diagnosed with type 2 diabetis

[namedoesntmattter]

hi in november i was diagnosed with type 2 diabites i was told if i improved my diet i should be fine and get my sugar levels under control unfortunatly i dont handle stress well i turn to food for confort and have found it difficuilt so have been told today my sugar levels are the same as they were in november.

i had these sugar level tests done on tuesday along with others one being blood pressure i cant remember what the other one was and they were fine so my question is how likely is it will i be put on insulin id rather be given another chance to get my diet under control and im nervous what the dr decides she wants to see me next thursday to talk about things

Ok - so losing weight may help. Start by cutting out junk/processed food, eat more fruit/veg.

Look into low carb eating, the fast 800 programme (you can buy the book/recipes or the online programme) is good. For some, it can reverse your diabetes.

The first thing to do is address your diet. I was a GP practice nurse and this was an area I worked in. I need to dash off but will come have later. Essentially it's about you making better choices and things won't change overnight but breaking things up into smaller goals regarding your weight will be more manageable. Small changes can have a big impact over time and it's about adopting a healthier lifestyle in general. Think in positives rather than negatives. Instead of thinking im obese and I can't lose weight think that I need to get healthier and I'll feel better so what can I do to achieve that. Step 1: take aways. What kind of take aways?

Back later.

thanks cort def look into fast 800 program and cut out more junk from diet

You can reverse your diabetes by heavily reducing carbs. Fat is not the enemy. Fat is great.

Just some ideas to get you started:

Ideally avoid pasta, bread and rice and potatoes. If this is too extreme, go for the whole grain option and reduce portion size. A level cup of cooked rice, a cup of pasta. Try and have an open sandwich with one slice of bread instead of two.

Base your meals around meat + veg + fat (oil or butter on the veg, a bit of cheese).

I get takeaways 1-2 times a week, but still try and avoid carbs as I put on weight easily. I order:

Salt and pepper ribs at the Chinese (just that)
Shish kebabs or doner meat with salad, and apply my own dressings at home so I can avoid hidden sugars.
Tandoori chicken or other grilled meats at the Indian.
burgers with whatever I want, but lettuce wrapped.

I was just going to say this, artificial sweeteners cause insulin spikes, just the same as sugar, so aren't a good option.

thank u supri ill look into everything you guys have been more helpfull than gp i appreciate it

ok nim so look at cutting those out yeah im classed as obese 130 kilos

Have a look at Dr David Unwin on Twitter. He has helped loads of his patients lose weight and reverse their diabetes through low carbing. His wife is a doctor too and has done the same.

I have know quite a few males lose weight very successfully using low carb - they seem to really like that they can eat lots of meat and eggs. Maybe it’s just the men I know!

You sound like you are in a similar position to myself - I am newly diagnosed & prescribed metformin & glyclazide. I've tweeked my diet - cut out sweet stuff - but my blood sugar is still very high. My GP is talking about starting insulin. What are your blood sugar levels?

I recommend the book The Diabetes Code by Jason Fung.

You might also ask your doctor about Ozempic. I’m taking it - it is a weekly injection. I’ve lost almost three stone. It’s a medication for diabetics which helps with weight loss .

Take a look at dietdoctor.com. There are lots of meal plans and info about putting T2 into remission. In the first instance you might be given Metformin and advised to deal with your diet. Aim for less than 30g of carbs per day, eat full fat products, limit fruit to only berries and avoid potatoes, bread, pasta and rice. Diet products tend to have sweetener in them that can cause an insulin response so its best to avoid them. You can even have real double cream in your coffee.
Think of your body as a machine that can not process carbs efficiently so you need to avoid them as much as you can . Green veggies and salad are great. I make baked feta cheese with tomatoes, olive and herbs to have with fish or chicken. Prawn salad is another favourite of mine. Steak, blue cheese and garlic mushrooms too.
You can get this under control and re claim your health . Good luck ! 🤗

I'm currently on a programme run by my local health service for people with pre-diabetes (at high risk of developing type 2) and we go to fortnightly meetings. It isn't just about diet, most of it is about changing your mindset and ingrained habits. Things like stress and not enough sleep have a big impact on blood sugar too, so it is about lifestyle changes.

You do need support, and your doctors seem a bit useless. Can you contact them and ask if they have a diabetes nurse at the practice? They are often the first point of contact, and should be able to give you dietary advice. If you don't have any luck there, go onto the Diabetes UK website and look for healthy eating on there.

