Newly diagnosed

[zanoni1972]

Hi all, I have just recently received my type 2 diagnosis and only started my treatment on Friday. I look forward to chatting with you 🙂

 

[Lucyr]

Hi zanon. Sorry to hear you were diagnosed but there’s plenty advice here. How did it come about, was it a surprise?

 

[zanoni1972]

Hi Lucyr, Thanks for replying. I started having symptoms 6 months ago, numbness, tiredness, thirsty and dry mouth, but I had a full hysterectomy at 39 and am on HRT and antidepressants so assumed that it was just side affects of that operation and those medications, but the numbness in my feet and hands really didn't fit that so I saw the doctor who sent me for an xray. which showed up arthritis in my knee but didn't explain my feet. i then looked up symptoms online and asked Doctor if it could be diabetes, they did blood tests and here I am . You didn't offend me, my daughter 18yrs old is Autistic. I have just started Gliclazide.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @zanoni1972

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, and the other health challenges you have been facing.

Can you recall the result of your HbA1c check at diagnosis? This will be a number above 48 (but can be much higher). It is a measure of the overall amount of glucose that has been circulating in your bloodstream over the past 3-4 months.

It seems likely yours was quite elevated to have started on Gliclazide straight away, as this is one of the medications that actively tries to reduce glucose levels.

Many forum members find it helpful to moderate their intake of total carbohydrate (not just sugars) to help improve their blood glucose levels and make them less unstable, but this is something that needs to be done in balance with any medication being taken as it’s much better to reduce elevated glucose levels gently over a longer period.

Do you have any diabetes in your family?

I don’t think @Lucyr was suggesting you offended her - the small text below a member’s post is a ’signature’ that goes below every post they make and can help to share information like any meds being taken, and any other conditions they live with. 🙂

Hope you find the forum a helpful and supportive place to be. Feel free to ask any questions, or simply use it as a place to rant and offload. A diagnosis with diabetes can be a real shock. and it affects everyone differently. You may experience some strong and unexpected emotions in the coming weeks, and they are completely valid 🙂

 

[zanoni1972]

Hi, Thankyou for your reply. My first reading was 114 and the second 2 weeks later was 117. Have started to record my food intake each day and am using an app to calculate carb intake to make sure I am eating the right amount of the right carbs along with my proteins fruits and veg to bring the Blood Glucose down. My nurse did say that Gliclazide will only be temporary until my numbers improve and then she is thinking to move me onto Metformin{?}

My Aunt on my mums side is Type 2, but I don't really have much contact with her.

It has been a wake up call for sure, but I think I'm doing okay at the moment, having this forum has helped me even more to understand the readings a bit better. It was all a bit to much to take in at once at the surgery, so I didn't really get to ask questions at the time, but the DB nurse is very nice and I think I will be able to work well with her to improve things going forward.
Thanks again 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Have started to record my food intake each day and am using an app to calculate carb intake to make sure I am eating the right amount of the right carbs along with my proteins fruits and veg to bring the Blood Glucose down.

Sounds like a great approach 🙂

Are you using your glucose meter to evaluate what the ‘right amount of the right type of carbs’ are for you as an individual? Or are you using more general public health / NHS guidance?

Either way can work well, but members here over the years have discovered that sometimes their own individual diabetes doesn’t seem to have read the guidebook, and can misbehave when they eat supposedly ‘slow release’ carbs. It seems there is quite a high degree of variation and individuality in terms of the way people’s bodies react to the same foods.

You should have been given a BG meter and strips to help you monitor your levels at home, and to check if you feel ‘funny’ to see if it might be hypoglycaemia. Another use for BG strips is to check immediately before a meal, and again 2hrs after the first check to see the ‘meal rise’ - the difference in the two numbers. In a sense the numbers themselves matter less than the rise to begin with.

If you can tailor your menu to consistently give you rises of no more than 2-3mmol/L at the 2hr mark, you should gradually see your overall levels begin to drop, and your glucose profile will become less erratic and much smoother.

 

[rebrascora]

We all understand how overwhelming it is at first and how much information goes in one ear and out the other during those short appointments. Being able to come here and fill in the blanks was a massive benefit for me when I was first diagnosed and in fact the people here spotted that I was Type 1 before my nurse did!

Have started to record my food intake each day and am using an app to calculate carb intake to make sure I am eating the right amount of the right carbs along with my proteins fruits and veg to bring the Blood Glucose down

Do be aware that there is no prescribed "right amount of carbs" with diabetes except what is right for your individual body and diabetes. Most people start with a daily figure of 130g carbs per day and then whittle it down further if their reading suggest that they need to go lower. Many people find about 70-100g is right for them to manage their diabetes but some people need to go much lower. Some foods like porridge and fruit are assumed to be healthy and good sources of carbs, but it is highly individual and many of us limit ourselves to a few berries as our daily portion of fruit, usually with some full fat natural Greek style yoghurt. Berries are the lowest carb fruits as oppose to tropical fruits like bananas and mangos and pineapples which are are highest carb. Apples, pears and oranges fall in between. Beware of grapes. The problem with them is that they can be little sugar bombs but the main difficulty is that they rarely come in portioned sizes, so it is easy to open a punnet and just keep picking at them until they are gone and assume, because they are fruit, that they are good for you. Portion control is key with higher carb foods. Same with porridge. Supposed to be slow release carbs and lots of fibre but they are about 62% carbs and some people digest them much quicker than others. They were the last carb rich food that I gave up but my BG dropped below 10 for the first time after I did. I have one of those digestive systems that doesn't subscribe to the low GI principle. 🙄 This is why testing can be such a huge benefit when trying to figure out what to eat. It can be highly individual as to how your body responds to food.

