Just diagnosed Type 2

[HappySJ]

Hi I thought I'd say hello.

I got a call this morning from the doctor saying I have Type 2 diagnosis... so I have been looking at the site to work out what this means. Apparently I also have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, so I'm trying to work out what all that means too. I'm what I would call healthy and never had any health problems before, I eat healthily and exercise regularly. So it's a big shock but all these things run in my family, so maybe I shouldn't be so shocked after all. I am meeting with the doctor next week to discuss. In the meantime I'm looking for ask much information as possible. Finding the site very helpful so far and just thought I'd say hello here on the forums. I'm very interested to hear other's story and to understand the risks of these issues and how other people have dealt with them.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi I thought I'd say hello.

I got a call this morning from the doctor saying I have Type 2 diagnosis... so I have been looking at the site to work out what this means. Apparently I also have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, so I'm trying to work out what all that means too. I'm what I would call healthy and never had any health problems before, I eat healthily and exercise regularly. So it's a big shock but all these things run in my family, so maybe I shouldn't be so shocked after all. I am meeting with the doctor next week to discuss. In the meantime I'm looking for ask much information as possible. Finding the site very helpful so far and just thought I'd say hello here on the forums. I'm very interested to hear other's story and to understand the risks of these issues and how other people have dealt with them.

Welcome to the forum. Diagnosis sometimes comes as a bit of a shock but it can sometimes be a relief as it can explain symptoms. What you need to do in some respects depends on how far into the diabetes zone you are and that willbe indicated by your HbA1C result which will be a number over 47mmol/mol. Depending on where you are you may be offered medication but if it is not too high then hopefully you willbe given the opportunity to make some dietary changes. If you exercise then that will be helping anyway.
Sadly many foods which are pushed as being healthy are not so if Type 2 diabetic so all those wholemeal/brown carbs are almost as bad as the white version.
Often when people make dietary changes in reducing carbohydrates it improves their blood pressure and cholesterol as well as reducing blood glucose.
Have a look at this link for some do's and don'ts as well as good explanation and some menu ideas. It is a low carb approach which many have found successful.

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk

Some people try low calorie or shakes -based regime but whatever you choose has to be enjoyable otherwise it will not be sustainable. It has to become your new way of eating for life.

 

[Vonny]

Hi @HappySJ and welcome to the forum 🙂
Did the doctor tell you the HBA1C result? Sounds like it will be over 48 if you've been diagnosed. Any medication involved?
When you say you eat healthily, it doesn't necessarily mean you are eating healthily for a diabetic! Cutting back on carbs will help with your blood glucose and may also have a knock on effect of lowering your cholesterol. It did with mine, but not to the extent that they didn't want to put me on statins! Luckily (fingers and toes crossed) I've never had high blood pressure am unable to comment on BP meds.
You need to be aware of "healthy fruit" and the amount of carbs in banana, mango and grapes to name a few. Berries are the best fruit to eat to keep BG in check.
If you can invest in a BG monitor, it's very helpful to take a reading before eating and another 2 hours after, and to keep a diary of what you've eaten and the result. This is because no 2 diabetics are the same. Although there are general practices of low carb, some people can tolerate some carbs. EG I can manage a couple of potatoes on occasion but bread always spikes me something wicked.
You mention exercise, and this is good. I try to go for a walk after a meal as this gives the blood glucose something to work on.
I'm sure others will be along shortly to give their ideas and comments. Best wishes 🙂

 

[Drummer]

Welcome @HappySJ to the club no one really wants to join - but it isn't so bad as the other problems you have will most likely reduce to insignificance if yyou can control your blood glucose levels.
Many type 2s, if they are ordinary unexciting ones simply reduce the amount of carbohydrate eaten and in quite a short while their metabolism manages to restore order.
It can seen rather strange to be advised to eat protein and the natural fats which go with it and to avoid all those 'healthy' foods we are advised to concentrate on, but it is what a lot have people find not only works to improve type 2 but that a lot of other things get better as well.

