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Diagnosed today...

L

Luthien

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
[UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE THREAD]

Hello all,

Today I received the news that I am in fact, diabetic. The doctor says its most likely type 2, but I have not been told for sure what type it is. I've read through some of the other posts and I think its safe to say I'm just as scared everyone else when they first get their diagnosis. This is how my journey is going.

I've been morbidly obese(136kg) for a good portion of my life, now 29yo. About 6 months ago I made the decision to stop drinking fruit juice and soda's, purely to try save some cash. I had hoped that I would lose some weight as a result of the change. Nothing changed, my weight didn't budge. That is, until 2 months ago when I started losing weight without doing anything different. A client I work with, who is a doctor, noticed my weight loss and congratulated me on taking steps to improve my health. I explained to him that I'm not doing anything different except the change to water 6 months ago. To which he replied, "get it checked, just in case."

I was concerned that it had something to do with thyroid, mother has thyroid issues also. So 3 days ago I had my labs done. it was at that point the doctor said it could be diabetes. Today, it was confirmed by an internal medicine doctor. My hemoglobin A1c is 9.6. This is just the start of my confusion.
The lab results give:
Normal: <5.7
Prediabetic: 5.7-6.4
Diabetic: >6.4
How does this relate to the results mentioned elsewhere on the forum?

Like many others, quite frankly, I'm terrified and I dont know where to go or what to do. I've seen other people mention low carb diets. That's all well and good, except I also have familial hypocholesteremia, hereditary high cholesterol. Throughout my life and dozens of doctors, I've only ever come across 1 doctor who had seen cholesterol higher than mine. mine is normally in the range of 700-750 for LDL. With having to remove or cut down on carbs, what's left? I feel defeated... and the sugar on top(guess I cant really make that joke anymore) I just literally just received the report from radiology that I have grade 2 fatty liver. Since I was a child I knew I wouldn't pass 40, I accepted that, sacrificed things because of it. I didn't get married, I'll never have children, I can't bare the thought of me passing and leaving someone behind. I've lived my life trying my best to love every minute, but to get this news at 29 and know that my body is yet again failing me is just... I don't have the words... I'm not ready for this, I cant afford more medications, I can't afford the tests, I can BARELY afford the food I eat now! I'll leave the current emotional state out of it...

I guess that's my journey so far, got more tests on Monday to see how effective the medication is. I guess I'll post an update then...

If there is a god, I just pray that I will look back on this moment and have it be the lowest point in my life.
 
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A1C is measured in different units in the UK. Your values, when converted to UK units, is about 81.4 mmol/L
maybe you could post what you generally eat ?
what has your doctor suggested? Do they want to medicate? i am sure others will post with their experiences. Stay calm, have a long chat with your doctor and read this forum!
hugs….
 
For what it’s worth, my Ha1bc was 88 which is higher than yours when I was first diagnosed in 2014. I have not managed my health well at all until last year and the latest test showed 61. I expect it to be even lower next month at my next test, after fully embracing Low Carb (20g-ish) Healthy Fat since November.

You are in the right place here to help you through this. You can do it.
 
Hi Luthien,

I feel for you, truly. You'll find plenty of support and advice on this forum.

Many on this forum practice a very low carb diet as a means to control their T2, but it's not the only way to do it. Medication helps a lot, and some of the older medications such as Metformin are quite cheap as far as drug prices go. Mention to your doctor that medication price is an important factor for you so you're not prescribed the newer, fancier drugs that you may not be able to afford.

As a starting point it might be a good idea to think about how to reduce your carb intake a bit. Not very low carb, just lower than you're used to. In my case the first thing I did was to think about all the meals I was eating day by day, check out their carb and calorie content, eliminate the worst meals and replace them with healthier alternatives or reduce the amount of carbs in the meal. It's a simple first step and makes a difference. Psychologically, for me at least, just the act of doing that helped me feel like I was taking back a little control.

