Vegetable intake when trying to move from low carb to even lower carb (as a vegetarian)

[Paul_]

I find it fascinating hearing the different experiences people have for what is essentially the same root cause. It's increased my awareness so much of what to keep an eye out for in some of my family who are prime candidates due to age, lifestyle, weight, or the fact they're responsible for my genes, so now I've been diagnosed there could be genetic susceptibility too.

 

[KennyA]

I find it fascinating hearing the different experiences people have for what is essentially the same root cause. It's increased my awareness so much of what to keep an eye out for in some of my family who are prime candidates due to age, lifestyle, weight, or the fact they're responsible for my genes, so now I've been diagnosed there could be genetic susceptibility too.

But is it? I am coming more and more to a sort of vague thought experiment feeling that there is more than one form of T2. Sure, we all have the same sorts of symptoms, mainly deriving from a common high blood glucose, but some of us respond to the same intervention very differently to others. The insulin system is complex and might go askew at various points and produce the same high BG symptom in common, but it doesn't mean that the same intervention will work equally well for all.

 

[KennyA]

Perhaps you aren't aware, but even currently a substantial number of Type 2 Diabetics are not aware of symptoms before being diagnosed.
Now some of those will have had vague symptoms, but many have no symptoms at all!- I had none and I've still never had any since I found this forum very quickly!
On the other hand people like @KennyA got symptoms when barely in the pre-diabetic range (which must have been really frustrating).
Diabetes is tricky and there is no completely satisfactory way of diagnosing all at risk (and only ones at risk) of symptoms/complications!

True. What was really annoying (more so in retrospect) was going to the GP over a period of ten years with a classic set of diabetic symptoms and being told "you are not diabetic - your blood sugar isn't high enough". There are at least four ways to diagnose T2 diabetes in the UK, but the health service has seized on the "magic 48" as the only one that really matters. No-one ever told me my A1c levels were steadily going up. No-one ever did a random fingerprick test.

 

[HSSS]

True. What was really annoying (more so in retrospect) was going to the GP over a period of ten years with a classic set of diabetic symptoms and being told "you are not diabetic - your blood sugar isn't high enough". There are at least four ways to diagnose T2 diabetes in the UK, but the health service has seized on the "magic 48" as the only one that really matters. No-one ever told me my A1c levels were steadily going up. No-one ever did a random fingerprick test.

Now I had no symptoms beyond tiredness (and had other conditions that tiredness is a major symptom of) and they actually had bothered with fasting blood glucose tests several times over several years by several different drs - and all ignored the results for years, never bothering to follow up with an hba1c. I never accept “normal” after tests now. I always get numbers and ranges and look it up myself. It’s not the only thing that’s been ignored.

 

[Paul_]

But is it? I am coming more and more to a sort of vague thought experiment feeling that there is more than one form of T2. Sure, we all have the same sorts of symptoms, mainly deriving from a common high blood glucose, but some of us respond to the same intervention very differently to others. The insulin system is complex and might go askew at various points and produce the same high BG symptom in common, but it doesn't mean that the same intervention will work equally well for all.

Where I'm coming from is that prior to diagnosis and joining this forum, I was aware of about 3 or 4 symptoms maybe. One of those was tiredness, which puts everyone you know with kids under 10 in the "maybe" pot. At my first appointment, the nurse asked if I'd been tired, and wasn't amused in the slightest by my answer of "I've got two kids and work 10-12hrs a day, always."

After diagnosis and initial research, I knew maybe 5 or 6. However, after reading so many accounts of people's experiences leading up to their diagnosis, I'm now far more aware of a wider range, and more awareness may help somewhere down the line is all I'm saying. Neuropathy for example, like you had. I would have thought heart/circulation issues previously if someone described the symptoms, not diabetes. I guess what I'm saying is that more awareness is never a bad thing.

On the thought of multiple types of T2, it definitely seems like one size doesn't fit all. One root cause maybe, insulin resistance, but there needs to be a more graduated sliding scale for how it's diagnosed and then the treatment that gets recommended. Far too many attempts to put pigeons in neatly defined holes, one size fits all, in the NHS from my experience at least.

 

[Outlier]

Prior to diagnosis I had a "healthy" diet (as in healthy for non-diabetics) and struggled all my life to keep my weight down by calorie control and exercise. Looking back, I can now identify a host of warning flags for T2 diabetes, but I wasn't aware at the time. It was easy and unremarkable to blame these symptoms on my very high-octane work environment, some life situations that rocked me to the core, and the really awful menopause I was having (and still have some symptoms from many years later).

It's only now I feel much better that I understand how ill I was. If I'd gone to the GP I suspect I'd have been given anti-depressants and a diet sheet.