Where I’m At

The stress and other conditions won't have helped, but it sounds like you are doing very well so far. Fear is normal after diagnosis but you can get on top of this.

No need to do it all at once.. take a breath and ease yourself into things if that will be easier.
By accepting your diagnosis and deciding to make some changes you have made a huge step down the path to better health all round.
You won't believe it at the moment but some of us look on our diagnosis as almost a good thing (well I do anyway) as we were heading for disaster before and have now turned it around. Have a read of some of the success story threads if you feel a bit down or come on for a moan too..
Not sure if you have seen @daisy1 's intro to low carbing but it doesn't do any harm to re read it even if you have done so already.
So pull up and chair and know you are not only amongst friends but also people who have been in exactly your position.
Welcome.

Hi @Safin777,
You have been in the wars, and back again! That is a huge burden to carry !
The following is from my own experiences as a diabetic for 51 years - it is not health professional advice or opinion - just hard-earned sense from someone who, according to my wife, has been stubborn but who got there is the end !!
I remember attending a work seminar years ago.
The presenter told a story about a new acolyte of a religious order. The acolyte went to his senior and asked him how he could best remember all his lessons.
The senior requested the acolyte to pour him some tea. The senior did not nod for the acolyte to stop pouring until the tea had overflowed the cup.
The acolyte asked the same question of his senior each day for a week and each time he poured the tea for his senior and each time the senior only nodded for him to stop once the teacup was overflowing.
On the eight day, with some frustration the acolyte asked the senior what he had to do to learn.
The senior replied that "To learn and cope with all there is to learn you need to let go of some of your other learning so that there is room for your new learning.
So .... when things appear overwhelming, letting go of some of that burden helps us deal with the next thing and the next.
I am not saying that this is easy to do, but it is a start.
We all get stuck sometimes and it is very difficult to find our way out of the tangled web, no matter our skills, education or experience - we are human and this is part of being human.
Also, I find that when I am becoming stressed and overwhelmed with things, that I hold my breath. Literally I am holding all that worry, angst, concern in.
If I breathe out and take steps to ensure I breathe steadily, not too fast. not too slow, things ease. I feel more relaxed, less overwhelmed and better able to think through what to do.
The other great thing about letting go and with breathing are that these actions are free, non-taxable, owned by you and nobody else, free of VAT, you do not need to hire, beg, borrow, steal or buy them in any way.
Finally humour is a great way to change our view of what is worrying us. It can be self-humour e.g. Oh, another low blood sugar. Well more black jelly beans to bring the sugar level up will remind me to do better every time I look at my tongue in the mirror!! ( my wife does actually feed me black jelly beans if i am hypo (low in sugar) !!
or cartoons, comedy etc. I recall a cartoon depicting a chameleon on an airport runway with its tongue stuck to the undercarriage of an airliner as the airliner is taking off. ( Talk about taking on the world !!)
I sincerely hope the above helps you and that you continue to rise above "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune".
(please forgive me if a have misquoted the great bard)

Hello and welcome to the forum. Stress will have played a great part in your final diagnosis but your attitude is a good one, to grab this bull by the horns is definitely the way to go. As has been said, given your gall bladder problems, make any changes gradually so as not to exacerbate any underlying symptoms. These next few months may prove to be trial and error but to be honest that is true for everyone, our individual reactions to foods (and meds) means that recording what you eat, the readings that you get before and after eating and the overall patterns caused by changes in diet and/or meds is crucial. After a while the surprises become fewer, though they can still be maddeningly obtuse on occasion!

Good luck.

@Safin777

Hello Safin777 and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful and interesting. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will 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 235,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

Safin777 said:

Thanks for the welcome. I’m kind of an all or nothing gal. If I don’t jump into my new life style it’ll never happen. I’m sure with time I’ll work out what’s realistic and maintainable but feel strongly the need to start well in this new lifestyle.

It’s great to find these forums so I don’t feel alone. At the moment everyone else is life as normal and I’ve had (another) major upheaval. I feel a bit isolated in real life so this place may well be a godsend as I adapt.

I’ve spent a lot of the last few weeks reading about low carb and now am trying to broaden it beyond steak and salad I hate cooking and need easy options to fit in with a hungry family of 5 including a carb junkie super active vegetarian.

