Whoops!

[Bryan Osborne]

Diagnosed last Tues. Have been feeling pretty flat since before Christmas and starting to get up once in the night for the loo. noticed that a bite from my last trip to Gambia hasn't really healed up as normal a bit of scaring and discolouration. Bit the bullet and borrowed a friends Blood Sugar Kit. he ran a test for me 16.1! Whoops it would be nice between 4 and 7.
following morning after a night's sleep its 12.1 off to the doctor. Advice cut out rice, big carbs and anything remotely high in sugar. Come back in morning for a full bloods. Morning 10.1.

Doctor calls me Friday, we discuss the situation and he suggests we start on a tablet a day with food and see what happens, Liver, Kidneys and Thyroid fine (I have fatty liver from a big liver issue in the 1970's). He says I will ring you on Monday... Talk about panic. Yes I am 63 a stone overweight by not totally unfit. Why me?

Well the weekend sees me a wreck not knowing really whether I am coming or going. I get up on Sat with a strip read at 8.1. Well I suppose thats a starts, careful food on Friday night. Eat on Sat night and its back up to 11.1.

Monday morning before Breakfast its at 10.3 I go for a brisk walk about a mile and a half. It comes back to 7.1. So the exercise does me good.

Doctor rings at 11am.. How are you doing. Your blood results show a result far higher than the threshold for diabetes. Please take two tablets a day instead of one book in to see the specialist nurse and I will make you an appointment for the first week in April. Over and out.!

Well, I am a Veteran and for the first time in my life scared witless.

Hi Everybody.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Welcome Byran from a fellow T,2

 

[grovesy]

Welcome.

 

[Amigo]

Diagnosed last Tues. Have been feeling pretty flat since before Christmas and starting to get up once in the night for the loo. noticed that a bite from my last trip to Gambia hasn't really healed up as normal a bit of scaring and discolouration. Bit the bullet and borrowed a friends Blood Sugar Kit. he ran a test for me 16.1! Whoops it would be nice between 4 and 7.
following morning after a night's sleep its 12.1 off to the doctor. Advice cut out rice, big carbs and anything remotely high in sugar. Come back in morning for a full bloods. Morning 10.1.

Doctor calls me Friday, we discuss the situation and he suggests we start on a tablet a day with food and see what happens, Liver, Kidneys and Thyroid fine (I have fatty liver from a big liver issue in the 1970's). He says I will ring you on Monday... Talk about panic. Yes I am 63 a stone overweight by not totally unfit. Why me?

Well the weekend sees me a wreck not knowing really whether I am coming or going. I get up on Sat with a strip read at 8.1. Well I suppose thats a starts, careful food on Friday night. Eat on Sat night and its back up to 11.1.

Monday morning before Breakfast its at 10.3 I go for a brisk walk about a mile and a half. It comes back to 7.1. So the exercise does me good.

Doctor rings at 11am.. How are you doing. Your blood results show a result far higher than the threshold for diabetes. Please take two tablets a day instead of one book in to see the specialist nurse and I will make you an appointment for the first week in April. Over and out.!

Well, I am a Veteran and for the first time in my life scared witless.

Hi Everybody.

Been there Bryan and got those t-shirts with 'What can I eat now & Scared witless on' too!

Thing is, it's good you caught it because by the sounds of it issues were starting to develop and it's not something that lets us live well in blissful ignorance. Eventually something goes (usually to the loo a lot) or the eyes or feet start playing up. So sounds like you're on metformin twice a day now. You know not to overdo the carbs and you know exercise will gobble up the glucose and get your numbers down. All that's a great start.

Best advice I can give you is home test. Unlikely GP will supply one but if you can afford it, buy yourself a meter and work out your unique food tolerances. You may be surprised.

Your levels will be much higher at first and that's ok. Took me about 6 weeks to start to see morning levels regularly under 8. Aim for 7 and under waking and no more than 8.5 two hours after food.

Research the condition as much as you can. I'd recommend Dr. David Cavan's book, 'Reverse your Diabetes'. I'm sure northerner will supply other very good links. It really is worth reading them Bryan because you'll get a real flavour of what it's about and what you should be eating. Exercise, particularly after meals really will help even if it's just a walk.

Don't panic..it's a nuisance but it's liveable with and you can turn this around with effort. Keep asking questions and good luck! 🙂

 

[Grannylorraine]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Stitch147]

Hi Bryan and welcome to the forum.

