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Hi there....and a HBa1c question

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

Morph.

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi there
In newly diagnosed today and will be seeing my doc on Friday for more information.

My hba1c is 86 and I wondered what my treatment regime may be.
I thought I'd ask you guys with all of the knowledge!!!

I hope to get to know you all better

Morph
 
Hi morph, welcome to the forum. They may start you off on just changes to diet and exercise to start off with. Reducing your carb intake would be a good start.
My HbA1c was 127 when I was diagnosed last August and I was put on metformin straight away. Everyone is different when it comes to diabetes!
 
Hi Morph, welcome to the forum 🙂 I'm presuming you have been diagnosed as Type 2? How did the diagnosis come about? Surgeries can vary in their policy, some will give you three months to try and get your levels under control by modifying your diet and getting regular exercise, whereas some will put you onto a medication called metformin straight away.

It would be worth reading Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter so you can gain an understanding before your appointment, plus I would also recommend getting a copy of Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker - these will all get you clued up so you can understnad what you are being told, and perhaps give you some chances to ask questions of the doctor 🙂

Let us know how you get on and if anything springs to mind that you are unsure about! 🙂
 
Welcome morph and we hope to get to know you better too 🙂

There are newly diagnosed type 2's on here with levels at 86 and the truth is most would be started on Metformin but some doctors as northerner says, will allow time for you to try and get it down yourself before considering meds. Have you any symptoms like leg pain/numbness, vision a bit blurrier than usual etc.

There's other things to factor in and each GP seems to have different approaches to it. I'm doing it by diet alone but my level was 52 at dx.

Hope you can quickly get your head around it, the links provided are very useful and ask your doctor about self testing. Often they won't provide the meter and testing strips but it's really worth doing! Good luck!
 
Look at those carbs - nasty little blighters! They are not all created equal!! Pasta, potato and flour are bad for me, but as Stitch 147 said we are all different.
 
Hi! I was also 86 when I was diagnosed last month and I'm just on diet & exercise, though the doc did suggest Metformin but I decided I would try to get it down myself first.
 
Stitch147 said:
Hi morph, welcome to the forum. They may start you off on just changes to diet and exercise to start off with. Reducing your carb intake would be a good start.
My HbA1c was 127 when I was diagnosed last August and I was put on metformin straight away. Everyone is different when it comes to diabetes!
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. I also have Fibromyalgia and ME so my exercise often varies daily, although i always do some as I run a pet sitting business.
Carb reduction...sob sob..jacket spuds are my favourite
 
Northerner said:
Hi Morph, welcome to the forum 🙂 I'm presuming you have been diagnosed as Type 2? How did the diagnosis come about? Surgeries can vary in their policy, some will give you three months to try and get your levels under control by modifying your diet and getting regular exercise, whereas some will put you onto a medication called metformin straight away.

It would be worth reading Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter so you can gain an understanding before your appointment, plus I would also recommend getting a copy of Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker - these will all get you clued up so you can understnad what you are being told, and perhaps give you some chances to ask questions of the doctor 🙂

Let us know how you get on and if anything springs to mind that you are unsure about! 🙂
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for those links. I will take a read. My diagnosis came about due to some changes in symptoms with my ME and Fibromyalgia. I was really thirsty (which they put down to meds) and I need getting some palpitations, so they did bloods. Not hba1c though...that was ordered by the nurse after she dipped my urine and it was nearly off the chart.
I quit most sugar when I was diagnosed with fibro, so I will see what they say about diet etc. Thank you!!
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. You have already been given great advice so I will just welcome you :D
 
Amigo said:
Welcome morph and we hope to get to know you better too 🙂

There are newly diagnosed type 2's on here with levels at 86 and the truth is most would be started on Metformin but some doctors as northerner says, will allow time for you to try and get it down yourself before considering meds. Have you any symptoms like leg pain/numbness, vision a bit blurrier than usual etc.

There's other things to factor in and each GP seems to have different approaches to it. I'm doing it by diet alone but my level was 52 at dx.

Hope you can quickly get your head around it, the links provided are very useful and ask your doctor about self testing. Often they won't provide the meter and testing strips but it's really worth doing! Good luck!
Click to expand...

This is where my symptom overlap with my other illness. So yes I get blurred vision, tingling, pain and numbness in my feet and hands. I was going to ask for a meter so I can try and track which symptoms are from which illness. For example, if I had tingling and it was down to my other illness and I didn't know it, then exercising would cause me to become ill and I would quickly become wheelchair bound For a few days. But if it was down to diabetes, then I know I would be ok. It's a bit tricky I'm thinking
 
pottersusan said:
Look at those carbs - nasty little blighters! They are not all created equal!! Pasta, potato and flour are bad for me, but as Stitch 147 said we are all different.
Click to expand...
So are some people ok with carbs? I'm a vegetarian and eat a lot of pasta and potatoes.... I make my own pasta and bread though. I'll have to look at alternatives thrn...big changes coming up methinks!
 
