• Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Newbie Type 2

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Tiggs29

Tiggs29

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi, Tiggs here. Type 2. I'm completely overwhelmed with yesterday's diagnosis - my pancreas & veins are damaged affecting my heart & kidneys & BP.

I've been taking Modified Release Metaformin for a short while, which has reduced my glucose level from 140 to 104! I'm to begin an additional medication next week & I'm now required to monitor my Blood Glucose Level twice daily. I've lost 3 stone with ease. I rarely eat processed food & thought I had a nutritional, balanced diet. ... I'm unsure what to eat, except from recipes from Diabetes Receipe books.

As a CBT therapist, I'm not familiar with experiencing emotions of feeling overwhelmed. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
 
Hi and welcome.

I am sorry to hear they have discovered damage to other organs connected to your diabetes. Hopefully some of that damage can be mitigated by improved diabetes management.
The very high HbA1c result and easy weight loss suggests you may not be Type 2 but perhaps Type 1 or possibly a Type 3c if you have some to your pancreas and I would encourage you to discuss the possibility of this with your GP or diabetes nurse because it sounds like you are not a straightforward case. Do ask them to check your urine for Ketones if they have not done so already or you can buy Ketostix over the counter at most pharmacies for a fiver to check yourself if your blood glucose levels are consistently mid-teens or above. Have you started testing yet and if so, what sort of levels are you seeing?

Feel free to ask any questions. We all know how overwhelming it is at diagnosis and how much of the stuff the Dr or nurse say, goes in one ear and out of the other. The forum is great for filling in those blanks and also spotting discrepancies and in my opinion, there may be a discrepancy with your Type 2 diagnosis, so do be prepared to challenge that and ask for Type 1 testing and a pancreatic scan if you haven't already had one. The Type 1 testing is a GAD antibody test which looks for the antibodies generated when your body attacks it's own beta cells in the pancreas which are what produce insulin. The C-peptide test checks how much insulin your body is producing. Just to clarify, at diagnosis, typically Type 2 diabetics are producing excess insulin but their body has become resistant to it and not able to use it efficiently whereas Type 1 diabetes means that you are unable to produce sufficient insulin. These tests are best sanctioned and the results interpreted by an experienced consultant as they are sometimes not as clear cut as we would like and most GPs have very little knowledge of diabetes, so could easily overlook something.

I am guessing your new medication will likely be Gliclazide or similar which is why you need to start testing your BG. If you are not Type 2 then this medication will be unlikely to help and could speed up the destruction of your beta cells so don't let things drag on if you see no benefit. You may need to be persistent and politely pushy to get your diagnosis checked out and arming yourself with some knowledge will be beneficial in getting the tests and support you need. Please feel free to ask anything you don't understand. Diabetes is almost like a foreign language at first and it takes time to get to grips with all the twists and turns and terms involved.

Good luck and please keep us updated with how things are going. You are not alone with this. There are lots of people here who have been through it and can help guide you.
 
Hi Tiggs29, welcome to the forum.

So sorry to hear about the complications you're experiencing, hopefully things will improve as you numbers do. It's natural to feel overwhelmed as it's a lot to take in but things can improve with the right care.

It's good that you've been able to see some benefits from the changes you've made, I do ago though that it's worth double checking that you have the correct diagnosis as rapid weight loss can be a sign of being type 1.

Re food, if you are type 2, it may be useful to keep a food diary for a week and then seeing where you can swap out the carbs and sugars. This includes things like bread and oats. I found that keeping it simple, such as eggs, meat and veg or the equivalent , helped whilst I got my head around things.

Feel free to have a look at the food section of the forum and the links below for some further info.

I know it must be a daunting time for you but we're right here by your side every step of the way so do keep us up to date with how things are going and let us know if we can help in any way.

Diabetes and your emotions

Diabetes doesn't just affect you physically, it can affect you emotionally too. Whether you've just been diagnosed or you've lived with diabetes for a long time, you may need support for all the emotions you're feeling. This could be stress, feeling low and depressed, or burnt out. The people...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk

www.diabetes.org.uk

Eating with diabetes

If you, or someone in your family, has type 1, type 2 or another type of diabetes, you'll know that it can sometimes be difficult to know what to eat. Start here for the key information you need to make healthy food choices for a balanced diet.
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
Tiggs29 said:
Hi, Tiggs here. Type 2. I'm completely overwhelmed with yesterday's diagnosis - my pancreas & veins are damaged affecting my heart & kidneys & BP.

I've been taking Modified Release Metaformin for a short while, which has reduced my glucose level from 140 to 104! I'm to begin an additional medication next week & I'm now required to monitor my Blood Glucose Level twice daily. I've lost 3 stone with ease. I rarely eat processed food & thought I had a nutritional, balanced diet. ... I'm unsure what to eat, except from recipes from Diabetes Receipe books.

As a CBT therapist, I'm not familiar with experiencing emotions of feeling overwhelmed. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Hello Barbara. Thank you so very much for your warm, detailed response. Upon reading, I immediately calmed down ... Your tips & advice is invaluable. I dip in from time to time for reassurance & to remind myself what you shared.

I have been prescribed Gliclazide (I couldn't remember the name) in addition to Metaformin. I'm drifting into the 2nd week of additional meds & have noticed no change in my Blood Glucose levels. The Sister (Diabetic Nurse) doubled up the Gliclazide & is checking in on Friday about levels. Again, there is no change in numbers. I test wavy morning before breakfast & each evening before climbing into bed.

Additionally, I have bought several Low Carb & Diabetic Cookbooks.
 
There are a couple of things you mention which could indicate that you may be Type 1, the weight loss with ease, the very high glucose level and that the medication you have so far been given and dietary changes are having limited effect so it is something you may want to keep in your mind and ask for the 2 tests for Type 1 c-peptide and GAD antibodies.
 
Or possibly even Type 3c if your pancreas is damaged :confused:
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top