Hello, newly diagnosed T2

[harbottle]

Hi all,
I (51 year old male) was diagnosed as type 2 early September in a rather hurried phone call from a busy GP (blood test was 82) with instructions to 'stop eating chips' and drop a stone (I was just over 13 stone.) Started on 1000mg of Metformin. I jokingly asked about beer (I'd already given up drinking and knew it was carbs.) and she said 'you'd better stop drinking that as well.' (As well as reiterating that I should stop eating chips - which I didn't really eat much anyway!)

Just over two months later I'm down to 11 stone (Cut out of rice, chips, potatoes, pasta and switched to fish, certain vegetables and chicken, stopped drinking - although this weekend I had a few single malts which is the first alcohol since diagnosis.) and people I know no longer recognise me (I've had a few times where I've been talking to someone and I've realised that they don't know who I am.)

I wasn't having any symptoms, but did have a pain in my leg which kept me awake at night along with a stressful time at work which was also stopping me from sleeping (And got worse after a day spend hiking up hills in Herefordshire). The GP said it was wear and tear (We'd been walking 10,000 steps a day since lockdown starting.) and I decided to get the 50 year old health check tests (Which is how I found out.). The pain has gone away since losing weight/starting medication and sleeping is good. (Best it's been for years.)

My Dad had type 2 and didn't change his lifestyle at all (He died aged 60) and I believe my Granddad also had it (Lived to be 89) so I should have kept an eye on my weight really, but as the nurse told me, you might have ended up with anyway if it's genetic.

One thing I did notice was that my far eyesight got clearer a few weeks after starting the diet/medication (I started cutting carbs pretty much on the day I was diagnosed, and found the books by the Caldesi couple to be good - quick, easy and very tasty and using a lot of flavours and ingredients I already liked. I don't particularly miss the 'junk' food at all, and now tend to crave salmon or yoghurt and berries.) As a wearer of glasses I'm used to it changing after a few years (I am due another test) and get regular eye tests to make sure I'm legal for driving, so I just assumed it was natural that it was getting worse anyway.

The only 'treat' I find I do miss are 'Frazzles' and the odd burger from Five Guys.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

It sounds like you have made all the necessary lifestyle changes. Alcohol in itself is not a problem but beer and cider etc have carbs that come with them so not a good choice but the odd shot of spirits like a single malt (I'm a rum and diet coke girl myself) or a glass or two of red wine or dry white should not impact your diabetes adversely. There have to be some pleasures in life! 😉 Can't understand your craving for Five Guys or Frazzles. Try pork scratchings instead.... bit watch your fillings!
Do you have a date for a follow up blood test? It would usually be 3 months after initial diagnosis. That will tell you if the changes you have made have been effective, but I strongly suspect that they will have been, unless you are not an ordinary Type 2.

 

[Docb]

Hi @harbottle and welcome from me as well.

A HbA1c of 82 is in the area where the risks of complications down the line are too high for comfort. Chances are really good that what you have done will get your HbA1c down to something like "normal" so well done mate and keep up the good work!

 

[Lucyr]

I wouldn’t worry about the odd bag of frazzles, they’re only 12g carb. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing on the carb intake. A burger is fine too but maybe leave half the bun

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Well done on the changes you have made @harbottle, and especially on the weight loss, which should really help your insulin sensitivity.

Hope your follow-up blood results reflect the effort you have been putting in.

Like @Lucyr I think you should allow yourself occasional treats - it will make it easier to maintain your changes long term if you allow yourself a little flexibility 🙂

 

[trophywench]

What has happened with your eyesight is this - when there is far too much glucose floating around our bloodstream, this affects everything including the fluid and membranes surrounding the eyes which eventually causes them to change shape! - this happens very very gradually, not in a couple of months. However - once we start reducing the level of spare glucose with nowhere to go - they eyes change back to their normal shape - but this happens much quicker - so in my case with T1, my eyesight was perfectly OK on the Wednesday morning I went to hospital but by Friday morning - after 2 days insulin treatment - I couldn't focus At All and it took 5 weeks to get back to normal again!

Fortunately I hadn't even learned to drive by then so the world was safe.

I have astygmatism so my near vision has practically always needed help since I started work (in an office) aged 16 - but when actually passing my test aged mid 30s and living so near the M5/M6 back then and usually joining it at Jct 7 (ie N Birmingham) I always used to say my natural long distance focal point was approx somewhere on the Thetford viaduct!

Give it a few more months ie approx 6 in total if you can to try and make sure they've settled down as much as possible (official advice is 'at least 3 months') before booking another ordinary opticians appointment, which you can have FOC even if not actually 'normally due' on the NHS and as long as you do need a different prescription they won't charge you - but if they don't find any difference there will be a nominal payment which used to be a tenner, anyway neither here nor there when it's as important as eyesight ! Once your optician knows you have diabetes, they will ALWAYS try and see you PDQ. Meanwhile you should get a retinopathy screening appt come through, separately from your eyesight check, which is one of the annual checks which should be automatically done for all of us. That's handled by the NHS retinopathy service for your area - see

Diabetic eye screening

Find out who should have diabetic eye screening, why it's done and what happens, and when you’ll get your results.

www.nhs.uk

 

[harbottle]

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies and information (About the eyes and the frazzles - 12g of carbs is the same as the home made bread rolls I make, so maybe I will treat myself!) Sadly I do like a 5 guys burger, usually with onions, peppers and Mushrooms.

I've just booked up for my next blood test, so we shall see. In general, I've started to feel a lot better in recent weeks - so much so people at work have noticed and commented that 'you're back to your old self.'

I've had the odd Scotch when going out with friends & some Porky scratching, plus some bags of things called 'cheesies' and some cheese based crisps from a company based in Coventry/Warwickshire called Monarch. These are a rare treat as I'm watching my LDL levels as it's a bit high (I'm a bit concerned by the high fat recipes, as they seem quite keen on tablespoons of double cream.)