 

[Lucyr]

Hi Lucyr, Thanks for replying. I started having symptoms 6 months ago, numbness, tiredness, thirsty and dry mouth, but I had a full hysterectomy at 39 and am on HRT and antidepressants so assumed that it was just side affects of that operation and those medications, but the numbness in my feet and hands really didn't fit that so I saw the doctor who sent me for an xray. which showed up arthritis in my knee but didn't explain my feet. i then looked up symptoms online and asked Doctor if it could be diabetes, they did blood tests and here I am . You didn't offend me, my daughter 18yrs old is Autistic. I have just started Gliclazide.

i didn't think i offended you, but i have that in my signature so people can be more understanding if i interpret something too literally, or write something that is too direct. I often find that i've offended people without having any idea they would be upset. Not sure that being open about being autistic makes any difference in people being more understanding of me, but at least I'm trying to do my bit.

It must in some ways be a relief to understand what is causing your symptoms and hopefully they will improve now that you know they are caused by diabetes and can work on improving things

 

[zanoni1972]

Thank you all again for the replies, currently I'm trying to stick to 30carbs per meal and 10 for snacks twice a day. Is that too few/too many. Currently my MMol is rising/falling by about 2 on the post meal reading (2hrs after meal) That means I'm doing it right?

I can't stand porridge so oats are definitely a 'No thankyou' for me. Not a big Berry fan either, tend to have red apples, which are about 16cbs at the size I buy and I only have one a day keep the rest of my 5-a-day to veg.

If I can stick to it I'll probably be the healthiest I've ever been, but I'm only on day 3 so fingers crossed

PS sorry Lucyr I only realised after I posted that it was part of your signature. Just a doh! moment for me

 

[rebrascora]

That sounds like a great plan carbs wise.
Many of us feel fitter, slimmer and heathier since we reduced our carb intake. Personally I look at my diagnosis as adding 10-20 years onto my life and making me healthier rather than detrimental, because it was the kick up the pants I needed to change my diet and lifestyle.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you all again for the replies, currently I'm trying to stick to 30carbs per meal and 10 for snacks twice a day. Is that too few/too many. Currently my MMol is rising/falling by about 2 on the post meal reading (2hrs after meal) That means I'm doing it right?

I can't stand porridge so oats are definitely a 'No thankyou' for me. Not a big Berry fan either, tend to have red apples, which are about 16cbs at the size I buy and I only have one a day keep the rest of my 5-a-day to veg.

If I can stick to it I'll probably be the healthiest I've ever been, but I'm only on day 3 so fingers crossed

PS sorry Lucyr I only realised after I posted that it was part of your signature. Just a doh! moment for me

Your 30g per meal is a good starting point but I should do some testing along side that as some people do find that 30g of one sort of carb will result in a different increase, maybe more than you want, than 30g of a different carb. Just as some people can tolerate bread but not rice or pasta or vice versa.
People sometimes find they tolerate apples better if they have with some peanut butter or cheese.
Sugar free jelly and cream or Kvarg deserts are good puds.

 

[zanoni1972]

Definitely looking at it from the positive side at this moment in time, because it could well be the thing that helps me change for the better.

Thank you for the advice about carbs being differently tolerated from one person to the next. It reminded me, 10 years ago when I used to attend a Slimming club, my mum always used to say that eating a lot of rice was never good for her as she always retained weight on the weeks that she had eaten more than 2 meals with rice.
At the moment I am trying to mix carbs so that I don't have too many of the same on one day. But maybe once my numbers are down I should experiment a bit more to see which ones seem to have more of an effect. Love the idea for the sugar free jelly so much. Have a sweet tooth, am missing sugar already, but I value my feet and my eyes more

 

[Deleted member 34756]

Hi @zanoni1972, it's great to see you've joined the forum. You will find a lot of tips which may be able to help you on your journey!

 

[zanoni1972]

Hi all, just wanted to drop a quick line here to say that I haven't been lightheaded or had nausea the last 2 nights, I added a little bit more protein in to my meals and snacks the last two days so maybe that helped and maybe just getting more used to the meds. as well. Hope everybody is ok. 🙂

 

[Deleted member 34790]

Hi @zanoni1972 , It's great to see you've joined the forum community! There is great support and tips on here which will help you through your journey. 🙂🙂