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Newly diagnosed

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Hi @PaulyB71 ..welcome to the club no one wants to join but there are ways that you can help your situation easily although it will take some discipline from you to help.
please have a look at Maggie Daveys Letter (link below) as a start to help with your diagnosis , and feel free to ask any questions, someone here will know the answers ..
regards M.

 
Hello @PaulyB71
So good that you have joined the forum, there is plenty of help and support here.
Can you tell us a bit more about yourself? - do you know what your blood sugar reading is? have you been given any advice on what to eat?

I can still remember that big shock of first diagnosis although it was over 8 years ago, it really knocked me off my feet, and there is a lot of confusing information about what to do. We are all different and there is no ‘one size fits all’ and you need to find what right for you.
As @Martin9 says Maggie Davey's diary gives some good ideas on some options.

For me, a new way of eating, and increased exercise, plus some metformin has worked. As well as cutting out all the sugary things, I cut down on the carbs particularly the ‘white’ ones (bread and flour ,rice ,pasta, etc ) and mainly eat fresh fish and poultry, and have eventually learned to love vegetables .
You may eventually need to get a glucose monitor to measure progress and find out what foods effect you blood sugars most.
There is more information on this on https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html

It does all take time to find what’s right for you and adjust your lifestyle, but please be patient, it will be very worthwhile.
Hope you will let us know how it goes for you and please ask about anything you are concerned about.
 
Hi @Toucan

thanks for your message. Level was 62mmol/mol whatever that means lol. Got appointment for diabetes education and ecg on 5th March so hope to find out more then
 
Hello @PaulyB71
I have copied in the table for HbA1c ranges, so that you can see where your reading sits. It is high enough to indicate that you need to make changes to get it down, but many newly diagnosed people start with higher readings than this, so it is good that you have got the diagnosis and can take action.
HbA1c
Normal <40 mmmol/mol
Prediabetes 40 to 47 mmmol/mol
Diabetic Over 48mmmol/mol

Please let us know how it all goes for you, and ask about anything we may be able to help with
 
Hello and welcome. I was diagnosed last August with a reading of 57. By cutting right down on carbs, and doing 4 hours exercise (in my case it was the swimming pool) per week, I reduced my level to 48 in 3 months, and lost 17 pounds. This was without any medication, so as others have said, it is do-able. I suggest you spend the time between now and your course on 5 March working your way through the training section of this website. I found I got so much more from my course that way, and had questions ready to ask or have answered. I also found a website which enabled me to monitor my carbs and calories by meal, day and week. It had a downloadable app as well, handy for supermarket shopping. That too was quite an education and I now plan a day in advance. That way you don't eat, then get shock, horror, that was 100gm carbs!! Best wishes
 
Hi Paul I have just been diagnosed and waiting on a appointment to discuss the plan. How do u find the metformin is it causing you side effects. I really don’t want to take it because I already suffer from the things that it causes as side effects.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum @PaulyB71
 
Hi Paul I have just been diagnosed and waiting on a appointment to discuss the plan. How do u find the metformin is it causing you side effects. I really don’t want to take it because I already suffer from the things that it causes as side effects.
Just to say that I found that the Slow Release Metformin gave me much fewer side effects. It is more expensive, so often not offered on diagnosis, BUT def worth thinking about. ( I only recently joined though been a diabetic for rather a long time )
 
Hi @PaulyB71 - Welcome. Lots of advice here already for you. Take your time ploughing through it all. There's a lot to learn. You will need to make a few changes to your diet, cutting out all the obvious sugars, as well as those pesky 'hidden' ones in things like ketchup, sauces, etc. Getting in the habit of reading labels for 'total' carb content of food is useful. Watch out for pasta, bread, rice to name a few. You will probably need to put extreme restrictions of these things. It sounds a bit scary, but believe me, there are plenty of alternatives, I have discovered cauliflower 'mash' and 'rice - this veg should be your new best friend! This forum has threads surrounding foods/menu/ ideas - you will be inspired! I know I was, and my hubby is enjoying eating them to! Embrace the change and you will do fine. Let us know how you get on with your upcoming appointments. Ask any questions you like here, someone will always be along with useful nuggets of info for you 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum @PaulyB71

There are lots of friendly folks here who have been just where you are (or somewhere very like it) and have managed to successfully jump through the hoops diabetes loves to throw in our way. While it is a serious condition, diabetes is something that can be well managed and tamed with a few adjustments and adaptations (along with whatever meds are necessary to support the right food choices and level of activity of the individual).

We have literally centuries of lived diabetes experience on these boards, so ask any questions you have. Nothing will be considered too obvious or silly.
 
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