The main thing is to bring down the quantity of carbohydrate as well as sugar in your diet. Carbohydrates are broken down in the body into sugars. The main suggestion is to cut back on carbs and increase veg. So on your plate, half veg, one quarter is protein, one quarter carbs (potato/rice etc).

Best of luck, you can do it 🙂

miss im 6.9

ill look into all this stuff guys theres loads i appreciate it

6.9 is not that high. Was that an hbac1 test (used to that being expressed as 49+) or a fingerprick test?

They don't put you on insulin at an early stage.

First stage is a diabetes course if you are borderline.

Second stage is medication to help your body be more sensitive to the natural insulin you are producing.

If future down the path is insulin, if you haven't got your sugars under control and you burn through the cells that make insulin, this is this stage you'll need insulin. Hopefully it won't get that bad.

You have a chance now to prevent organ damage.

My advice is to join social media support groups and listen. Be supported. It's a lonely journey without this support. The groups are lovely. Let them know you are starting out and need some help.

All the best with your journey.

Yes! My husband reversed his doing low carb whilst on meds. They review you and reduce or stop your meds at this stage.

liz i dont know what hbac1 test is but they talk blood from arm

I’m managing my pre-diabetes with diet and exercise. Lost weight through healthier eating (no strict diet but cut carbs and junk), lots and lots of walking and weight training. Still a work in progress but maintaining good blood sugar levels and no need for meds. If you do need meds, there are many you can try. Insulin usually a last resort.

I would suggest seeing a nutritionist and also finding better strategies to reduce stress and manage emotional eating. Also give Rebelfit a look, lots of T1 diabetics there improving their diet and getting fitter.

The thing is it that it's not rocket science to eat healthily & a lot of patients will ask to see the dietician but their more for people on liquid feeds than people who don't know what healthy eating is. Basically they expect you to sort it out yourself because we all know what's unhealthy but do it anyway.

The plus side is that as a man you'll lose weight annoyingly quickly compared to us.

hbA1c is a long term measure of blood sugar levels, they can tell if you have been well controlled over the last 3 months or not using it.

Go on diabetes.co.uk and look at their advice, there's a forum.

fluffy first of all dont make it about gender thats irrelevant anybody man or woman can find it difficuilt to lose weight secondly there can be underlying issues that dont help cerain people like poor mental health so having that support helps rather than being left to get on with it

You should ask your surgery what the 6.9 is. It could be a fasting glucose reading or a random one. It could also be HbA1c (doubtful). It's important to know exactly what it is to guage what stage your diabetes is at and how much you need to do to turn it around

I was diagnosed in June (exactly 1 month after my father died with Type 2 as one of the causes on his death certificate).

I was given the go ahead to intermittent fast by my diabetes practice nurse (I do 20:4 but it’s quite brutal!) and really throttling my carb intake.

I’m now hovering just above the ‘pre-diabetic’ HbA1C of 42; my first HbA1C was 72.

I bought myself a blood glucose monitor (the NHS have a recommended list) & pay for my own lancets & test strips, but I’ve found regular testing has been vital in bringing my diabetes under control. I am also prescribed Metformin (the Met shits may have been a great factor in much needed rapid weight loss 😂). My GP also prescribed Atorvastatin alongside the Metformin (nurse said it’s standard practice at her clinic).

I saw the harm Type 2 did to my father (who refused to do anything to get his under control); amputations, vascular surgeries, rampant infections, gangrene (that’s a smell that keeps on giving, the med photographer must’ve had a cast iron stomach taking photos of his rotting feet!). Dad was the true poster kid of ‘How not to handle type 2 diabetes’. Even though I had no symptoms & changing my diet to try to avoid it, genetics hit me with the diabetes stick, and here we are!

I was also given a huge booklet by my diabetes nurse all about lifestyle changes. Our Trust offer workshops to discuss how to help manage your diabetes.

There’s also a lot of useful information & advice on the diabetes.org.uk website.

My son’s Dad has type 2 & is now insulin dependant (even with metformin & lifestyle management), but that was many years after his diabetes journey started. He’s been a brilliant ally in supporting me (the last time we’d seen each other was at our son’s graduation 4 years before lol). In fact my husband was the one that suggested I talk to
him lol!

Good luck in your journey.

You can get slow release metformin if you suffer stomach upsets with regular one.