Newbie & Clueless

[Dinky64]

Hi and thank you for the welcome.
Today I received a phone call from my GP surgery to inform me I have diabetes type 2 and I needed to pick up medication from my pharmacy today??
My journey for my diagnosis was a struggle.
I visited my GP 07/02/2020, and saw the Nurse Practitioner, she sent me for a battery of blood tests but she didn't suspect diabetes. The results came back and my thyroid test was hi lighted for retesting and everything else was fine...except I thought a diabetes test of 54 was high? I contacted Diabetes UK and was advised to revisit my GP which I obviously did. I had my GTT test yesterday and the very short phone call this morning.
Although I understand in the current situation GP visits are in demand I seem to have been left in the dark...basically I'm clueless!!!

 

[Drummer]

Fear not - the 54, which is most likely your Hba1c is only a smidge into the diabetic range. Take a good look at the amount of carbohydrate you eat, because that is the problem. Starch and sugar become glucose in the blood, so avoiding snacks which are high in carbs, reducing the carbs in meals - replacing potato with cauliflower or courgette or having a salad should soon sort things out. I have stirfries, salads or roast veges - picking low carb options and I have normal test results.

 

[Dinky64]

Fear not - the 54, which is most likely your Hba1c is only a smidge into the diabetic range. Take a good look at the amount of carbohydrate you eat, because that is the problem. Starch and sugar become glucose in the blood, so avoiding snacks which are high in carbs, reducing the carbs in meals - replacing potato with cauliflower or courgette or having a salad should soon sort things out. I have stirfries, salads or roast veges - picking low carb options and I have normal test results.

Thank you for the advice.
I will most definitely look at my carb in take and find some new recipes too.

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @Dinky64.
I am glad that you have found us, but sorry that you needed to.

There is plenty of help and support available on here, from people living with Diabetes day to day.
It is always a shock to get the diagnosis, and not made easier by the current situation.
This link takes you to a variety of resources specifically for people with T2

Useful links for people new to diabetes

These links provide useful information, particularly to those newly-diagnosed. You can also browse the Recommended Books and Links sections for further information :) Contents: Type 1 Section Insulin Pumps Section Type 2 Section General Help and Information Section You may also find this...

forum.diabetes.org.uk

A good place to start is by reading Maggie Davey's letter
This takes you through her experience after diagnosis.

A lot of people find it helpful to test, although many T2s don’t get these funded.
The benefits of this and effective use of testing are detailed in this
Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S
Also, because if you have to self-fund you want to make those test strips count:
Testing on a budget

I will let others with T2 offer other ideas from their experience, but reassure you that people on here will be happy to answer any questions that you have, and that no questions are considered silly.
Keep in touch.

 

[CathyB]

Hi @Dinky64 I am sorry your journey has been a bit of a struggle and that you feel left in the dark, we are indeed living in very strange times at the moment, personally I feel like a character in a Stephen King novel!! 54 does put you just over the threshold for diabetes so the best thing to do is have a good read on these pages and then come back with any questions you have. We are all a little different in what we can tolerate and how we manage but one thing we all have in common is that it is carbohydrates rather than just sugary foods that our bodies struggle with, in particular potatoes, rice, pasta and bread. be careful also with fruit as it is naturally high in sugar, some can tolerate a few berries, others cant, therefore testing in the early days is the best way to track what foods work for you. Keeping a food diary and testing before you eat and again 2 hours after will enable you to see where you need to make changes in your carb count. We have all been where you are now so understand how confusing it can be.

 

[Dinky64]

Welcome to the forum @Dinky64.
I am glad that you have found us, but sorry that you needed to.

There is plenty of help and support available on here, from people living with Diabetes day to day.
It is always a shock to get the diagnosis, and not made easier by the current situation.
This link takes you to a variety of resources specifically for people with T2

Useful links for people new to diabetes

These links provide useful information, particularly to those newly-diagnosed. You can also browse the Recommended Books and Links sections for further information :) Contents: Type 1 Section Insulin Pumps Section Type 2 Section General Help and Information Section You may also find this...

forum.diabetes.org.uk

A good place to start is by reading Maggie Davey's letter
This takes you through her experience after diagnosis.

A lot of people find it helpful to test, although many T2s don’t get these funded.
The benefits of this and effective use of testing are detailed in this
Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S
Also, because if you have to self-fund you want to make those test strips count:
Testing on a budget

I will let others with T2 offer other ideas from their experience, but reassure you that people on here will be happy to answer any questions that you have, and that no questions are considered silly.
Keep in touch.

Thank you so much.
I think I'm just a little bewilder now but I'll hopefully soon get my head around it all.

 

[DebbieC]

Hi and welcome ... I felt much same when my son diagnosed with initial Hba1c of 64 but he managed to get down to pre diabetic in 10 weeks following advice re diet and exercise... he cut down on bread potato pasta pizza beer cider and sweet stuff and processed food, and now eats cooked from fresh meat fish veg cheese nuts some fruit (berries) Greek yoghurt peanut butter sugar free jelly cream hummus olives .... lots of good advice on here , ask anything and someone will have some good suggestions, best wishes
Debbie

 

[Dinky64]

Hi and welcome ... I felt much same when my son diagnosed with initial Hba1c of 64 but he managed to get down to pre diabetic in 10 weeks following advice re diet and exercise... he cut down on bread potato pasta pizza beer cider and sweet stuff and processed food, and now eats cooked from fresh meat fish veg cheese nuts some fruit (berries) Greek yoghurt peanut butter sugar free jelly cream hummus olives .... lots of good advice on here , ask anything and someone will have some good suggestions, best wishes
Debbie

Thank you Debbie his food sounds lovely.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Dinky64 🙂

Diabetes is a serious condition, but it’s also one that can be managed well with a few changes and adaptations. It’s something that you can learn to live well with, and shouldn’t stop you doing things you enjoy. Try not to be disheartened at this change, many people later reflect that their diagnosis was a sort of catalyst which prompted them to make positive changes towards a healthier and more active life. Plus you will have regular checkups so any potential issues will be spotted early and can be dealt with.

When it comes to managing your diabetes, it’s best to make changes to your menu and activity levels gradually - partly because they need to be sustainable long term, but also because very rapid and sudden changes to blood glucose levels can actually cause problems with some parts of the body including eyes and nerves.

Feel free to ask any questions you have, we have lots of friendly folks here with literally centuries of experience between them. No questions will be thought of as too obvious or ‘silly’ 🙂

 

[Dinky64]

Hi and thank you