Just diagnosed but in pain is this normal?

[matt*marley]

Hello everyone, i'll try my best to not end up writing a massive essay haha

Basically several years ago i used to have those two hr glucose tests where you drink the drink, they always came back at the top end of normal and i was told i wa prediabetic. I moved to a new town and new doctors 20 months ago, i wasn't feeling great so i asked them for one of the blood tests i used to have twice a year, i got an appointment but when i turned up it was just a finger prick test that she said was normal and also they had no documented notes to ever say i was prediabetic or that i'd even had these tests and therefore basically i was lying.

Roll on several months, i'm still getting abscesses every few months so the last one i went to the walk in centre about three months ago instead of GP she told me i was getting them all the time due to either bacteria on the skin or diabetes, swab came back negative so i decided to buy my own meter and test for three months to provide evidence, in that three months i've never had a single digit reading so i made an appointment with the nurse with the results last fri and she told me those results said i was diabetic but i needed the HBA1C test which i had the same day, i phoned the GP surgery today to be told i couldn't have any of the test results over the phone and the next appointment was next mon afternoon. In the end i managed to persuade them to give me the results of the glucose test which was 74.

However now i go onto the other part with the pain, I usually get abscesses under my arm pit, my last one was actually on my upper arm on the inside, i got antibiotics and dressings, it went but reformed a few days later then went again but then i got one in my groin area, this burst but since then i've been in so much pain, i rash developed in my groin and spread to actual private parts, i'm very itchy and swollen and initially thought it was thrush i got the canneston duo no effect i bought another tube of the cream nothing and for the last several weeks i've been using sudocrem three times a day but it's just not clearing, the pain is so bad i can't walk or sit and have just spent three days in bed with it, part of a section in my groin has split twice now leaking a bit of green stuff and blood, i've now got a rash under both arms and the rash from my groin has spread under my belly and to the top of my thigh.

I did tell the nurse last week she said it was all due to sugars and there was nothing i could do until i got my sugars under control, i'm sure there must be some lotion or potion i can use and the fact i can't see the nurse until next week means another week of pain. I don't believe this is just down to excess sugars but as i've only just been diagnosed could anyone tell me if this is true or not? Eveyone has obviously heard of diabetes but i didn't know it could cause rashes, itching and pain like this.

A friend suggested i go to the walk in centre today, would they be able to start me on medication for diabetes etc or will i just get sent back to my own nurse? if it wasn't for the pain and siscomfort i could of waited until next week but now i don't know what to do. sorry for the long post but this is all new to me.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. When you have high blood sugar it allows bacteria to breed so make any infection likely to get worse. You need to immediately start a low carb diet. That means reducing any sugary drinks, bread, pasta, rice, cereals and so on. Medication will help a bit but not as much as a low-carb diet. Use the meter to check your blood sugar comes down. It sounds like you may also need to consider a complaint to the practice manager.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

From what you describe you should be in A&E demanding some treatment.

You shouldn't have to be laid up in bed in pain waiting for an appointment - you should qualify for an emergency visit from your GP.

If your GP won't come out, then A&E. Then change your GP. You deserve better.

 

[catherinecherub]

As others have said @matt*marley you need some immediate treatment.
Has anyone mentioned that you may have Hidradenitis suppurativia?

Have a read through this article and see if you can identify with it.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hidradenitis-suppurativa/Pages/Introduction.aspx

 

[Struma]

I feel really sorry for you @matt*marley , you must be feeling awful with all these things going on.
Imperative advice from @Daibell to follow.
@catherinecherub may well have hit the nail on the head, particularly so for your axilla. It may be purely diabetic related 'down below.'
Thrush is generally quite itchy for men, often with swelling too, and definite redness. It can persist, despite repeat Canestan treatments, until blood sugars are lowered. It can also be painful on 'some areas,' but the abscesses are likely to be responsible for the majority of it.
I have nothing better to suggest than your Sudocrem at the moment, please be aware if you have a pot of it, then only clean fingers go in the pot, not ones that have come from the affected area. A GP might think a trial of a specific steroid cream may be beneficial. If you are leaking pus, do use something absorbent from a pharmacy to soak it up and keep it off your skin.
I think you need seeing by a (sympathetic) doctor rather than a nurse. If you see a nurse, do make sure they actually see everything (sorry for your dignity,) and quite probably the nurse will say you still need to see a doctor!

Well, there's my thoughts, I hope there may be something a little helpful...
Good luck, and do keep in touch and update us.

 

[matt*marley]

Hi thanks everyone, ill read the links in a moment although i must apologise for the confusion over my name i'm actually female not male, matt and marley are my horses haha

well i went to the walk in saw a lovely nurse and bared all, she said it was very bad and gave me two different creams one a steroid one to apply four times a day and something else i have to have a bath in every day plus antibiotices. she said it may never go though until i get my sugars down but it should help. My blood sugar was 12.7 at 8.30 pm after last eating at 1.30pm and there was glucose in my urine, sadly they can't access all my blood results and they can't start me on medication so i'm still having to hold out until mon.

 

[Devonbear]

I know that skin infections can be aggravated by high blood glucose, and take longer to heal, but to be honest with your current readings and your history I think there's something more at play here. I haven't read of anyone else on the forum having similar problems in your circumstances. I have bad facial problems (acne rosacea that flares up and causes irritation and cracks) but they pre-date my diabetes.

