Six months' experiences

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Jean

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Out of the blue, I was diagnosed with type 2 six months ago. Since then I?ve read everything I can lay my hands on. I?ve discovered that I didn?t have any of the commonly-accepted symptoms ? and I still don?t. I feel no different from how I felt a year ago.

Following the diagnosis, I tightened up on an already healthy diet.

Yet on my return to the doctor?s I was told I need to go on metformin ? although the HbA1c had not increased.

The last six months have knocked me for six. Trying to analyse why I am so low, this is what I come up with:

1. In December I was told my newly-diagnosed type 2 could be treated by diet alone: six months later I am put on medication. The impression is that a doctor has a tick-list he feels obliged to work through and that I?m just a passive recipient of his working his way through the list. Don?t individual circumstances e.g. non-increase in the HbA1c and a diet approved by the practice nurse, count for anything?

2. It seems to me that I?m no longer in control of my life: diabetes is.

Such is my psychological state that my husband and my doctor agree that its effect on me is worse than the physical illness!

PLEASE: can anyone come to my aid by passing on any handy hints, psychological tricks, etc that can reassure me that I count for something and that I will enable me to feel that I am in control of my life again?

All contributions will be gratefully received!

Jean
 
Hello Jean, welcome to the forum!

We have many tales here of people who have been treated poorly by their healthcare teams. Remember that YOU are the most important person in that team, and if you don't agree with what is being said to you, then you have every right to challenge it or seek a second opinion. May I ask what your HbA1c was? It may be that it is considered above a safe level and that for the first 6 months they were seeing if it could be brought down by diet and exercise alone, but that unfortunately it hasn't responded. Ideally, it should be 6.5 or below if you are to avoid long-term complications.
 
My reading was 7.3 but the doctor told me that this is almost the equivalent of the reading of six months? previously ? which was 6.7 ? because the testing machine in their lab was not at that time synchronised with those of the rest of the country. Now they are ? and the way to compare fairly the two readings is to add 0.5 to the original figure.

I know ideally my reading should be under 6.5 ? but this knowledge does not help me accept the fact that six months ago I was told my type 2 could be controlled by diet.
Thanks for replying,

Jean.
 
Type 2 is a tricky devil, as there are so many different stages and reactions from people to the various treatment options. As a Type 1, I was put straight onto insulin and that was that, basically, but Type 2 can respond very well in some people to diet and exercise. Some people have gone on to medication and then been able to come off it again as their insulin resistance changes and they are better able to tolerate carbs.

Read what you can and ask any questions you may have here and then you will be well-armed when you next see your doctor. We can't give out advice, but can support you and relate our own experiences, so you may find others here who have felt exactly the same as you and give you more confidence in controlling your diabetes.
 
Hi Jean

Welcome to the forum

Heidi
🙂
 
Thank you, Sasha 1 - and thank you, Northerner, for taking the trouble to reply.

I'm intrigued by your comment, 'better able to tolerate carbs'.

I'm aware there's a division of opinion on the matter of carbs, So many 'guidance' booklets commend them because of their GI value.
I guess, though, that you're a fan of Charles Clark!

I can understand that rersearch is always ongoing, but the debate over the value or otherwise of carbs is frustrating for the sufferer!

Jean
 
hi and welcome jean 🙂

im type 1 and to be honest i am of the opinion for carbs being good in everyones diets. i do however conceed it is an individual choice to this matter and also that it depends on you and what you can and cant do in the exercise area as to how well you will cope with the carb contents of meals. we do have a few active low/no carbers on here and they do say it is working wonders on them.

anyway no matter which route you choose i am sure you will be able to get all the help and advice you need and want on here 🙂

mike
 
Jean said:
Thank you, Sasha 1 - and thank you, Northerner, for taking the trouble to reply.

I'm intrigued by your comment, 'better able to tolerate carbs'.

I'm aware there's a division of opinion on the matter of carbs, So many 'guidance' booklets commend them because of their GI value.
I guess, though, that you're a fan of Charles Clark!

