Newly (ish) Diagnosed T2

[gll]

Hi all 🙂

Was diagnosed with T2 roughly 4 weeks ago. Only went in to GP with some fluid retention / weight gain despite dieting/loosing successfully for months before the gains.

hba1c was done with a bunch of other blood tests but diabetes wasn't even on my radar. (in hindsight a lot makes sense now).
I don't remember my result (keep forgetting to ask for a print out and paperwork not arrived yet to register to see it all online) but all I do remember was doctor said it was double the reading to still be considered normal.
That 3 month period was while dieting and had pretty much had cut out sugar for the most part (hurrah). Weight watchers point carbs higher so you naturally don't overeat them (in theory - for a non diabetic at least).

I got home and did what any sane person would do and google everything I could with no quality control over what sites I was on. (bad idea).
Spend the next week terrified to eat anything with carbs, anything with any sugar and totally stumbling in the dark with it all. I had no clue what was a lot or a little.
Was convinced the only way to deal with it all was to do keto diet which I was somewhat prepared to do but super worried about the long term sustainability of it all.

Saw my nurse for BP review and a chat about my T2 diagnosis (yup high bp too but think it might be a bit of white coat syndrome after getting home bp monitor). She gave me a bunch of resources and some standard generic diet advice about carbs which are a little off for what I can deal with. Pushed me towards eatwell plate with reduced carbs.

I was/am so overwhelmed I had to kinda press pause on the drastic action plan of keto for life. I'm not there yet.
I bought my own monitor and have been continuing with weight watchers but sticking to nurse's advised carb rules but testing foods and adjusting accordingly. (weetabix is the devils food for me lol)
Generally I'm sitting anywhere from 8.5-10 pre meals (with the odd ones in the 7s) and 2 hours post food spikes, not past 12. Anything with more than a 2 raise I either have reduced the serving size (and retested) or avoided.
I'm not testing to a schedule so kinda hard to see trends at the moment. (advice welcome with that).

I'd like to say I am continuing to loose weight. I only just got water tablets this week that have done pretty much nothing to budge the fluid so I don't know what fat loss is happening under the water gain. Keeping on going regardless.

For now, trying educate myself as much as I can and make good life choices and try to minimise the fallout of the bad ones by only hoovering up 1 square of choc instead of 20 etc (kinda joking but you get the idea)

Anyway that's me, next hba1c at end of Jan so will see if I have done enough to bring my numbers down a bit.

 

[Lily123]

I can’t give advice on the dieting front as I’m Type 1 but with the testing schedule it might be helpful for you to keep a notebook and write down the test from before you eat and from 2 hours after and what you eat. This will help you see what foods have a greater affect on your glucose number

 

[gll]

ty 🙂

 

[janw]

Hi and welcome. You have found the best place to come for help, advice, a listening ear as there is a wealth of experience and knowledge here from those that know. I am still pretty much a newbie too, this site has taught me so much - and still is teaching me, No question is ever silly, so don't be afraid to ask anything.
Glad you have got yourself a BG test meter. Check it first thing in the morning - don't forget to always wash your hands before testing, any residue cold give a false high - you can add it to our waking post in general, which is a friendly start to the day. If you are not using a food diary find an online one, plenty of free ones about, the one I use also lets me log exercise and will add back calories etc burned....that can be very useful for seeing the high carbs you didn't realise were in a foodstuff. There are carbs in most foods, you may have been told the ones to cut down on, or avoid, they include potatoes and other veggies that grow underground, most fruit except berries, a little apple or pear with 100% nut butter is a good snack though, rice, pasta, bread, cakes, pastries, crisps and biscuits etc. also things like peas and sweetcorn are higher in sugars. There are substitutes for what causes us high spikes, check out the post of what we ate yesterday, look for other T2s posts to get an idea of what we eat - but remember, we are all different, what suits one may not suit the next person. It is trial and error on a personal level, but we are fighting the same cause nonetheless.

