1 year in starting to struggle any suggestions

[nolanjoe92]

Hi All, been a while since i posted here sorry in advance for the long post ! . I was diagnosed in November 2019 and at my first meeting with the doctor i had a hba1c of 135 . I was 27 years old at the time and will now be 29 next month so still relatively young . After diagnosis i went completely low carb to almost no carbs at all , i really didnt feel very well or healthy on this diet but maybe thats my mind playing tricks on me as before i really wasnt very healthy when it came to a balanced diet so i think it was mostly just a shock to my system to suddenly be almost zero carbs . i lost weight at a rapid pace in 8 weeks i lost 24 kgs in weight from 94kgs down to 70kgs i would say im boarder line to skinny now as im 6ft 1 so i dont believe my weight is a factor . After three months i had a hba1c and got my result of 53 which i was delighted with . 3 months later again another result of 53 . i was on gliclazide and metformin they then stopped my gliclazide. for the first few months i felt my bloods were still quite stable and always 90% of the time below 9mmol when testing . The last few months work has been busy and i do have a very high stress job i work long hours anywhere from 50-70 hrs per week and i struggle to balance my died when im at work and busy and stressed. Albeit i dont sit eating sweets but might end up eating a sandwich from a petrol station etc . since around october last year i have felt very off balance and it makes me feel genuinely unwell a foggy mind and a weird feeling in my head always tired with no drive to do anything, i dont feel i can get the balance back i felt i had at the start , i struggle really bad with my diet as i feel down from the pressures of managing my diabetes my bloods can be anywhere from 6 - 25 mmol it seems now the smallest intake of carbs even 10g can shoot my bloods sky high and can take me days to get them back down to a reasonable level . I havnt had a hba1c in nearly a year due to covid but have just been asked to book one . i know it sounds stupid but i dont want to book it as i feel i have ruined all my good results i managed to get before and i dont want to see how bad i let it go . I have never stopped trying but admittedly i need to learn to stick to my routine better . Im wondering if anyone else has ever had a low like this where it just seems to be a constant battle from the minute you wake up to the minute you go to sleep . and if anyone has any advice for how they manage in situations like this as i really don't understand what my body is doing .....

sorry for the long rant hoping others have had similar feelings as to been run down with their diagnosis and can give me some pointers

 

[searley]

ok, on the work front, it can be hard with long hours/odd hours..

i work upto and sometime beyond 70 hours a week as a HGV driver often starting work at 3am in the morning and doing a 14/15 hour day. i make my meals at home.. nothing fancy.. and carry healthy snacks.. again enough that i can control what im eating rather than relying on what i can find on the road.

as for feeling foggy etc... an immediate change from eating a lot, to being very careful can make you feel 'wrong' the body is used to being high and what you eat and the body sort of panics

as for constant battle... yes it is, ive done it for 10 years and routine gets easier, but i still struggle mentally from time to time

id suggest getting a hba1c, also because of your age, even though you were not being careful id be worried that you may not be type2... so id be wanting to keep an eye on things just incase... hard to guess, as i don't know how overweight you were/are.. not how bad your diet was... but 10g having as massive effect for so long would concern me

 

[nolanjoe92]

ok, on the work front, it can be hard with long hours/odd hours..

i work upto and sometime beyond 70 hours a week as a HGV driver often starting work at 3am in the morning and doing a 14/15 hour day. i make my meals at home.. nothing fancy.. and carry healthy snacks.. again enough that i can control what im eating rather than relying on what i can find on the road.

as for feeling foggy etc... an immediate change from eating a lot, to being very careful can make you feel 'wrong' the body is used to being high and what you eat and the body sort of panics

as for constant battle... yes it is, ive done it for 10 years and routine gets easier, but i still struggle mentally from time to time

id suggest getting a hba1c, also because of your age, even though you were not being careful id be worried that you may not be type2... so id be wanting to keep an eye on things just incase... hard to guess, as i don't know how overweight you were/are.. not how bad your diet was... but 10g having as massive effect for so long would concern me

Hi Searly,

Thanks for the reply , it does concern me with how high they can go so quickly and for how long some days im okay others even a sniff of a carb and i could be near 17-20mmol all day and into the next . I was recently given 1 weeks gliclazide as when i had my covid jab i noticed my bloods were very unusual after and i noticed it was nowhere near as effective as when i used to be on it . my biggest struggle as you mention is effectively eating on the fly and i work in an office so very non manual job .

