Newly Diagnosed Type 2

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Carina1962

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Type 2
hello, i was diagnosed Type 2 last week. I'm 47, female and obese (although have already lost nearly a stone). My nurse has given me urine sticks to use and told me not to finger prick. She has given me a 3 month plan to lose more weight and carry on with my excercise (i am walking lots more). She said that she has seen in patients their high glucose levels 'disappear' by doing this hard work. I will give it my best shot and hope it works for me although I know that it does not mean that diabetes will be reversed. I am very confused with levels though as everywhere i look everyone says different, what are they looking for exactly? I am already learning about foods and what is working for me but i guess i can ask all these questions to my nurse but does anyone out there know what levels should be or is it an indvidual thing?
 
hi Carina i remember you posted last week i think and you thought you might be diabetic, im sorry you got the news you did'nt want x i've never seen that before you where givin urine stix and told not to finger pirck, well i hope that is a sucsess, I think many of us are confused about exact levels but as time goes im sure by being amongst this forum we will learn

p.s good luck with the 3 months x
 
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Hmm, the urine thing confuses me. I was diagnosed with a stratospheric blood glucose level, but with no glucose showing in my urine. Which gives me the idea that urine testing wouldn't be of much use. Maybe one of the others can explain.
 
Hello Carina, from another ahem 'mature' overweight Type 2!!

Just to let you know that my Blood Glucose level was 19.1 when I was diagnosed 3 months ago, and now it's mostly in the 5's and 6's. This is due to taking Metformin tablets 3 times a day, and also drastically changing my diet.

I no longer have anything sugary, virtually no fat or salt, have switched to multigrain/seeded bread and brown rice and pasta, and lowered my carb intake (but still have some at each meal. Carbs is a very confusing subject for diabetics!!) The only thing that's increased is fruit (I was already a vegetable lover!)

This approach hasn't yielded the fabulous weight loss I was expecting, having cut out SOOO much of the rubbish I was eating before, but around a pound every fortnight, which is disappointing. However, I DO feel much better for it, if I'm honest.

Re the urine testing - my DSN and GP advised getting a blood glucose monitor, which I did and have found it very useful. However, the Diabetes Clinic at my local hospital, which I attended for the first time last week, said they DON'T recommend blood testing for the first few months, only urine testing. I've found that a bit hit and miss (literally !! ewww ) tbh, and prefer the blood testing.

Sorry, nothing very useful there, but just wanted to encourage you in all your efforts to reduce your weight and your BG levels. ANYthing you do that helps is a positive.

Good luck.

xx
PS - re levels, I was told they should be below 7, but that's not necessarily gospel. Between 4.5 - 6.5 is something else I've read.
 
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carina62 said:
hello, i was diagnosed Type 2 last week. I'm 47, female and obese (although have already lost nearly a stone). My nurse has given me urine sticks to use and told me not to finger prick. She has given me a 3 month plan to lose more weight and carry on with my excercise (i am walking lots more). She said that she has seen in patients their high glucose levels 'disappear' by doing this hard work. I will give it my best shot and hope it works for me although I know that it does not mean that diabetes will be reversed. I am very confused with levels though as everywhere i look everyone says different, what are they looking for exactly? I am already learning about foods and what is working for me but i guess i can ask all these questions to my nurse but does anyone out there know what levels should be or is it an indvidual thing?
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Dear carina62,

You may recall, I said it didn't look good - I'm sorry that you got a positive result. Diastix can be used to check sugar levels but most people will not spill glucose into their urine unless the concentration is above about 10mmol/L, so for all practical purposes they are useless. You need a blood glucose meter, even if you have to buy the meter and test stips yourself. Your blood glucose concentration rises in response to carbohydrates - nothing else! Here's the NICE recommedation:

Type 2 diabetes (NICE 2008)
Before meals: 4-7mmol/L (Including before breakfast)
Two hours after meals: less than 8.5mmols/L

I use my own target of before meals less than 6mmol/L and two hours after meals less than 6mmol/L There is also a measure of long-term blood sugar levels known as HbA1c (haemaglobin A1c) and is given as a percentage (soon to change to mmol/mol) DUK says shoot for < 6.5% I shoot for < 6%

Using a meter, you can find which type of food affects you most and then cut it out or down, some foods (containing carbohydrate) will send your reading high but someone else will find that food OK - we are all different!

Regards Dodger
 
Hi carina62,

I'm a Type 2 also.

It is my experience that many Type 2s get a very quick improvement in blood glucose levels by cutting back on the starchy carbohydrate that they eat - i.e. cereals, bread, potatoes, pasta, rice etc. That is certainly what happened to me.

Starting to test is a great idea also so that you can see what different foods do to your blood glucose levels.

Good luck and best wishes - John
 
Newly diagnosed Type 2 - am learning!