 

[gll]

Thanks for the welcome and info 🙂

I have the my sugr app (syncs with meter) and can track so many things in it. I just track food in my weight watchers app but I would probs be better to track in my sugr more consistently to tie in with BG readings. Already use it to track my bp readings too 😉

Having a read through lots of resources here and will defo ask questions as they come up 🙂

 

[Docb]

Hi @gll and welcome from me as well.

With regard to the testing my opinion is that you need to be systematic about it and perhaps to do quite a lot of testing to start with. My routine is to test first thing in the morning, just after I get out of bed. This gives me the closest thing I'm likely to get to a fasting test and sort of sets a baseline for the day. I also test last thing at night which gives me a feel for how things have gone during the day. In the early days I did a lot of testing around meals, testing immediately before eating and a couple of hours afterwards. After a couple of weeks I began to find the things which gave me problems and started to adjust my diet to cope. Changes were checked by testing. When things settled down I cut back on testing around meals and settled into testing on rising and at bedtime and provided they were OK I was happy.

I have a technical background so I did not even think about "apps", I just put the data into a spreadsheet and later a database to plot graphs to look for trends. Also put everything into a notebook, including what I ate.

A couple of things to think about when looking at the numbers. Your blood glucose level is not a fixed thing. It goes up and down for all sorts of reasons and so it is important to look at trends and not to get too hung up on individual results. My routine was, and still is, to think (not panic) about results in double figures. If they are repeatable then adjustments need to be made. I keep track of averages and keep in mind that although you cannot convert spot readings to HbA1c, if you can keep your average BG at 8 or below, then your Hba1c is likely to be below 48.

Final thing, the number after the decimal point on your meter is not really relevant - I did some tests to look at the reproducibility of blood glucose readings and found that out. Does not invalidate readings, far from it, just means that you need to bear it in mind when interpreting the numbers.

Good luck and ask any questions and we will do our best to help.

Usual caveat..... Comments are only relevant to T2, T1, and monitoring to adjust insulin dosage is a whole different ball game.

 

[gll]

Thanks and hello 🙂

I'm somewhat doing some things right then but not regularly testing morning and bedtime (but have done this morning).
Luckily I am a (boring) creature of habit and tend to stick to the same small selection of foods/meals (while dieting) so testing them all won't be such a hassle, just will take time.

My first instinct is to make a spreadsheet too but the app is too convenient and portable (and works the same offline) so I can track (anything) when I am out too 😉 Also can export data to play with .

I think I have a lot of the elements in place, just need to cohesively bring it all together with some structure which I defo have more insight into now 🙂

Other lifestyle goals - need to be focusing more on exercise. I have been half heartedly trying to go out for walks but I do need to up my game somewhat.
Typically I decide to get better at it on the day there is a blanket of snow on the ground. I have a cross trainer that I borrowed, will have to get on that instead today.

I have to keep telling myself that I could have been living with this for years without knowing and while it is very important to get everything in check, making so many changes is not going to happen at once and will take a lot of work for it all to become habit. (wont stop me trying though).

Appreciate the input from everyone 🙂

 

[Leadinglights]

With diabetes you should be looking at it as establishing a dietary regime which is sustainable for life not ' actually dieting' as a diet implies something with a start and an END.

 

[Docb]

Looks like you have got the basics @gll, especially taking time so that you make changes which will work for the long term. @Leadinglights makes a good point. Changes you make need to become part of your way of life so that once you have things under control, they stay under control.

 

[gll]

Couldn't agree more 🙂

Sticking to a "diet" just gives me some boundaries to eat within so I am at a calorie deficit and should be loosing weight. I just do better this way.
I am still working on the T2 side of food control and letting the weight watchers diet plan take care of the rest.
When I am at a healthier weight I will be keeping the changes I have made as a lifestyle but find my sweet spot to maintain my weight.
Got a wee while to go before worrying about maintaining.

 

[Felinia]

Hi and welcome
I would ask for your HbA1c, although I would guess from your doctor's remark it is in the 80's, so quite high. Then you will have a starting point, and can aim for <42 mmol to be in the normal range. But as others have remarked you seem to have got on top of things. Regarding exercise, I went from couch potato to three 45 minute Aquafit sessions a week and really benefitted from it. But if you are still working, walking and home workouts might be your best option.