 

[HappySJ]

Welcome to the forum. Diagnosis sometimes comes as a bit of a shock but it can sometimes be a relief as it can explain symptoms. What you need to do in some respects depends on how far into the diabetes zone you are and that willbe indicated by your HbA1C result which will be a number over 47mmol/mol. Depending on where you are you may be offered medication but if it is not too high then hopefully you willbe given the opportunity to make some dietary changes. If you exercise then that will be helping anyway.
Sadly many foods which are pushed as being healthy are not so if Type 2 diabetic so all those wholemeal/brown carbs are almost as bad as the white version.
Often when people make dietary changes in reducing carbohydrates it improves their blood pressure and cholesterol as well as reducing blood glucose.
Have a look at this link for some do's and don'ts as well as good explanation and some menu ideas. It is a low carb approach which many have found successful.

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk

Some people try low calorie or shakes -based regime but whatever you choose has to be enjoyable otherwise it will not be sustainable. It has to become your new way of eating for life.

Thank you so much for your reply. I think it is a bit of a shock, you are right. Thank you also for the link, it's very helpful! I will certainly have a look at low carb approaches. So appreciate thank you very much.

 

[HappySJ]

Hi @HappySJ and welcome to the forum 🙂
Did the doctor tell you the HBA1C result? Sounds like it will be over 48 if you've been diagnosed. Any medication involved?
When you say you eat healthily, it doesn't necessarily mean you are eating healthily for a diabetic! Cutting back on carbs will help with your blood glucose and may also have a knock on effect of lowering your cholesterol. It did with mine, but not to the extent that they didn't want to put me on statins! Luckily (fingers and toes crossed) I've never had high blood pressure am unable to comment on BP meds.
You need to be aware of "healthy fruit" and the amount of carbs in banana, mango and grapes to name a few. Berries are the best fruit to eat to keep BG in check.
If you can invest in a BG monitor, it's very helpful to take a reading before eating and another 2 hours after, and to keep a diary of what you've eaten and the result. This is because no 2 diabetics are the same. Although there are general practices of low carb, some people can tolerate some carbs. EG I can manage a couple of potatoes on occasion but bread always spikes me something wicked.
You mention exercise, and this is good. I try to go for a walk after a meal as this gives the blood glucose something to work on.
I'm sure others will be along shortly to give their ideas and comments. Best wishes 🙂

Thank you so much for your reply Vonny and for your advice. I don't know the HBA1C result yet. I will speak to the doctor next week and I will ask - another question for my list. I'll also have a look at a BG monitor. I think you may be very right that I might not be eating healthily for a diabetic.. I will need to some more research. Thank you so very much, it's appreciated.

 

[HappySJ]

Welcome @HappySJ to the club no one really wants to join - but it isn't so bad as the other problems you have will most likely reduce to insignificance if yyou can control your blood glucose levels.
Many type 2s, if they are ordinary unexciting ones simply reduce the amount of carbohydrate eaten and in quite a short while their metabolism manages to restore order.
It can seen rather strange to be advised to eat protein and the natural fats which go with it and to avoid all those 'healthy' foods we are advised to concentrate on, but it is what a lot have people find not only works to improve type 2 but that a lot of other things get better as well.

Thank you so much for responding and for your reassuring post! I will have look into diet more carefully, it would be wonderful if such simple diet change could make a difference. Many many thanks, I am off to do some more research. Your response is very much appreciated and has helped. Thank you!

 

[Drummer]

Thank you so much for responding and for your reassuring post! I will have look into diet more carefully, it would be wonderful if such simple diet change could make a difference. Many many thanks, I am off to do some more research. Your response is very much appreciated and has helped. Thank you!

Not at all - I had the advantage, when diagnosed back in 2016, that I had known for quite some time that carbs made me feel 'not quite right' no matter how hard I tried to alter my lifestyle. I found that eating according to Atkins with no more than 50 gm of carbs a day made me feel great even with an indolent way of living. I also lost the oh so troublesome weight around my mid section.
If you can find a copy of Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution from (good lord!!) 2003 - they used to be available for pennies but they are almost antique now - there are lists of foods, amounts, meal suggestions, recipes and lots more. It is of curse, American and some things don't add up properly, but nothing drastically wrong.

