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Hello

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J

JH63

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi,

I'm John, newly diagnosed with Type 2. Currently trying to lose weight, drop the carbs and navigate all the info that's out there. Looking forward to picking up some hints and tips from the forum on how to progress from here.
 
Welcome @JH63 🙂 Were you diagnosed after an HbA1C blood test? If so, do you know what your result (number) was? That would give an idea of how far into the diabetic zone you are.

Do ask any questions you want. Nothing is silly or too trivial to ask.
 
Hi,

Many thanks for the replies and welcome. @Anitram @Inka

Sorry not sure what the HbA1c number is. Could it be the 3 month average? I was told this was 10% and fairly high. Unfortunately my initial appointment was fairly rushed as I was fitted in at the end of the day in order to get me up and running with meds another appt on Thurs for more info hopefully.

Currently I'm on 1 x 40mg of Gliclazide before breakfast and dinner. Also on 1 x 500mg Metformin with breakfast and dinner building up to 2 Metformin with both meals.
 
JH63 said:
I was told this was 10% and fairly high.
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That does sound like HbA1c. In the current units (mmol/mol) that's 86, and the level chosen to indicate diabetes is 48.

So it's high but not especially so (many people get diagnosed with HbA1c over 100).
 
Yes, that’s it @JH63 10% would be in the old measurements. That’s around 86 in the new units. You’ll see people talk about their HbA1Cs here and see numbers like 52, 64, 105, etc so you can compare your 86 with their results. It is indeed “fairly high” but plenty have had higher.
 
Hiya! Welcome to the forum - there's a lot to get your head round at first but there is so much support on here. The secret to success is lots of little changes over time - if you bring your numbers down too rapidly, you risk causing real damage to fine blood vessels esp in your eyes.

Keeping an honest food diary is a great start and testing your BGs around meals will help you navigate your particular version of diabetes - cos we're all different!

I will add to the above that, if you decide to take a low carb approach to manage weight loss and your BGs, this also has implications with gliclazide so do discuss it with your GP/team before making radical changes to diet.
 
EllsBells said:
Hiya! Welcome to the forum - there's a lot to get your head round at first but there is so much support on here. The secret to success is lots of little changes over time - if you bring your numbers down too rapidly, you risk causing real damage to fine blood vessels esp in your eyes.

Keeping an honest food diary is a great start and testing your BGs around meals will help you navigate your particular version of diabetes - cos we're all different!

I will add to the above that, if you decide to take a low carb approach to manage weight loss and your BGs, this also has implications with gliclazide so do discuss it with your GP/team before making radical changes to diet.
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Many thanks for this. Gliclazide is only a short term measure I believe. I'm very interested in the eye problem. I have had issues with my eyes and had had an increase in my contact lens strength just before my diagnosis. This has virtually reversed as my bg levels have fallen and I have had to revert to my old lenses.
 
JH63 said:
Many thanks for this. Gliclazide is only a short term measure I believe. I'm very interested in the eye problem. I have had issues with my eyes and had had an increase in my contact lens strength just before my diagnosis. This has virtually reversed as my bg levels have fallen and I have had to revert to my old lenses.
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Oh bless you - I hope you haven't wasted too much money. Your GP should be referring you for a retinopathy appointment which will indicate one way offer the other if there is any damage.

The high blood sugars change the shape of your eye hence making sight worse, so, as your levels come back down, your eye reverts back to it's normal shape. This is different to retinopathy which looks at damage to the blood vessels.

Let your optician know you have diabetes as you don't pay for tests and can advise on when to change prescription. Typically, your eyesight needs to stabilise post diagnosis before you get a new prescription.
 
Welcome to the forum @JH63

Have you been given a BG meter to check your levels? What sorts of readings are you seeing?

Did you have your follow up appointment on Thursday?
 
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