I've been monitoring BG levels. Today it's been between 4.8 (This morning) - 6.2 after a breakfast of home made banana/peanut butter pancakes and Yoghurt, back to 5.4 a few hours later. Most of the time it's then been between 4.9 and 5.5 with a strange leap to 6.8 when I went for a 'brisk' walk (I walk very fast) I stopped and checked and it had gone from 4.9 to 6.8 and then back to 5.5 when I got home. (I did wonder if this was down to my body producing glucose.) Eating a small block of 100% chocolate did cause a small spike, but it seems to quickly go back down.

When I was first diagnosed the levels were ranging from 6 to 10 so it looks like things have improved.

Currently it's sitting at 4.9 - bizarrely, after lunch (Low car home bread with salad and Turkey) I didn't see a spike but I did go for a walk

It's only been 3 months, so I guess it's early days, but I feel like progress has been made!

 

[harbottle]

I wouldn’t worry about the odd bag of frazzles, they’re only 12g carb. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing on the carb intake. A burger is fine too but maybe leave half the bun

Apparently, five guys in the US do a 'naked' burger that comes without a bun! I might ask my local branch if they do it in the UK.

I'd have to get my wife to hide the multi-pack of Frazzles if I get one, as those carbs and salt are a bit addictive. 🙂

 

[harbottle]

Just had a 3 month blood test: HbA1c level was 36mmol/mol (Down from 82 in August).

Unfortunately, cholesterol is up, so is LDL... Just waiting for the Doctor to call back about it.

Looks like the Low Carb diet has fixed one thing, but made something else bad!

 

[Lily123]

Just had a 3 month blood test: HbA1c level was 36mmol/mol (Down from 82 in August).

Unfortunately, cholesterol is up, so is LDL... Just waiting for the Doctor to call back about it.

Looks like the Low Carb diet has fixed one thing, but made something else bad!

That’s great that you have managed to bring your HbA1C down to normal levels! Unfortunate about your cholesterol

 

[harbottle]

Well after a chat with the doctor, we decided to do another test in 3 months and see what the cholesterol is - as far as I can see, I am not eating much that should increase LDL and tend to avoid recipes with high saturated fat. (Some of the recipes seem quite liberal with tablespoons of double cream.)

The doctor also told me to reduce Metformin from 1000mg to 500mg, but since doing that I've noticed a rise in BG readings. It's generally 5.2 in the morning, but seems to hover between 5.4 and 6.2 during the day. I get peaks about an hour after eating, but I can see them go down. Looking around, though, it seems the Metformin doesn't really a huge effect and 2 tablets is a small dose. I'm getting a bit stressed about going back to work, though.

I'm using a free Libre device I got from their website, which is interesting. Most of the food the diabetes websites say are OK creates spikes up unti the 7-8 levels, although they do quickly come down. Oats was particularly bad!

 

[Lily123]

Well after a chat with the doctor, we decided to do another test in 3 months and see what the cholesterol is - as far as I can see, I am not eating much that should increase LDL and tend to avoid recipes with high saturated fat. (Some of the recipes seem quite liberal with tablespoons of double cream.)

The doctor also told me to reduce Metformin from 1000mg to 500mg, but since doing that I've noticed a rise in BG readings. It's generally 5.2 in the morning, but seems to hover between 5.4 and 6.2 during the day. I get peaks about an hour after eating, but I can see them go down. Looking around, though, it seems the Metformin doesn't really a huge effect and 2 tablets is a small dose. I'm getting a bit stressed about going back to work, though.

I'm using a free Libre device I got from their website, which is interesting. Most of the food the diabetes websites say are OK creates spikes up unti the 7-8 levels, although they do quickly come down. Oats was particularly bad!

That’s good that your now using the libre which will allow you to see how long after eating your numbers are staring to come down from the spike of 7-8

 

[harbottle]

Mmm, the Libre has been showing 6.3 and a prick test with my TruMetrix device is showing 5.1. I’m not sure who to believe. Just been on a long walk and the libre went a bit crazy.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Mmm, the Libre has been showing 6.3 and a prick test with my TruMetrix device is showing 5.1. I’m not sure who to believe. Just been on a long walk and the libre went a bit crazy.

I must admit I'd treat those as close. They're both comfortably in range.

 

[Lily123]

Mmm, the Libre has been showing 6.3 and a prick test with my TruMetrix device is showing 5.1. I’m not sure who to believe. Just been on a long walk and the libre went a bit crazy.

The libre measures intestinal fluid not blood so it has a time lag

 

[harbottle]

I must admit I'd treat those as close. They're both comfortably in range.

What is the range? I’ve seen < 7.0 mmol/L for pre meal and < 8.5 for 2 hours after the meal. (for type 2)

I thought over 6 was getting into an undesirable area.

 

[harbottle]

The libre measures intestinal fluid not blood so it has a time lag

They claim the lag is 2 minutes for the 2 model. It was around 20 minutes for the older model, apparently.

 

[Lily123]

What is the range? I’ve seen < 7.0 mmol/L for pre meal and < 8.5 for 2 hours after the meal. (for type 2)

I thought over 6 was getting into an undesirable area.

4-7 for a fasting BG is in range for a non-diabetic and is what most diabetics aim for and type 2 after meal is aiming for a spike at most of 8.5

 

[Lily123]

They claim the lag is 2 minutes for the 2 model. It was around 20 minutes for the older model, apparently.

Oh I get about a 10 minute lag but I don’t know what the exact time is

 

[Leadinglights]

I would suspect the profile on the Libre might be different between people who are Type 1 and Type 2, so the lag may well also be different.