 

[gll]

I need to call Drs tomorrow to ask about repeat prescriptions so will ask if I can get my HbA1c results again, failing that I am back at nurse next Friday for another BP review so can ask her for my full results printed out (will probs ask for that anyway).
I was told to register with mydiabetesmyway to access my records but so far the form I should have received hasn't shown up. Will have to drop them an email.

Work wise I am self employed (working on computer at home mainly) and I am a full time carer for my daughter who has problems with her knee (awaiting surgery) so I am at home most of the time. I can set my own work hours as business is mainly in maintenance mode while I take care of daughter.
Walking locally is fine as I can do laps around my village and not be more than a few minutes away from home/daughter and like you suggested, home workouts can work too.
Would love to do aquafit again, just need to work out some logistics with daughter's care or try and get her on board with coming too. We do have a class once a week in the next town over.
No clue if I still have a swimming costume or if I do, does it still fit (yeah been a while lol).

As for couch potato, I'm just a different variety of potato, more like a computer chair potato.

 

[gll]

I found out my hba1c was 91.
Within the time period that covers I had lost about 20lb and cut out sugar and was on less carbs than I had been. Almost glad I didn't see the 3 months before that 🙄

 

[Felinia]

I was 88 but am down to 67. Many people report stunning losses so it can be done. You’re on your way

 

[Drummer]

@gll my Hba1c was 91 when diagnosed 5 years ago now.
I just concentrated on lowering my intake of carbs and was soon no longer in the diabetic ranges.
Once I got down to 8 after meals I stuck to the same menu and saw the numbers reducing week by week - my meter has an averaging feature.
When I saw under 6 after both Christmas dinners a year in, I knew I had it beaten.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @gll

Sounds like you are off to a great start, and are making some really positive changes. A diagnosis with diabetes can be a real shock, but several people on the forum over the years have reflected that for them it also became a sort of catalyst which led them to take stock, and finally focus on looking after themselves, and improving their lifestyle in a way that they had perhaps been intending to for years. And as a result have ended up feeling fitter and healthier, with more energy and a sense of greater wellbeing than they can remember!

Hope your follow-up HbA1c result reflects your efforts. Keep us posted with how things are going 🙂

 

[Nikki53]

Hi all 🙂

Was diagnosed with T2 roughly 4 weeks ago. Only went in to GP with some fluid retention / weight gain despite dieting/loosing successfully for months before the gains.

hba1c was done with a bunch of other blood tests but diabetes wasn't even on my radar. (in hindsight a lot makes sense now).
I don't remember my result (keep forgetting to ask for a print out and paperwork not arrived yet to register to see it all online) but all I do remember was doctor said it was double the reading to still be considered normal.
That 3 month period was while dieting and had pretty much had cut out sugar for the most part (hurrah). Weight watchers point carbs higher so you naturally don't overeat them (in theory - for a non diabetic at least).

I got home and did what any sane person would do and google everything I could with no quality control over what sites I was on. (bad idea).
Spend the next week terrified to eat anything with carbs, anything with any sugar and totally stumbling in the dark with it all. I had no clue what was a lot or a little.
Was convinced the only way to deal with it all was to do keto diet which I was somewhat prepared to do but super worried about the long term sustainability of it all.

Saw my nurse for BP review and a chat about my T2 diagnosis (yup high bp too but think it might be a bit of white coat syndrome after getting home bp monitor). She gave me a bunch of resources and some standard generic diet advice about carbs which are a little off for what I can deal with. Pushed me towards eatwell plate with reduced carbs.

I was/am so overwhelmed I had to kinda press pause on the drastic action plan of keto for life. I'm not there yet.
I bought my own monitor and have been continuing with weight watchers but sticking to nurse's advised carb rules but testing foods and adjusting accordingly. (weetabix is the devils food for me lol)
Generally I'm sitting anywhere from 8.5-10 pre meals (with the odd ones in the 7s) and 2 hours post food spikes, not past 12. Anything with more than a 2 raise I either have reduced the serving size (and retested) or avoided.
I'm not testing to a schedule so kinda hard to see trends at the moment. (advice welcome with that).

