Newly diagnosed type 2 here...

[GaYellowDawg]

This all seems a bit overwhelming.

I was admitted to the hospital this week when I went in for some chest pain. The pain actually turned out to be radiating from some back muscles (no cardiac issues, whew), but my blood glucose was 447 and my A1C was 13.7. So I've been emphatically diabetic for some time, it appears. Over the past couple of days, my blood glucose has dropped to between 250-270 (the readings I got yesterday evening and today). I understand it may take me a little while to get it into normal range. I've lost a lot of weight over the past couple of years, so I'm used to reading labels, and all the sticking and injecting isn't bothering me much at this point, either.

I am, however, exhausted. I slept about 14 hours last night after getting in from the hospital, and I could still sleep more. It feels like better quality sleep than I've had and my body just can't get enough. I've slept much more deeply, too, to the point to where I've been stiff from not moving much. Is this normal?

[pfitz59]

1. Fatigue is normal... one of the symptoms...

https://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/recognizing-symptoms#overview1

[TheMastersNemesis]

2. I Have Been Diabetic Since 2003. Just Take Your Meds & Follow Carbs Carefully.

It takes time. Make sure you take your meds and get to a dietitian who can tell you how to manage your carbs and how many you can have at each meal. In the end you will find that you did not need all the food you were eating anyway. I have been ok and kept my 1AC around 7 or below.

It takes discipline. You can still eat what you want except you have to learn what jumps you and what does not. Plus learn to eat just so much of your favorites. Yes there are things that will really spike you. Everyone has to learn their own patterns.

Use the glucometer judiciously eat based on what it tells you. If I am high before a meal I might have more of a salad with less carbs. You just have to learn what your body is doing.

Of course there are no guarantees, but if you really follow your regimen symptoms are less likely from what I can tell. .

[TexasProgresive]

3. Welcome to the club that you never wanted to join.

With your BG moving lower you are sleeping better. There’s an online diabetes group that has been helpful to me.

www.diabetesconnect.com

I hope I typed the url correctly. I’m on my phone.

[GaYellowDawg]

4. Thank you, everyone.

i appreciate your input.

[BatteriesNotNeeded]

5. check out the ketogenic diet

many docs are now telling their diabetic patients to do the ketogenic diet. I was very close to being Type II, started the keto diet 18 months ago, and now have normal A1C levels, and my high blood pressure is normal. I've avoided having to take any drugs at all. big win for me.

[Nay]

6. You may not have been diabetic for a long time. I had readings almost exactly

like yours -- and the year before, I had totally normal fasting morning blood sugars. So, don't worry about that.

It seems that the doctor put you on insulin, am I right? I wonder why -- my doc, back then, put me on Metformin, 500 mg, twice a day, and had me check my BG 2-3 times a day to see what foods spiked me the most.

My insurance company paid for a week of diabetes/nutritional counseling. The info about diabetes was quite useful, but I considered the nutritional advice pretty useless. (I've always been very knowledgeable about nutrition, so I wasn't starting from zero.) If you eat as many carbs as they suggest, you'll never get your blood sugar under control. However, going low-carb is quite a change from 'regular' eating. I've found that I cannot eat rice, regular bread, potatoes, grapes, or sweets regularly or my BG spikes. After 4 years, my doc gave me a pill (Repaglinide) to use occasionally when I anticipated a carby meal (birthday party, travel/vacation, etc.) and that works well for me. I can have the bad stuff once in a while so I don't always feel angry about having to eat low carb all the time.

On this regimen, my last A1C was 5.4. All my bloodwork (liver, cholesterol, kidney, etc.) came back as totally normal. My doc has been very happy with what I am doing with diet and exercise and says he wishes all his patients were like me. The major change that I've made lately is that I have become largely vegetarian (I use dairy and eggbeaters).

The exhaustion is probably caused by the abrupt lowering of your regular daily BG by half -- your body was used to running on high BG. It shouldn't last long.

One thing I am trying now is to have the same breakfast and same lunch nearly every day, so I just don't have to think about it. I am trying to find recipes that incorporate the stuff I need to eat, but in a way that 1) I get all the nutrition I need, 2) it's easy to make up ahead of time, and 3) doesn't boost BG.

As your BG comes down and you start eating low carb (if you do), you can ask your doc to try getting off insulin and using Metformin. It's soooo much easier!