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Newbie

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Duffer2020

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi all, Had the bombshell diagnosis week before last that I am Type2. Am finding that the only way to get information is to go trawling myself on sites such as this as the support network seems to be non-existant otherwise!
 
Anitram said:
HI, and welcome to the Forum. Unfortunately, unless you're very lucky, information and advice you get from HCPs is often poor and in some cases even incorrect. The good news is that you've come to the right place and the advice you'll get here is from people who are managing their diabetes day-to-day.

Diabetes management revolves around diet, exercise, weight loss and medication so are you happy to share any information about your diagnosis as this ensures the advice is tailored to your specific situation, as we are all different. Do you know the HbA1c result that got you your diagnosis, for example?

Martin
Click to expand...
HI Martin
The HbAic reading was 97%.
Apparently back in October 2019 it was done and was 49% and noted that I was Pre-Diabetic. I vaguely recall my GP saying something about it but didn't realise the significance of it and there was no follow up or guidance at the time so I just forgot it.
Even this time round - it was a brief phone call to let me know that I was not diabetic and a list of things that I should cut out and that was it!
It was only after I let it sink in and started researching myself that I started to understand more about it.
There was absolutely no follow up this time either and it was only when I took it upon myself to make another telephone appointment with my GP to discus the results that he prescribed 500g Metformin twice a day. Still no discussion about what the medication was meant to do or alternatives etc.
I asked if there was a possibility that if I made significant lifestyle changes and lost weight that I could come off of medication and was told 'probably not'!
I asked if I could speak to a dietician and was told 'no need'
I asked if I should be testing my blood sugar levels at home and was told it was only necessary for Type 1 so no need.
I received a link to sign up to a DERIK course but when I looked into that it was 2 hours a day a week spread over 6 weeks, for 12+ people, (normally face to face but remote now because of COVID) - call me old fashioned but I don't want to be discussing my personal problems within a group (I am so not a 'group hug' person) . I want to speak to a medical professional who can give me one to one advise about my issues.
I have signed up to a DESMOND course which is just the one day and will be 4-6 hours and only 4 people. I am still not happy about the format but will show willing and give it a go!
Thankfully I found Diabetes UK and started to see what resources should be made available to me.
I phoned the surgery again to make an appointment with the diabetic nurse but that appointment is for 8 minutes so I am guessing it will be minimal time to ask any questions.
I honestly feel 'diagnosed and dumped'!
Thank goodness for this website is all I can say!
 
Anitram said:
Unfortunately your story is all too familiar, more so since the pandemic.
If your HbA1c was 97 (not %) then that's well into diabetes territory so you do need to take action to bring it back down. It can be done - many of us were in 3 figures at diagnosis, me included.
In terms of medication Metformin helps the insulin you produce work more efficiently and is usually the first-line medication for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.
In terms of diet the key is to reduce your intake of carbohydrates, as it's these that your body is having a problem with. This isn't just about the obvious sugary things like sweets, chocolate, cakes, biscuits etc but also starchy carbs found in bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. We do this by adopting a low carb diet, which is less than 130g per day although some go lower and some much lower.
Your GP's response to your question about self-testing is pretty typical but many of us find it's a useful way of managing our diabetes. Test just before a meal and then again 2 hours later and the difference in the readings will tell you how your body coped with that meal choice. By keeping a food diary alongside your results you will soon see what foods you may want to avoid, or at least cut back on.
A book I found useful was Can I Eat That? by Jenefer Roberts, which is targeted specifically at Type 2s.
If you have any questions just post on here and you'll receive lots of replies and good advice.
Martin
Click to expand...
Thanks Anitram
 
I see that you have put some readings at the bottom of your post - how do I do that?
 
Duffer2020 said:
HI Martin
The HbAic reading was 97%.
Apparently back in October 2019 it was done and was 49% and noted that I was Pre-Diabetic. I vaguely recall my GP saying something about it but didn't realise the significance of it and there was no follow up or guidance at the time so I just forgot it.
Even this time round - it was a brief phone call to let me know that I was not diabetic and a list of things that I should cut out and that was it!
It was only after I let it sink in and started researching myself that I started to understand more about it.
There was absolutely no follow up this time either and it was only when I took it upon myself to make another telephone appointment with my GP to discus the results that he prescribed 500g Metformin twice a day. Still no discussion about what the medication was meant to do or alternatives etc.
I asked if there was a possibility that if I made significant lifestyle changes and lost weight that I could come off of medication and was told 'probably not'!
I asked if I could speak to a dietician and was told 'no need'
I asked if I should be testing my blood sugar levels at home and was told it was only necessary for Type 1 so no need.
I received a link to sign up to a DERIK course but when I looked into that it was 2 hours a day a week spread over 6 weeks, for 12+ people, (normally face to face but remote now because of COVID) - call me old fashioned but I don't want to be discussing my personal problems within a group (I am so not a 'group hug' person) . I want to speak to a medical professional who can give me one to one advise about my issues.
I have signed up to a DESMOND course which is just the one day and will be 4-6 hours and only 4 people. I am still not happy about the format but will show willing and give it a go!
Thankfully I found Diabetes UK and started to see what resources should be made available to me.
I phoned the surgery again to make an appointment with the diabetic nurse but that appointment is for 8 minutes so I am guessing it will be minimal time to ask any questions.
I honestly feel 'diagnosed and dumped'!
Thank goodness for this website is all I can say!
Click to expand...
If you are following the MyDesmond program you will find that the focus although good in some respects does advocate the low fat and probably more carbohydrates than many people can tolerate so you might want to look to cutting out or reducing your portion size of some of the more carb heavy foods that will be mentioned as OK by the course.
I think with diabetes every day is a school day as there is always something to learn.
 
You have to make judgments yourself in each situation whether to share info and how much info you are happy to share. However - I usually tentatively try the situation to see what it can offer me, before deciding one way or the other - so I'm glad you're testing the forum out, ALL group sessions for anything depend on the participants and their different experiences and views, for how much or little any of them do get out of it.

We literally talk about anything and everything in the forum at times - physical health, mental health, exercise, nutrition, diabetes drugs, life in general. Some members join in and others don't. Some must be politicians since it's so hard to get a straight answer out of them. Others talk too much.
 
Welcome to the forum @Duffer2020

Sorry to hear you feel a bit abandoned to find your own way through the maze of information. It certainly is a difficult time to get a diabetes diagnosis, with so many routine follow-up appointments not happening.

Lots of T2 members have found Maggie Davey’s letter to the newly diagnosed a helpful introduction to T2 too

forum.diabetes.org.uk

Maggie Davey's letter to newly-diagnosed Type 2s

This disappeared from the original site, but @Alan S has managed to track it down. Rather than risk losing that link I'm posting the text here. I've had to split it over a few posts, as there is a size limit for each post and it wouldn't all fit in one! :) An open letter to the newly-diagnosed...
forum.diabetes.org.uk forum.diabetes.org.uk

And ask away with any questions too. We have literally centuries of lived diabetes experience on the forum, and nothing will be considered too obvious or ‘silly’
 
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