Annual diabetes review

M

millwallbill

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Well, good news... I think. Had my annual T2 meeting with diabetes nurse in my surgery`s practice. She`s taken me off Gliclazide. Everything seems to be going in the right direction. Because of open heart surgery earlier in the year I had to make changes quickly. I was dealing with a dodgy ticker that was going to kill me as well as the T2 issue. I cut out salt & sugar overnight. They don`t give you the option on the Cardiac Ward. I`ve got my weight down from 12st 10lb to about 11st. Still feel I need to get a bit more off yet. My BMI is at the top end of OK. I reckon another stone needs to come off. I`d feel better in my mind if I could do that. Not sure how I`d feel bodily. I think my feeling of improved health is more down to the surgery. Tackling the T2 head on has been a useful side issue. The nurse talked of the importance of protein in a diabetic diet. I said that the only meat that I now ate on a regular basis is chicken & fish. I have largely cut out snacking. If I snack, it is a handful of unsalted nuts or a raw carrot. I miss fruit in my diet. Used to like pears & bananas. But a Community Nurse who visited me at home following my hospital discharge said that bananas are, quite literally, forbidden fruit for diabetics. I`ve just cut out all fruit. That way I avoid fructose & any other naturally occurring sugar . I did not have a cake on my birthday this year. And I have cut out the booze pretty much. One pint of Guinness on my birthday. A few glasses of wine & a couple of halves on holiday. No booze on a daily basis. I am trying to adopt a routine that factors in daily exercise. I`ve just finished 7 weeks of cardio rehab, which involved an hour of moderately strenuous exercise twice a week. So that is how I see the challenges coming down the line. Firstly, lose more weight. Secondly, get more active. It doesn`t get any easier when you hit the three score & ten age group.
 
Good news there is another Lion on here @millwallbill COYL (me too if you hadn't guessed!) - sounds like you have everything on track - well done fella - top work
 
millwallbill said:
Well, good news... I think. Had my annual T2 meeting with diabetes nurse in my surgery`s practice. She`s taken me off Gliclazide. Everything seems to be going in the right direction. Because of open heart surgery earlier in the year I had to make changes quickly. I was dealing with a dodgy ticker that was going to kill me as well as the T2 issue. I cut out salt & sugar overnight. They don`t give you the option on the Cardiac Ward. I`ve got my weight down from 12st 10lb to about 11st. Still feel I need to get a bit more off yet. My BMI is at the top end of OK. I reckon another stone needs to come off. I`d feel better in my mind if I could do that. Not sure how I`d feel bodily. I think my feeling of improved health is more down to the surgery. Tackling the T2 head on has been a useful side issue. The nurse talked of the importance of protein in a diabetic diet. I said that the only meat that I now ate on a regular basis is chicken & fish. I have largely cut out snacking. If I snack, it is a handful of unsalted nuts or a raw carrot. I miss fruit in my diet. Used to like pears & bananas. But a Community Nurse who visited me at home following my hospital discharge said that bananas are, quite literally, forbidden fruit for diabetics. I`ve just cut out all fruit. That way I avoid fructose & any other naturally occurring sugar . I did not have a cake on my birthday this year. And I have cut out the booze pretty much. One pint of Guinness on my birthday. A few glasses of wine & a couple of halves on holiday. No booze on a daily basis. I am trying to adopt a routine that factors in daily exercise. I`ve just finished 7 weeks of cardio rehab, which involved an hour of moderately strenuous exercise twice a week. So that is how I see the challenges coming down the line. Firstly, lose more weight. Secondly, get more active. It doesn`t get any easier when you hit the three score & ten age group.
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It sounds as if all is going well for you and the changes you have made are working but excluding all fruit seems a bit harsh as berries are pretty low in carbs and can be eaten with yoghurt, it seems a shame not to have fruits that have vitamins and are very good.
 
Hello @millwallbill , congratulations on your successful review. Sounds like you have had a challenging year. Your diet changes and exercise are certainly paying off so give yourself a huge pat on the back. As @Leadinglights mentioned, berries are relatively low carb/sugar and the vitamins and anthocyanins are very good for your cardiovascular health. I have some most days and it doesn't have a huge effect on my blood sugars.
 
Berries are good for and wine is also OK as it doesn't raise BS
 
well done
 
Thanks for the update @millwallbill

Glad to hear things are going so well for you. Great news that your recovery from heart surgery has gone so well. And congrats on licking your diabetes into shape at the same time!
 
Strangely, I think that a brutal approach can help in these situations. When I was being triaged at the hospital after being blue-lighted in, the doctor told me that I needed surgery. I asked if there was an alternative. Thinking that I would be offered a stent. "Yes" she replied, "The alternative is that you die". Suitably abashed I muttered something about being glad that we`ve sorted that one out. Similarly with T2, I was forced into immediate changes on the Cardiac Care Ward. Otherwise I might have been tempted into a mindset of phasing the changes in gradually, procrastinating. I was fortunate, if that word can be used in this context, to have had medical support from almost day one to keep me on track. Indeed I cannot speak too highly about the care that I have received from the NHS.
 
millwallbill said:
Strangely, I think that a brutal approach can help in these situations. When I was being triaged at the hospital after being blue-lighted in, the doctor told me that I needed surgery. I asked if there was an alternative. Thinking that I would be offered a stent. "Yes" she replied, "The alternative is that you die". Suitably abashed I muttered something about being glad that we`ve sorted that one out. Similarly with T2, I was forced into immediate changes on the Cardiac Care Ward. Otherwise I might have been tempted into a mindset of phasing the changes in gradually, procrastinating. I was fortunate, if that word can be used in this context, to have had medical support from almost day one to keep me on track. Indeed I cannot speak too highly about the care that I have received from the NHS.
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Totally agree that sometimes doctors need to give you the unvarnished truth. My husband was having a hard time dealing with the side effects of all the medication he had to take for his heart. He spoke to his doctor and asked how long he had to keep taking it. Doctor said " for the rest of your life". When he said " what if I stop taking them?" Her reply was "The rest of your life won't be very long". Made him realise how serious it was. Fortunately the worst side effects stopped after 2 to 3 months.
 
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