Newly diagnosed but not seen anyone?

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jesslb

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Type 2
Hello everyone,
I'm looking for some help, I'm a 37 year old female and was diagnosed type 2 diabetic about 6 weeks ago with a hba1c of 63.
Since then I haven't had any contact with a diabetic nurse etc. I rang my surgery and was told I'm on the waiting list to see the diabetic doctor, but they have no idea how long the wait will be. Is this normal? I don't know why I need to see the doctor and not the nurse?
I'm a nurse (not practicing anymore) and have a diabetic mother so I do have knowledge on how to improve my diet but I was really hoping to be seen quicker to get my testing kit and discuss Metformin.
Any tips or advice welcome.
Thanks jess
 
jesslb said:
Hello everyone,
I'm looking for some help, I'm a 37 year old female and was diagnosed type 2 diabetic about 6 weeks ago with a hba1c of 63.
Since then I haven't had any contact with a diabetic nurse etc. I rang my surgery and was told I'm on the waiting list to see the diabetic doctor, but they have no idea how long the wait will be. Is this normal? I don't know why I need to see the doctor and not the nurse?
I'm a nurse (not practicing anymore) and have a diabetic mother so I do have knowledge on how to improve my diet but I was really hoping to be seen quicker to get my testing kit and discuss Metformin.
Any tips or advice welcome.
Thanks jess
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Ah - you'll be lucky to get testing kit from the NHS, but stranger things have happened.
Things do eventually work through the system, but there seems to be no rush if there's nothing dreadful happening - eye checks are scheduled, a nurse appointment for feet checks and advice of varying quality will eventually happen for most.
I'd advise taking your destiny in your own hands, buying one of the cheap to use meters - I got a Tee 2 + from Spirit Healthcare using their website - if you confirm a diagnosis of diabetes (by email) you get their products free of VAT
Beware of the oft' repeated advice to eat brown carbs and starchy foods because they are classed as healthy. They are just as much carbs as foods labelled 'junk' and will spike levels just as high.
 
Drummer said:
Beware of the oft' repeated advice to eat brown carbs and starchy foods because they are classed as healthy. They are just as much carbs as foods labelled 'junk' and will spike levels just as high.
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That's true but doesn't the advice generally come with a caveat - reduce portion sizes?
 
Thankyou for the reply.
Yes I think because my mum has such a good diabetes team I thought that was the norm.
I just don't understand why I need to see the doc. Surely it would be quicker to see the nurse, but hayho .
I was also put on BP meds a couple of weeks ago so between the niddm and BP I've had a massive wake-up call and have changed my diet in a hope to loose weight to help.
I can cope with cutting out the sweet things but the carbs are proving very difficult and making me a very grumpy mum and wife

.
 
Martin.A said:
That's true but doesn't the advice generally come with a caveat - reduce portion sizes?
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Only required if eating the carbs in the first place - I only watch the amount of peas I eat, as my husband doesn't like any other vegetable other than peas with his potatoes.
I can extract more carbs than listed from legumes so I have a half portion.
If anyone gets reduced portions of carbs it is himself - but he does very well on it.
 
Your surgery may simply not have a diabetes trained nurse, but one of the GPs perhaps has a "special interest" in diabetes and therefore covers that role. As said, if you are just on Metformin, a BG testing kit and strips are unlikely to be prescribed. Most people here on the forum who are not on medication which can drop their BG levels dangerously low, have to self fund, but find testing combined with a strategic testing regime, an invaluable tool in modifying their diet for their individual body's response and of course their tastes.

One of the other things which many people find useful, is starting a food diary and noting down everything you currently eat and drink and learning how to estimate the carbs in that food/drink. It can involve a bit of weighing and squinting at nutritional info on food packets. Not the traffic light system on the front, which is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard, but the full nutritional info which is usually somewhere in tiny print on the back or side of packaging. Making a note in your food diary should enable you to see where the carbs are coming from and see where you can make "savings". Reducing portion size of carb rich foods is important but you might once you start testing, that some foods have a much greater impact than you expect and others may have less. For instance porridge is a classic example as it is often touted as an ideal breakfast choice for people with diabetes. Some people find it works a treat and lives up to it's slow release reputation and others of us find that it is like rocket fuel and hits our blood stream nearly as fast as straight sugar and even some of us who use insulin, still find it too fast and challenging to be worth bothering with. There are many other examples of certain foods being more problematic for some people than others. For me lentils and beans release almost twice as much glucose as they are supposed to contain so they have become a rare treat for me, so hummus mostly stays on the supermarket shelves and baked beans are no longer on the menu. There are lots of other things that I do enjoy which have little or no impact on my levels though and reducing or avoiding certain foods has caused to to experiment with new foods and my tastes have broadened as a result, rather than narrowed and my health has mostly improved quite considerably as a result of the dietary changes I have made, so my diabetes diagnosis has actually caused me to become healthier rather than the opposite, so there have been lots of positives.
 
