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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.
Recently diagnosed
- Thread starter Maria67
- Start date
- Status
Vonny
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi Maria, this is a link to a summary of what to do/expect for newly diagnosed type 2s.
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2s.61307/
I was very lucky because our surgery has a dedicated Diabetic nurse who gave me a fair bit of information, mostly advice about cutting our sugary/sweet foods and reducing my carb intake.
I'd have a read of Maggie's letter and then fire away with any questions you have. There's a wealth of knowledge on this forum and they've given me a huge amount of advice and support over the last few months since I was diagnosed.
In a nutshell, monitoring your blood sugar before and then 2 after a meal is really useful, as is keeping a food diary. I no longer need to test as much as I have a record of what I can and can't eat. Sugar and carbs are "bad", fat is "good" because it slows the release of the sugar. I know the NHS have been saying go low fat for years, but in the case of diabetics, it's simply not the case.
Nice to have you on board 🙂
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2s.61307/
I was very lucky because our surgery has a dedicated Diabetic nurse who gave me a fair bit of information, mostly advice about cutting our sugary/sweet foods and reducing my carb intake.
I'd have a read of Maggie's letter and then fire away with any questions you have. There's a wealth of knowledge on this forum and they've given me a huge amount of advice and support over the last few months since I was diagnosed.
In a nutshell, monitoring your blood sugar before and then 2 after a meal is really useful, as is keeping a food diary. I no longer need to test as much as I have a record of what I can and can't eat. Sugar and carbs are "bad", fat is "good" because it slows the release of the sugar. I know the NHS have been saying go low fat for years, but in the case of diabetics, it's simply not the case.
Nice to have you on board 🙂
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi Maria and welcome.
Firstly, have you been given any medication and do you know your HbA1c result. That is the blood test result which led to your diagnosis and will be a number of 48 or more. It can be just on or over that number or as high as well into 3 figures and that gives us an idea of where you are on the diabetes scale and is a sort of reference point for your diabetes journey. If you don't know the number, ring your surgery and ask for it as it is helpful to know so that you can monitor your progress and gives us an idea of how significant the lifestyle changes you need to make might be..... for instance my diagnosis reading was 112 which is well into the red zone and needed quite drastic action whereas a reading of 52 may respond well to minimal changes.
The thing to understand is that your body is starting to struggle with the amount of carbohydrates you eat. All carbohydrates are broken down by the digestive system into glucose and absorbed into the blood stream where as diabetics they tend to get stuck. This is not just sugar and things containing granular sugar, sweets, cakes and biscuits but otherwise healthy foods which contain sugars like fruit in all it's forms (fresh, dried, juices and frozen) and honey and maple syrup etc. It also includes starchy carbs like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals and basically anything made from grains or starchy or sweet root vegetables. Even beans and pulses contain quite a lot of carbs. That doesn't mean you can't eat these foods but you may need to avoid some of them and reduce portion size of others or find lower carb substitutes.... like mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potato or cauliflower rice instead of normal rice/couscous. Berries are lower carb than fruits like bananas, grapes, pineapple or mango. Porridge is a common misconception as it is considered healthy and low GI but is just as high carb as other breakfast cereals, whereas eggs for breakfast scrambled/boiled/fried or in an omelette without bread/toast or with just one slice of low carb bread/toast .... or full fat Greek natural yoghurt with some mixed seeds and berries are a lower carb choice for breakfast.
Afraid there is no idiots guide. Diabetes is quite a complex and highly individual condition and due to people's differences in tastes and gut biome (gut bacteria) and activity levels and a whole host of other factors, what works for one person may not work for another. The key is finding what works for you personally. Many people use a Blood Glucose (BG) meter to help them figure this out and tailor their diet to manage their particular body. Unfortunately most Type 2s are not provided with a meter and may actually be discouraged from obtaining and using one but most people here on this forum who are successfully managing their diabetes via dietary and lifestyle changes find it is an invaluable tool in helping them to get things under control.
