New Diabetic- Help?

TROUBR

Well-Known Member
Messages
203
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Manxangel - hope all goes well today and that you get the help / support needed.

chocoholic - what is a diabetologist? (sorry if this is a daft question but I have seen a variety of people over the past few months but not one of these (as far as I am aware!))

Louise
 

chocoholic

Well-Known Member
Messages
831
Troubr: A diabetologist is someone who specialises in diabetes. (As opposed to a diabetes nurse, who has more limited knowledge).
 

Dennis

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,506
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Dislikes
People who join web forums to be agressive and cause trouble
Louise,
A diabetologist is a consultant endocrinologist (expert in hormones) who specialises in diabetes.
 

DiabeticGeek

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Messages
309
There are many professional labels that you might come across - here are a few important ones:

  • Diabetologist - a specialist in diabetes, usually this is a consultant medic attached to a hospital or a specialist clinic.
  • Endocrinologist - a specialist in hormonal disorders (including diabetes). Again this is likely to be a consultant medic, but their area of expertise is a bit broader so they are likely to be better placed to deal with unusual cases.
  • Nurse Practitioner - a nurse who has had advanced training and is therefore allowed to do some of the things that are traditionally restricted to doctors
  • Diabetes Nurse - a nurse (usually a nurse practitioner) who has had some specific training in diabetes. DNs may have a lot of very useful experience (quite possibly more than many GPs), but I have seen some of the textbooks that are used for their training, and I was surprised at quite how limited and dated they were. I guess that it will vary hugely as to how useful DNs are.
  • Dietitian - a qualified specialist in nutrition and diet (not just for diabetes, although that is an important area for most of them). Dieticians aren't either nurses or medics, but it is a regulated profession in its own right so they will have very respectable qualifications
  • Nutritionist - anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, so don't confuse them with dietitians - there are some pretty dodgy "Nutritionists" out there!
 

Thirsty

Well-Known Member
Messages
903
DiabeticGeek said:
[*]Nutritionist - anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, so don't confuse them with dietitians - there are some pretty dodgy "Nutritionists" out there![/list]

Ain't that the truth!
 

sofaraway

Well-Known Member
Messages
183
I hope that the appointment goes well, i won't be surprised if you come home with an insulin prescription.

hang around here and you'll keep learning loads, most of us have learnt more from forums and the internet than from health care professionals
 

Nellie

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Messages
124
Good luck this afternoon,
I'm glad that the others explained my post about ketones and weight loss. I didn't want to scare you, and rather lacked the confidence to explain exactly what I was thinking. I certainly felt that you really needed some knowledgeable medical help as soon as possible and it appears thats what you're getting.
 

manxangel

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Messages
128
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well hello!

I'm feeling rough so this might be little confused.

They changed all my tablets, but they saw my reaction when they mentioned giving me insulin yesterday (i wasn't really happy) so they hav given me 2000mg of glocuphage (which makes me feel awful!) and 60mg of another one Dircloran?? i can't quite remember. all i am now is in pain and feelings incredibly sick.

but i'm going back tommorow, more than likely for the insulin they said. My sugars have steadied over night! i was 16mmol before tea. 20.0mmol after tea. (had a wicked omlette) and then it dropped back down to 16.0 then this morning i was 16.5. at least i'm not in the 20's anymore!

I can't keep taking these tablets though. i feel so so sick it's unreal. thank god i'm going back tommrow. they kept taking all blood and stuff. oh i don't know.

One thing i wanted to ask, they gave me a examination, poking and prodding about, i had two of them there and they both went for my neck? squeezing it and stuff, i tried to ask what they were looking at but they were too busy talking between themselves. they also looked at my arm pits too? what was all that about?? confused me slighly.

thanks!
 

chocoholic

Well-Known Member
Messages
831
Oo-er, not sure why they'd be looking under your armpits. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than me can help with that one.
I wish I could give you some good advice, manxangel but all I will say is, stay with us on this site.There are so many helpful folks on here and if nothing else, the support you get will help whilst the medical lot play their part to get you sorted.
Hope you feel brighter soon and find medication that suits you.If you do have to go onto insulin, the actual injecting is really no big deal. I dreaded it myself but now it's no more bothersome than brushing my teeth.
 

manxangel

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128
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well my new medication has done nothing, mainly becuase i only kept it down for two hours.

went to the clinic so they could test for ketones and they said it wsa a tummy bug but i know if was those stupid tablets.

anyway, glad i'm going back tommorow. they keep testing my blood for ketones and it's always about 0.6 which i understand to be ok.

however after being on this site i've got some urine testing strips and it always goes to the darkest on the scale. which says it's 16mmol or160 mg/dl?

am i right to ask them to test my urine tommorow? io'm going to tell them what i found anyway but i don't trust myself.
 

