Hi,

[Coco chanel]

Hi all, I’m British but live in Spain. 2 weeks ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and I’m really confused. I did want to use diet and not have to take meds but to be honest with all the information out there I got a little scared so started taking the meds. I have been very good no sugar, potatoes,rice,bread or pasta for over 10 days (no weight loss which is disappointing) and I’ve started exercising. My normal eating habits for years has been not having breakfast and eating between 1 - 4 pm and then a small meal around 8/9 pm I have just bought a machine to test blood glucose. Yesterday after eating my blood sugar was 104 after two hours and later around 9.00pm it was 134 but this morning it was 195 which has really freaked me out after looking the level up on line. The doctor didn’t explain anything to me although he told me to join this group.i really don’t know if it’s ok to eat some carbs if I go out for dinner or what levels are supposed to be when I should be taking my meds. The online/utube stuff is all contradictory any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum.
As you are in Spain, it looks as if the units you use there for blood glucose readings on a monitor as in mg/dl whereas in the UK we use mmol/l so to convert one to the other you need to multiply by 18 for mmol/l to mg/dl or divide your mg/dl by 18 to get to mmol/l so when you look at numbers people are mentioning on the forum you can compare.
What people will be aiming to achieve would be 4-7mmol/l or 72-126mg/dl fasting /morning readings and before eating and no more than 8-8.5mmol/l or 144-153mg/dl 2 hours after eating if it is then your meal is too carb heavy.
Looking at your readings in that context it is your morning reading which is high. This can happen in some people when the liver pumps out glucose to give people energy for the day and for your organs to function in the absence of food from the overnight fasting and that is often the last reading to come down but will generally do so when your other day time readings become consistently lower.
You are fairly new to diagnosis and it will take time to for your body to adapt to a new lower carb way of eating and for the medication to start to work.
What was your HbA1C which gave you your diagnosis and what medication have you been prescribed as that may influence what dietary approach will be needed. If it is just metformin then a low carb dietary regime should be suitable and this link may help you with some ideas for what you can eat and what is better avoided or only had in reduced portions.
https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
As you have a monitor then the best way of seeing what you can eat and what is better avoided is testing before you eat and after 2 hours so paired reading, that is more informative than just single readings.
The other thing to remember is treatment plans, criteria and meds may be different in Spain but hopefully the information you pick up here will be useful for you.

 

[Coco chanel]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have been prescribed 500 metformin to take after evening meal. I’m sorry but I don’t know what HbA1C is I was just told I was diabetic after a random blood test which was 126.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have been prescribed 500 metformin to take after evening meal. I’m sorry but I don’t know what HbA1C is I was just told I was diabetic after a random blood test which was 126.

Certainly in the UK the HbA1C is the test used to diagnose diabetes, it does not tell you what Type you have 1, 2 or any other as all it is, is a measure of the average blood glucose over the previous 3 months and would usually be done from a blood sample taken from your arm and sent to the lab, In the UK the diagnostic threshold is anything over 47mmol/mol so if yours was 126mmol/mol then you have a very high level which does not quite fit with your finger prick readings so it may not have been an HbA1C or the units are different, it would be worth checking what they are. I am surprised you did not have symptoms /with a level so high, here people would often be sent to hospital with a level as high as that as there can be a risk of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA ) which is potentially dangerous and would need immediate medical attention.
How are you doing with the metformin some find taking it mid meal help to ameliorate any stomach issues some people get. The medication will only help a bit but diet is the most important so watch those carb

 

[Coco chanel]

Hi, I think the units are different the blood test says mg/dl. I’ve just been looking at a video on intermittent fasting plus low carbs which seem to have had dramatic effects on quite a few people with T2 diabetes so as I’m not someone who eats regularly and was frightened about not eating lots of small meals I’m going down that route. Thank you again for taking the time to respond

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Coco chanel

126mg/dl is 7mmol/L which isn’t hugely high during the day, though is a bit on the high side for a ’fasting’ test (before you have eaten anything). A mg/dl reading is a spot-check of just that moment in time. An HbA1c is a check which measures the impact of circulating glucose over the previous 3 months.

Hopefully your results suggest your metabolism may respond well to a few fairly modest changes to your menu, plus losing any excess weight you may need to.

When are you due a follow-up appointment?

 

[Coco chanel]

Thank you evetydayupsanddowns Problem is this morning it was 195 I saw the nurse a few days after my drs visit and the glucose test was 154 fasting but that’s it no follow ups with either dr or nurse

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Thank you evetydayupsanddowns Problem is this morning it was 195 I saw the nurse a few days after my drs visit and the glucose test was 154 fasting but that’s it no follow ups with either dr or nurse

Hi, @ Coco chanel, just to eliminate any confusion in my mind, were those 2 readings (195 & 154) from finger pricks putting blood onto a test strip in a meter and getting answered in mg/dl?