 

[Drummer]

Hello Bryan - don't worry, you can make a big difference to BG by simply not eating lots of carbohydrates. You get to eat the pork chop, the steak, roast lamb or chicken - you can eat roast veges too, just not potatoes or parsnips and other dense carbs - most bread is out too, but there are some dark brown triangular rolls which Lidl sell which most people find don't cause spikes and other supermarkets are stocking more high protein low carb breads. Sugary things are gone too, but substitutes can be found so that you get a dessert. It is common for people to find that their reaction to various foods differs. I have noticed that for most it is porridge. Some can eat it and not have crazy numbers, others like me try a tiny amount and see their meters putting up exclamation marks.
A meter will be most helpful, and it gave me a lot of encouragement to stay on target with carbs.
After a couple of months my levels are below the threshold for diabetes - only just, but it is early days and I hope for better as time passes.

 

[Hazel]

Drummer - I beg to differ with you to a degree.

I have porridge every mornong and potatoes every evening with my meal - I eat bucket loads of vegetables, from both above and below ground.

My Hba1c is 40, I no longer need Lantus and should be off Novorapid soon too. I have lost 6 and a half stone so far.

You cannot tell people what NOT to eat - it is a personal journey. I learned early on I cannot tolerate bread of any description, but many can.

Bryan good luck on your diabetic journey

 

[grovesy]

Drummer - I beg to differ with you to a degree.

I have porridge every mornong and potatoes every evening with my meal - I eat bucket loads of vegetables, from both above and below ground.

My Hba1c is 40, I no longer need Lantus and should be off Novorapid soon too. I have lost 6 and a half stone so far.

You cannot tell people what NOT to eat - it is a personal journey. I learned early on I cannot tolerate bread of any description, but many can.

Bryan good lick on your diabetic journey

I have found that things have changed for me over the years I have been on this journey.That it has to work for you and you can maintain long term.

 

[Copepod]

Welcome to the forum, Bryan. As you can see from this thread and others, there's lots of good advice.
Surely you were taught to end radio messages "over" (when answer is expected) or "out" (end of conversation), never "over and out"?!?

 

[Drummer]

Bryan was diagnosed a few days ago - so come on - tell him how to get to grips with his high readings, then he can sort out the fine tuning later on once his numbers are down to something not going to do him harm.
Sure carbs are fine when counteracted with tablets and injections - but he's not going to see the doctor for weeks - he needs to know what he can do right now. Cutting out the carbs will do it Bryan - with exercise the changes will be even faster, your doctor will be amazed.

 

[Ditto]

Hello Bryan and welcome to the forum. 🙂

At least you are not in denial like I was and you are going to get to grips with the situation asap. You'll soon have it under control no worries. I agree on the eliminating carbs and then take them back bit by bit and see what spikes you and what you can eat without raising your blood sugar. That's what I'd do anyway.

 

[Amigo]

Bryan was diagnosed a few days ago - so come on - tell him how to get to grips with his high readings, then he can sort out the fine tuning later on once his numbers are down to something not going to do him harm.
Sure carbs are fine when counteracted with tablets and injections - but he's not going to see the doctor for weeks - he needs to know what he can do right now. Cutting out the carbs will do it Bryan - with exercise the changes will be even faster, your doctor will be amazed.

Drummer I agree that when we are first diagnosed with very high numbers, there has to be a very significant shift away from carbs to make an initial impact. However, where I would disagree is advocating what sounds like an Atkins diet plan immediately. This has to be a food plan that accords with his life and is sustainable. I simply couldn't and wouldn't actually want an Atkins diet plan because I know I couldn't sustain it.

I do this by diet alone and my last Hba1c was 40 and I still have some degree of carbs at each meal. Always did but I cut them massively and tested, tested, tested until I knew how much my body could tolerate. Bryan does have the additional assistance of metformin of course.

There's also the issue of just how much pancreatic efficiency we each have left and that's very individual. Hopefully my Beta cells are still helping out otherwise I'd be on zero carbs too and medicated.

It's hard to know just how much carb Bryan was consuming in the lead up to his diagnosis. Like many people finding themselves with a type 2 diagnosis, it can have been shockingly high without realising. In that case, a significant reduction without total carb abstinence can do it. That's how I did it. He's shown that exercise can further bring the levels down.