I can understand that rersearch is always ongoing, but the debate over the value or otherwise of carbs is frustrating for the sufferer!

Jean
Click to expand...

From my point of view, I have been lucky in that I am able to eat most things without experiencing significant spikes in BG levels, and I can also 'cover' any carbs I eat with extra insulin. Others are not so fortunate, and have found that reducing the amount of carbs in their diet helps to keep their blood sugar on a more even keel. As a Type 1 I have found that exercise significantly increases my sensitivity to insulin, so I need to inject less, and this can also be very true of Type 2, which is primarily caused by insulin resistance.

I think there is much debate over low-carbing simply because each individual's experience of diabetes is different in some respects to everyone else's, so one size does not fit all! This is why the person with diabetes is the most important part of the healthcare team - if, as you suspect, the doctor is simply working his way through a checklist then he/she is not being sufficiently proactive in looking for the best possible solution for you, as an individual. Do you test, or are you not prescribed strips? Ideally, you need to build up a picture of your reactions to certain foods, and your levels at different times of the day so you can tailor your diet and exercise to keep your levels down - you can only do this by being able to test and keeping a diary.
 
Thank you mikep 1979 and Northerner.

Interestingly, you both set carbs over against exercise.

Is this the point you are making: that there is an inverse ratio between carb intake and exercise, i.e. that a goodly amount of the latter reduces the sugar level effect of the other?

If so, what, by your defintion, constitutes exercise that has this effect? Do you mean going to a gym?

I am in my late 60's. and I think I get a lot of exercise, but it is all walking and labouring (and some of it is heavy labour!) in the garden. Running, press-ups, etc I don't do - but I am not a 'couch potato'.

Jean
 
hi jean,

exercise is anything where you get your heart beating a bit faster than normal for you. so gardening is good for this as it is very very strenuous. i do a lot of running and bike work and agree that this isnt always for everyone, but i would say as a diabetic you need to incorperate a ammount of exercise into your life everyday. as for carbs i do believe there is a direct link between the ability of ones body to break these down and use them in relation to the exercise you do. but i must point out it does also depend on the type of carbs you use. also fats are essential to 🙂

mike
 
Welcome to the forum Jean
 
Jean said:
Out of the blue, I was diagnosed with type 2 six months ago. Since then I’ve read everything I can lay my hands on. I’ve discovered that I didn’t have any of the commonly-accepted symptoms – and I still don’t. I feel no different from how I felt a year ago.

Following the diagnosis, I tightened up on an already healthy diet.

Yet on my return to the doctor’s I was told I need to go on metformin – although the HbA1c had not increased.

The last six months have knocked me for six. Trying to analyse why I am so low, this is what I come up with:

1. In December I was told my newly-diagnosed type 2 could be treated by diet alone: six months later I am put on medication. The impression is that a doctor has a tick-list he feels obliged to work through and that I’m just a passive recipient of his working his way through the list. Don’t individual circumstances e.g. non-increase in the HbA1c and a diet approved by the practice nurse, count for anything?

2. It seems to me that I’m no longer in control of my life: diabetes is.

Such is my psychological state that my husband and my doctor agree that its effect on me is worse than the physical illness!

PLEASE: can anyone come to my aid by passing on any handy hints, psychological tricks, etc that can reassure me that I count for something and that I will enable me to feel that I am in control of my life again?

All contributions will be gratefully received!

Jean
Click to expand...
Dear Jean,

Welcome to the forum, you will find they are all a great bunch. I've just returned from holiday and seen your thread and the reponses to it. I am one of the low carbers Northerner referred to. I like you was started on Metformin but decided to do some research on Diabetes. To cut a long story short, I ditched the Metformin over 12 years ago and started "doing low carb" and have been diet controlled ever since. My HbA1c has NEVER been over 5.8%. The diet that "Diabetes UK" recommends is as far as I'm concerned is simply crazy, and you may decide that it is is crazy too. We can't offer medical advice but I ask you to consider this "If you don't put glucose (i.e. carbohydrate) into your body - how can you have high blood sugars". Others have said that exercise is important, and indeed it is, but as an older person (I am almost 69) is is not always possible to do the amount that makes a significant difference to my blood sugar. Restricting carbohydrates works for me regardless of the amount of exercise I do.