Also are you able to confirm that you had a blood sample taken from your arm a fortnight+/- ago, which after analysis was the source of your Dr's diagnosis of diabetes? If this did happen can you get back to that Surgery and find out the number and its units please? I'm trying to clarify if the diagnosis came from a formal HbA1c laboratory level blood test or a first spot test by a finger prick. The significance of this is simply that spot tests by finger pricks can show quite varied results over quite small time gaps; and while they might all be in a diabetic range they don't really quantify just how far into the diabetic zone you might actually be. A formal blood test for an HbA1c does that and an answer to that question helps us understand how much change you might have to make in your lifestyle to help you bring this under some control.

A spot reading of 195 is a bit high and more so after fasting. But blood glucose readings can also be influenced by many other factors and stress just from being concerned about what you fear might be happening could also push your BG higher. 195 mg/dl is 10.8 mmol/L; high but far from drastic - in isolation.

 

[Coco chanel]

Hello proud to be erratic, thanks for the interest , the first test was an early morning blood test taken from the arm the second was a finger prick by the nurse fasting. The 195 was my own at home fasting but to be honest I’m pretty much stressed by the whole thing, I do suffer from anxiety. The next two readings after eating 2.30 and 9.00pm were 121 and 104. Todays first morning blood prick was 110

 

[Leadinglights]

Hello proud to be erratic, thanks for the interest , the first test was an early morning blood test taken from the arm the second was a finger prick by the nurse fasting. The 195 was my own at home fasting but to be honest I’m pretty much stressed by the whole thing, I do suffer from anxiety. The next two readings after eating 2.30 and 9.00pm were 121 and 104. Todays first morning blood prick was 110

110mg/dl looks to be a good morning reading.
You need to find the result for that test from the blood sample that was taken from your arm as that hopefully for an HbA1C test.
@Elenka_HM although lives in the UK is from Spain so may be able to clarify the system for diagnosis in Spain.

 

[Franthepotter]

Hi coco it's fran the potter. I'm T2 and may need meds in a few months but for now am sortting out my diet and exercise. Regarding food with friends. I was out in London with colleagues in a cafe and I am trying to go low carb. I explained this to the waitress and she changed the potato gratin to some extra veg to go alongside fish. My colleagues did not blink an eye xxx

 

[Franthepotter]

Hi coco it's fran the potter. I'm T2 and may need meds in a few months but for now am sortting out my diet and exercise. Regarding food with friends. I was out in London with colleagues in a cafe and I am trying to go low carb. I explained this to the waitress and she changed the potato gratin to some extra veg to go alongside fish. My colleagues did not blink an eye xxx

Ps good luck

 

[Franthepotter]

Pps I was given 3 months by my gp to try to lower my weight and sort out food to see if my Hba1c is reduced. That is the 3 month average of sugar in the blood. Its taken where i live in a clinic by a proper blood test. Some people have diabetes that can reduce their Hba1c by low carb and exercise, but not everyone. If you are on metformim the exercise and careful eating is still important. Ive also learnt here that some bodies tolerate some carbs and not others. People are different.

 

[Elenka_HM]

110mg/dl looks to be a good morning reading.
You need to find the result for that test from the blood sample that was taken from your arm as that hopefully for an HbA1C test.
@Elenka_HM although lives in the UK is from Spain so may be able to clarify the system for diagnosis in Spain.

Hi! I am not totally sure how the diagnosis works in Spain. I could ask my dad because he was diagnosed with type 2 there.

It is possible that the initial blood test from the arm that the OP Coco got done was just a general blood test, that's part of regular health checks in Spain (not only for BG, checks a variety of things). Makes sense if the 126 is the BG in mg/dL, because I believe they consider diabetes when you are over 120 mg/dL in fasting. So she would be just slightly over the threshold. If the 126 was an HbA1c I suppose they should start her with something stronger than Metformin!

In my personal case I also found out thanks to a general blood test I requested when I was on holiday in Spain. I got a fasting BG of 260mg/dL, around 15 in UK units. The doctor said it looked pretty obvious I had diabetes but I should have another test, so when I went back to England I contacted my GP and they did a HbA1c.

I think in Spain they usually do a second test as well to confirm diabetes, but sometimes is a different type of test called "glucose curve" or something like that. The HbA1c is also used, I know my dad has had a few as part of his reviews with the endo, but I believe is not always used for diagnosis.

 

[Elenka_HM]

Thank you evetydayupsanddowns Problem is this morning it was 195 I saw the nurse a few days after my drs visit and the glucose test was 154 fasting but that’s it no follow ups with either dr or nurse

And sadly from what I heard, in Spain they are not providing as much advice and information as in the UK (tho it might vary depending of which area of the country you live in, in both cases). In my opinion is good that you are in the forum, I learned most of what I know from here. It can be confusing at first, especially when the doctor didn't explain much, but there's a lot of nice people here with personal experience who is willing to help. We've all been there 🙂