I'd like to say I am continuing to loose weight. I only just got water tablets this week that have done pretty much nothing to budge the fluid so I don't know what fat loss is happening under the water gain. Keeping on going regardless.

For now, trying educate myself as much as I can and make good life choices and try to minimise the fallout of the bad ones by only hoovering up 1 square of choc instead of 20 etc (kinda joking but you get the idea)

Anyway that's me, next hba1c at end of Jan so will see if I have done enough to bring my numbers down a bit.

Overwhelmed? I turn everything into a catastrophe! Slowly it all settles down despite all my frenzy. Loosing weight? Brilliant! Well done

 

[gll]

Overwhelmed? I turn everything into a catastrophe!

^^ this HAHA yupppp

So update:
My home BP monitor matches readings at doctors (which again were high) but my average bp at home is 120/80 so no more need for fortnightly BP checks...(I'm not done with doctors yet tho).
They want to keep me on low dose ramipril still while everything else is going on and keep checking BP at home at least once a week.

She asked me about water tablets and I said I tried them but didn't have the magic gushing of fluid coming off (trying to say that as nicely as I can) so I didn't take any more. Looked at my legs again and wanted to bring in the doctor to at least physically have a look at it and not do it all over the phone.
Doctor was a bit annoyed with the advice of "take as required" (that was given) vs take every day and come back for kidney function tests which is what should have been done.
So back in 2 week for more bloods, wait, adjust dose, wait, kidney function test, rinse repeat until I am on the right dose of medication and still not trashing my kidneys. Not sure of cause as bp is fine and ecg was fine too.

While we were waiting for doctor to come through I bought the topic up of buying my own meter and testing how I respond to food etc (just really wanted to make it known to her that it is what I want to and am doing and did they want me to share any data)
She offered me test strips and lancets on repeat script. Who am I to refuse test strips on prescription 😉 (and the meter to go with them)

Also got my full bloodwork results printed out so I can have a proper look at that later and decipher it all.

Feels like a productive appointment 🙂

 

[Leadinglights]

^^ this HAHA yupppp

So update:
My home BP monitor matches readings at doctors (which again were high) but my average bp at home is 120/80 so no more need for fortnightly BP checks...(I'm not done with doctors yet tho).
They want to keep me on low dose ramipril still while everything else is going on and keep checking BP at home at least once a week.

She asked me about water tablets and I said I tried them but didn't have the magic gushing of fluid coming off (trying to say that as nicely as I can) so I didn't take any more. Looked at my legs again and wanted to bring in the doctor to at least physically have a look at it and not do it all over the phone.
Doctor was a bit annoyed with the advice of "take as required" (that was given) vs take every day and come back for kidney function tests which is what should have been done.
So back in 2 week for more bloods, wait, adjust dose, wait, kidney function test, rinse repeat until I am on the right dose of medication and still not trashing my kidneys. Not sure of cause as bp is fine and ecg was fine too.

While we were waiting for doctor to come through I bought the topic up of buying my own meter and testing how I respond to food etc (just really wanted to make it known to her that it is what I want to and am doing and did they want me to share any data)
She offered me test strips and lancets on repeat script. Who am I to refuse test strips on prescription 😉 (and the meter to go with them)

Also got my full bloodwork results printed out so I can have a proper look at that later and decipher it all.

Feels like a productive appointment 🙂

I'm glad you felt you had your money's worth.
Blood pressure medication can be tricky as not every can tolerate some of them. My dose of amlodipine was increased but my ankles swelled up and I felt dizzy so went back to my original dose but they then added another one which made me feel unwell.
My other half had water tablets but couldn't tolerate them.
Excellent you got a blood glucose monitor so use it wisely to develop a testing strategy to give you useful information to manage your diet.