Firstly, have you been given any medication and do you know your HbA1c result. That is the blood test result which led to your diagnosis and will be a number of 48 or more. It can be just on or over that number or as high as well into 3 figures and that gives us an idea of where you are on the diabetes scale and is a sort of reference point for your diabetes journey. If you don't know the number, ring your surgery and ask for it as it is helpful to know so that you can monitor your progress and gives us an idea of how significant the lifestyle changes you need to make might be..... for instance my diagnosis reading was 112 which is well into the red zone and needed quite drastic action whereas a reading of 52 may respond well to minimal changes.
The thing to understand is that your body is starting to struggle with the amount of carbohydrates you eat. All carbohydrates are broken down by the digestive system into glucose and absorbed into the blood stream where as diabetics they tend to get stuck. This is not just sugar and things containing granular sugar, sweets, cakes and biscuits but otherwise healthy foods which contain sugars like fruit in all it's forms (fresh, dried, juices and frozen) and honey and maple syrup etc. It also includes starchy carbs like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals and basically anything made from grains or starchy or sweet root vegetables. Even beans and pulses contain quite a lot of carbs. That doesn't mean you can't eat these foods but you may need to avoid some of them and reduce portion size of others or find lower carb substitutes.... like mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potato or cauliflower rice instead of normal rice/couscous. Berries are lower carb than fruits like bananas, grapes, pineapple or mango. Porridge is a common misconception as it is considered healthy and low GI but is just as high carb as other breakfast cereals, whereas eggs for breakfast scrambled/boiled/fried or in an omelette without bread/toast or with just one slice of low carb bread/toast .... or full fat Greek natural yoghurt with some mixed seeds and berries are a lower carb choice for breakfast.
Afraid there is no idiots guide. Diabetes is quite a complex and highly individual condition and due to people's differences in tastes and gut biome (gut bacteria) and activity levels and a whole host of other factors, what works for one person may not work for another. The key is finding what works for you personally. Many people use a Blood Glucose (BG) meter to help them figure this out and tailor their diet to manage their particular body. Unfortunately most Type 2s are not provided with a meter and may actually be discouraged from obtaining and using one but most people here on this forum who are successfully managing their diabetes via dietary and lifestyle changes find it is an invaluable tool in helping them to get things under control.
Morning, thank for replying, basically i have been putting in weight for 18 months was given meds for IBS. Tired, hungry, severe stomach cramps, peeing constantly. Had enough 2 week ago, Finally got a gp appt.bloods 15.9, whatever that means. Told to take 1 metformin for 7 days, increase to 2 after a week. No assistance whatsoever! You say test your sugars before and after a meal. Test with what. I have been given nothing from gp. . Xx
Toucan
Forum Host
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello @Maria67 and welcome to the forum.
Diabetes is a serious disease, but it can be positively managed and in many circumstances, you can do a lot to help yourself and there is a help and support available. You will need to make a few changes though, and these need to be sustainable, as this is for the long term.
We are all different though and there is no 'one-size-fits-all solution. 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. You have already been given some good information and there is more on useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes (scroll down to type 2.) and on the Learning Zone tab at the top of this page.
Testing is a very useful way to help find your solution. via using a glucose monitor.
It will help if you can find out which foods cause your blood sugars to rise, and eventually arrive at a lists that lets you maintain good blood sugar levels, that you enjoy eating, and fits your lifestyle in terms of how much preparation and cooking you like and have time to do.
SD Gluco Navii is one of the cheaper options .
Look at https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html for information on how to test.
Diabetes is a serious disease, but it can be positively managed and in many circumstances, you can do a lot to help yourself and there is a help and support available. You will need to make a few changes though, and these need to be sustainable, as this is for the long term.
We are all different though and there is no 'one-size-fits-all solution. 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. You have already been given some good information and there is more on useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes (scroll down to type 2.) and on the Learning Zone tab at the top of this page.
Testing is a very useful way to help find your solution. via using a glucose monitor.
It will help if you can find out which foods cause your blood sugars to rise, and eventually arrive at a lists that lets you maintain good blood sugar levels, that you enjoy eating, and fits your lifestyle in terms of how much preparation and cooking you like and have time to do.
