Am I worser off because I’m younger?

Type 2 has until recently, and sadly still by too many, seen as a progressive disease with most ending up on insulin eventually. Ie exactly what you read. However that assumes little in the way of active management and reliance instead purely on medication whilst still stuffing all the carbs in the world. It’s being shown in here all the time we can halt the progression and even turn it back to normal numbers for a lot of people.

No one can predict what will happen to any individual in the future but if you achieve your goals, maintain a good (for type 2) diet and be as active as you are able to be you give yourself the very best chance of keeping things under control.

One way of looking at is by being diagnosed young you have more years to treat yourself well and fewer years of damage already done than those of us somewhat older.

Was the website you were on www.bloodsugar.101.com ?
There is some good, reliable info there about what are safe, and what are damaging levels of blood glucose for type 2 diabetics.
Other websites... I couldn't really guess what they are saying.

With regard to all the information on complications, I think it is important to appreciate that being at risk of complications does not mean will inevitably get complications.

Also, with all the damage that raised blood glucose can do to us (and I am sure you have been reading up on that too!) the damage is usually caused by longterm high blood glucose, and is cumulative, over time. Sometimes years and decades.

A single rise to 9mmol/l after a single meal will do negligible impact long term. Yes, some people feel grotty, and some people might be able to produce a list of symptoms they get at that level. But the symptoms recede when the blood glucose lowers. The damage and complications only appear after blood glucose has been fluctuating severely for a long time, or raised for a long time, or both.

So, in my view, if you have received a confirmed diagnosis of T2 aged 23, and you look after yourself from now on, you will be in a MUCH better position that a T2 who was diagnosed in their 40s or older, with decades of un-recognised raised blood glucose behind them.

It does mean that you will help yourself the most by keeping on top of things from now on, but you can do that while maintaining a good social life, home and work environment. And by getting to grips with things now, and maintaining that control, you are in a very good position to still be complication free indefinitely.

Hope that helps!

Hi. If you keep your BS figures in single figures and even into the teens occasionally you are unlikely to suffer any long term problems. Can I assume you have adopted a low-carb diet approach to lose some of that excess weight? I think you will find once you get your BMI into a good area your BS will stand a good chance of staying near to that of a non-diabetic

No, you are better off being diagnosed younger. You will get annual (at least) blood tests to monitor your progress so that you can act on any problems before they get out of hand. We all get a wake up call at some time in our lifes so use yours to help yourself stay fit and healthy.

Mollyc1995 said:

So it’s doesnt mean my pancreas will wear out? So long as I keep a healthy diet l, exercise, and get down to a healthy weight?

I keep going through stages where I feel positive but then I get anxiety and fear in 10-20 years time I’m going to have to go on medication or insulin which is something I want to avoid

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No-one knows what the future will hold, all you can do is to try your best to have a good healthy low carb diet to help give yourself the best chance of staying drug free for as long as possible.

I was putting on weight year after year whilst desperately trying to lose weight. I now realise I was insulin resistant for 20-25 years before diagnosis. All that time high insulin levels and obesity caused havoc with my health.

You may well need insulin one day but this isn't something you should fear. You may never need it, all you can do is your best. And keep posting.

Mollyc1995 said:

So it’s doesnt mean my pancreas will wear out? So long as I keep a healthy diet l, exercise, and get down to a healthy weight?

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By following what you are doing you'll be giving your pancreas a fighting chance to live to a healthy old age..None of us can say for sure what the future holds but lowering and maintaining low HbA1c levels looks to me to be the best policy. You certainly won't be doing yourself any harm by doing that.

Mollyc1995 said:

So it’s doesnt mean my pancreas will wear out?

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You will dramatically reduce the chances of it "wearing out" if you don't overuse it. A normal healthy pancreas should last you a lifetime.

It's not your Pancreas you need to worry about, it's the excess insulin the pancreas needs to produce if you are insulin resistant.

By eating foods that don't require so much insulin, you put less stress on your pancreas and therefore help maintain it in a healthy condition.

As for your age, it's hard if not impossible for anyone to determine exactly when they became insulin resistant and for how long they were experiencing the effects of high BG and the resulting damage.

It could be that by catching it early and addressing the problems you will end up doing less damage long term.