Is there any way of knowing if maybe its late onset type 1 or something else that causes my body to be so unpredictable ?

At the moment i would say my diet is pretty good stay away from starchy veg , rice,pasta,bread eat alot of meat nuts cheese etc but just seems over the past 18 months since diagnosis things have gotten worse not better even though now generally im taking care of myself better

 

[Brunneria]

I'm assuming that since they gave you gliclazide, they have decided you are T2.
But did they run any tests to confirm that?

My suggestion would be to go back to your doc, or nurse, and ask them for a referral to your local diabetes clinic, with a view to seeing if you may be T1 and getting the appropriate medication.
In which case, the treatment pathway is rather different and you may benefit from being put on insulin sooner rather than later.

However, whatever your actual type of diabetes, the reading you quote are too high. They are likely what is making your feel rough, and fogging your mind - and with a high stress job with long hours, that is going to have a huge impact.

 

[nolanjoe92]

I'm assuming that since they gave you gliclazide, they have decided you are T2.
But did they run any tests to confirm that?

My suggestion would be to go back to your doc, or nurse, and ask them for a referral to your local diabetes clinic, with a view to seeing if you may be T1 and getting the appropriate medication.
In which case, the treatment pathway is rather different and you may benefit from being put on insulin sooner rather than later.

However, whatever your actual type of diabetes, the reading you quote are too high. They are likely what is making your feel rough, and fogging your mind - and with a high stress job with long hours, that is going to have a huge impact.

Hello , thanks for the reply . i had no tests bar hba1c but i did have to go back as i kept having high reading of ketones at first when diagnosed and the unexplained weight loss as this happened before i went onto my diet this is actually what caused my alarm to go docs in first place as i was still eating as i used to but loosing a couple of kgs a week .

 

[searley]

Hello , thanks for the reply . i had no tests bar hba1c but i did have to go back as i kept having high reading of ketones at first when diagnosed and the unexplained weight loss as this happened before i went onto my diet this is actually what caused my alarm to go docs in first place as i was still eating as i used to but loosing a couple of kgs a week .

keytones and weightloss is very often indicative of T1 which is why id be concerned you keep an eye on it, and have other tests to check for that

the way of knowing if its late onset t1/LADA is through further testing.. a peptide test which determines exactly how much insulin you are producing.. but your GP will need to refer you for this

 

[nolanjoe92]

keytones and weightloss is very often indicative of T1 which is why id be concerned you keep an eye on it, and have other tests to check for that

the way of knowing if its late onset t1/LADA is through further testing.. a peptide test which determines exactly how much insulin you are producing.. but your GP will need to refer you for this

Thank you all for these suggestions they really are helpful and much appreciated i think this is definitely something i may need to look into

 

[TashT1]

I’d agree that you really need a c-peptide test to determine what type you are. It sounds like you’ve done your best on a low carb diet but if your type 1 coming to the end of a honeymoon or late onset you need to get on insulin soon.

Sometimes you have to push get the right tests. Are you able to check for ketones at home? You don’t want to get caught out with DKA if things get worse.

 

[VashtiB]

Hello and welcome,

I agree with the previous posters that you really need them to actively consider what type of diabetes you have.

In relation to your other question- yes it is not uncommon for most (all?) of us to have times where we struggle. That is one o the real benefits about this forum- here you are truly among friends. I also had a very stressful job with very long hours (I'm now moving to what I hope will be a lot less stressful) it does make it a lot harder on a few fronts- stress is not good for the blood sugars by itself, it also an make us more inclined to comfort eat and long hours can make it a lot more challenging to make meals that are actually good for anyone- it can feel so much easier to just grab something. So you are definitely n to alone here.

Having said all that it is important to keep your levels under control particularly as you are so young. So get the tests to determine if you are really a type 1 and come bak and let us know. Know this - no matter what type you are this forum is for you- we are such a mixture but that is one of the strengths- it's just once you kn ow for sure your type better advice and support can be given.

Take care,