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New To Forum, Have Type 2

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Sylvia Clare Lock

Sylvia Clare Lock

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi,

I was diagnosed last summer with type 2 diabetes. It has took me some time to adjust and slowly except my diagnosis, I thought maybe would try and join the website and see what would happen.
 
Good evening Sylvia.
 
Welcome to the forum, Sylvia Clare Lock. What is important in your life - family, friends, activities, hobbies, travel, work etc? Not just diabetes!
 
Hello Sylvia and welcome to the forum. 🙂
 
Welcome Sylvia from a fellow T2.
 
Hi Sylvia and a warm welcome to our supportive & friendly forum x
WL
 
Hi, thank you for all the replies! Wasn't expecting to get any replies, I've really struggled with adjusting I have improved but what with my other health conditions it makes it a bit harder.

I just wondered how others have coped after their diagnosis?

I have chronic fatigue syndrome and been feeling very tired lately, hard to tell if it is CFS or diabetes related. I get a fizzy, dizzy and unwell feeling in my head when I try and do stuff around the house, reading and being online makes very tired and have recently been falling asleep in the afternoons/early evenings.

I seeing my GP this week so will go over it all with her but I just thought be nice to hear from others if they have experienced anything similar.

Appreciate any input and will look forward to hearing from anyone who would like to reply.

Kind regards
 
Hi again Sylvia - yes being diagnosed as having diabetes came as a shock to me too and to others on here - daunting isn't it - it does take a little while for it to sink in - and I think I have chronic fatigue syndrome too - I am always feeling tired! 🙄To learn something about yourself in an effort to help & advise you, we need to ask you a few questions.

What medication do you take for your diabetes?
Do you test your bgls (blood glucose levels) if you do then how often do you test per day? We test ours upon waking - pre meals and 2hrs post meals to see what foods we can tolerate - or cannot tolerate.
Are you able to do some sort of exercise every day - ie. walking? cycling? - swimming?

Good luck with your appointment with your GP - please do update us as to how it went. Take care and do stay in touch x
WL

Dx Type 2 April 2016
Diet control and exercise only
 
Hello, thank you for the reply.

I take metformin one 500mg a day. I currently don't have any means to test my BSL, I've been meaning to buy one online. At the moment just going for a walk into town and around the shops is very tiring. I try to eat bananas a few times a week which is helpful though they are not something I particularly really enjoy. I do not drink sweet drinks anymore, I use sweetener as much as I can. I avoid sugar as mush as I can, I've been slowly reducing it. Unfortunately I do have a sweet tooth I just try to keep things at a very fine moderation.

I also have depression and anxiety which actually makes me not want to eat, cooking and doing the dishes after I find very exhausting and struggle to focus and concentrate. My partner helps when he can with things.

Sorry, just a little fed up at the moment. A bit worried to what's going on, probably more blood tests.

Regards

Sylvia
 
Oh Sylvia - you really haven't had diabetes explained to you, very well, have you?

It isn't just sugar our body can't cope with very easily - it is all carbohydrates whether they are in bread - or lettuce! That doesn't mean we have to give up eating everything - cos you'd have to eat half a ton of lettuce to get it to add up to the same as a slice or two of bread. However, we do need to be aware of what all the different things which contain carbs, do to our BG - and then we can decide whether it's best to cut em out completely, eat less of it - or eat them to our heart's content.

The only way to do it is to home blood test - and no the NHS don't fall over backwards to help any T2 to get a meter, but the main reason they don't if you ask any of us, is because the strips are expensive. After all - they now prescribe the cheapest forms of whatever drug we happen to need for anything, unless there's a pressing reason not to.

There is a reasonable priced meter and strips available to buy online, the SD Codefree one, and you want the 'mmol/L' version - not available in chemist's shops, can someone else give Sylvia the link to it, please? Despite it not being expensive, the members here have found it to be quite accurate and reliable.
 
Ah Sylvia, so sorry your feeling down in the dumps - not surprised tho, you have a lot going on there. Please don't buy a meter online at the moment - wait until you see your GP, ask her if she will supply you with a meter kit if she doesn't suggest this herself - this will contain a meter, test strips, lancets and a lancet device for you to finger prick test your bgls. If she says you don't need one - then ask her why not as you would better manage your diabetes if you had one. If she still won't oblige then do please come back to us. @Bubbsie will be able to give you advice as to what you need to do.

