Hey! Newly diagnosed (and a little nervous!)Type 2

[Missterie]

Hey everyone, hope you are all well and having good week. I'm 35 and was diagnosed last week with having Type 2 Diabetes. Had my first annual Diabetes check last Saturday and it felt a little rushed to be honest so my head has been in a bit of a spin since! My glucose levels are 84% so the Diabetic Nurse told me that I need to reduce it and loose weight as much as I can within the next 3 months when I'll then be tested again. I'm on Metformin, 500g twice a day this week, then increasing to 3 a day next week and then 4 a day following that. Been having a few explosive side effects so far from the medication so I'm hoping that goes away soon?! (Please tell me it does!)

I've started going for walks an hour a day and been trying to make a conscious effort to stay away from Carbs. I'm a little nervous with Christmas coming up, what I should steer clear from but my plan so far is to just eat the meat and veggies. Not sure about what alcohol I can have and desserts (if any!) so will aim to look up info as much as possible on here! Look forward to learning from you all. Xxx

 

[Bruce Stephens]

My glucose levels are 84%

Probably that's HbA1c and probably it's just 84 (units are mmol/mol). (Under 42 is normal, over 48 is the cutoff for diabetes. It's not unusual to be in three figures at diagnosis.)

Been having a few explosive side effects so far from the medication so I'm hoping that goes away soon?! (Please tell me it does!)

Usually, yes. Make sure to take it with a meal, and if you're still having problems after a few days and the form you're taking isn't slow release (SR or whatever) then ask for that.

And after all that, if it's still a problem then go back and explain: metformin's a nice cheap (common, well tolerated) drug, but it's far from the only one and not everyone gets on with it.

 

[Missterie]

Probably that's HbA1c and probably it's just 84 (units are mmol/mol). (Under 42 is normal, over 48 is the cutoff for diabetes. It's not unusual to be in three figures at diagnosis.)

Usually, yes. Make sure to take it with a meal, and if you're still having problems after a few days and the form you're taking isn't slow release (SR or whatever) then ask for that.

And after all that, if it's still a problem then go back and explain: metformin's a nice cheap (common, well tolerated) drug, but it's far from the only one and not everyone gets on with it.

Thanks very much Bruce for explaining, thats really helpful. Yes the nurse did say that figure was from the HbA1c test that I did. She had said it was quite high and risky so I was a bit nervous about that so thanks for explaining the levels.

Thanks also for the heads up about the metformin too. I'll see how I get on within the next week and if it's still giving me some problems ill ask the nurse for a slow release one as you suggested.

I really appreciate the response, have a lovely evening!

 

[Drummer]

You might like to try desserts such as sugar free jelly - I make 2 sachets up to one pint, or add gelatine to just one sachet, I dissolve the jelly in minimum water and then add cold water, then add frozen fruit - about half a packet. The jelly will often set as you watch it.
For Christmas I make almond sponge and cut it into fingers, then splash them with something alcoholic, add jelly and berries, let it set then add real custard - eggs and cream flavoured with real vanilla, and then whip cream and mix in a little desiccated coconut before piping it around and then sprinkling more coconut on top.
The low carb options are often better than the high carb ones.

 

[Missterie]

Hi. Welcome to the Forum. 84 is well above the threshold for diabetes but with a combination of diet, weight loss, exercise and medication you should be able to bring it down. Many of us have, and some from much higher than you. The 3-month interval before your next test is because the HbA1c test looks at you BG over the previous 10-12 weeks. Any earlier and it would be picking up some of what was in your test that came back 84.

There's plenty of advice on diet on the site, and from forum members who are managing their diabetes day by day, so if you have any questions please ask.

Martin

Hi Martin, thanks so much for your reply and for clarifying a bit more regarding the levels and reasons for such a gap between the next HbA1c tests, that part of what the nurse had said makes a bit more sense now!

This site and forum have been great so far with lots of info to get your head and I'm just happy I'm able to at least find information in one place.

Thanks again and have a lovely evening.

 

[Missterie]

You might like to try desserts such as sugar free jelly - I make 2 sachets up to one pint, or add gelatine to just one sachet, I dissolve the jelly in minimum water and then add cold water, then add frozen fruit - about half a packet. The jelly will often set as you watch it.
For Christmas I make almond sponge and cut it into fingers, then splash them with something alcoholic, add jelly and berries, let it set then add real custard - eggs and cream flavoured with real vanilla, and then whip cream and mix in a little desiccated coconut before piping it around and then sprinkling more coconut on top.
The low carb options are often better than the high carb ones.

Wow that all sounds so yummy! I didn't even think I could have custard, sponge or cream so this recipe really makes me happier lol

Thanks so much for your reply and suggestions, I will definitely be trying them out and looking for low carb options!

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week.

 

[Drummer]

Wow that all sounds so yummy! I didn't even think I could have custard, sponge or cream so this recipe really makes me happier lol

Thanks so much for your reply and suggestions, I will definitely be trying them out and looking for low carb options!

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week.

It is a case of making them yourself, though, we are just not a large enough market for the shops to stock what we need ready made.

 

[trophywench]

Yeah, seach for recipes using ground almonds rather than flour. You can make both sweet and savoury recipes with them, depending obviously on whatever other ingredients you add, and the recipes are made 'wetter' than flour ones usually need to be and have to have baking powder added to get em to rise, whether sweet or savoury.