Hi all

[JazzyGeofferz]

Greetings everybody. I was diagnosed as T2 just over a week ago, then prescribed Metformin and sent on my way by my GP who told me to wait to hear from mylocal diabetes team. It's a bit worrying at the moment as I've not been provided with a way to keep track of my blood sugar, and have had to try and find everything I need to know out online.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @JazzyGeofferz

One of the most affordable meters members here have found is from SD, and has been recently updated to the SD Gluco Navii which has test strips at around £8 for 50

By checking before and after meals, and noting what the differences are you can aim to identify any foods that seem to be causing you difficulties and try varying or reducing them (sometimes just having things at a different time of day makes a difference). While there are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will be wanting to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.

If you are interested in using a BG meter to find out how different foods affect you, you may find Alan S’s test-review-adjust framework helpful.

For a bit more background information, the ‘useful links’ thread is a mine of helpful information - useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes

Members here frequently recommend Maggie Davey’s Letter and Gretchen Becker’s book, as very helpful starting points.

Good luck, and keep asking questions!

 

[Neens]

Hi @JazzyGeofferz and welcome to the Forum.
It is usual practise for T2 not to be BG meters - we can buy them. Although the real reason is possibly financial/cuts etc. it is so that we don't send ourselves into severe worry testing all the time. There is a lot of research on the psychology of diagnosis.
Also because of the metaformin although you may feel the consequence of low/high blood glucose levels you are not at risk of actually encountering a medical need. This won't make you feel much better, as they false lows feel real, but rest assured you will be okay.

It does seem crazy but it is also fairly usual to have the news broken and then have an appointment a fortnight later and also usual to spend those 14 days going out of your mind. Try not to do that. Know you will find lots of help and information here and on the DUK website, pop to the Learning Zone and have a read and remember you are not alone. There are millions of us.

None of the system made sense to me either but I realise the logistics of being able to offer us all the appointments and checks we need and access to education that you need. With hope all this will come through from your surgery over time, rest assured they won't leave you in this limbo. Things are monitored fairly well in the early stages.

I was put on metaformin to max dose straight away and had to wait 2 weeks for apt and knew nothing about diabetes. My GP even told me not to make any dietary changes.
Which I ignored as I was not eating well at the time and went to Low Carb eating starting with 130g carbs a day (which I have discovered isn't particularly low) and dropping slowly. The worst thing you can do is try to make all the changes straight away, do it all gradually. Maybe just cut the white carbs out to begin with. I still had measured small amounts of potatoes at the beginning as I didn't want to waste food. Haven't had any for months now.

Try not to stress or worry as this will increase your BG levels. Take each day as it comes and have a good read around the forum for lots of helpful tips and plans.

 

[Tee G]

Hi @JazzyGeofferz - welcome to the forum.

Its a bit of a shock isnt it. You have been given good advice on here and all i will add is.... 'take your time digesting it all' - Education is the key, together with self monitoring. As diabetes is a VERY individual thing, its important to find your own path. It will be the long haul im afraid & its safe to assume its a life long condition, BUT very manageable with a little care and determination and a bit of planning. But changes will need to be made if you are to stay as healthy as you can. We are all here to help and support each other and i am sure you will find it very interesting reading everyone's stories.

Good luck on this adventure.

 

[JazzyGeofferz]

@Neens my doctor told me I needed to change up my diet, so I have a sneaking suspicion some of how I'm feeling at the moment is getting used to that. Hopefully once everything is balanced out I'll be OK. I had awful eating habits, but also have a really phyisical job, so am on my feet pretty much all day, and doing quite a bit of lifting so while I wasn't putting on weight I wasn't losing any either. I just saw food as fuel. My worry now is that when I go back to that job (I'm covering a different department at the moment) I'm going to struggle.

 

[Toucan]

Hello @JazzyGeofferz and welcome to the forum.
As you will see from the replies you have already had there is a great deal of information and help available here.

It is important to try and sort out an eating plan as soon as you can, and try to ensure that it is sustainable and fits in terms of how much preparation and cooking you like and have time to do.

Many of us on the forum find that a low-carb diet works well for us and a good place to learn more about this is Maggie Davey's letter which shows how this lady went about it.
There are also many useful eating ideas on some of the forum links for example:

Food/carb queries + recipes

Coming to terms with diabetes and food can be very difficult - this forum is for all your food and carbohydrate queries and a place to post your favourite recipes!

forum.diabetes.org.uk

The Weight Loss Group

This forum is for people seeking support and encouragement, tips and stories about ways to shed the pounds and help manage their diabetes

forum.diabetes.org.uk

I hope that you find a good solution, and please keep posting and ask any questions, we will always try to help.

 

[Neens]

@Neens my doctor told me I needed to change up my diet, so I have a sneaking suspicion some of how I'm feeling at the moment is getting used to that. Hopefully once everything is balanced out I'll be OK. I had awful eating habits, but also have a really phyisical job, so am on my feet pretty much all day, and doing quite a bit of lifting so while I wasn't putting on weight I wasn't losing any either. I just saw food as fuel. My worry now is that when I go back to that job (I'm covering a different department at the moment) I'm going to struggle.

Please don't worry about coping with physical work. Even on low carb you can make some good and filling food choices. I find I need more carbs on days when at work, but can still keep it less than 50g carbs.
I have not felt like I am on a diet diet and have not felt hungry.
It will depend on what you can tolerate. Which you won't know until you can test your BG.
I can't add link from phone but I you look at forums there is a food/recipe section and on the DUK website there are PDF food plans. Mix and match and find what works for you and get advice from your diabetes health team.

Ask questions in general forum and people will respond.


You will learn as you go. Try not to feel you have to manage it all in one go.

 

[Drummer]

Since diagnosis my physical strength and flexibility has improved a fair bit - I went straight to LCHF eating, and I only need to eat twice a day now, plus I enjoy what I am eating, unlike the 'healthy' diet I was on before.

 

[JazzyGeofferz]

Since diagnosis my physical strength and flexibility has improved a fair bit - I went straight to LCHF eating, and I only need to eat twice a day now, plus I enjoy what I am eating, unlike the 'healthy' diet I was on before.

That's awesome.