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Type 2 Brand new diabetic looking for guidance please!?

Lucyclaire7

Member
Hello all.

I’m not really sure where to start on here tbh. I’ve read a lot of things and have all sorts of questions if you lovely people don’t mind helping.

Little background:
Back in July I was diagnosed pre diabetic. Type 2 and was told to control diet and exercise. I’ve been doing this since and losing weight etc. On Friday 11th Sept I finally had enough of 2 weeks of constant urinating and excessive thirst (and a few other problems in the lady department). Spoke to a doctor and they asked me to go for a retest that day. Next thing in know it’s Saturday morning 3.45AM and my phone is ringing. It’s a doctor asking me to go to A&E immediately as my blood sugar levels were up at 27 and I needed medical attention (I felt absolutely fine apart from the listed symptoms so I was in quite a bit!of shock). I spent the day in hospital on fluids and left with metformin.

Since then I’ve been back and forth with my GP, been fully diagnosed diabetic and I am now on metformin, gliclazide, fluconazole and testing my blood sugar levels at all sorts of times throughout the day.

Ive been told that I’m being treated as type 2 at the moment, we’re going to see if the medication helps and if not they think I may be type 1. I’m losing weight quite quickly which I believe is the diabetes also.

My blood sugar readings today have been as followed

19.4 mmol
24.8 mmol
18.4 mmol
22.9 mmol

In all honesty I am completely overwhelmed, frustrated and a little angry at the situation

Any help or words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance xxx
 
Last edited:
Lucyclaire7 said:
Ive been told that I’m being treated as type 2 at the moment, we’re going to see if the medication helps and if not they think I may be type 1. I’m losing weight quite quickly which I believe is the diabetes also.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forums.

Weight loss, your age, and the speed of onset all suggest T1, though it makes (sort of) sense that they treat you as T2 first.

Though your levels are (very) high, they like to bring people's levels down slowly when first diagnosed, as it can be damaging to come down too fast (eyes in particular).

Luckily they recognise you might be T1, so they should give you the required tests (GAD antibodies and c-peptide).

Have they given you a meter for testing ketones? (If not you can buy urine testing strips from the chemist though they should have given you something to test ketones.) If your ketones are high and your blood sugar is high then ring 111 and get help, new T1s are at risk of diabetic ketoacidosis which is fatal unless treated by insulin.

Try not to panic. If you are T1 then it's a fairly steep learning curve but it can be managed and long term you'll have more dietary freedom than a typical T2 (you can inject for carbs). While a career in the active serving military or as an astronaut is out, there are very few options closed to T1s.

Hopefully you are having frequent reviews with your doctor and/or diabetic nurse. Those levels shouldn't be ignored for any length of time. Don't let them forget or ignore you.

Good luck.
 
Hello @Lucyclaire7 ,

Type 1 or type 2... That's the question right now I suppose. You're still running quite high in spite of a lot of medication being thrown at you, so you might want to get that C-peptide and GAD testing done sooner rather than later. If you're a T1, you want to know, and especially the rapid weight loss could indicate that. I'm a T2 and lost weight fast myself though, without trying, so it CAN happen to a T2, but doesn't occur often. Test are the only way to find out. With levels as high as yours though, I'd follow @EllieM 's suggestion and get something to measure ketones with right quick. Blood, not urine, as you want it to be as accurate as possible. If ketones are high and your blood sugars are too, get help. Things can go downhill very fast with diabetic ketoacidosis.

Now, in case you're a T2, diet's very important. https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html contains some of the basics. Keep in mind though that with your current regime of medication you'd likely experience hypo's if going low carb. (Provided you're a T2).

So all in all... Find out your type. You might not want to wait to see whether the medication does anything, because with late onset T1 there is such a thing as a honeymoon period: your pancreas might still be making insulin, and then it would seem like the medication's working. Which it would be, but only temporarily, until your pancreas gives out completely. So that's no pretty way to rule anything in or out. C-peptide and GAD tests would be far more helpful.

Good luck!
Jo
 
Hi I was diagnosed in a similar way. Call from the docs, urgent ketones test, then sent to hospital. But all places deal with it differently & I was sent home with insulin & treated as type 1 until we know otherwise.

Do you know if you had ketones on admission & your Hba1c? The hba1c tells you your average glucose levels over 3 months.

The first week my levels remained high even on insulin. So you do need to look out for DKA symptoms & seek medical help if you experience them.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/complications/diabetic_ketoacidosis?amp

Did they keep you under the hospital team to begin with? I had calls booked every week until
I was more stable.
 
Thank you to everyone who commented. Found reading them all was a huge help.

I have today been diagnosed as type 1 and will be going on insulin as of Monday.
 
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