 

[Leadinglights]

How much work you will need to do will depend on what the HbA1C result is, so if just into the diabetic zone then some modest changes may be all that is needed, so cutting out the big hitters like cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice and reducing portion size of the other high carb foods like potatoes, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals and tropical fruits to cutting some of those out as well. But there are substitutions you can make which still give options for tasty meals. For example we are having corned beef hash but with a mixture of swede and butternut squash instead of the traditional potatoes with purple sprouting broccoli and green beans followed by sugar free jelly with berries in and cream.

 

[HappySJ]

How much work you will need to do will depend on what the HbA1C result is, so if just into the diabetic zone then some modest changes may be all that is needed, so cutting out the big hitters like cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice and reducing portion size of the other high carb foods like potatoes, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals and tropical fruits to cutting some of those out as well. But there are substitutions you can make which still give options for tasty meals. For example we are having corned beef hash but with a mixture of swede and butternut squash instead of the traditional potatoes with purple sprouting broccoli and green beans followed by sugar free jelly with berries in and cream.

Thank you! I think I really need to know the HbA1C results, I ordered a testing kit. Also I will speak to the doctor for the first time next week, so hopefully I will know more then. I don't really eat cakes, biscuits or sugary drinks etc, and I eat little fruit. I do eat brown rice and pasta, and I already have a Mediterranean style diet. I grow my own food too, so I eat seasonally (which means not really eating potatoes now, as I've run out of stores, I use parsnips, celeriac and squash as my 'carb' on my plate at the moment). So it's more confusing to know what to do when I kinda feel like my diet is 'good'. I guess it's about finding what works and doesn't for me. I am going to measure before and after food and see what I can see and I'm going to keep a food diary. Thank you so much for your input. It's really helping me to think about the questions I should be asking and got me thinking about planning. There is so much to learn, and it's a bit bewildering. I appreciate your time. .

 

[HappySJ]

Not at all - I had the advantage, when diagnosed back in 2016, that I had known for quite some time that carbs made me feel 'not quite right' no matter how hard I tried to alter my lifestyle. I found that eating according to Atkins with no more than 50 gm of carbs a day made me feel great even with an indolent way of living. I also lost the oh so troublesome weight around my mid section.
If you can find a copy of Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution from (good lord!!) 2003 - they used to be available for pennies but they are almost antique now - there are lists of foods, amounts, meal suggestions, recipes and lots more. It is of curse, American and some things don't add up properly, but nothing drastically wrong.

Thank you again! It's really great to be able to have access to your insight, I appreciate it. You know I think I had that book... back in the day, but I don't think I could find it now, maybe... I will try and find it, it's a good tip. Many thanks!!

 

[HappySJ]

Hi @HappySJ and welcome to the forum 🙂
Did the doctor tell you the HBA1C result? Sounds like it will be over 48 if you've been diagnosed. Any medication involved?
When you say you eat healthily, it doesn't necessarily mean you are eating healthily for a diabetic! Cutting back on carbs will help with your blood glucose and may also have a knock on effect of lowering your cholesterol. It did with mine, but not to the extent that they didn't want to put me on statins! Luckily (fingers and toes crossed) I've never had high blood pressure am unable to comment on BP meds.
You need to be aware of "healthy fruit" and the amount of carbs in banana, mango and grapes to name a few. Berries are the best fruit to eat to keep BG in check.
If you can invest in a BG monitor, it's very helpful to take a reading before eating and another 2 hours after, and to keep a diary of what you've eaten and the result. This is because no 2 diabetics are the same. Although there are general practices of low carb, some people can tolerate some carbs. EG I can manage a couple of potatoes on occasion but bread always spikes me something wicked.
You mention exercise, and this is good. I try to go for a walk after a meal as this gives the blood glucose something to work on.
I'm sure others will be along shortly to give their ideas and comments. Best wishes 🙂

I just wanted to add how much this has helped... 'When you say you eat healthily, it doesn't necessarily mean you are eating healthily for a diabetic!'. It's really got me thinking. I need a mind shift. Thank you again for your wisdom.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you! I think I really need to know the HbA1C results, I ordered a testing kit. Also I will speak to the doctor for the first time next week, so hopefully I will know more then. I don't really eat cakes, biscuits or sugary drinks etc, and I eat little fruit. I do eat brown rice and pasta, and I already have a Mediterranean style diet. I grow my own food too, so I eat seasonally (which means not really eating potatoes now, as I've run out of stores, I use parsnips, celeriac and squash as my 'carb' on my plate at the moment). So it's more confusing to know what to do when I kinda feel like my diet is 'good'. I guess it's about finding what works and doesn't for me. I am going to measure before and after food and see what I can see and I'm going to keep a food diary. Thank you so much for your input. It's really helping me to think about the questions I should be asking and got me thinking about planning. There is so much to learn, and it's a bit bewildering. I appreciate your time. .

