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Hello everyone

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K

Kayforst95

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi guys,

I got diagnosed as type 2 only 2 weeks ago at age 26. Doctors and nurses all baffled at how as no previous family members have it. Just looking for help, support with this massive change from a sweet tooth to more level headed. My sugars are currently reading 91 and I've been put on 2000mg metformin per day. My mission is to drop them and stay quite firm with my diet (minus a couple chocolate treats now and again)

Looking forward to getting to know some of you and looking at recipes ect.
 
Hi @Kayforst95 welcome to the forum. I was diagnosed in October with an HbA1c of 80, also on metformin. Your figure of 91 will be your average value over the last three months.
Can you tell us about your diet, in addition to your sweet tooth?
The things in your diet which will raise your blood glucose levels are sweet stuff like cakes, biscuits and chocolate, but also carbohydrates like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, parsnips and couscous.
Can you make swaps for carb rich food to lower carb food? I'm thinking of things like having courgette spaghetti with bolognaise, rather than wheat spaghetti, or cauliflower rice instead of rice?
There's a thread called "What did you eat yesterday" which people say what they've eaten in, if you want ideas of what people are having.
I'm needing to lose 4 stone (some pandemic related, but I was fatter before then too), and I'm aware that weight's a factor in me developing diabetes, in addition to family history of it. I'm aiming to lose weight now to help keep my blood sugar levels lower, in addition to eating less carbs than I did before.
Sarah
 
There's information in the Learning Zone that'll help you find out more about food and other stuff, but ask away with any questions you have as I've found people friendly and knowledgable on the forum.
 
Windy said:
Hi @Kayforst95 welcome to the forum. I was diagnosed in October with an HbA1c of 80, also on metformin. Your figure of 91 will be your average value over the last three months.
Can you tell us about your diet, in addition to your sweet tooth?
The things in your diet which will raise your blood glucose levels are sweet stuff like cakes, biscuits and chocolate, but also carbohydrates like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, parsnips and couscous.
Can you make swaps for carb rich food to lower carb food? I'm thinking of things like having courgette spaghetti with bolognaise, rather than wheat spaghetti, or cauliflower rice instead of rice?
There's a thread called "What did you eat yesterday" which people say what they've eaten in, if you want ideas of what people are having.
I'm needing to lose 4 stone (some pandemic related, but I was fatter before then too), and I'm aware that weight's a factor in me developing diabetes, in addition to family history of it. I'm aiming to lose weight now to help keep my blood sugar levels lower, in addition to eating less carbs than I did before.
Sarah
Click to expand...
I was a bad sweet tooth with chocolate or jelly sweets, cakes and desserts. And i also ate a lot of pasta, potatoes and rice (my partner is Asian so it was a staple food until now.) Another addition would be in the alcohol i used to drink i love berry ciders and flavoured gins. I'm hoping that by cutting down my carb intake and reducing all those mentioned above I'll be a lot better come March when I have my bloods done again! We can do it, i need to loose weight too hoping to drop a couple stone in the process, I've lost half a stone already so feeling confident!
 
Hi Kay and welcome from me too

Can you tell us a bit about how you came to be diagnosed? Did you have symptoms or was it picked up through a blood test for something else? If symptoms, have you noticed any weight loss or gain?
I hope they have started you off on a lower dose of Metformin and are building you up to the full dose slowly. It has a reputation for upsetting your digestive system ,so a graded increase is recommended to allow your body to get used to it. It also helps to take the tablets mid meal to reduce the risk of the side effects.

Hope you don't mind me asking a personal question but do you have much/any weight to lose? The reason I ask is that you are towards the younger end of the age range for Type 2 and the diagnosis of type of diabetes is often mostly (educated) guess work on the part of the doctor. Unfortunately that can be based on insufficient or poor knowledge of diabetes and they can get it wrong and there are many of us here who are proof of that. Basically, the HbA1c test result over 47 gets you a diagnosis of diabetes. There is no specific testing for type 2 so it is an assumption based on if you are overweight or have a poor diet (sweet tooth)family history etc. There is specific testing for Type 1 diabetes (C-peptide and GAD antibody tests) but it is more expensive and not routinely requested by GPs....it is usually sanctioned by a consultant or hospital doctor. Add to this that many GPs are under the misunderstanding that Type 1 diabetes only exhibits in children and young adults and it is easy for them to make a mistake.

At this stage, the important thing to do is to is to just keep that possibility in mind whilst you are trying to get control through dietary, oral meds and a bit of daily exercise if you can.... a brisk walk is ideal.

