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Waiting for Nurse appointment

P

pinkpantha1977

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all

Very newly diagnosed with T2. Currently waiting for appointment with the diabetes nurse so floundering a bit.

Got another week to wait to see her and been prescribed with Metformin.

I've taken metformin before as I have PCOS and was prescribed as part of fertility treatment so I've experienced the side effects before and know they v will pass on the next week or so.

I've looked up a lot of Info on line but really not sure what I need to do or start before seeing the nurse.

Just really confused and hoping my appointment will make it all clearer!

Any help or advice about the appointment would be really appreciated

Thanks
 
Hi and welcome.

I've been exactly where you are and thankfully stumbled upon this forum almost 5 years ago to the day.

I recently made a video to help those newly diagnosed - if you have time to watch (45 minutes but you can stop and start) I feel it may help as a newly diagnosed type 2.

Do you know what your hba1c result was by any chance?


 
Thank you. I will certainly check that out.

It was 58.
 
Hello, and welcome, @pinkpantha1977 .
The nurse will most likely weigh you, give you advice that T2 diabetes is a progressive illness that will need increasing amounts of medication in time. Also that you should adopt a low fat diet, eat plenty of carbohydrate foods such as wholemeal bread, brown rice, fruit and vegetables, and you don’t need to test your blood glucose levels yourself as the 3 monthly HbA1c tests will provide all the information needed for the health professionals to ‘manage your symptoms for you’. The script they use for that is “Testing yourself will only give you bruised fingers”. Your nurse should also take blood pressure, and check your feet. You should also get an appointment for eye screening to check for any changes to retinas. This will be checked annually thereafter.

Many of our members have taken control for themselves. They are proving the “progressive illness“ theory wrong. You could, too. They reduce carbohydrates of all sorts in their diet, and self fund blood glucose meters and test strips so that they can monitor how various foods affect their levels. As long as you are not on medication that can cause hypo, it is safe to reduce carbohydrates. A lot of people with much higher HbA1c than your 58 have done so, and have managed to put their T2 diabetes into remission.

If you scroll down past my signature in this post you will find some useful info for new members. Please have a read, and then come back and ask questions.

Best wishes, Pipp
 
This may sound as an advert for the Low Carb programme however I am finding that my general health and weight have improved since starting, try doing it with the kick start book as a guide. Discuss with your nurse as it is a radical change from low fat milk to full fat milk and other dairy products my nurse was very cautious until I told her it was a Diabetic UK scheme and is very much on side. I already take a statin so she was less concerned . The nurse is on your side and certainly not the enemy.
 
A quick update I am no longer a newbie and on medication now
 
Many nurses and GPs prescribe Metformin without giving the patient a chance to try diet and exercise first. I was diagnosed in 2018 with an HBA1c of 55. The nurse said I will give you 3 months to try diet and life style changes.The only advice I got was cut out white grains and cakes and dont test mybloods at home. I went home and googled diabetic services in my area and discovered a programme called second nature. I made enquiries and found my GP surgery subscribed to this service and diabetics could get a free place. Its all online but for the first 12 weeks you get a health coach. I got a place, was sent digital scales to weigh myself, a fitness tracker and a recipe book all free. The health coach guided me through dietary changes to make such as cutting out white rice/ pasta/ bread/ sweets/ cakes/ fruit jiuces etc and eating more green leafy veg, salads, veg like aubergines/ courgettes/ spinnach. eating berrries like blueberries/ blackberries/ raspberries rather than fruits higher in sugar ( frozen fine). Most importantly drinking water as that really helps to get blood glucose levels down. I bought a meter and tested myself at home before a meal and 2 hours later to work out which foods push my BG up. I started moving after eating too even if I just walked round the living room. My next result was 47. I am still taking no meds. I also joined the low carb programme which is mentioned on this site. Its excellent value for money for all the help and support you get. Good luck, your numbers aren't that high so you should be able to get them down. Your nurse should weigh you, take your blood pressure, check your feet, book you on a course for type 2's called Desmond and book you in for diabetic eye screening at the hospital. If she doesn't mention these bring them up your self. You can ask if its possible to be referred to a nutritionist as some surgeries will do that. Also check if they are subscribed to second nature as then you should get a free place.
 
An update is that you only get an appointment for eye screening every 2 years now if your previous results were good. I saw my diabetic nurse yesterday for something unrelated and we talked about the changes. She said from now on diabetics will be called for their bloods in their birth month and then receive a full review with the results, 6 months later bloods repeated but no review, just a phone call. I dont know if this is the case country wide?
 
Hi, I agree with the other posts about lowering carbs.
Hi Pinkpantha,

Agree with others that hba1c of 58 isn't very high at all and would likely be reversed with diet and exercise alone. Even though Metformin is widely prescribed (cheap) it is not without side-effects. NICE guidance states that kidney function should be checked before prescribing.

At your appointment they will measure your height, weight, blood pressure, take blood samples and possibly check your feet for pulses and feeling.

I wouldn't be surprised if they try and get you to take statins. I was automatically put these many years ago at a diabetes appointment. I would be very wary of starting on them. I had a very bad reaction which took months to get over.

Ignore any advice not to test your own blood glucose levels. If you can afford them, the Libre system gives a very good picture of blood glucose levels and trends - this could be useful when you are making initial adjustments to diet. The sensors last two weeks and cost about £45 (no VAT for diabetics). The fingerprick route is certainly very useful, but is only a snapshot.

Sadly, diabetes nurses and NHS nutritionists are still likely to recommend a 'balanced' diet that has substantial amounts of carbohydrate. This really is a non-no. The low carbohydrate info on this website will give you a lot of suggestions, but my few pennies worth: cut out bread, cakes and sweet snacks, all sugar, potatoes, carrots, rice (any colour), pasta, fruit drinks and smoothies. (Easy guide for veg, basically anything that comes from above the ground is generally low carb.) I did this some years ago and it has made a huge difference.

My diet is high fat, high protein and very little carb. Important to avoid those fats high in Omega 6 such as sunflower, corn and similar. Good ones include olive oil, rapeseed (cold-pressed), butter (Anchor is from cows that are only fed grass - this makes a big difference to the lipids in milk), good quality lard and beef dripping. Full fat milk and eggs.

Even though my diet has large amounts of cheese, oily fish, fatty meat and eggs my blood cholesterol ratios and triglycerides are spot on. This was certainly not the case when I was still eating significant amounts of carbohydrate.

I would ask the diabetes nurse to let you try diet and exercise first, before starting on Metformin.

I find a brisk walk every day (about a mile) helps stabilise my blood glucose. Swimming would be ideal, but no swimming pools within reach where I live. I am not inclined to be a gym bunny!

Hope it all goes well.
 
Agree with what others have said and would only add that you should read Jason Fung 'The Diabetes Code' and also Michael Mosely 'The Fast 800'. Jason Fung takes the view that medications are not necessary and that T2 can be controlled by low carb diet. I got my HbA1C level into pre-diabetic range in 3 months and into normal range in 6 months and I started with a level of 82. In my view dieticians give poor advice about what you should eat. Good luck!!
 
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