I am newly diagnosed Type 2 and am learning along the way. How many times is one supposed to test each day? As i am newly diagnosed, my Nurse has given me urine sticks to use and i am on a 3 month plan to lose more weight and carry on with excercise to basically see how my levels figure at the end of it (ie to see if they have improved or not). Against what my Nurse has said, i still finger test as it gives me peace of mind and it gives me an idea of what foods are OK for me to eat and those that aren't. At the moment, i test first thing in the morning before breakfast, then before my evening meal and then 2 hours after my meal and sometimes before i go to bed. Do i need to test as often as this at the moment and if not when are the most important times to test?

Advice greatly appreciated
 
carina62 said:
I am newly diagnosed Type 2 and am learning along the way. How many times is one supposed to test each day? As i am newly diagnosed, my Nurse has given me urine sticks to use and i am on a 3 month plan to lose more weight and carry on with excercise to basically see how my levels figure at the end of it (ie to see if they have improved or not). Against what my Nurse has said, i still finger test as it gives me peace of mind and it gives me an idea of what foods are OK for me to eat and those that aren't. At the moment, i test first thing in the morning before breakfast, then before my evening meal and then 2 hours after my meal and sometimes before i go to bed. Do i need to test as often as this at the moment and if not when are the most important times to test?

Advice greatly appreciated
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Carina - testing frequency depends on how you want to use the results (see "Jennifer's advice" threads via search buttons).

If you want to see how different foods affect you so you can make decisions about what you eat then 2 hour post food DUK blood glucose target is 8.5mmol. Some people test at 1 hour too.

If/when you get to the stage of dropping low or you are on medications that come with a risk of hypos (eg gliclazide) then you would also want to check pre-driving or operating machinery and every 2 hours whilst carrying out the task (see "driving" threads)

Personally I nearly always check my fasting blood glucose so I can spot trends which has been helpful for me as I have reduced my medications considerably over the past few months. I always check before driving too or if I have signs of a hypo and now tend to check 2 hour post meal only when I've tried something new that I don't know how my body will respond to. This is more than the medical profession recommend but it is my body and my risk - I already have eye changes that I don't want to get any worse. I also worry far more if I don't know what is going on so it gives me more peace of mind than not testing

Hope this helps
 
I find all this 'Testing No Testing' very confusing.When I was diagnosed in March this year I was given a meter and strips and told to test 4 times a day. Why does this happen that some people are told to test and others are told the opposite?. I have heard that some GPs will not prescribe testing strips due to cost cutting and yet others,like mine,do not have a problem with it. Is it not about time that there was some sort of 'Standardisation' in the treatment of Diabetes where all Medics sang off the same Hymn Sheet.
 
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hi blue i just think it varies on where your practice is etc etc when i was diagnosed back in Feb i was given a meter and told test 3 times a day only when i had to ring NHS direct up about something did the nurse tell me 3 times was far to many she said to me your fingers must ache and she told me once a day so i took the choice to go down the middle one said 3 another said 1 so i do it twice a day (accept if i hyper of course i use more) as yourself my surgery has no issues in handing me a script for my strips unfortunetly not all are so lucky .
 
confusion about vitamins & minerals

I have a question, what do people think about taking a vitamin supplement? there is one on the market which i am particularly interested in, it's called Diabetone made from Vitabiotics and it is a formula with all the recommended vitamins and minerals for diabetics. It costs ?9.74 for 30 days supply so not that cheap but wonder if it will be worth it. I will ask my nurse when i see her next and i wouldn't think it will do any harm to take a vitamin supplement. There is also one called Cardioace which is supposed to be good for heart health and circulation which contains garlic as well as lots of other vitamins and minerals, so i don't know what to do for the best.

any ideas?
 
carina62 said:
I have a question, what do people think about taking a vitamin supplement? there is one on the market which i am particularly interested in, it's called Diabetone made from Vitabiotics and it is a formula with all the recommended vitamins and minerals for diabetics. It costs ?9.74 for 30 days supply so not that cheap but wonder if it will be worth it. I will ask my nurse when i see her next and i wouldn't think it will do any harm to take a vitamin supplement. There is also one called Cardioace which is supposed to be good for heart health and circulation which contains garlic as well as lots of other vitamins and minerals, so i don't know what to do for the best.

any ideas?
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Dear carina62,

I just had a look at Diabetone and personally I wouldn't give it the time of day. I think it is the modern day equivalent of snake oil!

Warmest Regards Dodger
 
Hi Carina,

I agree with Dodger. Personally, I'd keep away from buying anything like that.

Getting the optimum balance of foods that we normally eat is a very powerful tool in getting good control of our diabetic conditions.

Best wishes - John
 
If you're having a suitably varied diet with plenty of veg then you shouldn't need any kind of supplement. Or so my doctor tells me.
 
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