If you want to be proactive, getting a basic BG (Blood Glucose) meter and test strips and commencing a food testing strategy to figure out how your body responds to the meals you eat and then adjusting those meals to keep your BG levels more stable and reduce the spikes from carbs will give you knowledge about how your body copes and therefore better control.
We can recommend reliable, economical BG meters if you decide that is something you want to pursue. Most people here on the forum find them an invaluable tool in managing their diabetes, even though most doctors and nurses advise against them.
 
Half a stone lost already is really good! Glad to hear you're doing so well.
Are you getting any support from your local GP/nurse, or referrals for a diabetes course or any screening? I've had an eye screening, my feet checked, blood pressure taken, blood and urine samples analysed and a referral for a liver scan (big waiting list for that apparently). I believe you can ask for a referral to a dietician, but I haven't yet.
Hopefully your HbA1c will be lower in March when you go back for your check, helped by your improved diet.
Like @rebrascora says, metformin can cause digestive problems (it can give you the runs). If you do have this, you can ask your GP for the slow release metformin which is meant to be kinder on your tummy.
Best wishes for Christmas, Sarah
 
I see you have answered my questions in part about weight. How easy was the half a stone weight loss? In 2 weeks that is pretty fast! The reason I ask is that weight loss is a symptom more often associated with uncontrolled Type 1 diabetes whereas weight gain is more often associated with Type 2.
 
I had GD when i was pregnant and felt the same symptoms i had back then. I have a contour next blood sugar monitor so did a test and came back high. Drs and nurses verified it and since I'd been starved since last night (appointment was at 11.30, doctor check was at 12.20) i had ketone in urine sample so sent me to hospital, they checked and diagnosed me as type 2. I go to gym 2x a week (i was gaining weight after gym too) and have quite an active lifestyle as a ftm and a carer for my Grandma so do quite a bit of exercise. Nurse has referred me to desmond online, eye check referral and checked my feet. It has truly been a rollercoaster of 2 weeks
 
Yes, we can all relate to how overwhelming those first few weeks are, although I guess you had a little bit of prior experience with GD. Hang in there is does get easier but I still think there is a reasonable possibility you might be Type 1.
Did the symptoms come on suddenly? What was your Contour Next reading?
 
rebrascora said:
Yes, we can all relate to how overwhelming those first few weeks are, although I guess you had a little bit of prior experience with GD. Hang in there is does get easier but I still think there is a reasonable possibility you might be Type 1.
Did the symptoms come on suddenly? What was your Contour Next reading?
Click to expand...
Symptoms were there for a while i just put it down to not drinking enough and then when i did drink and needed to pee more, i put that down to increasing my water. I was tired all the time, which i put down to being a mam with a 2 year old toddler haha. My strips were out of date so its an invalid reading
 
Kayforst95 said:
I was tired all the time, which i put down to being a mam with a 2 year old toddler haha.
Click to expand...
Do I detect a northern dialect there in the word mam? Just wondering if we might be neighbours?
 
Kayforst95 said:
i had ketone in urine sample so sent me to hospital,
Click to expand...
Ketones are uncommon in Type 2 diabetes, so that is another possible factor suggesting Type 1.
 
Knew it! I'm just 12 or so miles down the road near Consett in County Durham.
 
It's probably that one word - Mam !

I had a mom, plenty of others have mums.
 
trophywench said:
It's probably that one word - Mam !

I had a mom, plenty of others have mums.
Click to expand...
I had a discussion many years ago with my daughters when they were in their early thirties about what they should call me as I had always been Mummy, the conclusion was nothing else would sound right. However I am MOTHER if I am in bad books for not doing something I should have, like getting an X-ray for an injured wrist which turned out to be fractured.
 
Yep! - same as I'm either Jen or Jenny when all's well with the world - but JENNIFER!!!! when it ain't .......
 
Welcome to the forum @Kayforst95

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Like others I’d suggest keeping an open mind about classification over the next months and maybe even years. There are less common types of diabetes like LADA that can be trickier to spot, especially when they develop slowly, and can resemble T2 to begin with. At 26 your age does seem young for classic T2, and it doesn’t sound like you have any family history of any type. Your ketones may have been dietary after fasting for a while, but that’s the thing with diabetes… there are rarely any completely simple answers, and everything is always just a bit more complicated than it first appears!

Sounds like you are making lots of positive changes already though, and have plans in place.

Hopefully these will help bring your BG levels back towards a healthy range, while your classification becomes clear.
 
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