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Diagnosed Today

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Grant N

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Hi all, I went to the doctors couple of weeks ago as I was feeling exhausted had been losing weight and my eye sight was becoming very poor especially late in the working day when I found it hard to focus,the doctor agreed to take bloods etc. and 2 days later I was called in.I was told my glucose was high and to make an appointment for more bloods and urine. I had read through this forum which has been a great source of information got myself a meter and tested 17.5, I have had no sugar this week and kept to a very low carb diet and the tests have went down to 14,s and some 12,s .I have lost another 4 kg over the last 2 weeks thirst has increased along with eyesight problems .I have seen the doctor today who confirmed my HbA1c was 100 told type 2 and to take 500g metformin .Eye exam and a scan off my pancreas have been booked as well.Having information from this site I did ask if an antibody test would be appropriate as I was never overweight and quite fit,she said they couldn't do that and I would have to ask the diabetic team when they get in touch.She said she would sent them an email and mention my weight loss then they may want to see me or maybe not .I'm 52 so maybe fit into type 2 . I'm not to phased by it all but have a nagging suspicion I might fall into type 1.5 .Any advice most welcome Thanks
 
Hello welcome!
The thing is between all the types of diabetes the symptoms could arguably be the same - extreme thirst etc. Except for unintended weight loss, now I'm quite worried so I don't know whether you want to rush to A&E tomorrow to talk about your weight loss and extreme thirst. If it is type 1 or type 1.5, you'll need emergency insulin asap.
However for your doctor, the only way to know if when they do tests like GAD and c-peptide to see what is really going on.
 
I would recommend getting some ketone testing strips (some meters test blood for ketones but you should be able to get urine testing strips from the chemist if you don't have one of those). Just testing once a day should tell you whether ketones are an issue, though I'm not sure how high the levels on urine testing strips have to go for DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis, which is what undiagnosed T1s get eventually without insulin).

Unfortunately some 38% of T1s diagnosed as adults are initially misdiagnosed as T2. As the T1 to T2 ratio is 1 to 10 that still means that most T2s are diagnosed correctly, but it does mean that you have a (small) chance of needing insulin. Despite the fact that we have an (ex) prime minister who had this issue, many (most ?) GPs still seem to think that new T1s have to be under the age of 30 (or even under the age of 20 for some GPs), so they have a bad tendency to assume T2 and that nothing bad will happen in a hurry. Maybe I'm being overly cynical, as I am sure there are some wonderful GPs around, but you tend to read the horror stories rather than the happy stories on these forums.

Good luck.
 
Misdiagnosis is a huge problem. I had even asked if I could be a type 1 and was told no you're not and was never tested. Luckily medications made me sick so I was put on insulin, but it wasn't until I switched doctors that she sent me to the new endo who tested me right away and said I was a definite type 1. It's a problem. Like Ellie M said, if you are a type 1 and high BG that has a risk of DKA that can be very serious. And like Meichanski has said, maybe you want to go to the A&E, 12 really is too high to stay at for a long time with the thirst and weight loss combined with that.

But whatever you decide keep an eye on yourself, how you feel and what your ketone levels are.
 
Thanks again for advise. I started The Metformin yesterday 2 500g per day moving to 3 next week , I have been vigilant with sugar and no carbs so thought I would get away with a couple of shredded wheat this morning (couldnt face another egg) tested an hour later and was 17.5. Early days I know but i will keep testing. Meant to say the doctor tested my keytones with a strip while I was in the surgery and it came back clear so thats good news..
 
Grant N said:
Thanks again for advise. I started The Metformin yesterday 2 500g per day moving to 3 next week , I have been vigilant with sugar and no carbs so thought I would get away with a couple of shredded wheat this morning (couldnt face another egg) tested an hour later and was 17.5. Early days I know but i will keep testing. Meant to say the doctor tested my keytones with a strip while I was in the surgery and it came back clear so thats good news..
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I’m glad ketones aren’t present, however high blood sugars are a still cause of concern and very dangerous, considering you are still waiting for a diagnosis and again with your unintended weight loss.

It doesn’t have to be eggs, it can be avocados, tofu, seitan, high fat yogurt (check of which of carbohydrates) and some berries, some bacon or sausages, mushrooms etc might still be a better choice than shredded wheat.
 
Do be pro-active and insist (urgently) that you have the T1 tests. Gad antibodies and c-peptide. Who told you they couldn't do those tests? That is blatantly not true if it was your surgery. They are only blood tests that can be sent to an appropriate lab.
 
Indeed, I hope you get the right help and a GP that will listen to you. My experience wasn’t pleasant either, it took GPs over 4 weeks to get me diagnosed, by then I was rushed to the hospital and on the deeper end of DKA. All because the doctors didn’t know what was wrong. So keep pestering the GPs for further testing and keep an eye on yourself. If you feel really unwell - extremely weak, thirsty etc, please go straight to A&E
 
I will keep ckecking , the doctor said the antibody test wasnt something they do and it would the diabetes clinic that would do this. She said she would email them due to weight loss but thought they might want to let me do a couple of weeks on drugs to see how I got on.
 
Grant N said:
I will keep ckecking , the doctor said the antibody test wasnt something they do and it would the diabetes clinic that would do this. She said she would email them due to weight loss but thought they might want to let me do a couple of weeks on drugs to see how I got on.
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She is money saving. If she delegates it to the diabetes clinic, they will have to stump up the cost. If you don't get anywhere with her, make sure you get a quick appointment with the clinic. The weight loss is very significant. As for seeing how you get on with the drugs, Metformin is a mild drug that helps to a rather limited extent. You will barely notice any difference due to Metformin. However, a very low carb diet will help providing you are still producing your own insulin. (and you will also lose more weight unless you increase your good fats appropriately)
 
It must be very worrying to be in this situation. I would go with the advice above, avoid eating carbs and keep checking what your glucose meter is reading. Drink plenty of water and make sure you don't get dehydrated if the weather starts getting hotter. Hope you get to the bottom of what's going on asap.
 
Thanks for all the advice I have an appointment with the diabetic nurse in the surgery on Tuesday ( I didnt know they even had one as the doctor I saw didnt mention this it was only when my wife went in and asked for a phone number for the hospital diabetes team they mentioned it) So 3 weeks on a mega no carb no sugar diet with metforman now and numbers not shifting much ave 12/14 with a couple of 10 and 17 .
 
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