Warmest Regards Dodger
 
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Jean said:
My reading was 7.3 but the doctor told me that this is almost the equivalent of the reading of six months? previously ? which was 6.7 ? because the testing machine in their lab was not at that time synchronised with those of the rest of the country. Now they are ? and the way to compare fairly the two readings is to add 0.5 to the original figure.

I know ideally my reading should be under 6.5 ? but this knowledge does not help me accept the fact that six months ago I was told my type 2 could be controlled by diet.
Thanks for replying,

Jean.
Click to expand...

Hello Jean and welcome to the forum. I've been away for a few days so just getting round to catching up on the various posts and wanted to add a few comments to your thread.

Firstly I do hope you are not blaming yourself for limited results with your diet control only for as Dodger indicates a number of us Type 2s have found the standard "approved" dietary approaches simply do not work for us. It seems to me that your doctor was following the correct protocol in prescribing metformin as your HBA1c had not come down after 6 months of diet control alone and that, for whatever reason, your body needed some extra help.

Secondly, do you know how your body responds to various foods? If you do then you can take greater control of your diet and possibly, like Dodger, be able to manage your diabetes without medication. Personally I'm following a low Gi diet with about 130g of total carbs per day - mainly from pulses, fruit and vegetables alongside adding in regular attempts at a Rosemary Conley DVD to loads of gardening/housework and am just reducing my gliclazide medication with my GPs agreement. Got my HbA1c test booked for tomorrow morning so should get the results in about a week - we'll use that to see if I can reduce my medications further.

Thirdly, most medical authorities do believe that Type 2 is a progressive disease and many people who started off diet controlled may require treatment the longer they have the disease although some, like Dodger, have remarkable stories to tell.

Finally, diabetes is linked with depression and, like any long term condition, can provoke anxiety so please be aware that you are not alone in your psychological response to initiating medication.



Vanessa
 
Thank you, Dodger and Vanessa. I'm most grateful for your contributions.

Indeed, my main problem is not physical, but psychological.

This is where I need, please, to hear the experiences of people who similarly have had to handle the crisis of being told, out of the blue, they're type 2.

How do you come to terms with the devastating news?

How do you come to believe that you are in control of your life as you were before?

Jean
 
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Thank you, steff09 and sweetsatin, for your words of welcome.

Dodger ? As an older person (like you ? if you?ll forgive my mentioning it!), once we?ve done half a day?s heavy gardening work, e.g. cutting down bushes, or even a full morning?s housework and then add in walking one and a half miles to the shops ? that?s it ? we?re finished in terms of having the energy to manage additional exercise.

I look at the help books and think, ?regular exercise for a person my age ? what more do you want??
 
jean,

before you go down the low carb route i would strongly recommend to speak to your diabetes team over it. i know some poeple on here are avid fans of this system, but as with all things diabetes related they are not for eveyone. what works for one may not work for others. i for one eat a huge ammount of carbs every day and my levels are never out of range. i do exercise quite a bit but it is only because of my job and the fact i like to do marathons and ironman events that i train so much. i know people on here who dont train half as much as me and still eat a healthy ammount of carbs. im in the feild of thinking you need carbs as they are a good source of energy for the body. there are different types of carbs to use. i mainly tend to try and have slow acting carbs so i have energy all day and no spikes in my bg levels.

mike
 
mikep1979 said:
jean,

before you go down the low carb route i would strongly recommend to speak to your diabetes team over it. i know some poeple on here are avid fans of this system, but as with all things diabetes related they are not for eveyone. what works for one may not work for others. i for one eat a huge ammount of carbs every day and my levels are never out of range. i do exercise quite a bit but it is only because of my job and the fact i like to do marathons and ironman events that i train so much. i know people on here who dont train half as much as me and still eat a healthy ammount of carbs. im in the feild of thinking you need carbs as they are a good source of energy for the body. there are different types of carbs to use. i mainly tend to try and have slow acting carbs so i have energy all day and no spikes in my bg levels.

mike
Click to expand...