It might be that since you are already eating what appears to be the 'right' foods that your HbA1C won't actually be much over the diagnostic level. Having the monitor will enable you to see if there are any particular foods which are a problem. It can sometimes be it is just the combination of foods in a meal that the body struggles to cope with.
It could also be portion size because however low carb something is too big a portion can still add up to more carbs than you think.

 

[Ditto]

Hello and welcome. 🙂

 

[HappySJ]

It might be that since you are already eating what appears to be the 'right' foods that your HbA1C won't actually be much over the diagnostic level. Having the monitor will enable you to see if there are any particular foods which are a problem. It can sometimes be it is just the combination of foods in a meal that the body struggles to cope with.
It could also be portion size because however low carb something is too big a portion can still add up to more carbs than you think.

Thanks, I hadn't considered portion size but that makes sense. I think I will see what the doctor says next week. It's been reassuring to having this forum and your responses. Thank you

 

[HappySJ]

Hello and welcome. 🙂

Thank you!

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks, I hadn't considered portion size but that makes sense. I think I will see what the doctor says next week. It's been reassuring to having this forum and your responses. Thank you

You will probably find people on this forum are more clues up than many GPs unless you are lucky.
Many will just go with the standard NHS Eat Well Plate which many have found is too high in carbohydrates for many to tolerate.
If you have a list of questions that often helps when it comes to your appointment as it is easy to forget things you meant to ask and even a note book to write down any numbers, like your Hba1C result.
You should also be offered retinal eye screening and have your feet checked and a repeat HbA1C in 3 months to see if the measures you are taking are effective.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thank you! I think I really need to know the HbA1C results, I ordered a testing kit. Also I will speak to the doctor for the first time next week, so hopefully I will know more then. I don't really eat cakes, biscuits or sugary drinks etc, and I eat little fruit. I do eat brown rice and pasta, and I already have a Mediterranean style diet. I grow my own food too, so I eat seasonally (which means not really eating potatoes now, as I've run out of stores, I use parsnips, celeriac and squash as my 'carb' on my plate at the moment). So it's more confusing to know what to do when I kinda feel like my diet is 'good'. I guess it's about finding what works and doesn't for me. I am going to measure before and after food and see what I can see and I'm going to keep a food diary. Thank you so much for your input. It's really helping me to think about the questions I should be asking and got me thinking about planning. There is so much to learn, and it's a bit bewildering. I appreciate your time. .

Sounds like you are off to a great start @HappySJ

Your HbA1c will be a check at the GP surgery usually with blood taken from your arm sent off to a lab.

Hope you get some positive feedback from your GP, and that your experiments with your meter prove helpful and informative 🙂

For a good overview of T2, and a whole host of bite-sized modules you can work through at your own pace, you might like to register for the Learning Zone (the orange tab in the main menu)

 

[HappySJ]

Sounds like you are off to a great start @HappySJ

Your HbA1c will be a check at the GP surgery usually with blood taken from your arm sent off to a lab.

Hope you get some positive feedback from your GP, and that your experiments with your meter prove helpful and informative 🙂

For a good overview of T2, and a whole host of bite-sized modules you can work through at your own pace, you might like to register for the Learning Zone (the orange tab in the main menu)

Thank you so much Mike.. I'm definitely going to check out the Learning Zone, many thanks. I will ask the Doctor about hte HbA1c, as they didn't tell me on the phone. I've had some great help here on the forum, I'm very grateful for it.

 

[Jessica DUK]

Welcome to the forum @HappySJ ! Adding on to what's been said above - it can feel a bit overwhelming with a new diagnosis, so it's good you've already found some support on here.

Our amazing community members are here and happy to help, so hope you're feeling a bit better about it all Please reach out if you have further Q's!