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Worried about seeing my doctor on tomorrow

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big_daddy

Well-Known Member
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I am starting to freak out over my appointment with my diabetes doctor, as when I go to have my hba1c tested I am fearing that it will be higher than when i was first diagnosed with diabetes last year. When I last saw my doctor in November, he suggested that I should be put on exenatides or insulin if my blood sugars do not come down and in the past 2 weeks they have been between 8 and 15 mmol whilst i'm taking 2 80mg gliclazide and 2 500mg metformin twice a day.

Lately, my stomach has been waking me up in the night from it making loud noises for no reason and during the day as well. I've told my GP this and also my Doctor at the hospital about it and they just dismissed as hunger or thirst after scanning my abdomen. My diet has mainly consisted of weetabix and milk, salad, spag bol or chilli con carne due to my short amount of money and I've just recently found out over the weekend that I have a egg and nuts allergy. Also for the past year my weight has been between 23 and 24 stone and it hasn't gone higher than 23 stone 9 pounds and my family thinks that I shouldn't have to cut out any foods out from my diet as when I was with my parents over the summer I lost 2 stone by eating what they had which mainly consisted of chips and baked beans with steak, pork or chicken and home-made meals that my mum loves to cook.
 
collectingrocks said:
Are you actively trying to lose weight? This is one way of getting your sugars down
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I walk to university from my halls of residience that I live at in the morning and take the free unibus between 5pm and 8pm depending on what time my lecture finishes at. I take the stairs instead of the elevator or I take the stairs to the 4th floor and catch the elevator if I have class on the 9th floor. I also do Mr Motivators BLT workout at 5:30 am 3-4 times a week. I'm considering going the gym to have my own personal trainer and take up swimming again in the new year.

I am considering asking my doctor if I could have my nose cauterized as when I ever exercise my nose automatically starts to bleed for no apparent reason and its making me angry as I hardly ever get to finish without a single drop of blood.
 
Are you reducing your carb intake? Doesn't sound like you are. Potato and beans are very high in carbs as is Weetabix. I know they are filling but its not the best diet.
Do you have access to a local market where you can buy veg? And only veg that grows above ground, broccoli cauli and cabbage.
Soups are easy to make with lots of veg and the odd bit of bacon thrown in. Salads are good esp. if you top it with tuna.
Good luck.
 
You say you lost weight over the summer with your parent's catering, but at the end of June you also mention doing a job that included walking several miles a day; and later in August doing a 5:2 diet so I'm not sure to what you can attribute your summer weight loss (?)

Honestly, I don't think anyone here whatever type of diet they favour would think it sensible for either weight loss or glucose control to eat lots of chips and baked beans , most would think that vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. It's hard to against what your parents say but it looks like you still have a lot of weight to lose to get into a healthy range. You won't lose it overnight, it's maybe better to aim at a slow steady loss with achievable intermediate targets.
Lots of people have given you ideas on how to buy and cook more healthy produce on a student budget.

It's good that you are trying to exercise but from what I read the workout you are doing isn't very long so perhaps you need to look into how to get some more sustained exercise. Brisk walking is good. (or even look at the Leslie Sansome videos on you tube, they are easy don't need any equipment and can get the heartrate up into the 'calorie burning' zone. I've used them on days when I can't be bothered to do anything else.
However, you certainly need to mention the nose bleeds to your doctor, I don't think that this should be happening.

Good luck with your appointment, do try to get the doctor to discuss in detail the pros and cons of any of his proposals for medication change.
 
like you I have a lot of weight to shed, and ive been diabetic for 3 weeks lol new to it but it was the kick up the ass I neeed to get back on track ive only lost 6lbs in few weeks but its made a world of difference to me in my life and how im feeling , im losing half my body weight and hope next year I get a good way ther, I bought a econd hand tredmill and alk 1 hr aday combined with my job, please stay away from chips and beans I see them as posion now as much as I do sugar, I know moneys tight but if you look around you will find good food that will help you shed the pounds , have confidence in yourself to want the best for you I kno how comfortable you get when ur big food becomes confort when the world shuts you out, give yourself a little goal between now and xmas to lose 2 lb .. see if you can feel better about the situation saldy its with us forever xx
 
Hi

let us know how you get on tomorrow. But as others have said in this post and in answer to posts you have made before, unless you can get a grip with your weight and actively try to lose weight it's not likely that you can control your blood sugars.

I speak as someone who has been a broke student and also has someone who has benefited from weight loss.

Ask if the doctors will pay for you to join weight watchers or slimming world or similar. I know some areas will do this.

You need to get a diet plan and stick to it. Once the first stone or so has come off you WILL feel better

Good luck
Cara
 
Hi. It won't be easy as a hard-up student to modify your diet but it is essential to reduce your carbs to get both weight and blood sugar down. Some of this may be thru reducing portion size (we all eat too much) and the rest thru trying to go for lower-carb foods. Eliminate sugar where you can e.g. use sweeteners and avoid foods such as baked beans that have a lot of sugar added. Read all the labels. If you can get the weight down I can almost guarantee your blood sugar will come under better control without more meds.
 