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Ah you sound a bit like me then.... cut out as many carbs as you can and start enjoying good full fat food .
Sounds like the carb junky super active vegetarian will need to start cooking their own stuff!
I didn't really track much to start with (although do now) just cut out anything starchy and ate meat,fish,eggs,dairy (butter, cheese, cream) green veg/salad stuff. Whole aisles of the supermarket can be avoided. Recently I have gone a little more extreme and try to eat only animal as a experiment with quite interesting results. But the above list should give lot of options.
www.dietdoctor.co also has loads of low carb/keto meal ideas and even some veggie ones.

Safin777 said:

I looked at nice guidance for self testing and it’s seems to have been updated (2015?) to not recommend it unless certain criteria exist and not being on medications (yet) excludes me. Please correct me if I’m wrong as I’d love to have that evidence to support my claim at the gp.

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NHS advice is that Type 2 diabetics don't need to self test unless they are on insulin or other medications which require balancing the amount taken.
This is probably because financial restraints mean they don't want to have to fund self testing. But many of the T2s buy meters and testing strips themselves.

Safin777 said:

I also have high ldl and triglycerides but unusually fairly good hdl to go with it.

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If you have these figures, it would help you (and us) if you could post them here. If your GP allows you to register for online access to all your test results (it's at your GP's discretion, sadly) please do so. That will help you as well.
Geoff

Safin777 said:

testing strips for the monitor I’ve inherited

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Great that you are able to start testing straight away. Are you aware that some firms charge MUCH more for strips than others? In the UK the two meters with the cheapest strips are the Codefree and the TEE2. The TEE2 meter is free, along with a starter pack including 10 free strips and 10 free lancets. It can be made to sync with some smartphones. The Codefree strips are a little cheaper and a lot cheaper if you buy in bulk, but the TEE2 customer service and speed is MUCH better.
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-plus-blood-glucose-meter/
https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/

Welcome. Over the past 7 weeks I've found this place really helpful. As well as being helpful, friendly and informative it is habit forming - keeps me focussed. You've had lots of great guidance I see already - I won't add to it, but will endorse it. It is a lot to take in, so take this week by week.

Hi @Safin777,
The problem with guidelines and protocols are that they are really about groups and subgroups of people, with the assumption that what applies to one of its members applies equally to all of them. And there is the economic 'convenience' of doing so.
Being an Aussie I am not familiar with the NHS criteria BUT I wonder whether your eye specialist (preferably with an endocrinologist also backing this) is prepared to state that because of your eye problems the use of glucose monitoring is essential.
Bureaucracies sometimes have these silly rules that the right word or words is/are needed to trigger a enquiry, review etc.
I am guessing that 'essential' is one of them but other people on this site will have far better experience of this to help you.
Even your GP should have some understanding of this, so please put the argument back to him/her and ask him/her to imagine they were in your shoes. How would they feel ??.
And if all else fails a letter to your local MP is something to consider also.
The economic argument would be that monitoring of your BSL can help prevent your eye problems progressing; spending money on BSL monitoring NOW saves money on eye treatment etc LATER.
The Goliaths of this world can still be toppled with the right missive.
Good luck and fingers/toes crossed !

Safin777 said:

I already have access and monitor all test results. Things can and do slide past the net.

Trig=2.8
HDL=1.26
LDL=5.07
TOTAL =7.6

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You will find a number of us on here totally disregard total cholesterol and LDL, whereas GPs usually want to target these, often with a statin.
The two lipid panel figures we concentrate on are triglycerides and HDL, and the ratio of the first to the second. This has come by some to be seen as the most meaningful of your lipid results :
https://www.docsopinion.com/2014/07/17/triglyceride-hdl-ratio/
https://profgrant.com/2016/12/01/the-importance-of-the-fasting-tghdl-ratio/

** NOTE ** US figures are different from UK figures, so US ratios need to be divided by roughly 2 (for the articles' 2 read 1 etc.)
Your trigs/HDL ratio is 2.22 which is too high, and predictive of a heightened heart risk.

Two observations :
1. Lipid tests are best done fasting, as the presence of food/drink will push up the trigs result. I suspect your ratio will still have been too high.
2. The best way to get trigs down is to reduce your consumption of carbs. This means you can turn things round quickly and easily.
Geoff

Welcome to the group @Safin777