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Hi from Chester

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Suzibear79

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi everyone

Officially diagnosed last week type 2 but waiting on the long test (on ice)to come back. Far from coping currently as I have many other medical conditions too!:just need some support where possible.

Thanks
Suzanne
 
Hi @Suzibear79 and welcome. You’ll find a fair few of us juggle diabetes with other conditions. I was diagnosed in November, and have found here to be invaluable, and incredibly welcoming 🙂
 
Yea I have noticed this. Some of my conditions are rare which is annoying but I do need some support with diabetes as its all new to me
 
One thing I have found surprising is that, despite not having symptoms of diabetes, even though my Hba1c was 91, I am feeling so much better than I did, and coping better with life in general.

Just having the energy and impetus to do little jobs around the house has made things a lot better than they were - I brought a small dishwasher in from the conservatory and plumbed it in on the draining board, where it gets used. Now I use it several times a week and don't have a sink full of things I'll get around to sometime - I set it going and go out for the evening with a clear conscience.
 
Hello @Suzibear79 . Welcome to the forum . Feel free to ask questions about diabetes, one of the ones often asked and really the most important is one what on earth can I eat.
I obviously don’t know if this will impact on your other conditions, but protein and good fats are usually fine it’s carbohydrates esp the white ones we need to cut out/down on.

Many of us on here have other conditions some are rare ones too so you’re in good company

In the thread called , Useful links for people new to diabetes, which for future reference you’ll find at the top of the newbies forum
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes.10406/
Their is lots info, just scroll down to the T2 section
I suggest you Start with
maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2s

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2009/04/test-test-test.html
 
Suzibear79 said:
Hi everyone

Officially diagnosed last week type 2 but waiting on the long test (on ice)to come back. Far from coping currently as I have many other medical conditions too!:just need some support where possible.

Thanks
Suzanne
Click to expand...
Hi Suzi

You have come to the right place for support.
Any questions just ask. No questions are considered silly on here.

There are some resources that others on here have found useful when diagnosed
Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter. These include advice on self management which is the key to this condition. I realise that you are juggling other conditions as well, but I hope that there is something that of use to you.

Many people on here with T2, are advised not to test by their GPS but this may be because it is unusual for T2s to get the test strips funded, unless they are in medication that may lead to hypos. However by testing your BG both before and about 2 hours after your meals you can find out how your body reacts to different foods.

If you choose to test this article might help you to make use of the results.Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S
Also, because if you have to self-fund you want to make those test strips count:Testing on a budget
If you are not able to get strips prescribed, the following are the cheapest option we have come across:
SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50....

Whether you choose to test or not, it is important to recognise that your blood glucose level will be impacted by ANY carbohydrates that you eat, not just sugar, as you may read in the news. By knowing how many carbs you eat you can then choose to change this to match what your pancreas cancope with. A useful bit of advice I picked up on this forum was:
- veg that grow under the ground are very high in carbs (root veg)
- veg that grow above the ground are medium carbs (peas, beans, )
- veg that grow on the ground are low carb (cauliflowers, celery)
I found this helpful in reducing the amount of carbs I wanted to eat at meals.
I also switched from pasta to using bean spaghetti or courgetti.
There are plenty of swaps possible.


Diabetes UK have an online training course for people new to Type 2 diabetes:
Type 2 Diabetes and Me, along with a variety of other resources.

I hope that in amongst this rather long message there is someth8g that you find useful.
As I said before please ask if you need any advice.
 
Ljc said:
Hello @Suzibear79 . Welcome to the forum . Feel free to ask questions about diabetes, one of the ones often asked and really the most important is one what on earth can I eat.
I obviously don’t know if this will impact on your other conditions, but protein and good fats are usually fine it’s carbohydrates esp the white ones we need to cut out/down on.

Many of us on here have other conditions some are rare ones too so you’re in good company

In the thread called , Useful links for people new to diabetes, which for future reference you’ll find at the top of the newbies forum
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes.10406/
Their is lots info, just scroll down to the T2 section
I suggest you Start with
maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2s

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2009/04/test-test-test.html
Click to expand...
Snap
I took too long typing!!
 
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Hi again Suzanne.
If you decide you would like to self test to see how the various carbohydrates affect your blood glucose (BG) and your gp practice refuses to prescribe a glucose meter and test strips, which sadly is more than likely, many here use the SD Codefree meter as it has the cheapest testing strips to self fund around £8 for a pot of 50 other brands sold in chemists are over £15 for 50
It’s only available online
You’ll need to buy more test strips and one box of lancets as the only proved 10 in starter packs.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Codefree-G...&linkId=f39210144fdc26c27738e45b6d957003&th=1

How did you come to be diagnosed
 
The ‘above, below, on the ground’ thing for vegetables is such an easy way to remember. Fruit is pretty much all bad btw, sadly. Berries are tolerable in small amounts for some of us, but the thing to remember is although we all have diabetes, we are all different. @Drummer and I struggle to tolerate anything but the bare minimum, whereas others can manage a lot more without detrimental effects. The only way to really tell is to test.
 