Morph, unfortunately in diabetes, it's carbs which are the culprits. People think sugar when they think of diabetes but it's carbohydrate which converts to glucose and causes the hikes. The only way you'll know what your unique tolerances are is to home test. I can't tolerate pasta because it pushes my GB's up substantially but seem OK with a small portion of rice. You can buy carb free pasta now which is pricey and a little chewier.

You may need to look at more inventive ways of replacing or reducing your carb intake I'm afraid. Good luck!
 
Everyone has different tolerances to different carbs Morph, which is what makes it all a bit tricky. A meter is a good idea to see how you tolerate things. Bread is usually tricky for everyone but the more fibre and whole grain you've got going on the better the tolerance usually. Seeded bread is usually most well tolerated because that slows down the carb release. There's a fair bit evidence to suggest that pasta that's cooked and eaten cold or twice cooked (boiled and then baked for example) becomes resistant starch which is harder to breakdown and I was recently reading that that might be a good thing for those with type 2 (less so for us insulin stabbers because we want it to digest at the same rate and the insulin works, so slower might not be great 🙄). All other veggies are usually well tolerated though,and courgette noodles are actually rather nice with a pasta sauce 🙂. Anyway welcome aboard should have said that first 🙂
 
Morph. said:
This is where my symptom overlap with my other illness. So yes I get blurred vision, tingling, pain and numbness in my feet and hands. I was going to ask for a meter so I can try and track which symptoms are from which illness. For example, if I had tingling and it was down to my other illness and I didn't know it, then exercising would cause me to become ill and I would quickly become wheelchair bound For a few days. But if it was down to diabetes, then I know I would be ok. It's a bit tricky I'm thinking
Click to expand...

It is sometimes difficult to differentiate where the problems are coming from morph or which health condition is causing it. When I had leg pain and numb, burning feet, I was sent for an MRI and a lot of the issues attributed to spinal and disc problems. Whilst they contribute, I could really feel the improvement when I got my blood glucose levels down (from 52 to 41). I'm sure you will too. Regardless of our delightfully named co-morbidities, diabetes can impact on so many things and cause systemic problems so it's worth giving it your best shot!

Additionally, if you need to lose weight, it can have a marked impact on reducing your BG's.

Onwards and downwards! 😉
 
Porridge is a good example, some people eat it and the blood glucose levels sky rocket, me I eat porridge and its goes up 2mmols at the most or goes down! I use sweet potato a lot now as its lower carb and yummy.
 
The letter above has really helped me to make a start for my first and second weeks. I will then soon see what makes my blood sugar spike. As I am a carbaholic then I know what it will be

Do you get a meter from the docs or do you have to buy one and which is the best please? My cat is diabetic and has an alphatrak but no calibration setting for humans lol
 
Morph. said:
The letter above has really helped me to make a start for my first and second weeks. I will then soon see what makes my blood sugar spike. As I am a carbaholic then I know what it will be

Do you get a meter from the docs or do you have to buy one and which is the best please? My cat is diabetic and has an alphatrak but no calibration setting for humans lol
Click to expand...
The cheapest option we have come across is the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50. Your GP may give you one and prescribe some strips, but most are reluctant as they consider there is no need unless you are on certain types of medication - in reality, they are looking to save a few pounds. Some enlightened ones do appreciate the benefit of testing to determine your food tolerances and to help tailor your diet though, so you may be lucky! 🙂 I'd suggest reading Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S to understand how testing can help 🙂
 
Northerner said:
The cheapest option we have come across is the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50. Your GP may give you one and prescribe some strips, but most are reluctant as they consider there is no need unless you are on certain types of medication - in reality, they are looking to save a few pounds. Some enlightened ones do appreciate the benefit of testing to determine your food tolerances and to help tailor your diet though, so you may be lucky! 🙂 I'd suggest reading Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S to understand how testing can help 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. I will take a look.
I'm hoping my GP will prescribe one as I'll need to understand whether it's diabetes or ME/fibromyalgia causing certain symptoms. If I think I'm tired because of Diabetes, and do nothing about it and it turns out to be ME then it can make me very ill so I'm crossing my fingers
 
Morph. said:
Thanks for that. I will take a look.
I'm hoping my GP will prescribe one as I'll need to understand whether it's diabetes or ME/fibromyalgia causing certain symptoms. If I think I'm tired because of Diabetes, and do nothing about it and it turns out to be ME then it can make me very ill so I'm crossing my fingers
Click to expand...
Good luck Morph! 🙂 In my book, if someone is motivated to test and can demonstrate why they are doing it and what they hope to achieve, then the doctor should support them, so if the answer is 'no' then make sure you get a convincing reason from them (and not the favourite one of 'you won't like seeing high numbers' 🙄)
 
Northerner said:
Good luck Morph! 🙂 In my book, if someone is motivated to test and can demonstrate why they are doing it and what they hope to achieve, then the doctor should support them, so if the answer is 'no' then make sure you get a convincing reason from them (and not the favourite one of 'you won't like seeing high numbers' 🙄)
Click to expand...
Cheers. I'll see what they say. I'm used to testing my cat and seeing high numbers, but it helps us to adjust his insulin before he gets really poorly.
 
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