My appointment with the doctor went alright, but not great. I got suggested to try the Mediterraean diet or a Low-Fat diet and I've got another appointment with the dietitian in Februrary. She also suggested that I should consider exercising at a gym and think about having my nose cauterized to stop it from bleeding when I exercise. I have a good pulse in my feet so they are fine :thumbup: and I've got to have a few blood tests done as my last blood tests showed a low platelet count and my doctor wants to see if are fine now as I may be put on injections :( I then mentioned the b-you programme to the doctor and she was on board with me being on the programme from the new year as I will be getting;

•48 weeks of free continual support and encouragement.
•A b-You advisor who meets you regularly and maintains contact in between.
•Free gym, swim and exercise classes for you and your family.
•A b-You pack that contains everything you need to support a healthier lifestyle including a diary to keep track of your diet and exercise.

and the doctor showed me a case from someone who joined b-you and has felt the benefits for it http://www.b-you.co.uk/sites/b-you/file ... 0study.pdf
 
Hi. The advice to have a low-fat mediterranean diet whilst it is good overall won't help the diabetes unless it is also low-carb. Fats in sensible quantity aren't a problem for most diabetics and are a better way of getting calories in rather than carbs. Listen to the dietician in Feb then put it into context from your summary of the many posts on this forum from those with diabetes who have successfully modified their diets.
 
Daibell said:
Hi. The advice to have a low-fat mediterranean diet whilst it is good overall won't help the diabetes unless it is also low-carb. Fats in sensible quantity aren't a problem for most diabetics and are a better way of getting calories in rather than carbs. Listen to the dietician in Feb then put it into context from your summary of the many posts on this forum from those with diabetes who have successfully modified their diets.
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Would I be better off just following a low-carb diet than following the low-fat mediterranean diet.

is having natural or greek yoghurt an acquired taste as I bought some over the weekend and I did not the like the taste of it on its own, also i've been told that one of my presents for xmas is a blender for me to make healthy veg & fruit juice for when i go back to uni next year and is making juice from veg better than making juice from fruit.
 
big_daddy said:
Daibell said:
Hi. The advice to have a low-fat mediterranean diet whilst it is good overall won't help the diabetes unless it is also low-carb. Fats in sensible quantity aren't a problem for most diabetics and are a better way of getting calories in rather than carbs. Listen to the dietician in Feb then put it into context from your summary of the many posts on this forum from those with diabetes who have successfully modified their diets.
Click to expand...

Would I be better off just following a low-carb diet than following the low-fat mediterranean diet.

is having natural or greek yoghurt an acquired taste as I bought some over the weekend and I did not the like the taste of it on its own, also i've been told that one of my presents for xmas is a blender for me to make healthy veg & fruit juice for when i go back to uni next year and is making juice from veg better than making juice from fruit.
Click to expand...

Providing you eat carbs that don't spike you a Mediterranean diet is my preference. I follow that, eat low fat, lots of veg. I put a small handful of fruit into my Alpro plain yoghurt.
For smoothies, veg is always better than fruit, less sugary carbs, which is good on any diet.
 
I am now back with my parents and since being back they have just only fed me high carb foods like 2 steak pies (1 yesterday and 1 on Wednesday night), Weetabix for breakfast and toast for lunch in the past few days and snacks such as xmas party mix, chocolate orange and cookies. they think that they understand my condition, but they are just like 'I am sure you are able to have chips, beans and bacon & cheese grills.' I don't know what to do as they have nothing in except high carb foods and minimal amounts of veg in which is only to be used for a roast dinner.
 
All I can suggest is that you remind them that your doctor suggested a Mediterranean diet . Perhaps you could show them these 2 pages from patient UK .I'm thinking that they might accept them as coming from a legitimate source (personally, I think it's a very Anglicised version but it's better than pies and beans)
I suspect that cost may be a factor, that's where eating more veg and substituting pulses helps reduce cost.
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/how-to-follow-the-mediterranean-diet
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/health-benefits-of-the-mediterranean-diet

You might also point out to them the eventual consequences of high glucose levels because maybe that really don't appreciate the problem.
Good luck
(going through the pages, I think that there are sections you could print off and highlight particularly in the restricted sections.
It's hard though, I'm in my 60s and I'm still scared of arguing with my father)
 
I'm afraid you must explain to them what your diet needs are. Diabetes is a serious condition and the reason some have serious end consequences is ignoring the reality of the wrong food. I'm sure if you explain some of the consequences they will understand. If not you will have to prepare your own food; you mustn't continue with the food you have listed.
 
I totally agree with Diabell, its YOUR body, YOU have to take control.
 
'tis true what the others have said above although it seems hard right now-But you're a young man with a potentially long,happy and productive life ahead of you and as a Uni student you're most likely far cleverer than I'll ever be but your current diet needs to change...If you can gain good control now there's no reason why you should not remain free of nasty diabetic complications but you do need to be your own man and take control-even if it offends some family members initially-I'm sure all they wish you is good health even though they don't seem to get your diagnosis right now.
 
I told my parents last night about the complications of having diabetes and only my mum was listening to me, whilst my dad didn't give a care in the world watching tv scoffing down 10 packets of crisps, chocolate bars and coke. I then got into a debate with my mum on how she won't be able to afford food for my condition and today my parents were angry with me as I woke them up with having eggs and bacon for breakfast and not having the usual Weetabix. I don't know what to do as I just can't get anywhere with them and now i've been invited to a family get-together and tonight I am going to the cinema with my family and snacks.
 
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