SD Gluco Navii is one of the cheaper options .
Look at https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html for information on how to test.
Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @Maria67 and welcome from me. @Toucan has given you some pointers and reading around the forum and checking out the learning zone should give you more.
The 15.9 you got, I assume, was from a finger prick. This is where a lancet is used to get a drop of blood from a finger. The blood is transferred to a strip attached to a small hand held thingy and after a few seconds you get a reading of the amount of glucose in the blood. 15.9 is well above what would be expected from a "normal" person and an indication of diabetes. Normally a blood sample will be taken from a vein and set to the lab to get something called an HbA1c measurement to make a formal diagnosis. So the obvious question is, has your GP ordered any further blood tests?
The 15.9 you got, I assume, was from a finger prick. This is where a lancet is used to get a drop of blood from a finger. The blood is transferred to a strip attached to a small hand held thingy and after a few seconds you get a reading of the amount of glucose in the blood. 15.9 is well above what would be expected from a "normal" person and an indication of diabetes. Normally a blood sample will be taken from a vein and set to the lab to get something called an HbA1c measurement to make a formal diagnosis. So the obvious question is, has your GP ordered any further blood tests?
Morning, thank,
Bloods were sent away, came back 15.6... have another appt in 3 week. Its the lack of information given by gp, they said a diabetes nurse will be in touch, due to covid, couldn't give me a time scale. What really annoys me is they told me to stop eating sweets and chocolates. I never eat sweets or chocolate. When i told family and friends everyone's first reaction was . YOU DON'T eat sweets and Chocolate. The monitor, do i test before and after eating,? So confused, thought i would have been given at least testing strips for urine of gp..
Bloods were sent away, came back 15.6... have another appt in 3 week. Its the lack of information given by gp, they said a diabetes nurse will be in touch, due to covid, couldn't give me a time scale. What really annoys me is they told me to stop eating sweets and chocolates. I never eat sweets or chocolate. When i told family and friends everyone's first reaction was . YOU DON'T eat sweets and Chocolate. The monitor, do i test before and after eating,? So confused, thought i would have been given at least testing strips for urine of gp..
Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
That number is a more like you might get from a finger prick test and makes no sense in terms of a HbA1c test. That and the simple advice to "stop eating sweets and chocolates" suggests to me that the GP you saw is not particularly experienced in dealing with T2 diabetes. Might be a good idea to push your surgery to get an appointment with the diabetes nurse, hopefully they will be more helpful.
You have and appointment in three weeks so that gives you three weeks to get your self informed about diabetes and so be in a position to have a proper conversation with your GP. Read around the forum and come back with questions about things you do not understand. Nothing is considered too silly to ask about.
On monitors. These are a hand held device which gives you an instantaneous blood glucose reading - it is what I thought your reading came from because the number is the sort of reading you might get with untreated diabetes. Many of us have found them a powerful tool for working out what effect different foods have on our blood glucose so we can avoid eating those things which give big numbers. You are unlikely get one from your GP unless you are on particular medications and you have not got to that stage yet. Personally I would not worry too much about monitoring until you have seen your GP or Diabetes nurse and got some of the basics sorted out and you have a bit of a grounding in what diabetes is all about.
You have and appointment in three weeks so that gives you three weeks to get your self informed about diabetes and so be in a position to have a proper conversation with your GP. Read around the forum and come back with questions about things you do not understand. Nothing is considered too silly to ask about.
On monitors. These are a hand held device which gives you an instantaneous blood glucose reading - it is what I thought your reading came from because the number is the sort of reading you might get with untreated diabetes. Many of us have found them a powerful tool for working out what effect different foods have on our blood glucose so we can avoid eating those things which give big numbers. You are unlikely get one from your GP unless you are on particular medications and you have not got to that stage yet. Personally I would not worry too much about monitoring until you have seen your GP or Diabetes nurse and got some of the basics sorted out and you have a bit of a grounding in what diabetes is all about.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Did you read my post above (post #3 in this thread) about what actually causes high Blood Glucose levels... ie ALL CARBOHYDRATE RICH FOODS not just sugar, sweets and chocolate.