Dear Mike,

You are ofcourse correct that the low carb route is not for everyone but your example is not the best to quote against low carbing

1. You are type 1 and so can "cover" any carbs you consume
2. You also do a great amount of exercise which is excellent for improving blood sugar control

However, I cannot do large amounts of exercise and the notion that we must eat say 130 gms of carbs a day is just plain wrong. Jean must talk to her diabetes team before making any changes to her lifestyle but you and I both know that they will probably frown upon a low carb approach.

Regards Dodger
 
C*5_Dodger said:
Dear Mike,

You are ofcourse correct that the low carb route is not for everyone but your example is not the best to quote against low carbing

1. You are type 1 and so can "cover" any carbs you consume
2. You also do a great amount of exercise which is excellent for improving blood sugar control

However, I cannot do large amounts of exercise and the notion that we must eat say 130 gms of carbs a day is just plain wrong. Jean must talk to her diabetes team before making any changes to her lifestyle but you and I both know that they will frown upon a low carb approach.

Regards Dodger
Click to expand...

dodger sorry if it seemed i was bashing the low carb route as i wasnt 🙂 i know in some ways i am lucky as i can cover my carbs with insulin and yes i do a lot of exercise. the thing i was pointing out to jean and may have not got accross is the fact that diabetes is an infividual thing. as i said what works for one may not work for others. i agree that for you low carbing is working, but i do know of others in my diabetes clinic that just abuse the low carb route as an easy way to keep levels in control.

i think we are both in agreement that with the right support and right team with you low carbing can be a good thing.

regard mike :D
 
Jean said:
Thank you, Dodger and Vanessa. I'm most grateful for your contributions.

Indeed, my main problem is not physical, but psychological.

This is where I need, please, to hear the experiences of people who similarly have had to handle the crisis of being told, out of the blue, they're type 2.

How do you come to terms with the devastating news?

How do you come to believe that you are in control of your life as you were before?

Jean
Click to expand...

Jean, I'm not altogether sure that I've yet come to terms with the news and have days when I really feel frustrated and fed up with it all but it is now just odd days rather than the real lows I had in the first year. Sometimes the irritation with it all hits hard - having been away this week and eating out, for example, trying to maintain my hard work on getting my levels to what they should be whilst my husband tucked into his full English, sweet puddings and chips! Mind you, he came back having put weight on and I'd lost a pound so allowed myself to be really smug for an hour. Sad I know but those little victories help immensely

The loss of the feeling of control was a real challenge - 19 months on though I have mostly got to grips with that as, in reality, I was not in control of my eating habits before diagnosis as was on a rollercoaster of what I now realise were swings in blood glucose levels driving my munchies. Usually now I have a much healthier attitude to food and exercise which gives me the belief that I have some degree of choice over how I manage the day-to-day effects of the diabetes. What I find frustrating is the complete lack of control over the damage done to my body before I was diagnosed and have to keep reminding myself that I can only live with what I know now as 20-20 hindsight doesn't exist

Looking back over the time I've known I've had diabetes I'd also say that I didn't get to regularly being within the recommended ranges without a lot of serious trial and error. It has only been within the past 3-4 months that I've realised and then begun to accept that my body does not tolerate starchy carbs very well, particularly at breakfast time. I do envy those who can and drool at the thought of a nice white baguette with high fat cheese - strangely I don't miss puddings/sweet things anywhere near as much

This forum has been a real help though - everyone is so different in what they can manage and how they respond but all are so helpful when we yell, get frustrated or simply ask a question.
 
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