New to all this!

[BabsM]

I’m recently diagnosed Type 2, Hba1c 65. I am overweight & have got straight on to it & lost about 7kg in the last 8 weeks. I was prescribed Metformin almost immediately and told to gradually increase the dose.
My problem is, I’ve been pretty motivated over the last few weeks & made huge changes to my diet-but yesterday I had my first meeting with my diabetic nurse & I feel really dispirited. She seems hell bent on increasing my medication to the max, didn’t seem to listen to anything I said, so it was a lecture, not a conversation!
Exercise, or lack of it, is an issue for me. I’m also anaemic & waiting on the results of investigations for that so I have a lot going on at the moment & feeling quite down today. I am determined to do all that I can to deal with this but need some encouragement please!
Is it a normal position to be on max dose of Metformin?

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear of your negative experience yesterday. With diabetes there is no normal as everybody is different and manage their condition in different way both in term of diet and medication. It often will depend on how motivated you are to change lifestyle as to the suggested dose of which medication is prescribed. Metformin is the first go to medication but it only gives a helping hand to the insulin to be used more effectively and changes to diet should be the thing to look at to change. It is usual to build up the dose of metformin over a number of weeks to reduce side effects which sometimes people get, stomach issues mainly.
Were you given any dietary advice by your nurse as this will be a crucial step and if you can increase your exercise even taking walks every day will help.
If you have anaemia then the standard HbA1C test may not be the best as results can be inaccurate if anaemic, so you may be advised to ask for another test to confirm your glucose level. If your HbA1C is indeed 65 then it is quite high but not as high as many people here have started off with.
The foods you need to be careful of and reduce portions or cut out completely are all carbohydrates as they convert into glucose. So potatoes, rice, cereals, pasta, bread, some fruits as well as cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks are things to be reducing. Meals based on meat, fish, eggs. dairy and veg and salads are all good.
I'm sure a few other people will chip in with some links for newly diagnosed as I'm not sure how to do that.
Just take it day by day and give yourself time to get your head around it and you will get better support here than it sounds as if you will from your nurse.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @BabsM

Sorry to hear about your appointment with the nurse. Unfortunately sometimes it seems they follow a crib-sheet based on numbers and expectation, rather than dealing with the individual in front of them and the changes they have been making.

As @Leadinglights suggests, anaemia can affect the outcome of your HbA1c (which is based on red blood cells). Sometimes a Fructosamine test is used instead, which might be worth asking about?

Well done on your terrific weight loss!

Hope you can find a way to work with your nurse in a more constructive way. Some HCPs are better at allowing us to be ‘partners in our own care’ than others, but most can be talked around with a little persistence 🙂

 

[Drummer]

I did a bit more walking in the time after I threw away the tablets - before then I could not even go downstairs as it was too far from the bathroom.....
My Hba1c went from 91 to 47 - that seemed to cause the diabetes 'educator' a few problems at the last of the three meetings. It was just down to diet.
I have had very little contact with HCPs since diagnosis, but even so I have been able to return to normal numbers - as a really ordinary type 2 it was all about the amount of carbs eaten in a day, and I have lost quite a bit of weight with no effort at all.

 

[What the..?]

Hello BabsM,
I had exactly the same feeling after seeing the nurse a few weeks after diagnosis. Initially I was upset and worried, but found this site on the day of diagnosis, and armed myself with information about my condition, and useful hints about diet etc. I was feeling very positive about how I was doing thought diet and exercise, but after I'd seen the nurse my confidence took quite a pounding. Our meeting started with her saying she hadn't 'done diabetics for eighteen months', which didn't exactly inspire confidence, and went downhill from there really. I think of it as being my body, my condition, and it is very much up to me to help myself get the diabetes under control. Some people have great specialist nurses or doctors who support them, others - quite a few from what I can tell - don't. I completely sympathise with how you were feeling, and there are obviously other things on your mind as well, but I do really believe that with a bit of time, and support from this forum, adjustments to diet and exercise levels, you can bring your HbA1C down, and hopefully feel much better for it. Wishing you well, and lots of luck.