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

i think receptionist i spoke to said 6.9 was glucose reading

You need to get the results explained to you. Can you make a follow up appointment with the diabetic nurse at the practice.

The book 'glucose revolution' by Jessie inchaupsie (aka the glucose goddess) really helped me as it is about balancing your blood sugar so you don't get big spikes after eating, and it is mostly based on a handful of simple tips which are really easy to do. My hba1c has been much better since I started

Also, exercise . Even if it is just starting with a walk around the block after dinner is helpful.

Those with a glucose monitor - how often do you test?

All fluffy was pointing out is that when you get sorted, the weight will come off easier. She was not dismissing it was ‘easy’.

You are a man. You are taller than us. You have increased muscle mass. You can consume more than us and burn more calories.

Acknowledging the facts and science of managing your diet and losing weight will help you.

It’s relevant, men lose weight quicker than women. You have a much less complicated hormone profile than us that doesn’t lead to food cravings & water retention when progesterone surges, you aren’t designed to hold onto fat to support pregnancy, your less likely to suffer thyroid conditions than us, you never have a pregnancy alter your metabolism and strain your pancreas & testosterone bulks muscles up really well when you exercise which burns extra calories. So yes it is relevant.

My dh had mh issues, an under active thyroid gland and was type 2 at 41 but he got his weight off.

The DESMOND course is designed for people living with type 2 diabetes but your dr is waiting to see how proactive you are. They put in as much effort as the patient does. The nhs website has advice, diabetes uk have advice. Their two websites that offer evidence based information.

6.9 could be 6.9% which is another way of expressing HBA1C (which measures the 'average' blood sugar over the past weeks). We tend to talk in mmol/L which is 'normal under 42, borderline 42-48, diabetic over 48'. Ish.

From memory an HBA1C of 6.9% is approx 58 mmol, so definitely diabetic.

I'm another one who got a shock to learn my HBA1C was 55 when my BMI was around 33; I lost 20kg by low carbing, the trick is to plan what you're going to eat rather than buy stuff when you're out and about- almost all easily available snack/fast food is high carb.
My Chinese 'go to' is char siu pork and beansprouts (without the hoisin /BBQ sauce that some places put on it; Indian, as mentioned upthread, chicken tikka main course (dry). Good luck!

There us a course your GP may be able to refer you to known as DESMOND where T2 diabetics can get the advice and support they need.

I have heard people with T2 diabetes who are on insulin have to monitor their carb intake and insulin doses like a T1 does.....if you go on insulin always have jelly babies near by or juice drinks.

well fluffy and suprina i have more experience being a msn than you do and can assure you ive always had issues losing weight it can be difficuilt for men as well as women i find your posts a bit dismisive and seem to trivialise what ive previously said no need

also men DO have food cravings i know i do

Does anyone know what I would be looking for if I tested my sugar levals.
Would I do this on waking or after eating.
Would like to avoid contacting GP as that's difficult!

good question sun

Before eating - 3.9 to 5.4 is normal, above 7 diabetic range.

Ok well best of luck with it anyway.

Boots chemist do an online questionnaire, if you’re at risk you can have a free finger prick test on your finger, they’ll write to your gp too.

Some glucose monitors aren’t safe to share, some are.

Thanks
Do you then test. Again some time after eating to check its back to normal levels?

You should get yourself a blood glucose monitor it's the best way to keep a check on levels. Test before you eat and then 2 hrs after.
You're level is 6.9 mmol so that would be hba1c of 52, anything over 48 is diabetic.

Low carb is the answer, there's lots to learn. You should definitely check out diabetes.co.uk, there's a wealth of info on there and a very good forum , which is very supportive.
Good luck on your journey.

Hi @namedoesntmattter . My DH was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2020 after being quite ill with Covid. He has completely reversed his diabetes and maintained a non-diabetic HBA1C ever since by following a low carb diet. Initially he did a very strict 1000 calories a day and rapidly dropped about 15% body weight - this gets rid of the visceral fat that is impeding the pancreas. Now he eats to maintain a healthy weight but he doesn’t have any sugar, potato, pasta, rice or bread (no white carbs) It was a big adjustment for all of us but we’ve found alternatives. He did not ever start medication - the NHS support was woeful but he read up about diabetes reversal then agreed with the nurse he had 3 months to turn things around before starting metformin. At the start he also had high cholesterol and triglycerides and both have come back into normal ranges even though he now eats more (unsaturated) fat. We did join a few diabetic forums but it’s too depressing watching people refuse to change the habits that got them into trouble in the first place and literally eat themselves into an early grave. Please take this as a massive wake up call and resolve to change. Really helpful resources are the Caldesi diabetes Weightloss cookbooks (with foreword by Dr Unwin - a GP who has pioneered diabetes reversal for his patients and explains it really well) or Michael Moseley fast800. You can do this!

thanks patch i appreciate it ill look up that stuff time to get this under control

@MissMarplesNiece carbs will keep the blood sugar high.

There’s a lot of helpful information online from the British Diabetic Association here: www.diabetes.org.uk. A quite unrelated issue led to blood tests and my diagnosis of pre-diabetes. Over 12 weeks, I’ve lost over a stone and an half, and brought my blood sugar to (the top end of) normal. I’ve still got about a stone to lose but I know I can do that now.

You have two aims: to lose weight so your BMI is under 30, and to lower your blood sugar. The weight loss should be your first priority in most cases. I bought bathroom scales which connect to my phone, so I can see my weight loss over time. I weigh myself once a week, and am losing about 1-2 lb per week.

The trick is not to ‘go on a diet’, but to change your attitude towards food, and to change the role food has in your life. Get into your head that chocolate, cakes and sugary foods are effectively poison to you, and then it’s easier to avoid them. If you are tempted to nibble, have a drink of water or black coffee instead. Don’t even consider eating anything outside meal times.

If you usually have a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack, go for a short walk instead until you get used to not having a snack, or change your routine so you are busy at those times. One day a month I have a day off and eat whatever I feel like, but I’ve found that I don’t have the same craving for chocolate and sweet things that I did before.

I use a blood glucose meter to check blood sugars, but it’s not essential unless advised by a medical professional.

Another positive side effect of weight loss is that my blood pressure is lower so I need less medication for that.

My family have a genetic predisposition to diabetes.

I am one of six siblings, three had diabetes and three don’t, one managed to reverse hers by losing weight. All the three that have or had it are overweight. It killed one of my siblings. He was 17 years older than me so aged mid thirties I almost stopped drinking alcohol completely and though slim really thought about what I ate.

Cut back on alcohol, be close to teetotal, limit all white carbs so bread, spuds, cakes, biscuits. Eat loads of veg, non fatty protein, fish and limit fruit, don’t drink it in juice form as it gets rid of its fibre, smoothies are really not as good as fruit in its eating form. Sugar and carbs which convert to sugar are the issue here. Forget sweets and chocolate.

Try and understand why you crave food, most eating is emotional or hormone driven and the poster upthread was correct about hormonal cravings by women being strong and it’s because of their menstrual cycle, your cravings will probably be emotionally driven. If you can afford it have therapy to try and understand why you over eat and ask about a diabetes course on the NHS. Therapy is available but you will wait months.

Good luck think of something or someone you love and make a plan of celebrating your weight loss with them or doing something that will bring you happiness.