For food and BG, everybody is different. Please don't pay much attention to people saying you can't eat or you must eat such-&-such. Maybe it's true for them; that doesn't make it a general rule. It's a drag, but the only way you'll know what works for you is by testing before & after eating and seeing what happens.

Along the way, try not to cut back too much on fruit, whole grains and veggies; and give serious consideration to upping nuts and seeds (which generally shouldn't have much BG impact). A lot of T2D health probs, particularly CV-related, are associated with too little intake in these areas.
 
Hello. Suzibear, seems like lots of things have been covered and much for you to think about and digest. Just wanted to say welcome to you and if support is what you need you will definitely find it here. There is usually someone online most of the time if you have any questions or just need to get things off your chest, a rant is sometimes just what we need. We are all in the same boat with varying degrees of other problems so we know how you feel. Good luck
 
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Thanks for all the masses of information everyone it really does help.
I got diagnosed just over a week ago just by my new GP (moved from shropshire to cheshire) taking the HB1AC diabetes test and it was 60 the first time 61 the 2nd time and 60 the 3rd time.
I don't honestly know how its come about as i said before i do have pre existing conditions
asthma, sphincter of oddi dysfunction type 1, functional dyspepsia, fibromyalgia, acute pancreatitis and more recently high blood pressure, diabetes

i had my gallbladder removed in 2009 then in after 5 years of being in and out of admissions with similar pain in 2014 i was diagnosed with sphincter of oddi dysfunction. they also put me on the fodmap diet which calmed things down a bit.

my main issue at the moment is i keep going very faint /light headed they took me off metaformin till we get all this under control but don't know what this is as they have also changed ramaprim to lorzepam.
I have lost over 6 stone since 2014 I can only eat little and often so meals for me take a long time to digest.
So if anyone can give me any guidance or this stage it would be welcomed!!
TIA Suzanne xx
 
Fainting and lightheadedness was why I was diagnosed, it still happens if I go over 14ish.
 
Hello from a neighbouring county Merseyside.
Your in the right place to get the best advice for anything relating to diabetes. As with your co- morbidities you will find lots of people who juggle other numerous conditions, as a matter of fact i’m One of them. I think you probably have chronic pancreatitis if this pain persists from 2009. ( don’t take that as fact I’m not a consultant). Anyway are you taking creon with your food ? Someone invented a term “Creonista” many folks are in that club. Sounds like you’ve a lot going on. Don’t despair lots of us are in the same boat. Maybe different conditions but all affect our diabetes in similar ways. Welcome to the forum a font of diabetic knowledge. Just ask someone will be able to help in some way.
 
Hiya I'm not on creon I know at the time when I had pancreatitis when in royal London hospital after my sphincteroctomy. More than anything I need guidance with diet planse
 
Hi Suzibear. For those of us who only have diabetes to cope with, diet decisions revolve mostly around carbohydrate content of the food you eat. As a general statement, carbohydrate in food is processed in the gut to make glucose and this finishes up in the blood. Your pancreas produces insulin to process it and if the insulin function is impaired for some reason the glucose is not processed and you finish up with unhealthily high blood glucose levels. So when it comes to diet, the first target is to reduce carbohydrate intake. This reduces glucose production and gives your system chance to process it, either on its own or with the help of medication.

There are no rules! Some head for very low (less than 50 g carbohydrate a day) because they are sensitive to carbohydrates in general, no matter what the source. Some find that particular sources of carbohydrate are a problem and limit those. Some find that they have to balance food and medication, you certainly have to if you use insulin. Some, like you, have other conditions which are affected by diet and they have to be brought into the equation. Experiment is needed to find out what is best for you and as long as you remember that you are in a marathon, not a sprint, you will get there.

May I suggest that you start to keep a food diary noting every thing you eat and what the carb content is. Reading packets will give you good information for a lot of things but you might need to make a few guesses based on weight and standard tables. There is a pretty good table on the main site listing foods and their carbohydrate content. Its not as difficult as it sounds. At least you will know where you are starting from and you can use this to make a plan for the future which can get control of your diabetes without making any of your other problems worse.

If you get confused, ask questions on here and somebody will help. I know, from personal experience, that that works!
 
Hi Suzi, welcome to the forum. Everyone above has covered most things, just want to reassure you that we’re here to walk with you in your journey with diabetes.
 
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