I'm becoming nervous about recommendations for diets that seem very high in saturated fats. Not all fats are created equal and there are simple and complex carbohydrates.

I don't want to give advice that sets people up to fail because it's tough going from a high carb diet to a no carb diet and so many people become defeated far too soon. Yes cut the carbs down as much as possible but test to see how it's affecting the results would be my advice. Also, shifting excess weight removes the visceral fat from the organs that regulate insulin production and that alone can be enough to get some people on an even keel. I hope @Hazel doesn't mind me mentioning her as the prime example of that.

Hope it works out Bryan and sorry you've been caught up in the discussion but you'll realise diabetes is a unique condition to all of us in the way we deal with it. You'll find what suits you and what you can sustain long term but I agree you'll need a concerted effort right now.

 

[Ljc]

Hi Bryan, Welcome. Don't panic ! I was diagnosed over 20 years , ago some people on here even longer and we're still here to tell the tale. Diabetes is a condition that unlike some other conditions , can be well managed. Quite a few on here have ended up fitter and healthier than they have ever been before and do things like marathon runs, or going for a cycle ride 50+miles.

Our individual tolerances for different carbohydrates varies greatly, for instance I can eat porridge another person may have to avoid it like the plague. It's also best not to bring down your BG (blood glucose) levels too quickly as you can experience a false hypo, these are not at all harmful just unpleasant, it happens because your body has got used to running on higher BG levels and thinks your starving, so the brain starts sending out panic signals , eating a small amount of a high protein snack will help .

I see your testing you BG levels, which is great. TBH it's the only way to find out how our body reacts to different carbs.
Just in case your unsure, testing just before and 2 hours after eating is a good start. You have made a good start ! Your numbers are coming down nicely.

If / when you're up to a fair bit of reading, you'll find recommended books , info, , test review adjust, painfree pricks , a cheap to self fund glucose meter and lots more here
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes.10406/
For future reference you'll find it on a pinned thread called " useful info for people new to diabetes" which is at the top of the "Newbies say hello here forum"
Whatever you choose to do to help your BG levels, it must be sustainable for you! The occasional treat is allowed !

 

[Ljc]

Thanks @Amigo

 

[Drummer]

Please - my advice and the inference of being able to take control is for Bryan. He needs to lower his BG levels and get himself to his appointment in April in good order.
When someone is drowning you throw them a flotation device - you don't start to advise them on the merits of different swimming strokes or to consider an aqualung.

 

[Amigo]

Please - my advice and the inference of being able to take control is for Bryan. He needs to lower his BG levels and get himself to his appointment in April in good order.
When someone is drowning you throw them a flotation device - you don't start to advise them on the merits of different swimming strokes or to consider an aqualung.

Drummer...ever heard the expression 'different strokes for different folks?'

Why do you assume only your advice is valid? I and others have given Bryan the benefit of our experience and of methods that have worked for us. All roads don't have to lead to Atkins and the pork chop and steak approach. I'm sorry you are unable to control your levels by any other means but others can and have.

Frankly, had I encountered your advice as a newly diagnosed diabetic, it would have scared the hell out of me.

This is a forum with different views and not diktats on prescriptive methods.

 

[Bubbsie]

Please - my advice and the inference of being able to take control is for Bryan. He needs to lower his BG levels and get himself to his appointment in April in good order.
When someone is drowning you throw them a flotation device - you don't start to advise them on the merits of different swimming strokes or to consider an aqualung.

Very combative approach Drummer...he needs to understand his condition first...then he can decide how he wants to manage his diabetes...you gave up your tablets...and advocate the Atkins diet...suitable for you...your prerogative...your choice...nothing wrong with giving alternatives...I see nothing to infer Bryan is 'drowning'...like many of us on diagnosis...he is scared ...worried...asking for support...consider this...in order to avoid the necessity for a floatation device...why not teach him to swim first?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Keep it friendly folks.

It is good to recognise that everyone is different and that different people will find different approaches successful. But it's also important that everyone feels able to share their own experiences and what works for them.

Look forward to hearing more about your progress as the weeks go by Bryan, feel free to keep asking questions. There are lots of knowledgeable T2s here who can share their experiences with you and give you ideas - and as you've seen already diabetes is not a 'one size fits all' condition and what is most important is for you to work out your own way.

I'm going to lock this thread for now.