Just wanted to say Hello!

[Alison Daniels]

I am very new to this. Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last week and feeling a bit in limbo, among other things. I’m waiting for my first appointment to discuss medication etc and trying to get my head around changes I need to make. It’s a bit overwhelming at the beginning. Any advice would be gratefully received. Alison

 

[Ljc]

Hello @Alison Daniels , welcome to the forum and to the club no one wants to join.
I know it’s shock when you’re first told especially if you have been given little to no info about diabetes, many yrs ago I was just told to avoid sugar.
And yes it seems overwhelming now however diabetes is a condition that can be managed well and some folks can do it without medications.

Would you mind telling us the results of you Hb1ac blood test as this will give us a guide to where you are at .

Now your probably wondering what on Earth you can eat .
We usually have no problems with protein or good fats.

It is carbohydrates we can no longer handle too well especially the starchy carbs. Also some things that are considered healthy can turn to syrup in our blood just like those starchy carbs can, fruit juice, smoothies, breakfast cereals, and some if us don’t handle fruit too well either , anything with berry in its name can be tolerated better.

If you need to lose weight, that will help too as will exersize if able

Ask all the questions you need to about diabetes, we’ll do our best to help.

I will put some informative links here in a mo

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Without any specific advice, you won't go far wrong following the general advice for healthier living: eat more vegetables (and in general, as much variety as possible), do exercise (not necessarily weight lifting, but just things like a brisk walk now and again), and that kind of thing. The current trendy thing is to dramatically lower the amount of carbohydrates eaten, and many people find that works out well (largely that they're OK eating in that way) and that it helps in weight loss and in improving their diabetes (in some cases putting it into remission); that might be something you want to do after your appointment, though.

 

[Ljc]

This is a rather long letter
maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2s

Many folks on here test their blood glucose to see how the various foods affect them, so they can make informed choices on which to reduce , remove or they tolerate well so can keep them on the menu
test-test-test by Alan S
For future reference you’ll find the above and lots more , including a link to the SD Codefree glucose meter , which has cheaper testing strips than those available in chemists, if your Gp practice refuse to provide a meter and test strips , which is sadly the norm unless you are put on medications that can cause hypo’s
On the thread called
useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes
Which is at the top of the newbies forum, just scroll to the T2 section

 

[Alison Daniels]

Hello @Alison Daniels , welcome to the forum and to the club no one wants to join.
I know it’s shock when you’re first told especially if you have been given little to no info about diabetes, many yrs ago I was just told to avoid sugar.
And yes it seems overwhelming now however diabetes is a condition that can be managed well and some folks can do it without medications.

Would you mind telling us the results of you Hb1ac blood test as this will give us a guide to where you are at .

Now your probably wondering what on Earth you can eat .
We usually have no problems with protein or good fats.

It is carbohydrates we can no longer handle too well especially the starchy carbs. Also some things that are considered healthy can turn to syrup in our blood just like those starchy carbs can, fruit juice, smoothies, breakfast cereals, and some if us don’t handle fruit too well either , anything with berry in its name can be tolerated better.

If you need to lose weight, that will help too as will exersize if able

Ask all the questions you need to about diabetes, we’ll do our best to help.

I will put some informative links here in a mo

Hi Lin, thanks for the response and some really useful information. To give you a better picture, my HB1ac was 55, twice 10 days apart. I’m 54, slightly overweight ( a stone loss would put me in the healthy weight range for my height) I’m quite active normally and have stepped this up over the past few weeks. Run 4 times a week, walk a lot with dog and hubby and just started yoga. Never had a sweet tooth, don’t eat chocolate or cake ( I run a home bakery and couldn’t face cake even if I wanted to! Lol!) I do like a glass of white wine or two tho! I am very keen to be able to monitor my blood glucose, I’m a bit obsessional with order and love a spreadsheet to record info. I’m hoping I won’t be left in the dark for too much longer. Thanks again for the links, very helpful. Alison

 

[Alison Daniels]

Without any specific advice, you won't go far wrong following the general advice for healthier living: eat more vegetables (and in general, as much variety as possible), do exercise (not necessarily weight lifting, but just things like a brisk walk now and again), and that kind of thing. The current trendy thing is to dramatically lower the amount of carbohydrates eaten, and many people find that works out well (largely that they're OK eating in that way) and that it helps in weight loss and in improving their diabetes (in some cases putting it into remission); that might be something you want to do after your appointment, though.

Hi Bruce, thanks so much for taking the time to reply! Good solid advice and I am grateful for the connection. Alison

 

[Ljc]

An Hb1ac of 55 though it’s in the diabetic range which starts at 48 , isn’t that bad really many of us were over 100 , me included and are still here to tell the tale.

If I had been diagnosed around your level I would have asked for a three month trial without meds to see if I could lower my BGs ( blood glucose) myself

 

[Alison Daniels]

Hi Lin, the nurse offered me a prescription for Metformin and I said I wanted to have a think about it first, as it was an appointment to have my blood pressure checked and she just dropped the diabetes bombshell in there!

