What diabetes support team?

[christinaa]

What support team! diagnosed during routine blood test for something else so no symptoms, I was told in Febuary this year, I saw the practice nurse once who checked my feet and said go on low cal diet and exercise, since then NOTHING. Apart from my diet etc what should I be doing, how do I know if what I am doing is of benefit etc, should I be making appointments to see doctor/nurse

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Re: Newly diagnosed? Read this first!

Hi Christinaa as a diagnosed diabetic you are entitle to an annual eye screening (retinal scan) that checks the back of your eye for retinopathy which is damaged blood vessels that can lead to loss of sight. Regular blood tests (HbA1c) that will test your blood glucose levels usually 3 monthly for the newly diagnosed and an annual general check up which by the sounds of it is what you have just had, foot check etc.

On top of that I would urge you to ask about self testing as a way of controlling your diabetes, now the problem there is that many health trusts will not prescribe test strips for T2's especially if just on diet or oral meds but I cant overestimate the importance of testing to find out what different foods do to your blood glucose (BG) levels. You need to test before a meal to get a base to work from and then test again after 2 hours of finishing eating if your levels are much higher than your base/pre meal level that will tell you that you have eaten too many carbs, be they potatoes, rice, bread, pasta and a range of other fruits and vegetables but the main four are the staples.

If your post meal levels are too high the next time you eat that meal you need to cut down on the carbohydrate content of that meal I would suggest by 50% and then test again, if after 2 hours your levels are close to your pre meal levels then you have cracked that meal and your carb levels are OK if however they are still much higher than your pre meal levels then you will need to cut back again on the carbs till you find the amount that you can happily eat.

If you can not get a meter and test strips from your GP then I would try phoning or writing to Beyer, Accu Chek or similar and asking them for one, they are the manufacturers who sell the strips and will usually provide a free meter as it then ties you into buying their test strips.

Some test strips are cheaper than others and if you check the forum you will find comparisons of strip prices. Again I can not overestimate the importance of testing to control bg levels.

Hope this is of some use

 

[anna29]

What support team! diagnosed during routine blood test for something else so no symptoms, I was told in Febuary this year, I saw the practice nurse once who checked my feet and said go on low cal diet and exercise, since then NOTHING. Apart from my diet etc what should I be doing, how do I know if what I am doing is of benefit etc, should I be making appointments to see doctor/nurse

Hi christinna, its now 6months since you were diagnosed ,
It would be to your advantage to make an appointment with your GP soonish?
Take along with you any questions you have too. [write them down]
How have you actually found being on the diet and exercise plan ?
Ask for the follow up aftercare treatment for diabetics too, as you are entitled to both eye and foot screen tests too. These are done once a year under the NHS.
Any thing else you may be confused or unsure of, ask on here and someone will help,support you along.
You ' do need support ' with your diabetes, am glad you raised this issue actually as this thread is designed and created for this type of need.
Hope this helps you along to start with. Pop back if ever your unsure and need help,guidance,support.
Anna.

 

[anna29]

Daisy will be along shortly with a great link for you, some good helpful starting points and guidance to read up on. Anna.x

 

[daisy1]

Hi Christina
Here is some basic information that I think you will find very useful to help you to manage your diabetes as well as possible. Ask as many questions as you like as there is always someone here who will help you.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.

 

[christinaa]

many thanks for info, much more than I got from Doctor/nurse - its difficult to know whether you should be checking in with one of them or both or getting classed as a pest because apart from blood test/look at feet/ told to diet and exercise [ have eye test which was already yearly booked by me except for the diabetic test ] no insulin etc treatment for which I am thankful, but also nothing else, ie how to know which foods react better for me - testing, what and how etc etc
reading some of the other emails I do not think I am alone in this
ps- not very good on computers - I have posted letters before but then not been able to track them down - before anyone says it I know it is me!!!

 

[Snodger]

many thanks for info, much more than I got from Doctor/nurse - its difficult to know whether you should be checking in with one of them or both or getting classed as a pest

Never worry about getting classed as a pest. It's your health. It's their job to help you and if they aren't doing it, you have every right to tell them/ask for what you need. If you went to M&S and bought a jumper and it only had one arm you'd take it back and get one with both arms... (hm does this analogy actually work or is it just more confusing?!)

Anyway in your position I'd go back and ask to talk to whichever one of them is more sympathetic. And ask if you can see a dietician who has been trained in diabetes, and ideally a DSN (diabetes specialist nurse) if you can.
And keep coming back here - if we can help we will.