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Telephone diagnosis out of the blue

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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Elzbellz

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Morning all
I have just come off the phone with the diabetic nurse at my surgery
I ws in hospital 5 weeks ago with suspected Covid. . Turned out to be a chest infection, but issues arose with blood sugar. This led the consultant to do additional tests, and hey presto. .. type 2 diabetes here we are.
I'm 43, overweight but active, and my dad also has type 2 diabetes.....
Bit of a shock to the system, and don't have my 1st face to face appointment till next wed, so the nurse directed me here!
 
Hi @Elzbellz, welcome to the forum (love the name! :D)

It certainly can come as a shock but the nurse was absolutely right in directing you here! Do you know what your HbA1c is (the test to diagnose diabetes)? Did you get any more advice from the surgery? Let us know a bit more, or if you have any questions, and we'll do our best to help.
 
Pine Marten said:
Hi @Elzbellz, welcome to the forum (love the name! :D)

It certainly can come as a shock but the nurse was absolutely right in directing you here! Do you know what your HbA1c is (the test to diagnose diabetes)? Did you get any more advice from the surgery? Let us know a bit more, or if you have any questions, and we'll do our best to help.
Click to expand...

Thank you. ..
I think (though I may be wrong ) that it was 48? I may be making that up though!
Just looking at my diet, and realising my love for potatoes, white bread and peanut butter could be my downfall!!
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. Good nurse directing you here. if 48 is your Hba1c result then that's just on the threshold of being diabetic so a few changes should really help to keep it under control. Good news - you can still have your peanut butter - bad news potatoes and white bread are not so good. We as diabetics tend to have problems with all carbs whether that is potatoes, bread (especially white bread), rice, pasta etc plus the obvious sugars like chocolate, cakes, biscuits, sweets etc. Having said that you may have a little more leeway but nevertheless your bg levels will probably increase if you continue with your present diet. Losing weight will be a real asset if you are able to do this. A lot of us try to keep to a low carb diet, this varies from person to person and also what they can eat eg I am okish with potatoes but can't touch pasta and only a little rice so not one diet suits all. To find this information out many of us have a tester so that we can find out which foods do and don't spike us.
Im actually at work at present and need to get on but others will be along shortly I'm sure to give you more advice. Ask away, any questions at all, including what you might think are silly things - nothing is. Take care Sue
 
Elzbellz said:
Thank you. ..
I think (though I may be wrong ) that it was 48? I may be making that up though!
Just looking at my diet, and realising my love for potatoes, white bread and peanut butter could be my downfall!!
Click to expand...

It's worth checking to confirm what your HbA1c was.

A 48 reading is "just" diabetic (non-diabetic less than 42, pre-diabetic 42 to less than 48).

Getting things under better control from a level of 48 will take a bit of focus but it's not a huge task & certianly nothing to panic about. Probably losing some weight and paying a bit of attention to yr carb consumption would do the trick.

In any case, the risk of diabetes-related complications at that level is minimal. Best to treat it as a wake-up call to adjust things a bit. Good luck!
 
Hi @Elzbellz , seconding what the others have said.

I love peanut butter (has to be crunchy) so don't deprive yourself of that - but definitely ditch the white bread!
 
Hi @Elzbellz welcome to the forum. Glad your nurse pointed you in the direction of some support, you’ll get lots of it here! You might also find it helpful to give the Leaning Zone a browse - the orange tab at the top of the page.
 
Welcome to the forum Elzbellz from a fellow T2.
You're HbA1c could very well be 48. Hitting 48 or above is when you get a diagnoses of Diabetes. (Even if it goes below that, you're still counted as diabetes.)
You're best the best off getting up went out of your results if you can get that out of your GP practice. It's better than trying to remember the numbers. And what tests you were talking about
 
Hello, my diagnosis a few weeks ago was also an unexpected shock. I have had two telephone appointments with diabetic nurse, no face to face planned at the moment, but I found out far more from this site and the very kind and helpful members.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum @Elzbellz 🙂 Cracking handle. :D
 
Hello @Elzbellz and welcome from me as well.

You have already been given some great advice about some steps you can take.
There is more information available on this link useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes and I would particularly recommend Maggie Davey's letter, shows how this lady approached the problem.

It would be good to hear how it all goes for you, and please come back and ask about anything you would like to know more about.
 
Welcome to the forum @Elzbellz

Glad you have found us, but sorry that you’ve been slightly left hanging by your surgery.

There are literally centuries of lived diabetes experience on the forum, so feel free to ask any questions you may have.

The links that @Toucan has shared are very helpful, and many new members find Gretchen Becker’s book ‘T2 Diabetes - the first year‘ a very helpful, thorough and understandable overview:

First Year: Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed (Marlowe Diabetes Library): Amazon.co.uk: Becker, Gretchen: 9780738218601: Books

Buy First Year: Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed (Marlowe Diabetes Library) Illustrated by Becker, Gretchen (ISBN: 9780738218601) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk

Good luck! And ask away 🙂
 
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