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30 and just diagnosed today!

H

headache

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14
Hi there!

On Friday I got a big weird boil, and the doc said "I'll just check your blood sugar." It was 17.1 and it was first thing in the morning - I hadn't eaten or drank anything. Eep! I had no idea I had diabetes and I don't seem to have any particular symptoms.

I went straight to the pathology nurse and got my bloods done and my hba1c was 11. Urinalysis had ketones. My doc has been very thorough and wants me to take in another Urinalysis in the morning and will let me know if I need to go to hospital to get some insulin.

Does anyone have a similar experience?
 
headache said:
Does anyone have a similar experience?
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Hi! Welcome to the forums! I'll admit that I sort of had the same experience here myself, for me it was a bad case of thrush and it turned out to be type 2! I would in your case keep chasing up about your diagnosis as that sounds an awful lot like type 1 to me which is always possible in the case of your age. Though I would say for now, reducing your carb intake will help to keep things somewhat stable in you so that you're not stressing your system too much, I am honestly surprised that the hospital didn't take you in with ketones in your urine!

I am sure some folks will be round with the welcome back soon but I wanted to say welcome and that you're not alone.
 
If you have ketones it’s likely they’ll send you for insulin- unless you’ve been eating really low carb recently?
Any trouble breathing or feeling nauseous?
 
Not quite similar, I had an aching liver and the fatty liver disease led to the diagnosis, eventually. But the ketones trouble me some, and I agree with @Caeseji : I'm surprised you didn't end up in hospital. You want to get two tests: C-peptide and GAD. And you want to ask for them in kind of a hurry. The presence of ketones, when not following a ketogenic diet, could mean you're not a T2, but a T1/Lada. And you need to know which it is, because treatment is entirely different, and if your bloodsugars are high and your ketone levels too, well... That could lead to diabetic ketoacidosis. So if you feel bad, and I mean sick, call emergency services and tell them you're a sick undetermined type diabetic with ketones. They'll send help, if you can't get to hospital yourself.

And another thing we agree on: you want to cut the carbs for the time being. You want to get those bloodsugars down. Diet won't fix T1 or LADA, but it could put T2 in remission. For the moment, you just want to get as much out of the double digits as you can. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ may help a little.

I'm still kind of flummoxed they let you go home. Whatever. You know what tests to ask for now.
Good luck!!! We'll be here if you need anything.
Jo
 
I'm really sorry to hear your news. You must be in shock. I hope they get a clear diagnosis soon. Your HbA1c is a 2-3 month blood sugar average, which means you must have been unwell for at least this time. The only good part of this is when you're on the correct treatment plan, you will be able to feel better soon.
 
helensaramay said:
Unfortunately, many doctors still seem to think type 1 is a childhood disease which results in a third of adults with type 1 being misdiagnosed.
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Ah sorry if I didn't word it properly but that's what I meant and please by all means stay on the soapbox it's an issue that needs highlighting as much as possible.
 

Helensaramay, don't do that! You always speak massive sense. I was 57 myself. x
 

If it's T1 (which as others have said is a real possibility, specially given age and ketones), then blood sugars could have gone up fast, so it doesn't have to have been a full 3 months of illness for the average to have gone up. Though I agree it's quite likely.

My mother was a T1 so I was diagnosed very early aged eight, just having woken in the night to ask for a drink of water. I have no idea what my blood sugar levels were, but I do remember being told that I would have to have some blood tests, and that if they came up negative I would have to have some more to double check. So I naively hoped that the blood tests would show up diabetes so that I wouldn't have to have a second test. . (This was back in 1970 so there were no glucometers, so the only blood tests were done at the clinic or hospital).

headache said:
Urinalysis had ketones.
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I'm assuming that these were only at a moderate level, as high ketones should send you immediately to hospital. And I am surprised that they didn't do a blood test for ketones, which would be much more accurate. As others have said, if you start feeling sick or otherwise unwell, treat it as a medical emergency, as untreated diabetic ketoacidosis kills an alarming number of undiagnosed diabetics.

Good luck.
 
Thanks everyone for your support and expertise.

I remember that my fasting bsl has sat 0.1-0.2 out of range even since I was a teenager. I'm overweight and always have been, so maybe that makes all the difference.
I haven't seen the diabetes educator yet but I will definitely ask about type 1/LADA.

Since Friday's bloods I have been following a ketogenic diet and I've also been worried about what I can/cannot eat so I've only been eating 1100-1200 calories. I have a referral to the dietician so will try to see her soon.

I'm still asymptomatic but my bsl is still sitting at 15. I started Metformin yesterday as well as a blood pressure medication (candesartan).

If I start feeling strange I will go to the hospital right away but I'm just waiting for the GP to call and let me know if he wants me to go.

Its all very complicated, isn't it!
 
headache said:
I remember that my fasting bsl has sat 0.1-0.2 out of range even since I was a teenager. I'm overweight and always have been, so maybe that makes all the difference.
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Weight gain is a symptom rather than a cause of T2, so if you do turn out to have T2 you may well find out that treating it (and many many of the T2s on here can return their blood sugars to normal just by going low carb) solves any weight issues you may have.
 
Thanks Ellie!
 
Hi all, things much better today. Seems either the low carb or the Metformin (or both) are working and my bsl is hovering around 10-12. The doctor said my second urinalysis came back okay and I didn't need to go to hospital so now I have my appointments with the diabetes educator and dietician and a follow up with the GP in a couple of weeks. My next bloods are in 8 weeks.
I've been vigilant on the carbs using myfitnesspal so will continue to be rigorous with my food.
Thanks so much for your support so far, it's much appreciated.
 
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