Hi, just been diagnosed with diabetes 2, after wondering about being tired and, being thirsty.I have had ME diagnosed 20yrs ago, and a lot of the symptoms are similar so, thought it was that! Quite a shock to my system.should I consider getting a testing kit for my bloods so I can monitor it? Thanks for reading this,bit in the dark tbh...
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Just been diagnosed
- Thread starter Liz Mills
- Start date
- Status
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi Liz 🙂 Always a shock, even if you were aware it might happen one day - so we all need time to process the news.
What has your GP proposed in the way of treating your D?
What has your GP proposed in the way of treating your D?
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
A diagnosis is often the last thing that people need on top of other health issues but it can sometimes be a relief that they have an explanation for their symptoms and a reason for feeling unwell.
It is a condition that with some dietary changes and maybe help with medication that some people might need can be managed and blood glucose be reduced. Knowing what your HbA1C is will indicate how much work you will need to do, hopefully not so high that you will not be able to do it by reducing your carbohydrate intake. Have a look at this link for a good explanation and some principals which many find successful. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
This may be a suitable approach for you but may depend on what if any medication you have been prescribed.
There are other regimes and there are some menu plans on the main DUK site for some of those.
The Learning Zone also has some good information and links.
It is a condition that with some dietary changes and maybe help with medication that some people might need can be managed and blood glucose be reduced. Knowing what your HbA1C is will indicate how much work you will need to do, hopefully not so high that you will not be able to do it by reducing your carbohydrate intake. Have a look at this link for a good explanation and some principals which many find successful. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
This may be a suitable approach for you but may depend on what if any medication you have been prescribed.
There are other regimes and there are some menu plans on the main DUK site for some of those.
The Learning Zone also has some good information and links.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @Liz Mills
Sorry to hear that you now have diabetes to juggle alongside your ME
Diabetes is potentially serious, but it’s also something that can usually be managed well with a few tweaks and changes. And high BG can be exhausting (which must be doubly difficult with ME fatigue ) so hopefully beginning to get your BG levels back towards the healthy range will lift at least some of the lethargy and heaviness you may have been experiencing?
Whether or not you find a BG meter helpful is a very individual question. Some research suggests that people can struggle mentally with seeing the numbers, but for many on the forum that information is very motivating, and then can use that flow of data to improve their BG levels in a very practical way.
You can take a BG reading immediately before eating and again 2hrs after the first bite. In a sense, to begin with the numbers themselves are less interesting / important than the differences between them. Ideally you’d want to see a ‘meal rise’ of no more than 2-3mmol/L at the 2hr mark.
If you can keep the meal rises down, your overall levels will gradually reduce over a number of weeks (a gradual reduction is gentler on the eyes and nerve endings than a sudden lurch from high levels to in-range numbers). Over time you’ll want to be aiming for 4-7 before meals, and no higher than 8.5mmol/L at 2hrs after.
Where you see a big rise (some people term it a ‘spike’) from a particular meal you can look at the carbohydrate content of the meal and try either a smaller portion, or swapping to a different source. It can be a very individual thing. Some people find they have far more success with some sorts of carbs than others. There are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.
That doesn’t mean you have to avoid those things entirely, but finding the portion sizes that work for you and your individual metabolism can be a very powerful strategy, and a BG meter can be very helpful for that 🙂
Good luck, and keep asking questions 🙂
Sorry to hear that you now have diabetes to juggle alongside your ME
Diabetes is potentially serious, but it’s also something that can usually be managed well with a few tweaks and changes. And high BG can be exhausting (which must be doubly difficult with ME fatigue
) so hopefully beginning to get your BG levels back towards the healthy range will lift at least some of the lethargy and heaviness you may have been experiencing?Whether or not you find a BG meter helpful is a very individual question. Some research suggests that people can struggle mentally with seeing the numbers, but for many on the forum that information is very motivating, and then can use that flow of data to improve their BG levels in a very practical way.
You can take a BG reading immediately before eating and again 2hrs after the first bite. In a sense, to begin with the numbers themselves are less interesting / important than the differences between them. Ideally you’d want to see a ‘meal rise’ of no more than 2-3mmol/L at the 2hr mark.
If you can keep the meal rises down, your overall levels will gradually reduce over a number of weeks (a gradual reduction is gentler on the eyes and nerve endings than a sudden lurch from high levels to in-range numbers). Over time you’ll want to be aiming for 4-7 before meals, and no higher than 8.5mmol/L at 2hrs after.
Where you see a big rise (some people term it a ‘spike’) from a particular meal you can look at the carbohydrate content of the meal and try either a smaller portion, or swapping to a different source. It can be a very individual thing. Some people find they have far more success with some sorts of carbs than others. There are obvious things like cakes, biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks that you will want to cut out straight away, you might be surprised how much *all* carbohydrate affects your BG levels, including rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.
That doesn’t mean you have to avoid those things entirely, but finding the portion sizes that work for you and your individual metabolism can be a very powerful strategy, and a BG meter can be very helpful for that 🙂
Good luck, and keep asking questions 🙂
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