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Non diabetic levels are between 4 -7 on a fingerprick test but both those numbers are 'ish' so 'high 3s to high 7s' is the general range. The other test - the HbA1c test - is reported in whole numbers, not percentages, non D is below 48, diabetes can only be properly diagnosed from the HbA1c test, and starts at 48 but can easily be 100+. It had used to be expressed as a percentage and still is in America - but if for whatever reason it's been converted to a percentage and the 15.9 was your HbA1c, that converts to 150+ and so I should think you'd have been carted off to A&E in an ambulance and hence don't really think it can be.
Years ago we had used to test our wee by boiling it up in a test tube and seeing what colour it went but since excess glucose doesn't spill over into urine until the blood glucose level is over 11 - by 1980 that method had been scrapped in favour of home blood testing using a meter, being far more accurate. (Those early ones were approx the size of half a housebrick to begin with 😱, but are now one helluva lot smaller!
)
Just for now, let's assume you are really Type 2.
Firstly, do you know which foods generally contain a lot of carbohydrate? Sugar itself is the first candidate, because sugar contains about 100% carb and hence is the very first thing to cut down on pdq. So - that means anything with sugar in it plus anything with ~ose in it be that fructose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose etc. In the UK, it's necessary to read that part on the back of packets and tins, eg on a packet of biscuits it will tell you eg per 100g, 55g carb, per biscuit 7.5g. Yes you already knew biscuits contained sugar, but then there's quite a lot of carb in flour too so you have to add that. So - anything with flour in it eg bread, pastry or pasta, ditto rice, spuds, some fruits - tropical being the most but anything sweet and juicy like pears peaches etc and bananas.
You don't instantly need to give up everything in one fell swoop - but you do need to try and eat less carbohydrate wherever you can cut it down painlessly. Take pies (savoury or sweet) for instance - I enjoy the pastry on the top all nice and crispy, but not the soggy part underneath the filling so am happy to leave the soggy part on the plate to be scraped in the bin. Husband is happy to share an apple, last Sept we were in Normandy and freely confess to scrumping pears on branches hanging over the pavement along roads - not knowing the condition of either the trees or the growing , we automatically cut em in half to make sure they weren't bug infested anyway before risking eating them. See what I mean? It doesn't have to be difficult unless you decide to make it so!
Years ago we had used to test our wee by boiling it up in a test tube and seeing what colour it went but since excess glucose doesn't spill over into urine until the blood glucose level is over 11 - by 1980 that method had been scrapped in favour of home blood testing using a meter, being far more accurate. (Those early ones were approx the size of half a housebrick to begin with 😱, but are now one helluva lot smaller!
)Just for now, let's assume you are really Type 2.
Firstly, do you know which foods generally contain a lot of carbohydrate? Sugar itself is the first candidate, because sugar contains about 100% carb and hence is the very first thing to cut down on pdq. So - that means anything with sugar in it plus anything with ~ose in it be that fructose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose etc. In the UK, it's necessary to read that part on the back of packets and tins, eg on a packet of biscuits it will tell you eg per 100g, 55g carb, per biscuit 7.5g. Yes you already knew biscuits contained sugar, but then there's quite a lot of carb in flour too so you have to add that. So - anything with flour in it eg bread, pastry or pasta, ditto rice, spuds, some fruits - tropical being the most but anything sweet and juicy like pears peaches etc and bananas.
You don't instantly need to give up everything in one fell swoop - but you do need to try and eat less carbohydrate wherever you can cut it down painlessly. Take pies (savoury or sweet) for instance - I enjoy the pastry on the top all nice and crispy, but not the soggy part underneath the filling so am happy to leave the soggy part on the plate to be scraped in the bin. Husband is happy to share an apple, last Sept we were in Normandy and freely confess to scrumping pears on branches hanging over the pavement along roads - not knowing the condition of either the trees or the growing , we automatically cut em in half to make sure they weren't bug infested anyway before risking eating them. See what I mean? It doesn't have to be difficult unless you decide to make it so!
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