In your shoes I might try a fairly extreme response. Go very, very hardcore low carb but also calorie restricted. Go a week eating just meat, eggs, green veg and salad and drinking only water (lots of water) and see what happens. That should drastically cut your blood sugar and if the blood sugar is the key ingredient of the infections then you should see a rapid improvement. If the blood sugar tumbles and your infections don't improve significantly then there's definitely more to it.

 

[matt*marley]

Thank you, it's just so hard to do, im a lodger and my food is bought and cooked although they are supportive. I don't actually like veg salad etc although i have had veg recently so long as it's covered in gravy. Salad is a no go though. My diet is far from the best and to be honest im very confused about what i can and can't eat, I've cut out chocolate have to cut out the crisp now and i only drink water, about three litres in 24 hrs.

 

[ladybird64]

A good way to start (and it's important not to confuse low carb with low fat), is to halve, or even better cut down more, on these things. Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cereals, pastries. That goes for the so-called healthy types too, the wholemeal/wholegrain. They are all high carbohydrate, which turns to glucose in the blood, and raises blood sugars. Meat is fine, some cheese, eggs, butter are good. Salads are not essential but they help, veggies that grow above the ground are good.
Have a look on the low carb section of this forum for some ideas, specially as your food is bought and cooked - could you approach them and explain you have to change your way of eating? This is the quickest way to lower your levels, Metformin (the usual drug of choice) helps lower it a little, but not much - the main help will come from changing your diet.

 

[Devonbear]

To be honest, you need to make your peace with salad and vegetables. A lot of skin problems can start with not having enough of these in your diet. Do you like curry? Try suggesting that your landlord/lady makes some chicken and vegetable curry. Chicken pieces fried in butter then cooked with finely chopped veg (courgettes, aubergines, peppers, mushrooms, apples, tomatoes, garlic, spices) with chicken stock. But remember NO root vegetables and NO rice or bread with it. The veg will dissolve into a sort of thick soupy sauce and the curry flavour plus the lack of "veg texture" will probably make it palatable for you. Chilli and turmeric are anti-inflammatory as well.

 

[Struma]

Many apologies for gender assumption!!

 

[Pinkorchid]

Hope when you see the doctor they give you the proper treatment that you need for your abscess problems. Meals must be difficult to change when some else buys and cooks it for you maybe if they are supportive as you say hopefully they will try to help you have a better diet. Of course you can't be expected to eat foods you really don't like that's not what it is about it is more about cutting things out that raise your blood glucose and that is different for everyone but if you can cut out all sugar stuff now at least that will help you

 

[matt*marley]

Its my fault probably wasn't the best name to choose haha.

Many apologies for gender assumption!!

 

[matt*marley]

Thank you everyone, i don't currently have any abcesses and I've done the whole not shaving and no deodorant bit but i still get them and i get them on my arm where there are no hair folicles. At the moment i have the terrible rash in some places its just a mass of angry red or purple skin in other places its actually like massive spots but it does feel like i may be getting an abscess on my breast but hopefully the antibiotics will take care of that.

Well up to now I've applied the steroid creme three times and i have to say i have a very significant improvement pain wise, its the best I've felt in nearly three months with all this so fingers crossed i cam fight this.

I have Bipolar and anxiety also and i have to say all this eating plans are sending my anxiety through the roof. Im 41 yes old and have always eaten a very basic English diet i don't like curry or anything like that, i eat toast for breakfast butty for dinner and something frozen for tea, o usually have potatoes most night and im a fan of tuna pasta it seems like just about everything i live on has to be stopped and i know it has to be done but the thought of having to force things down that i don't like at every meal is filling me with absolute dread.im not even sure what i could replace breakfast and dinner with,is soup OK?

 

[dawnmc]

Do you like yogurt? Full fat yogurt with berries, and seeds. Bacon and eggs, omelettes with cheese. Soups are ok as long as they are made with veggies that grow above ground, broccoli and blue cheese is nice. A veg soup with cabbage, green beans, onion, celery, a few chopped tomatoes, cauli, all chopped up in pieces, I also add garlic, turmeric, ginger salt and pepper, you can whizz it up if you cant eat it as it is. But don't serve it with bread.
To be brutal, you have to improve your diet to get rid of the abscess.
You also need to test your bloods before you eat and 2 hrs after.

 

[Devonbear]

For breakfast, my standard (other than a fry up) is half a Lidl High Protein roll toasted with some peanut butter. Lovely. If you've got a Lidl nearby, raid it and buy all their High Protein rolls. You can freeze them and use them as needed. Half a roll is plenty to get you going in the morning. Pasta is a definite no-no, though. As for vegetables, the human body is what it is, and it needs them. If you don't like them and don't eat them, you'll end up with health problems as night follows day. I often find when people don't like veg it's partly because of the way they've had it prepared and served to them in the past. I love meat, but good veg is delicious and you can make a really tasty meal with barely any carbs in it. Just remember that fat is NOT a problem. Proper, full fat mayonnaise is perfectly acceptable, so lash it on. So is balsamic vinaigrette (if it's just olive oil, mustard and vinegar, with herbs in it - not one of these sugar-added commercial versions).