels over the coming weeks as you reduce your carbs. Do let us know how you get on.
 
Thanks. Is there a limit to how few carbs I must eat? Do I have to have a certain amount?

I dont know how I will know my blood sugar levels. I havent got a monitor or anything and I dont see my doctor for another 3 weeks, let alone have any blood test appointments. Who should I talk to about it?

I feel so much better and happier now I have started posting.
 
There is no hard and fast definition for low-carbing, but trying to stay within 150gm per day might be a good initial target. Some set a lower target. If you go too low then the body starts converting fat for energy, a process called Ketosis, which is not normally a problem for T2s. Some in the NHS are paranoid about this but as long as you don't go too low so you have enough carb to be converted via glucose for energy then there's no problem.

Most of us got hold of our own meters as the NHS is reluctant to provide them due to test strip costs. Most suppliers will provide them for free as they make their money by selling the test strips. Have a look at test strip costs on the web for the popular meters to check prices and contact details for the meter manufacturers. Both the diabetes.co.uk and diabetes.org.uk websites often have adverts for meters.
 
Yes I'd start out around 100 to 150 and see where you go. It all depends on your tolerance to carbs. Some people like Grazer can eat more (150 - 180g) and some like me have to do less (around 65g) to keep within the safe limits. You'll find some people will do a lot less than me and some would rather not count carbs at all and just manage their levels using the size of portions as the means to control. Whichever way each of us choose what we probably all agree is restricting carbs, especially the starchy ones, is the key to controlling things.

It's this starchy carb control which kind of implicitly means you end up on a low carb diet that may put you into conflict with your gp, nurse and dietitian. If you're worried about going against their advise then take heart that if you were in a more enlightened country such as Sweden and I think now Germany as well a low starchy carb diet that most of us follow would be recommended by your healthcare team and our UK diet would be positively discouraged.

You should really do this in conjunction with testing your blood with a blood glucose meter otherwise how else are you going to find out what are good or bad foods for you. The one everyone is recommending at the moment is called the SD CODEFREE from healthcare.co.uk but be careful to order the UK mmol/l meter and not the US mg/dl version. The cheapest place to buy it that I've found is eBay. A meter, finger spikey thing, case and 60 strips will cost under £20. You can then get more test strips for that meter for £4.99 per 50 which is significantly cheaper than other meters. It saves you money to buy as many test strips as you can afford with the initial order as you'll save on additional postage costs.

You may also find you are quite aggressively told to stop testing by your healthcare team although some gp practices are more enlightened. The UK health (N.I.C.E) guidelines state that so long as you demonstrate that you understand why blood sugar control is important and show your team that you are doing just that then the recommendation is that you should be provided a meter and test strips on prescription. However I would say based on the experiences of forum members that as Type 2's, the majority of us don't get strips (or not enough) prescribed as a gp is entitled to ignore the guidelines if he thinks it would be better for you if he did. Did you realise that as a registered Type 2 diabetic your gp now receives £2000 per year to spend on YOU and your diabetic care.

The amount you test is also a personal choice but while you are working out your safe meals and safe foods the minimum I would recommend you do would be to test just before and then two hours after you main meal. It's probably advisable to do some tests of your breakfast and lunches to start with just to work out a range of safe options.

Keep asking questions!
 
Day 2 and nearly 48 hours of low carb (60g a day). I feel odd. Sort of floaty odd. And a headache. But my hot flushes every few minutes have stopped.

is there somewhere where it explains how I should be feeling and what is normal please?
 
You really should ask your GP if you are feeling really bad as no one on the forum is really qualified to give medical advice.

Changing diet can effect people in different ways. You MAYBE experiencing your floaty odd feeling because your body has got use to running on high sugar levels and dropping straight to a 60g / day carb regime MAYBE your bodies way of shouting "Where's all my lovely sugar gone - give it back!" This kind of feeling is usually given the term "false hypo". It's effects are real but isn't the same as if you're experiencing a dangerous true hypo like Type 1 diabetics can have in fact anyone (diabetic or non diabetic alike) can get the same feelings.

Like I say if you think you're really ill you should go see your doctor but if you think its the change in diet then either stick with it and try and ride through it or up your carbs a bit and see if the feelings subside.
 
lucylocket61 said:
is there somewhere where it explains how I should be feeling and what is normal please?
Click to expand...

It would be good to know what your levels are when you get that feeling. Have you got yourself a meter yet?
 
I dont see the doctor for another 3 weeks. How would I get a meter? Just buy one of Amazon or something?
 
Just buy one in boots if you want one straight away, though you'll probably only get 15 strips with it. There's one on ebay that has 50 strips for 4.99 which is a bargain (my meter costs £27 for 50 strips).

I can't remember the name of the ebay one - but xyzzy will
 
I have now ordered a meter kit. Now I just have to be brave and actually use it when it comes. I am very scared of things hurting my fingers. Its a real phobia of mine : (

Is there a technique which hurts less than others?
 
The best thing to do is to have the finger pricker at the lowest level that you can get blood out with and to use the sides of your fingers by the nail and not the pads of your fingers.
 
If you wash your hands in really quite hot water as well, it seems to make the 'pricking' easier.
 
Well done with the meter it really will help you a lot. Prick the sides of your finger tips not the tip as otherwise you can end up with losing sensitivity in the tips of your fingers. Obviously vary which finger you choose, either remember which one you did last or if your memories bad like mine try and just randomly pick a finger!
 
I just had a phone call from the Doctors surgery. They have the results of my latest HbAlc test and its up to 7.5. Thats 0.3 in 2 weeks!!!

They have given me a half hour appointment with the Practice Nurse on Friday, instead of me waiting 3 weeks to see the Doctor, and I'm scared again.

My only confimation so far was from my HCA last week, so this is my first Diabetes appointment. Any idea what will happen? I only changed to low carb 3 days ago, so too early to tell if that will help. And my meter is on its way from Amazon.

Is there a list of questions I should ask on Friday please?
 
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