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Just diagnosed with Type 2: Feeling like it's my fault?

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Hi Kara and welcome. I think a grieving process is normal after any chronic illness diagnosis, especially when you already have a complex medical condition, and guilt is a part of that process. You sound like you’re very proactive already in your diet and you will find ways to tweak that too. Hang in there 😎
 
Sometimes the reactions of medical professionals beggars belief - not high enough to bother with when regularly in the 9s?! o_O

Unless you were only ever testing 2 hours after breakfast or something (when even a healthy person might expect to be 9ish sometimes), that makes no sense. Have a look at this chart -

hba1c-chart.jpg


You get a diagnosis of diabetes if your HbA1c (the blue numbers at the top) is 48, which you'd get if your readings are regularly in the high 7s (the white readings at the bottom). Ignore the percentages, they're just an alternative way of measuring HbA1c.

Anyway, having the kit means you are one step ahead already. The thing to do is to test before meals and then a couple of hours after meals, so that you can see how each of the meals you eat effects you. You're aiming to be between 4-7ish before meals and 5-9ish after meals. Everyone will have some blips, when you go a bit higher, so don't let that worry you - but if your blood sugar goes up a lot every time you have the same meal, that suggests you shouldn't be eating that meal (or some part of it). It will take a while, but once you've worked out which are the things which really spike your blood sugar you hopefully won't need to keep testing regularly (depending on which, if any, meds they put you on, which may depend on which you can tolerate).

With type 2 diabetes you're not aiming for normal RDAs of foods - you can cut down carbs a lot more than is usually recommended if you can manage to have more fat and/or protein to compensate (some people here only have 20 or 30g of carbs a day, though not everyone will be able to manage that in the long term - you have to work out for yourself what works for you).
 
Hi Kara welcome to the forum.🙂 Flipping situation you are in, we are here for you hopefully we can help you somehow, just keep asking questions and keep us up to date, kindest regards. xxx
 
Thank you guys, so I basically should have been taken notice of when I tested and noticed it was high nearly every time I tested. I don't know, maybe they saw it as we had bigger fish to fry, I don't know. Which sounds crazy as diabetes is such a big thing, but its not killing me right now like my immune system and infections etc. I don't know what they thought, but its diagnosed now anyhow. Thanks for the advice re what numbers it should be, as I really don't know in all honesty. And thanks for a bit of clarity regarding with that HBAC test means. xxxx
 
Yes, maybe they thought you had enough on your plate already without worrying about blood sugar as well :confused:

One word of warning - you will find that many GPs and surgery nurses tend to know as little about diabetes as they do about ME, and will tell you things like "eat carbs" the way they might tell someone with ME "exercise more" - not good advice to follow! Hospital diabetes teams, especially diabetes specialist nurses (DSNs) based at hospitals, tend to be better, but type 2s don't always get referrals to them. Any time you are in hospital with the ME and find the ward staff aren't helpful with regard to the diabetes, it's worth asking to see a DSN though. There's a lot of good advice on this site too, and we are always here on the forum any time you need help with anything.
 
TheClockworkDodo said:
Yes, maybe they thought you had enough on your plate already without worrying about blood sugar as well :confused:

One word of warning - you will find that many GPs and surgery nurses tend to know as little about diabetes as they do about ME, and will tell you things like "eat carbs" the way they might tell someone with ME "exercise more" - not good advice to follow! Hospital diabetes teams, especially diabetes specialist nurses (DSNs) based at hospitals, tend to be better, but type 2s don't always get referrals to them. Any time you are in hospital with the ME and find the ward staff aren't helpful with regard to the diabetes, it's worth asking to see a DSN though. There's a lot of good advice on this site too, and we are always here on the forum any time you need help with anything.
Click to expand...

Thanks Juliet! Good to know, do they tell everyone with every condition the opposite of what they should be doing? I have a lady working for me who has type two who piles in the carbs to 'keep her sugars stable for longer'. I didn't think it was right, but then again now I know where she got the advice from. It's crazy isn't it! Thanks for the advice re when in hospital too xxx
 
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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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