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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Newly diagnosed type 2
- Thread starter Dawnsunny
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clive555555
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi Dawnsunny, Welcome to the forum, I was diagnosed in August Type 2 Hba 1c 111, now with all the help and advice from the Diabetes Forum, GPs, Medication , Dedication, Diet and Diabetes Nurses my Hba 1c is 31. Ask any question, they are never silly, and remember the more you eat the more you have to exercise, losing weight, excellent well done, but don't put it back on. Learn to count Calories and Carbs, and ask away. More experienced members will give your more detailed help. Cheers clive55555
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi @Dawnsunny, welcome to the forum 🙂 How did your diagnosis come about? Don't worry, you have joined a community of lovely, friendly and knowledgeable people who know just how you are feeling, so please don't be afraid to ask any questions you may have, or voice any concerns - we're happy to help in any way we can 🙂
Your HbA1c result is very much 'borderline' for diabetes, so hopefully with some adjustments to your diet and activity levels you will be able to bring things under good control - you may have already achieved it on your upcoming test! 🙂 You've already made an excellent start with your weight loss, so well done! 🙂 Carrying excess weight can make you more 'resistant' to the insulin your body is producing, meaning that it can't use the energy from your food very efficiently and your blood glucose levels gradually creep up. Losing weight helps to make you more 'sensitive' to the insulin and improves the efficiency of your body. Similarly, regular exercise will make you more insulin-sensitive, helping to keep your blood glucose levels under control, so whatever you can manage, the better it will be and the better you will feel 🙂
Finally, and this is the tricky one for a lot of people, you need to look at your food choices and try and eat more of the things that have little impact on your blood glucose, and less of the things that will raise it too high for you body to cope with well. Carbohydrates of all kinds will raise your levels, but that doesn't mean you have to give them up completely, you just need to look for ways of limiting them in your diet and perhaps replacing them with more blood glucose-friendly items - more green veg and less potatoes, for example 🙂 Have a read of Maggie Davey's letter - it's a good, comprehensive guide to the things you need to know 🙂 I'd also recommend getting a copy of the excellent Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker, which is highly recommended by many of our members and will help guide you through these early months 🙂
One somewhat annoying aspect of diabetes is that it tends to be a very 'individual' condition - people can cope differently with the same food items. For example, some people may be fine with porridge in the mornings, but others find that it 'spikes' their blood glucose levels high. As such, it's difficult to offer a 'one-size-fits-all' diet that can suit everyone all the time. There are some general principles though. The GL (Glycaemic Load) Diet isn't a weight-loss diet, but it does offer a way of choosing and combining foods that will have a slow and steady impact on your levels - The GL Diet for Dummies is a very good introduction 🙂
How will you know whether you are coping well with your food choices? The only sure way is to use a home blood glucose monitor so you can test your levels before and after eating to see what effect your meals have on you. This process is described well in Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S - have a read 🙂 If you haven't been given a monitor and a prescription for test strips then it's worth buying your own whilst you find out what you can and can't tolerate well. The cheapest option we have come across is the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50 (High St brands can charge as much as £30 for 50 test strips 😱)
I'd also recommend getting your free copy of 100 things I wish I'd known about diabetes from Diabetes UK, full of useful tips from people around the country - including quite a few of our members! 🙂
As I said, please don't worry - I'm sure you can get this under good control, and end up feeling much happier and healthier for it. Diabetes is a serious condition, but only if you neglect it, and it's clear you don't intend to so you will be fine 🙂 Ask away, and let us know how you get on 🙂
Ljc
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
Hi Welcome, you’ve done well on the weight loss. 48 means you’ve only just crossed the diabetic threshold .
I was going to put a long post here but I typed too slowly and @Northerner beat me to it
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Feel free to ask questions, we’ll do our best to help m
I was going to put a long post here but I typed too slowly and @Northerner beat me to it
.Feel free to ask questions, we’ll do our best to help m
Greyhound Gal
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hi Dawnsunny and welcome to the forum🙂
WOW... you have done amazing!!
Got my result today and my HbA1c has gone down to 40 so is in normal range now!
Thanks for the advice I’m hoping to continue for always... can’t afford not to
Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Excellent result Dawnsunny! Well done! 🙂
Well done for loosing 2 stone & welcome. It will help 🙂
clive555555
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi Dawnsunny, Really pleased for you. Find you target weight, draw up a food plan and a meal diary,count your calories & carbs, keep that Hba1c DOWN, with exercise and diet. You will find lots of advice browsing the forum. Keep in touch. All the best clive55555
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