Nellie

Well-Known Member
Messages
124
You are going through the mill but obviously they are monitoring the ketones and they'e not too high (below 0.6mmol is normal). A urine test for glucose is not as accurate as a blood test. The 16mmol shows that your glucose level was above that some time earlier in the day.
If you have an infection that will often raise blood glucose levels.
In your earlier post you mention the possibility of insulin, please don't be scared of it, the needles are tiny and I'm sure you'll feel much better if they get your BS levels down. Good luck for tomorrow
 

manxangel

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thanks, the strips i have are for ketones?

i don't know. oh it will be fine
 

Nellie

Well-Known Member
Messages
124
s****! How do I explain over the internet?
The ketone strips I have, have 2 patches one measures glucose in the urine (its shades of yellow/green on my strips) . This is a far less reliable test than the one you use on a meter since it reflects your glucose level when the urine was made not at this minute. The figures that you gave are high, just as the meter readings were that you mentioned before.

The other measures ketones, it is purple if positive, the darker the purple the higher the ketone level.
As your'e now being monitored by the clinic I would be far less worried as they seem to be testing for everything (unlike your original doctor) and you will see them tomorrow. Try to get a good nights sleep. Its half ten here so definitely time for me!

(and don't move to rural france if you want internet access at night this is the second atempt!)
Third attempt, luckily I copied my post before sending
 

l0vaduck

Well-Known Member
Messages
161
When they were looking at your neck, it might have been checking for a goitre, which I believe can be a symptom of thyroid disorders.

Make sure you tell them about the high ketones in your urine. The reason the blood tests and the urine tests are different is because of the timing, but if you're getting high ketones overnight that's quite important, I would have thought, even if they're coming down in the daytime.
 

DiabeticGeek

Well-Known Member
Messages
309
Another thought about your neck and armpits is that the doctors might have been checking out your lymph nodes - swollen lymph nodes can be a sign of infection, as well as other things. It sounds as though they suspect that you may have something other than diabetes. Sadly, being diabetic doesn't make you immune to other diseases!

Whatever the problem might be, no one going to be able to diagnose it remotely - there isn't enough information. What you need to do is ask the doctors detailed questions. Take a notebook along - write the questions down, and write down their answers. If they use any words you don't understand then ask them to spell them out - then you can look them up on the Internet, or post them here, I am sure someone will be able to help interpret them. I suggest that you ask the following questions:

  • What sort of diabetes do you have?
  • Have you had a C-Peptide test - if so, what is the level?
  • Have you had a GAD antibody test - if so, was it positive or negative?
  • Do they suspect anything other than diabetes - if so what?
Lastly, ask for a copy of the results of your blood tests. These will be lots of figures, and might not mean much to you, but it could still be a useful thing to have. Again, there are people here who will almost certainly be able to help you interpret them.

I am sorry that you are going through this rough time. The light at the end of the tunnel is that once you do get your blood glucose under control, then the symptoms of diabetes abate very quickly. If you do need to go on insulin, then that will get things under control extremely fast - although most people are apprehensive about this before it happens, most people describe it as a relief after the event.
 

manxangel

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oh great! I have written those questions down and i will get some answers this morning inculding why they were messing with my neck! and i'll let you know how it goes.

Yes the strips i had went really dark purple, bit random but i've got it all written down so i'm gonna be trying to find out everything i can.

and thanks for the tip about writing eveything down, i get really distant and confused when they are talking to me so writing down will definatly help!!

Pens at the ready!!!! Thank you!!
 

diabetesmum

Well-Known Member
Messages
515
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi Manxangel,

I am really worried for you - dark purple ketone levels are a very disturbing sign. If you are, in fact, an undiagnosed Type 1, it is only a matter of time (and probably not very long) before you become extremely seriously ill from ketoacidosis. Only insulin will stop this from developing, and if you are a Type 1 you will be producing very little or none of your own, so you would need to inject it.

Really looking forward to seeing how you get on this morning.....
Sue
 

manxangel

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128
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thanks sue.

well they still don't know if i am a type 1 or 2 i was trying to ask them my questions but they were all hurrying me in and out of everyone to get everyone seen.

They have given me insulin to take before meals but only if my sugar is over 16. they took me off the metformin but kept me on the diclor thingy. this is just over the weeked and then am back at half 8 monday morning.

i mentioned the ketones in my urine and they dismissed it completely and said that blood tesing was the way to go, i have a meter for that so lets soo how that works out.

the specialist was a bit harsh, said i could either be sick, have insulin or be admitted to hospital for monitoring. I said i would take needles over being admitted anyday.

i have been given tablets for cholesterol but he told me not to take them until i'm under control.

I am so sick of this now. i just want to be the way i used to be again.
 

manxangel

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oh there was something else, they did a Hbc blood test thing i can't remember what it was called. but i asked what it did and they said it measure how much sugar was on my red blood cells??

The reading was 12.1?? the nurse said it was a little high but nothing to worry about seeing what my finger prick readings were. is that true?????