Newbie struggling to get my head around it

[Antx]

Hi all

I was told mid August I have type 2 from a urine test with BG 8.5

I was given some sheets of info and 4 weeks later another urine test and was told its improved no numbers

I have next week another urine sample to give

So I'm not on medication , not doing blood tests prior or after eating ,

I'm in the dark here, is this how it goes to begin with ?

I'm trying to eat better cut out sugary drinks snacks , eating berries avoiding tropical fruit but online there is mixed messaging around what you can and shouldn't eat ..

Signed
Confusion.

 

[Martin.A]

My understanding is that a urine test for glucose on its own can't diagnose diabetes. It will show your doctor if there is any sugar in your urine, not how much or the possible cause. To get a diabetes diagnosis you need an HbA1c blood test, so your GP should be arranging this.

 

[Inka]

I agree with @Martin.A A urine test might give an indication there’s a problem, but you need an HbA1C blood test (from your arm) to get a diagnosis. However, you mention a BG of 8.5 - is this from a fingerprick test? Was it a fasting test?

@Martin.A I wonder if the urine test was to check for ketones?

To answer your diet question, it’s not just sweet things you need to watch, but all carbs (bread, pasta potatoes, etc etc) You might have to reduce your portions of those.

 

[Antx]

Thanks ,
I need to ask more questions obviously.

I had blood tests due to bad fall onto my back to check kidney function, but wasn't given any numbers and same last blood test 2 weeks ago I was told blood test came back prime, however the fasting urine sample I give next week is for them to keep an eye on it, said they will see if diet change works first before meds , as I say confused here.

 

[Antx]

I agree with @Martin.A A urine test might give an indication there’s a problem, but you need an HbA1C blood test (from your arm) to get a diagnosis. However, you mention a BG of 8.5 - is this from a fingerprick test? Was it a fasting test?

@Martin.A I wonder if the urine test was to check for ketones?

To answer your diet question, it’s not just sweet things you need to watch, but all carbs (bread, pasta potatoes, etc etc) You might have to reduce your portions of those.

It was blood from the arm, test tube sent away been done twice now.

Cut out potato's, rice and pasta , now on sweet potato , wholemeal bread/ roll ,basmati brown rice , eating mostly salads and skinned chicken breast, occasional chilli lean mince and kidney beans .. no deserts or sweet snacks , but not easy lost over 2 stone

 

[Martin.A]

It was blood from the arm, test tube sent away been done twice now.

In that case I would expect that to be, or to include, an HbA1c so you need to ask what the result was as that will determine how much you need to do, particularly in relation to diet.

 

[Leadinglights]

It was blood from the arm, test tube sent away been done twice now.

Cut out potato's, rice and pasta , now on sweet potato , wholemeal bread/ roll ,basmati brown rice , eating mostly salads and skinned chicken breast, occasional chilli lean mince and kidney beans .. no deserts or sweet snacks , but not easy lost over 2 stone

Once you get the proper information about your HbA1C result you can judge just where you are on the diabetes ladder from just over the threshold of 47mmol/mol where some modest changes may be sufficient to some thing a lot higher.
However the swaps you have made are actually still high carb foods, any potato, bread, rice, pulses need to be eaten with caution. Meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, vegetables and salads are all good to base meals on.
This link may help you with some ideas, it is a low carb approach with menu plans to suit various tastes and budget and the introduction has lots of good information. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

 

[Drummer]

It was blood from the arm, test tube sent away been done twice now.

Cut out potato's, rice and pasta , now on sweet potato , wholemeal bread/ roll ,basmati brown rice , eating mostly salads and skinned chicken breast, occasional chilli lean mince and kidney beans .. no deserts or sweet snacks , but not easy lost over 2 stone

If you are getting better results eating potato bread and rice then you probably cut out a lot of other foods to reduce your overall consumption of carbohydrate.
Unfortunately what you are eating believing it to be a better choice is just as much carbohydrate.
I found that eating the natural fat which comes with meat fish cheese eggs and full fat dairy seems to result in a happy nervous system and no problems with hormones, good skin and shiny hair - and it lowers cholesterol too, though not to silly low levels.
I am keeping to a low level of carbs each day and seeing almost normal levels of HbA1c - I saw the diabetes nurse today and she seemed impressed - actually suggested I come along to her meetings and assist with advice on what to eat!!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thanks ,
I need to ask more questions obviously.

I had blood tests due to bad fall onto my back to check kidney function, but wasn't given any numbers and same last blood test 2 weeks ago I was told blood test came back prime, however the fasting urine sample I give next week is for them to keep an eye on it, said they will see if diet change works first before meds , as I say confused here.

Welcome to the forum @Antx

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, and about the uncertainty over your test results. Have you ever used the NHS app? Or Patient Access? If your surgery have enabled things, you may be able to get your test results there if it’s difficult to get them from your surgery.

Feeling overwhelmed and confused is not at all uncommon - so be kind to yourself. And allow yourself time to adapt.

To start to get your head around diabetes, you might like to sign up for the Learning Zone (orange tab in the main menu) which is packed full of bite sized modules that you can work through at your own pace.