You maybe intolerant of banana's - some people are because of the carb content. A 63g banana without skin has 13g carbs and a 128g banana without skin has 26g carbs. I can highly recommend the book CARB & CALORIE COUNTER - like the one in my Avatar. You'll find this very useful as it's the carbs we try to avoid - it's approx £10 from Amazon & well worth it IMO. There is also a section at the rear of the book that gives you ideas what to eat when dining out as too a pocket size version to pop into your handbag or pocket.

Feeling tired all the time may not be just CFS - it's possible too that your blood glucose level is high due to high carbs in your blood. Try to cut down rice, pasta, white flour (bread) pizza - anything that has a high carb content. This is how the carb&Calorie counter book will help you. Take care now & I hope your spirits will be more uplifted soon x
WL
 
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Also try to avoid veggies that are grown beneath the ground - potatoes (baby new are ok) carrots parsnips swede etc - they contain carbs but are alright in small portions x
WL
 
Sylvia...even though you have been diagnosed for a while now...I think it would be in your interest to try & get hold of a copy of Type 2 Diabetes The First Year...written by Gretchen Becker...a diabetic who takes you through her first year after diagnosis... month by month...answers so many questions...what is diabetes...why/how did I get...the importance of blood testing...the effect of carbohydrates on our blood sugars...it is an easy read...explains things in lay mans terms...was a great help for me...I'm sure it would be a real benefit to you...as for testing...unfortunately most GP's refuse to supply type 2's with a meter & testing strips...unless they are using medication that can cause a hypoglycaemic episode (low blood sugar)...many vacuous excuses are given...when really it's all about the cost...as @wirralass has said you can ask your GP or Nurse to supply them...doubtful they will...I had the same difficulty...but managed to have mine supplied on prescription...after challenging that decision...you have a lot to deal with at the moment...with your other health issues you may not feel up to a challenge at the moment...if you need any help on the testing issues...let me know...please do try & read the book...it really changed how I approached my diabetes...it's available from Amazon...so worth reading...if you have any more questions...ask away...I'm sure members will be happy to offer support/assistance on any issue you raise...good luck...keep us updated.
 
Hi, thank you for all your replies.

My main difficulty is trying to juggle everything that's going on, my memory is poor due to CFS and my mental health conditions. I often easily become overwhelmed and struggle to take in information. When I was diagnosed last year it completely blew my mind, it was another condition to manage.

I remember being told about carbohydrates and how they can also effect your blood sugar level, I have books which I was given from the doctors and I've read stuff online. My grandparents had type 2 and my father in law also has it. I just get so overwhelmed and my memory so poor. I have a very good doctor but i need to see her more regularly, it can be hard to get appointments at my surgery but it also hard for me to get out of the house.

Thank you for all you advice. I will talk to my GP about getting a test kit. You see my partner also has great mental health difficulties and under the community mental health team but through cuts its limited. I am studying a course with the open university which is wonderful and great but a lot of information and learning to contend with on its own!!

I'll report back after my doctors appointment on Thursday.

Kind regards
 
Sylvia Clare Lock said:
Hi, thank you for all your replies.

My main difficulty is trying to juggle everything that's going on, my memory is poor due to CFS and my mental health conditions. I often easily become overwhelmed and struggle to take in information. When I was diagnosed last year it completely blew my mind, it was another condition to manage.

I remember being told about carbohydrates and how they can also effect your blood sugar level, I have books which I was given from the doctors and I've read stuff online. My grandparents had type 2 and my father in law also has it. I just get so overwhelmed and my memory so poor. I have a very good doctor but i need to see her more regularly, it can be hard to get appointments at my surgery but it also hard for me to get out of the house.

Thank you for all you advice. I will talk to my GP about getting a test kit. You see my partner also has great mental health difficulties and under the community mental health team but through cuts its limited. I am studying a course with the open university which is wonderful and great but a lot of information and learning to contend with on its own!!

I'll report back after my doctors appointment on Thursday.

Kind regards
Click to expand...
Good luck with the appointment...there is a lot to take in...but...you can compartmentalise it Sylvia...that may help...if you struggle with memory due to the CFS...why not note down a few points...then you can refer to them when you're with your GP.
 
In the meantime, Sylvia, as if you havent enough on your plate, why not take a looksie in the thread "What did you eat yesterday?" Click on *Diabetes Support Forums* then click on *Food/Carb queries & Recipes*. About 9 posts down you'll see a thread titled "What did you eat yesterday?" You'll find out what we are eating to help manage our diabetes. I hope this is useful to you. Take care hun x
WL
 
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