Here's a link to the US/UK blood sugar converter:

Blood Sugar Glucose Converter for Diabetes

Convert blood sugar/glucose from mmol/L (UK standard) to mg/dl (US standard) and vice versa using our blood sugar converter.
www.diabetes.co.uk

I wish you the very best of luck and success.

Edited by mods to remove untrue information
 
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I apologise in advance if I'm wrong, but I have been told that the types of food required in order to put T2 Diabetes into med free remission are not as expensive in the USA as are the medications which frankly don't do as good a job by themselves.

I'm talking about (normal - not low fat) ground beef, eggs, fish, chicken and non-starchy veg. Or cheaper still fasting - at zero cost (look up Dr Jason Fung's books and videos).

You seem content to only live to 40, so be re-assured Diabetes (for Type 2) kills very slowly over several/many years. But I personally would prefer to die suddenly (perhaps a heart attack like my father) rather slowly of diabetes.

However, if you prefer take a look at the blog post by a fellow member of this forum which got me started on the path to medicine free T2D remission:

The Nutritional Thingy

There’s a few things you should know. 1. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested , so not just straight sugars, but starches...
josekalsbeek.blogspot.com

Note, it only took a few months before I was only pre-diabetic and then at the net 6-monthly HbA1C I was in the non-diabetic range. I have now been in remission for nearly 4 years.
 
You should probably get antibodies tests ... and possibly c-peptide as well.

Cutting out the fruit juice and soda will go some way to addressing a fatty liver. Reducing fructose and alcohol consumption will also help ...

It's probably better to talk to the doctor about other changes in diet ... but real food and minimise/avoid highly processed food is likely to help also.
 
Mate ,heads up ,when i got my diagnostic of type 2 at 37 i was down ,that was four monts ago ,136kg to 1.8m height ,first month or so metoformin 4 a day ,my a1c they said the highest they so in a while, then i got myself a gcm and started low carb ,keto +strenght training 1h+45min cardio ,i manage to lose in two months 12kg and agording to cgm and finger picks i should be in remission ,only normal values and estimated a1c to 5% ,last 4 days normal eating but not going overboard with nothing 120g carb a day more or less.
 

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Hello & welcome, you're in the right place.

Firstly, don't panic!
With some lifestyle changes you can take control back, you've already made some changes with giving up the juice & sodas, even though for a different reason. Best advice I can give is get a blood glucose testing kit, if you're able, as that really helps knowing how you react to certain foods. Plus, read a lot of what is on the forum, especially about taking on a low carb way of life. It does mean you will lose some of your favourites & processed foods, but they're probably what caused the problem in the first place. You can find new favourites & bring your numbers down, but your view of life expectancy up. Think positively, you're but a young kid & have a life ahead of you, that could easily include a wife & children.
It's in your hands & you can do it!
 
I completely hear where you're coming from, and since you are burdened with high cholesterol, I take it you're on statins? Those can up glucose too, so it won't only have been the soda's and such. And sometimes, you just don't have a choice and will have to stay on them, so yeah... And non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is something most T2's are blessed with. (Mine should've killed me 6 years or so ago, but low carbing got it sorted.). There may be a whole lot going on, but you're certainly not the only one juggling different conditions and needs, and still... You can take steps.

There are many, many of us here who have adopted some form of diet that works for us. For some, that means no dairy, or no meats, or other stuff they're allergic or sensitive to, or things they physically can't swallow, or have a mental block against. You don't follow a book, or say, the Nutritional Thingy to the letter, what you do is find what works for YOU, specifically. Dropping the juice'll go a long way in helping your liver recover, I'm sure, because we don't do well on fructose, as it turns out. And your blood sugars will thank you for it too. Water, that works. See? If you can drop the carbs but not up the fats, how about protein? You don't have to eat sticks of butter every day to follow a ketogenic diet.... I mean, you could go carnivore and exist mainly on protein, if I take things to extremes just for an example's sake. You can find a low carb way of eating that suits you. Can't do egg yolks due to cholesterol? Just have the whites, then. (I do believe they're sold in milk carton-ish fashion here and there). Meats, poultry, (parts of) eggs, fish, none of that will raise blood sugars and will give you something to go on. Basically, the most important thing is to get yourself a meter. Try out foods you think would be decent for your situation... See whether they fit. It's your body, I assume you're going to be living in it for a while yet, no matter what you think the big 4-0 might hold in store, so.... Find out what works for you. Uniquely, you. Your meter'll tell you.

