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Correctly diagnosed?

L

lonelyartist1969

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Hi All
I'm a 45yo male with type 2 diabetes, have had it for two and a half years now and don't seem to be able to get my controls right and am wondering if I have possibly been miss diagnosed!

Since being diagnosed I have lost weight (am now comfortably in my ideal weight zone), brought my BMI to a safe level, I exercise more and eat a healthier diet, have cut out, almost completely alcohol, I don't and have never smoked but cant get blood sugars down out of the high teen mid 20 range.....my last HB1ca was 11.5!! Oh and I also take 375mg of venlafaxine daily for depression.

I take 3000mg metformin, 320mg gliclazide and 100mg of januvia daily but there is no reduction in blood sugars. Doctor says to keep monitoring for another month but I am beginning to worry about long term health issues as this has been like this for at least the last 6 months!!

Has anyone else suffered similar problems and what was the outcome?

Many thanks in advance.
 
Hi lonelyartist and welcome to the forum :) It sounds as though you could do with some help. Here is a document normally given to newly diagnosed diabetics but I think it might help you too. It was written by the forum monitors. If this doesn't help you then I think you ought to go back to your doctor soon.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l........(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Daisy thanks for that :)
I do look at the whole carb thing......my 14yo has been a type 1 diabetic for 12 and a half years and is on the basal bolus regime.

I just feel as though i'm not being taken seriously.....I was asked by one of the practice GPs why I was testing my blood sugars!! :shock:
 
Yes I had similar problems. Finally got tested for type 1, surprise surprise it was positive. Have you been tested? If not get your GP to order the test. If he won't, get him to refer you to a consultant.
 
...and even if the test says you are still type 2 it sounds as if going on to insulin might be of benefit to you...
don't give up pestering your docs, you are quite right to do so. It's your health.
 
I think I was in the same boat. Lost far too much weight, felt tired most of the time when I was originally diagnosed with Type 2, Was on Metformin for good few months with not a lot of success at getting my scores down.

It took a visit to A&E and an overnight stay in Hospital ( a request from a Diabetic Consultant not my GP) for the right diagnosis to come my way which was to put me on insulin. Since then everything works ok and feel so much better. Like Snodger says you need to pester your GP what you are going through doesn't sound right to me.

Neil
 
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