Hi. i have just joined the forum, it looks like it will be helpful in managing my diabetes (affectionately called my "condition" in my house. A little bit about myself (if anyone is interested), please feel free to not read i won't mind. 52 year old man, diagnosed with diabetes in December 2019 along with a side helping of high blood pressure. I have joined this site as i do not feel i manage diabetes very well and am looking for any help and / or advice that is available. Thank you
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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
New member
- Thread starter Phil C
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Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi Phil C, and welcome from me as well. How did you come to be diagnosed?
We might seem like a nosey lot but one of the things about diabetes is that it is not a one size fits all "condition" and a bit of background helps when offering thoughts and ideas.
We might seem like a nosey lot but one of the things about diabetes is that it is not a one size fits all "condition" and a bit of background helps when offering thoughts and ideas.
Thanks for the replies and the warm welcome. Docb, i was diagnosed when i went to my GP because i felt tired / weary a lot more than i felt was normal for me. after blood test etc. i was diagnosed as pre-diabetic which seems to be a very contentious word in medical circles. so i just go with diabetic. i do not need to do blood sugar checks but i do do the urine stick test - which are always healthy. i seem to manage it well-ish by diet at the moment (excepting my post in the other forum!). My blood pressure is now regulated by medication and my eye sight is being monitored pretty closely. I am pretty active and was managing 2 or 3 gym sessions a week pre-lockdown and plan to start again soon. Kaylz, thanks - i think i may well be asking lots of questions as i am very vague on all this diabetes stuff.
Hi Inka, dare i ask what your condition is called?
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
@Phil C. Lets start by clearing up some of the vagueness. You will find frequent mention of HbA1c on the forum. This is the result of a specific blood test done in the lab on a blood sample taken from a vein. The result averages out how your blood glucose has been behaving over the last three months or so, eliminating the fluctuations that everybody gets through the day. It is not the same as the spot check taken from a drop of blood from a finger prick which gives you a measurement of your blood glucose at the time you took the reading and is affected quite markedly by what you have eaten. It's the HbA1c that the pros look at when diagnosing.
There are two numbers from the HbA1c test that are significant. If the result is 48 or above then that earns a diagnosis of diabetes. If it is above 42, but below 48, this gets you a diagnosis that you are at risk of diabetes - a sort of amber warning.
If your HbA1c is over 48 then a number of things kick in including various routine checks. For the "at risk" category nothing happens formally, and what advice you are given depends very much on your GP surgery. Some give very cursory advice, some are more proactive in trying to make sure that the "at risk" does not turn into a full diagnosis.
I think you will find that the consensus amongst forum members is that if you get the "at risk" diagnosis, its a good idea to do something about it because at that stage it is likely that it can be reversed with some straightforward lifestyle changes, avoiding the medication route.
There's something for starters. Ask questions - it's the way most of us cleared the vagueness and found a way forward.
There are two numbers from the HbA1c test that are significant. If the result is 48 or above then that earns a diagnosis of diabetes. If it is above 42, but below 48, this gets you a diagnosis that you are at risk of diabetes - a sort of amber warning.
If your HbA1c is over 48 then a number of things kick in including various routine checks. For the "at risk" category nothing happens formally, and what advice you are given depends very much on your GP surgery. Some give very cursory advice, some are more proactive in trying to make sure that the "at risk" does not turn into a full diagnosis.
I think you will find that the consensus amongst forum members is that if you get the "at risk" diagnosis, its a good idea to do something about it because at that stage it is likely that it can be reversed with some straightforward lifestyle changes, avoiding the medication route.
There's something for starters. Ask questions - it's the way most of us cleared the vagueness and found a way forward.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @Phil C
Sorry you have to be here, but glad you have found us. 🙂
One of the regular pieces of advice for folks newly arriving on the forum, which often seems to help, is to keep a food diary. Noting down all your meals and snacks along with an approximate estimate or calculation of how much carbohydrate was involved.
