Newbie

[BL11]

Hi, newbie alert!

Just found this forum having been diagnosed with "type 2" last Wednesday after a period of feeling pretty rubbish. Started a course of Metformin, 1 tablet a day currently, rising to 2 after the first week (ie from this coming Thursday).

I've seen people referring to what they measure, which I have not been told when the doctor phoned me with my diagnosis, feel very out of my depth, but hopefully all will become clear in the coming weeks.

I've been looking for inspiration on what I can do to help, again its a bit of a minefield. I always felt I ate well, plenty of veg, overnight oaks for breakfast, do not smoke, only have a drink a weekends and that is in moderation, not significantly overweight, fairly average build I would say for a 49 year old.

Appointment tomorrow with the diabetes nurse who will hopefully answer some of the questions I have, but I am sure I will be back here with more questions as they come to me!

rgds
BL

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I've seen people referring to what they measure, which I have not been told when the doctor phoned me with my diagnosis,

Some people with Type 2 (I'm guessing particularly the kinds of people who search out and participate in online forums like this one) decide to buy and use a glucose monitor and test strips (the test strips are the main cost).

In the UK they're not commonly prescribed to people who don't use some medication that can cause hypoglycaemia (such as insulin); the argument is that the evidence for more general prescribing is a bit weak. People use them to try and see long term trends (are the values staying roughly the same over weeks?) and to try and judge the impact of different kinds of foods (some people react more strongly to some kinds of fruit, for example). There are links in the top couple of threads of this forum giving more details.

 

[mashedupmatt]

Hi @BL11 and welcome to the forum - sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis but you've found a great place here - it is all very daunting to start with time does get easier - whilst I'm not particularly qualified to answer specific questions (as a type 1 myself), having al look around the various threads here will give you some useful tips - and check out the Learning Zone

Landing Page | Diabetes UK Learning Zone

learningzone.diabetes.org.uk

It contains lots of bite-size modules to go through at your own pace - and also check the main Diabetes UK website for the links on Type 2 Diabetes which is very good

And in the meantime, please fire away on here with any questions you may have - we're all a friendly bunch and nothing is considered a "Silly" question here

Glad you have found us

 

[Martin.A]

Hi and welcome from a fellow T2, albeit in remission for a while now. One thing to ask at your appointment is what your HbA1c result was as this will determine what you need to do, especially regarding your diet.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @BL11

Yes it can feel a bit overwhelming to begin with

All of a sudden you have a long list of appointments, people to see, and regular checkups and blood tests to attend to.

Were you told the result of your HbA1c? This is likely to be a number above 48mmol/mol (but may be substantially higher). As @Martin.A says, knowing that figure as your starting point can be really helpful in understanding how much of a hard time your metabolism has been having recently.

 

[Leadinglights]

Yes an important thing to find out is your HbA1C result as that will indicate how much work you will need to do but if you have already been prescribed metformin then I assume it is quite high but even so dietary changes will be equally if not more important as the medication does not magically make the carbohydrates in your meals disappear but just helpds the body use the insulin it produces and reduces the release of glucose by the liver.
Many find a low carbohydrate approach successful and that is generally considered to be no more than 130g carbs not just sugar per day. This link may help you with some ideas for modifying your diet, there are some dos and don'ts and some meal plans, https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

 

[BL11]

Thank you for all the messages, I have been to my appointment today, my HbA1C result was 74 from the one blood test I have had, they said they are able to diagnose without a second test as I am symptomatic. Another blood test booked next week but also a referral to the hospital as they want to make sure the diagnosis and treatment are correct, as they feel I do not fit the profile for type 2 and owing to weight loss, they want to be certain.

Thank again for the messages and advise, hugely appreciated!

 

[helli]

Welcome @BL11
Sorry to read of your diagnosis but really pleased that they are considering Type 1. It is likely you will have a few weeks of uncertainty until the diagnosis is confirmed but that is far better than living for years with the wrong diagnosis and treatment. Weight loss is certainly a more common symptom of Type 1 than type 2 but in too many cases it has been ignored.
Once your diagnosis is confirmed, you will become aware than Type 1 is managed with insulin, not diet. Although there are some people with Type 1 who also follow a low carb diet, I found it much harder to calculate my insulin dose.

Finger crossed you don't have to wait too long for your referral and you get your type confirmed quickly.

 

[BL11]

thanks @helli just for my own sanity, if it is type 1, would the metformin I am taking now still have an impact? I have felt better (a marked improvement, even if not 100% just yet) since I started taking them last Thursday?

 

[helli]

thanks @helli just for my own sanity, if it is type 1, would the metformin I am taking now still have an impact? I have felt better (a marked improvement, even if not 100% just yet) since I started taking them last Thursday?

With the huge caveat that I have no medical training ...
My understanding is that Metformin reduces the glucose that is dripped by our liver throughout the day and night so our insulin does not need to work as hard.
Type 1 is an auto-immune condition which means my body has decided it doesn't like the cells that produce insulin. But this rarely happens instantly - the insulin producing cells die off gradually and, in the early days, a bit of a rest (e.g. less liver dumped glucose to deal with) can eek out their lives a little longer and give them a final spurt.

In other words, the answer to your question is "maybe".

However, my limited understanding is also that metformin's power "builds" as you continue to take it and it is rare to see an instant benefit.

 

[rebrascora]

thanks @helli just for my own sanity, if it is type 1, would the metformin I am taking now still have an impact? I have felt better (a marked improvement, even if not 100% just yet) since I started taking them last Thursday?

Have you also changed your diet since diagnosis as that can sometimes have an impact in the early stages of Type 1 rather than the metformin.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

thanks @helli just for my own sanity, if it is type 1, would the metformin I am taking now still have an impact?

Might. It's common for people with newly diagnosed Type 1 to have a period when we're still producing some insulin (just not reliably enough) so metformin might have some effect, though changes you make to your diet is probably more significant (initial doses of metformin won't do that much, I think).

 

[BL11]

Have you also changed your diet since diagnosis as that can sometimes have an impact in the early stages of Type 1 rather than the metformin.

To be honest Barbara, not dramatically changed though maybe a little more conscious of sugars etc.. I have not really had time to digest it all yet and had been waiting for my appointment today before jumping into too much change to make sure any changes I make are the right ones.

 

[helli]

There may also be a component of stress. They say there is something like 42 things that affect our BG and stress is one of those.
If you have been experiencing an “unknown” issue first a while, it can be stressful then a relief when you start to see an explanation.
This can reduce your BG.

 

[mashedupmatt]

These are the 42 factors that can affect Blood Glucose (Have attached the file as well so you can enlarge it to read it better) - and also a link (hope it works!) to the full document that has explanations too: https://diatribe.org/sites/default/files/2024-05/42factorsexplainedoctober2019.pdf