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type 2

Welcome Alice
It will feel scary , it is all very new .
Please try to stay as calm as you can , not easy and I don't think I ever did 18 months ago , but I have learnt it is about looking after yourself as an individual ....still not easy ...
Chat away and ask what you want when you feel,ready , so many questions , things to read , medical people to see...
Just breath first ...and think about how you would like to move forward ...think about what is best for you ....not sure if there is a right way , it is all about what is right for you ....
More people will also be around tomorrow ...take care ...Kat
 
Hi Alice, and welcome!

You have come to the right place for lots of helpful information.

Don't worry about finding it all scary. That is perfectly natural. We all go into shock for a while, and then we go through a phase where we haven't got a clue what to eat. It takes a while to adjust.

have you got any questions? and have you been reading the forum at all?
 
I find it so scary because my mum had diabetes 2 . She ended up going into a hypo her sugar level went to low they couldn't get it back up she ended up having a stroke followed by a massive heart attack and sadly passed away . This brings back so many memories and my family say I am just like her . She got diabetes around the same age as myself. Thankyou so much for replying
 
I'm so sorry about your mum.

You have a long way to go before anything like that happens to you.

Many of us here on the forum use diet and exercise to control our blood sugar. And if we keep our blood sugar as low as possible, then we massively reduce the chances of the kind of thing that happened to your mum.

Stick with us. Read the forum. Ask questions. Make changes to your meals and drinks (if necessary). And you may be surprised at how manageable type 2 (I'm assuming you are type 2?) can be.

Can you remember what test the doc used to diagnose you with diabetes?
And what they said the results were?
 
Hi Alice and welcome to the forum :)

I'm so sorry about your Mum. Here is some information which should help you. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to answer.

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 over 100,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.
 
welcome Alice. Please feel free to ask us anything; there is always someone that can help with the benefit of their experience.
 
Hi brunneria I know they done the thumb prick and took bloods but cant remember what she was saying . My daughter came with me to hear what was said . Thankyou so much for your reply
 
Hello Alice and welcome to the forum.

You must be very scared, but this is normal at the beginning. I know you will want to control this disease so you don't end up like your poor mum, so I suggest the first thing you do is ask your daughter just what the blood test results were and then post them on here. If your daughter can't remember, then your surgery will tell you if you ring and ask (or pop in). You can also ask for a print out of the results, which you will find useful in the future. Without this information you really have no idea where you are at. We will all help you understand the results.
 
Hi Alice. Diabetes management is so much easier than when your Mother was being treated. If you are a T2 then with the right diet e.g. keeping the carbs down and having tablets if necessary you can avoid long-term problems. Hypos are not likely with most tablets and can be avoided using the meter and controlling the tablet dose. If eventually you need to go onto insulin then with the right guidance you can also avoid hypos and any long-term conditions. Do discuss with your GP/DN and come back with any questions
 
Daibell said:
Hi Alice. Diabetes management is so much easier than when your Mother was being treated. If you are a T2 then with the right diet e.g. keeping the carbs down and having tablets if necessary you can avoid long-term problems. Hypos are not likely with most tablets and can be avoided using the meter and controlling the tablet dose. If eventually you need to go onto insulin then with the right guidance you can also avoid hypos and any long-term conditions. Do discuss with your GP/DN and come back with any questions
Click to expand...
thankyou so much, i am 52 i am on metformin 500mg 3 times a day
 
Hi Alice, welcome.
 
Hello Alice. Hope you've had a good day. I have my first repeat blood test since diagnosis tomorrow so I'm hoping my change of diet has made a difference. Take care. Welcome. :)
 
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