Confused Newbie

[klogs17]

Hi all. Well I have been living with the shock of high readings of BG and BP for a month now (HbA1C was 123 and BP 170/119). Immediately started on Metformin (gradual uptake of dosage to 4 a day) and Ramipril. Testing my bloods at set levels and now have an average of 5.9 with the GlucoRx Nexus. BP has come down but still having to have meds tweaked. Overweight by 8lbs and walk average 5 miles a day. Have not come across many with readings like this and would appreciate any feedback? Still have no idea if I am definitely type 2 but am I right to presume that it is looking more likely that I am.

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @klogs17 and welcome to the forum.

Are you a Type 2 ? I can't possibly know since there is a default assumption that adults newly diagnosed with diabetes are Type 2 where if diagnosed as a child the assu7mption is Type1 (unless severely obese). There are 2 specific blood tests for Type 1 but they take much longer to get a result and are much more expensive so since the majority of adults are Type 2 it is only those with an unusual profile who are given those tests.

You don't say anything about emergency admission to hospital which most adult Tpe1's would need with a number as high as 123, because it would be accompanied by high Ketones in the form of Ketoacidosis which is a life threatening condition.

When I was diagnosed as Type 2 I was only 2lbs overweight (yes about 10% of Type 2's are skinny when diagnosed). Type 2 is an intolerance to the carbohydrates in our foods, where Type 1 is a result of the destruction of the Beta Cells in the Pancreas which are what makes our natural Insulin.

 

[klogs17]

Thank you for the reply. No emergency hospital admission. Was just advised if I felt unwell to go straight to hospital.

 

[Ronancastled]

So you've gone from an average BG of 18.7 (A1c 123) to 5.7 in a month ???
Your body must feel like it needs to reject you, your eyesight must have crazy, you must have crazy insomnia & be ridden with anxiety.

Talk to me . . .

 

[klogs17]

So you've gone from an average BG of 18.7 (A1c 123) to 5.7 in a month ???
Your body must feel like it needs to reject you, your eyesight must have crazy, you must have crazy insomnia & be ridden with anxiety.

Talk to me . . .

Thanks for the reply. Yes to those readings. Upon understanding the readings better I asked my PN to just reiterate my A1c of 123 from 25 Aug. Forgot to say was initially on Gliclazide but had a few lows so told to stop taking it. Eyes are blurry but advised it’s probably the metformin and they should stabilise. As for the anxiety and insomnia, suffered with both for 7 years. This diagnosis has just inflamed both.

 

[klogs17]

I went from 126 on diagnosis at the end of last October to 42 at the end of February, I was still 42 when I was tested 2 weeks ago.

I don’t think you can work out what your reading will be based on an average of daily blood tests, my pre meal tests are generally 4.8 to 5.3, but my fasting is still in the 6s and I got a 42.

That said, if you are not there yet, you are certainly heading in the right direction which is brilliant, keep it up .

Thank you for replying. You’ve done well to drop to good levels and keep within range.

I won’t be back for my next A1c until late November so just working with what I’ve got for now. Asked to only test a couple of times a weeks now.

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. Yes, that was a big BS drop. As you have excess weight T2 is likely due to insulin resistance but T1 is always possible so keep that in the background. You need to keep the carbs in your diet down and although exercise is important, the right diet will trump that. The blurry eyes is likely to be due to the high BS you have had rather than Metformin which in not known to cause vision problems; it should gradually resolve itself.

 

[klogs17]

Hi and welcome. Yes, that was a big BS drop. As you have excess weight T2 is likely due to insulin resistance but T1 is always possible so keep that in the background. You need to keep the carbs in your diet down and although exercise is important, the right diet will trump that. The blurry eyes is likely to be due to the high BS you have had rather than Metformin which in not known to cause vision problems; it should gradually resolve itself.

Thank you for the reply. Thankfully excess weight is already dropping off. Was at the optician day before diagnosis (OCT scanned) with no issues with eyes or prescription, so definitely putting blurry vision down to the meds I’m on.