 

[lizk]

Hi @Alison Daniels I was diagnosed a few weeks ago and like you, felt very overwhelmed and frightened. I too had a stone to lose to get into normal BMI range. I’m only 33. So far I have found intermittent fasting (not eating until 12pm and not eating after 8pm) and eliminating all obvious carbs and sugar to be helping so far. I have lost just over a stone and after buying a blood glucose monitor am seeing some positive changes to my blood sugar levels. I’ve decided to use metformin to bring my sugars down and then see if I can reduce my dose (currently 3 a day) over time. I’m looking forward to seeing what my hba1c will be in January. Initially cutting out sugar cold turkey was hard and I had some severe anxiety symptoms, headaches and low mood for a few days. Now I’m feeling great. Less tiredness, less redness to my skin and increasing my exercise is helping my mood and body too. Wishing you lots of luck finding out what works for you and managing your condition. Lots of inspiring and supportive people on here. x

 

[Ljc]

Hi Lin, the nurse offered me a prescription for Metformin and I said I wanted to have a think about it first, as it was an appointment to have my blood pressure checked and she just dropped the diabetes bombshell in there!

Oh no , what a horrible way to be told ., still at least you know now. I found out by accident , I had no symptoms of diabetes went to see doc for an unrelated problem and hey ho I discovered I had joined the club , glucose showed in urine so had a finger prick and it was high.

Here you will get info and cyber support from people who live with the condition, well tell you what has worked for us for us .

If you would like to see what we eat , we report the baddies as well as the goodies on this thread
It’s been running for a long time
what-did-you-eat-yesterday

 

[Felinia]

Hi Lin, the nurse offered me a prescription for Metformin and I said I wanted to have a think about it first, as it was an appointment to have my blood pressure checked and she just dropped the diabetes bombshell in there!

Hi Alison, I've read through this Forum post - like you I was diagnosed just 3 months ago, knowing very little about what to do. My HbA1c was 57, so very similar to yours. I find some places prescribe Metformin as a matter of course, even if the person is only just in the range, whilst others try a more conservative approach. I was not offered Metformin - instead I was told to follow a healthy eating plan and exercise more. 3 months later my HbA1c is down to 48, I have lost 17 pounds, have a nice toned bum, and they are very pleased with me.
I'm very hopeful you can achieve the same result without medication. You sound a bit like me, with a need to monitor and control. I joined NutraCheck website which records calories, carbs, sugars, exercise amongst other things and has a downloadable app. The first week is free to try out, then £7.99 a month - less than a weekly latte! It saves keeping paper records and makes shopping easier. You can see exactly where you are at a glance.
The most important things are to reduce your carb intake, cut out processed/refined foods and have portion control. It's surprising just how many carbs are in some things - it was quite an education. For example just 22gm Rice Crispies is almost 20gm carbs, and that barely covers the bottom of the bowl. Diabetes UK recommends less than 130gm per day. After some experimenting I settled on 90gm as that suited me, but we are all different. Some need to be lower, and manage fine, but it is important to keep getting all the essential vitamins and minerals. Good luck

 

[Alison Daniels]

Hi @Alison Daniels I was diagnosed a few weeks ago and like you, felt very overwhelmed and frightened. I too had a stone to lose to get into normal BMI range. I’m only 33. So far I have found intermittent fasting (not eating until 12pm and not eating after 8pm) and eliminating all obvious carbs and sugar to be helping so far. I have lost just over a stone and after buying a blood glucose monitor am seeing some positive changes to my blood sugar levels. I’ve decided to use metformin to bring my sugars down and then see if I can reduce my dose (currently 3 a day) over time. I’m looking forward to seeing what my hba1c will be in January. Initially cutting out sugar cold turkey was hard and I had some severe anxiety symptoms, headaches and low mood for a few days. Now I’m feeling great. Less tiredness, less redness to my skin and increasing my exercise is helping my mood and body too. Wishing you lots of luck finding out what works for you and managing your condition. Lots of inspiring and supportive people on here. x

Hi Liz, thanks so much for taking the time to share. It’s good to hear that other people have similar experiences. I am keen to purchase a glucose monitor as it just feels that I’m in the dark. I’m finding my diet ok ( very low carbs) but have no idea if it’s doing anything. On a positive note, in some ways I think this was the kick up the @%#se I needed to get my exercise regime in order!lol! Alison

 

[lizk]

@Alison Daniels ‘A kick up the arse’ is exactly how I feel about the situation too. We may end up being much healthier thanks to this.

 

[DebbieC]

Hi @Alison Daniels I was diagnosed a few weeks ago and like you, felt very overwhelmed and frightened. I too had a stone to lose to get into normal BMI range. I’m only 33. So far I have found intermittent fasting (not eating until 12pm and not eating after 8pm) and eliminating all obvious carbs and sugar to be helping so far. I have lost just over a stone and after buying a blood glucose monitor am seeing some positive changes to my blood sugar levels. I’ve decided to use metformin to bring my sugars down and then see if I can reduce my dose (currently 3 a day) over time. I’m looking forward to seeing what my hba1c will be in January. Initially cutting out sugar cold turkey was hard and I had some severe anxiety symptoms, headaches and low mood for a few days. Now I’m feeling great. Less tiredness, less redness to my skin and increasing my exercise is helping my mood and body too. Wishing you lots of luck finding out what works for you and managing your condition. Lots of inspiring and supportive people on here. x

Hi my son James diagnosed month before you, he’s lost 3 st in 11 weeks and his Hba1c from 64 to 36 so in remission, he’s on metformin and been doing low carb, he’s only 32... good luck it can be done xx

 

[DebbieC]

Hi Lin, the nurse offered me a prescription for Metformin and I said I wanted to have a think about it first, as it was an appointment to have my blood pressure checked and she just dropped the diabetes bombshell in there!

Hi and welcome, am mum to 32 year old son diagnosed September 2019, he’s in remission after 10 weeks lost 3 stone and low carb, on metformin but to be reviewed next year if Hba1c continues to fall, good luck xx