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Official type 2 - struggling with diagnosis

H

HeatherC92

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Type 2
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Hi all,

So today I got official confirmation I am a type 2 diabetic not type 1 as my antibodies were negative. I am a slim (46kg) active 32 year old female who is in complete shock and upset at this diagnosis. My mum was also diagnosed type 2 9 years ago at the same weight roughly and now at the age of 65 has extreme peripheral neuropathy to the point she cannot walk unaided although was told for years she had good control of her blood sugars. I am extremely paranoid about developing peripheral neuropathy now and I am now finding myself with the fear of eating any food that might slightly highten my blood sugars.My dr even stated he couldn’t believe how often I was checking my bloods which is around 4 tines per day but with no cgm etc I don’t know what else to do ! He also suggested because I currently have quite good control dropping a metformin tablet to once a day and anything under 10 mmol is good control but this seems to high, am I being paranoid ? My diagnosis hba1c was 84 and today came back at 55 I’ve been diagnosed since March. Any advise for someone who is really struggling with her diagnosis
 
Sorry to hear you are struggling with your diagnosis @HeatherC92 - it can feel overwhelming in the beginning, and especially with your family history weighing on your mind, feeling how you have ben is completely understandable. Be kind to yourself.

The recommended levels for people with T2 always used to be:

4-7mmol/L before meals and
No higher than 8.5mmol/L by 2hrs after meals

“Below 10” is an older ready-reckoner I think. The sort of thing I was told 30-odd years ago.

Try not to obsess over small wobbles in your BG levels. You can use pairs of before-after meal checks to evaluate each meal, aiming for a “meal rise” of no more than 2-3mmol/L above the ‘before’ number at 2hrs after the first bite.

If you see bigger rises, perhaps experiment with smaller portion sizes of the carbohydrate in the meal, or try a different carbohydrate source. Some people seem very sensitive to carbs from some sources, but have a much gentler response from others.

A BG meter can be a great way to fine-tune your meals, based on how your individual body responds.

Good luck!
 
Welcome to the forum, you have made very good progress since March especially since you were in doubt about the diabetes Type but now you have it confirmed then you can concentrate on finding an approach which will be enjoyable for you and therefore more likely to be sustainable.
Many find that a low carb approach is successful but that is usually because they also need to lose weight which really you do not need to do so it would be important to make sure that you also have plenty of protein and healthy fats.
This link may help you find a way you can modify your diet to get further reduction in blood glucose, it is based on no more than 130g carbs per day though some people find they need to go a bit lower. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
Ideas have changed since your Mum was diagnosed in how powerful diet can be in reducing blood glucose, I'm sorry to hear she suffers so much.
 
@HeatherC92

You have done very well to get your HbA1c down to 55.

From my perspective (down from 104 to 32 in six months, without taking medication or BG readings) all you need to do now is tweak your diet, and take as much exercise of any kind as you can.

The tweaks I have in mind are well summarised by Dr Andrews' (Freshwell) Meal Planner and Food Lists.

How does your current diet compare?
 
HeatherC92 said:
Hi all,

So today I got official confirmation I am a type 2 diabetic not type 1 as my antibodies were negative. I am a slim (46kg) active 32 year old female who is in complete shock and upset at this diagnosis. My mum was also diagnosed type 2 9 years ago at the same weight roughly and now at the age of 65 has extreme peripheral neuropathy to the point she cannot walk unaided although was told for years she had good control of her blood sugars. I am extremely paranoid about developing peripheral neuropathy now and I am now finding myself with the fear of eating any food that might slightly highten my blood sugars.My dr even stated he couldn’t believe how often I was checking my bloods which is around 4 tines per day but with no cgm etc I don’t know what else to do ! He also suggested because I currently have quite good control dropping a metformin tablet to once a day and anything under 10 mmol is good control but this seems to high, am I being paranoid ? My diagnosis hba1c was 84 and today came back at 55 I’ve been diagnosed since March. Any advise for someone who is really struggling with her diagnosis
Click to expand...

I am new to the forum. The forum looks full of helpful comment. I, too , was completely shocked when I was diagnosed with T2DM, in May, a year ago. I was not overweight and I did at least an hour of exercise every day including jogging 3 times a weak. T2DM runs in my family and it seems that the fat distribution on my body was not conducive to avoiding diabetes.

At times I felt in despair but with the support of my wife I became more optimistic. My original Hba1c measurement was 180 mmol, my latest measurement was 43 mmol on May 6th this year, so I have stopped taking all medication. I am 74 years of age. With regard to taking measurements then if you cannot or do not measure a parameter then you cannot control it. I am doing what is best for myself and not following the advice of anyone who says I am testing myself too much. All I know is that if I had not taken measurements, of my blood glucose level, the amount of food I was eating and how much exercise I was doing, then I would not be in the position to stop the medication and I would still be on Sitagliptin and Metformin. My diet has not changed significantly from when I was on Insulin but measuring the amount of carbohydrate that I eat has helped a lot. When I changed diet or medication I tested myself 5 or 6 times a day for the first couple of weeks afterwards I test myself 3 times a day., I still need to remain vigilant if I am to achieve remission. It is important not to become obsessed by daily monitoring. I believe that the meters are about 10% inaccurate. However, they are good indicators of how well you are doing.

I measure my weight 2 times a week, I weigh 61.5 kilos or thereabout constantly. I use a tape measure to ensure that my waist measurement is less than half of my height. These parameters suggest that the fat around my liver and pancreas has reduced considerably.

Why be so worried? I know many people that have T2DM and T1DM; those who not not care about their measurements or do not monitor themselves seem to have the worst health problems. Those that take measurements seem to be healthier.
 
@TrevorMorgan well done you and Mrs Morgan. A word to the wise - we usually say 'manage our blood glucose' rather than 'control' it - cos there can be so many different things affecting it, at times.
 
Last edited:
JITR said:
As a T2D I've managed to 'control' my blood glucose by diet so far, without regular finger pricks or a CGM.

Thanks for the heads up.
Click to expand...

Yes I think it’s often T1s who are more likely to balk slightly at the term ‘control’ (though many are perfectly happy with it).

I think it’s borne of the frustration of the illusion that food + insulin = predictable BG level

That formula is true to an extent… but there are many many other factors in play (stress, exercise, illness, activity, ambient temperature, pharmacodynamics, hormones, sites, absorption, wrong colour socks etc etc) and some of those are completely outside of our control. All we can do is attempt to work around them.

It doesn’t take long as a T1 before you notice that you can take the exact same dose at the same time of day for the exact same meal, but you get hugely different results. Because something else is happening.
 
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