I was tested for diabetes (glucose tolerance test) as soon as they (NHS) realised quite how screwed up my hormones were.
Trouble is, the doc surgery didn't do it with any intention of giving me good diet advice, or suggesting I change various aspects of my life.
They did it because an endocrinologist sent them a letter telling them to run some checks. Which they then filed, ticked a box, and forgot about rescheduling the same test annually, for ever.
Turned out I wasn't T2 then.
They actually did it every 3-4 years - when I reminded them.
Still no Diabetes 12 years later (largely because I had been eating low carb and taking care of myself as best I could for my whole adult life, not from any advice given to me by 'experts')
Changed docs, and it took another 4 years before this surgery realised that they should have been doing all sorts of monitoring, and proceeded to do so... complete with referral to endocrinologist, heart ultrasound, belated medication reviews and very red faces.
I eventually hit diabetes a few years back, but you know what? Because I do still take care of myself, and manage my blood glucose, the last time I saw my doc he told me 'your HbA1c tells me your aren't even pre-diabetic.'
Moral of the story: the NHS is overworked, underfunded and staffed by fallible human beings. On the other hand, we are the people living in our own bodies 24/7 and need to be taking responsibility for that fact all our lives, not just when things start breaking down.
And no
@HappyasLarry none of those comments are aimed at you
but I do feel frustrated and let down by 'the system'.
I basically have to self fund, self monitor and look after 2 or 3 different health conditions. I get support for one condition. That is one appt a year, with a recurring prescription. Nothing to do with diabetes.
NHS is set up to handle T2s who who have deteriorated enough to depend on medical support. The money goes on damage limitation instead of damage prevention.
If T2s were given non-NHS diet advice, and informed properly about how to handle their T2 from the outset, then they wouldn't need to reach that stage of deterioration.