The body uses carbohydrate as it’s preferred energy source,
because it is easily accessible, and can be broken down quickly. Often rather too quickly in the case of someone with diabetes! This can lead to elevated blood glucose which the body cannot process effectively, and which in the long term can lead to damage to blood vessels and organs. Sugar is an obvious culprit, but the body is fiendishly good at accessing most forms of carbs including bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, cereals, bakery goods and many fruits too
Eating a more moderate amount (or for some people quite limited level) of carbohydrate tends to allow the body to access the energy in the food more effectively, rather than it simply staying sloshing around in your blood stream as elevated BG and causing mischief.
The easiest way to check whether foods you are eating can be handled by your metabolism, gut biome and genetic make-up is through a process of experimentation and gradual ‘test review adjust’ approach with a blood glucose meter, which will give more immediate information than the urine strips you have been using.
Of course you may simply choose to reduce the amount of carbohydrate you are eating, and rely on the regular checks at your GP surgery, if you prefer.
Sorry you have to be here, but glad you have found us. 🙂
One of the regular pieces of advice for folks newly arriving on the forum, which often seems to help, is to keep a food diary. Noting down all your meals and snacks along with an approximate estimate or calculation of how much carbohydrate was involved.
The body uses carbohydrate as it’s preferred energy source,
because it is easily accessible, and can be broken down quickly. Often rather too quickly in the case of someone with diabetes! This can lead to elevated blood glucose which the body cannot process effectively, and which in the long term can lead to damage to blood vessels and organs. Sugar is an obvious culprit, but the body is fiendishly good at accessing most forms of carbs including bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, cereals, bakery goods and many fruits too
Eating a more moderate amount (or for some people quite limited level) of carbohydrate tends to allow the body to access the energy in the food more effectively, rather than it simply staying sloshing around in your blood stream as elevated BG and causing mischief.
The easiest way to check whether foods you are eating can be handled by your metabolism, gut biome and genetic make-up is through a process of experimentation and gradual ‘test review adjust’ approach with a blood glucose meter, which will give more immediate information than the urine strips you have been using.
Of course you may simply choose to reduce the amount of carbohydrate you are eating, and rely on the regular checks at your GP surgery, if you prefer.
Hi, thanks for the reply. it all seems very complicated and a little overwhelming i must stick with the forum as it seems to be a great source of information. the blood glucose meter looks to be a good idea, i must get one - i feel a bit of research coming on.
Thanks again for the advice, i will most definitely keep a food diary - although i think it may well scare the living daylights out of me.
Cheers
SueEK
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @Phil C and welcome. Great advice above and if you can follow it you will be on the right road. Questions, questions, questions is what it is all about when first diagnosed so make the most of us and ask away. We have all been where you are, often with very high levels but we can change things for the better with help from other forum members.
The basics for me were - hugely cut down on the carbs, I was carb queen and the numbers will start to come down. Increase exercise, though you seem to be on top of that and for me it was testing to find out what I could tolerate and what I could not.
This worked for me plus asking many questions, lots of them silly questions but answered just the same as the ‘sensible’ ones.
Again welcome x
The basics for me were - hugely cut down on the carbs, I was carb queen and the numbers will start to come down. Increase exercise, though you seem to be on top of that and for me it was testing to find out what I could tolerate and what I could not.
This worked for me plus asking many questions, lots of them silly questions but answered just the same as the ‘sensible’ ones.
Again welcome x
Hi & thanks. Yes, lots of questions - i suspect will have very obvious answers. Cheers
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
The two most reasonably priced and reliable glucometers are both only available on line. They are the Spirit Healthcare Tee 2 or the SD Gluco Navii. A pot of 50 strips for either of these is around £8 (cos you need to tick the 'VAT exemption' box on the order page) whereas a lot of other makes use much more expensive strips - can easily be £15 ish or £25 ish.
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