Hi All, just diagnosed & will be collecting my 1st prescription of metformin tomorrow.

[Tee to Green]

I contacted the Dr as I have constant numbness in one hand for over a month (think it's Cubital Tunnel Syndrome but the Dr sent me for some blood tests).

The Dr advised my reading was 108 and that it really should be 48 (I don't really know how bad that is & what it means). I've been told to keep a diary of my food intake & get exercising. Since lockdown I've done no exercise where I used to do at least 10,000 steps a day walking back & forth to work - obviously the Dr said I need to start exercising.

Should I purchase a blood monitor?
What foods will really help?

 

[HenryBennett]

You’ll be hit with the following advice:

Yes, buy a blood glucose meter and test, test, test. Search in here how best to do that. It’s made a massive difference to me. Your Hb1Ac is very high and needs immediate attention. This is an indication of blood glucose over the last three months. A finger prick gives an immediate reading.

Carbs, carbs, carbs. Cut out carbs. Forget any dietary advice from your GP and Diabetes Nurse, unless they tell you that it’s all about carbs. I‘m just finishing my no carb breakfast - half a gammon steak with avocado so will leave more experienced people to flesh this out.

Welcome, you’re in the right place.

Finally ... carbs.

Good luck,

Henry

 

[Toucan]

Hello @Tee to Green and welcome to the forum.
Well, it looks as if the numbness in your hand actually did you a favour in being a route to finding out that you are Diabetic.
I found out the same in a similar way, and although it was quite a shock it has actually led me to changing a few things and having a healthier lifestyle.

Diabetes is a serious disease, but it can be positively managed and in many circumstances, you can do a lot to help yourself and there is a help and support available. You will need to make a few changes though, and these need to be sustainable, as this is for the long term.

It will mean making changes that lower your blood glucose levels, and the 3 main tools for doing this are diet, exercise and medication if your doctor prescribes it. Your GP's advice on returning to exercise will be a big help

With regard to diet ,there is no ‘one-size -fits-all'' and you need to find out what will work for you. As @HenryBennett suggests, most of us find that we have to seriously reduce the amount of carbs that we eat. It will help if you can find out which foods cause your blood sugars to rise, and a glucose monitor is a way to find this out.

There is a lot more information available on useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes and also on the Learning Zone tab at the top of the top of this page.
If you want to know more about the Low-Carb way of eating then Maggie Davey's letter, shows how this lady approached the problem. If you are considering getting a glucose meter then SD Gluco Navii is one that many people use, and test-review-adjust gives information on how to go about testing.

There is a lot of information to take in, but it is worth taking your time to find a good sustainable solution.
I hope you will keep posting and let us know how it goes, and we will always try to answer any questions
Best wishes

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

The Dr advised my reading was 108 and that it really should be 48 (I don't really know how bad that is & what it means).

Welcome to the forum TTG

You’ve already had some suggestions and links to get stuck into, so I won’t duplicate those - but they are well worth your careful attention!

The BG check you had done is an HbA1c, which is currently the standard measure of diabetes management (or diagnosis). The target for people with diabetes is 48mmol/mol or below.

The HbA1c measures how much glucose from your blood stream has stuck to red blood cells. The more glucose you have in your blood, the more red blood cells are affected and the higher your HbA1c. Since red blood cells last for approx 120 days, it gives a reasonable picture of glucose concentrations over the previous 3 months.

The BG meters give an immediate value of glucose in capillary blood. Eventually you should be aiming for 4-7mmol/L before meals, and no higher than 9mmol/L by 2 hours after eating. However, in the beginning it’s best to make small, manageable changes to your diet and lifestyle, and aim to reduce your BG gradually, because this is easier on the body and gives it time to adapt.

Good luck! And keep asking questions