Plenty of options other than carbs as they will not help, it is not just the 'sweet' stuff but all carbs that convert to glucose.
People manage their condition in a variety of way and that can depend on if they are prescribed any medication but with an HbA1C of where you are there is no reason why with some dietary changes you should not get it down. Many do find a low carb not NO carb approach works. Have a look at this link as it will likely be more help than your GP. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
 
jesslb said:
Thankyou for the reply.

I was also put on BP meds a couple of weeks ago so between the niddm and BP I've had a massive wake-up call and have changed my diet in a hope to loose weight to help.
I can cope with cutting out the sweet things but the carbs are proving very difficult and making me a very grumpy mum and wife.
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Maybe try eating more protein and fat? We don't need low calorie when the carbs are low enough to be effective.
I have steak or chops with mushrooms or stirfry.
Bacon with mashed swede with eggs and herbs mixed in, fried like bubble and squeak, or the swede mashed with eggs and grated cheese put into a warm dish and then more cheese on top, put into the oven, or cauliflower almost cooked, put into a warm dish, covered in cream cheese, then sprinkled with herbs or a spice, then grated hard cheese - I like red Leicester, and put into the oven until the cheese is just lightly tanned and slightly melted.
Have you been put on statins? Atorvastatin really altered my brain and body in just a couple of weeks. At the end of a month I was suicidal. Combined with the side effects of Metformin I went through Hell.
After 5 weeks I binned the tablet and relied on diet alone, and that was all it needed.
Do be careful with the blood pressure medication. Low carb can reduce blood pressure and make the medication dangerous. On the low carb list there have been reports of needing to stop medication, but also reports of falls, one life changing, due to continuing to take the tablets when not necessary.
 
Thanks Barbara, great advice. I have a kit I forgot about to have ordered more testing stripes for it just now. I think you are right, once I know what affects my sugars it will make it easier. I thought I was quite knowledgeable with diabetes but since having it I realise I know very little
 
Oh - sometimes I eat just the meat, or a tin of fish with coleslaw, or eggs and cheese, then have berries in sugar free jelly, sometimes with full fat yoghurt mixed in, or with cream added.
I use frozen berries and add extra gelatine (more of the jelly is too much sweetener these days) and it sets as I watch it.
 
Thanks for the replies.
No no statins, I've been monitoring my BP at home and the tablets have made a minor improvement but definitely haven't dropped low.
I'm loving the recipe ideas. Will try some out.
 
jesslb said:
Thanks Barbara, great advice. I have a kit I forgot about to have ordered more testing stripes for it just now. I think you are right, once I know what affects my sugars it will make it easier. I thought I was quite knowledgeable with diabetes but since having it I realise I know very little
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Having a good testing strategy is better than random readings. testing before you eat and after 2 hours will tell you if your meal is tolerated well if the increase is no more than 2-3mmol/l otherwise your meal is too carb heavy.
 
We have a doctor who specialises in diabetes. We also have two diabetic nurses. I went pre-diabetic a few years back and was called in about my result. I was seen by the GP who specialises in diabetes and sent on a prevention course. At that time I thought the Eat Well plate was too carb heavy so came here and took advice from other members. Eventually I got it back to normal, albeit the higher side of normal. This year it has gone back to 42 for the first time since 2018. GPs are going to re-test next year but I was upset and wanted some advice so they sent me to the Diabetic Nurse who was very helpful.

You should certainly in my opinion be offered an appointment with yours.

I called on the Friday evening and was given an appointment on the Monday afternoon. I was grateful for such prompt action as we have one of the highest rates of diabetes in the UK according to our Healthwatch group so our surgeries are overwhelmed.

I hope you get to see someone but please take the advice of people here. They are most helpful and I credit this Forum with getting me back to normal.
 
As a guess why you have to see the gp id say that its a confirmation of medication, when my nurse wanted to add a med to 'collection' she had to get it seen and approved by a doc first. Though I never had to see one in person, except the first time after diagnosis.
 
jesslb said:
I can cope with cutting out the sweet things but the carbs are proving very difficult and making me a very grumpy mum and wife
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Welcome to the forum @jesslb

Sorry to hear you’ve been left a bit in limbo, but good to hear you already have a decent grasp of the basics. The Learning Zone (orange tab in the main menu) is a terrific resource to add to the knowledge you already have.

For ideas on swaps and replacement for commonly used carbs, there are some helpful suggestions here:
forum.diabetes.org.uk

The A to Z of Vegetables (from DSF)

Kindly shared from the former DSF (diabetes support forum) with permission from @Pattidevans
forum.diabetes.org.uk forum.diabetes.org.uk
 
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