Don't give up just yet. We won't give up on you either.
Hugs,
Jo
 
@Luthien I am looking forward to reading this thread in 20 years, asking you how you are doing, and having you reply you are doing great! It’s absolutely possible, you know. One bite at a time, little by little, a change here, tweak there, and the support you will get here.
 
I understand those glucose numbers, it's the other system I have trouble with for now.
My last results random 5.7
A1C 6.6, that's down .1 from 3 months ago.
My profile says predibetes... for now. I have an appt Tuesday where, no doubt, I'll be joining the club no one want to belong to.

Start making changes where you can, cutting carbs may be easier than you think. One piece of bread instead of two. ... measure rice and potatoes or give them up altogether. While we are all programmed to want sweets, after cutting them out you do lose the cravings for it ,( for the most part, lol, then along comes a holiday, a dinner party...)

If the Dr. hasn't mentioned it ,ask for referrals to a diabetes education program, dietitian, etc. I don't know where you are but could be covered by healthcare or private plans .

Lots of resources out there. It can be overwhelming, as I am about to find out.

Lots of friendly support in the forums. Can you ask family and friends support?

You are not alone.
 
It definitely sounds like type 2 diabetes my wife was overweight at 5 foot she weighed 18 stone and was diagnosed. When she lost the weight and got down to a uk size 12 she now has been told the diabetes is at a normal level and she doesn't take any medication or anything.
Losing weight will help.
 
I want to begin my update just by saying thank you to everyone who's posted advice and words of encouragement. It's definitely helped me calm myself down to a degree.

To answer a few of the questions:
maybe you could post what you generally eat ?
Click to expand...
I eat a bit more meat than the average person. As a general rule, my day to day lunch would be 2x shawarma(small) or 2x cheese manakish(arabic flatbread with cheese). For dinner, it ranges wildly... could be a steak, could be stir fry, some pizza every 2 weeks maybe, pasta once every 3 months(ish), i think the most processed food i eat would be the pizza every now and then. I kind of just eat whatever's there and for the most part, it isn't very unhealthy highly processed foods. even the pizza we make ourselves, just the cheese comes in a wheel.

what has your doctor suggested? Do they want to medicate?
Click to expand...
I've been prescribed:
Gliclazide 60mg twice daily
Sitagliptin, Metformin 50mg/1000mg once daily
B1, B6, B12 vitamin once daily
I am skeptical as to why the doc would prescribe gliclazide when I'm losing weight already and quite frankly we dont know what affect that will have on the diabetes.

You should probably get antibodies tests ... and possibly c-peptide as well.

Cutting out the fruit juice and soda will go some way to addressing a fatty liver. Reducing fructose and alcohol consumption will also help ...
Click to expand...
I plan to ask the doctor either today/tomorrow about the tests. I am thinking about trying to find a new doctor though. The current doctor seems to rush appts and answers very few questions and doesn't seem open to being asked questions. could be a communication barrier though.
If I drink more than 100ml of liquor in 6 months, its a lot. no alcohol allowed in the residence(out of respect for the Muslims who live here, not forced though) and I'm not paying 21USD for a pint at a pub. as for fructose... closest thing I could imagine would be the maple syrup I used last year for some crepes or the canned fruit salad my mother had me try at Christmas(absolutely disgusting, 0/10 do not recommend)

the types of food required in order to put T2 Diabetes into med free remission are not as expensive in the USA
Click to expand...
I live in the middle east, most food is imported and anything that is grown locally just quite frankly, is horrible. thankfully I dont generally have to pay for food, but that also means i've had very little control over my diet. The meds aren't too expensive, but with my joke of a salary, it definitely takes a chunk out of it. Especially with the gcm which took about 10% of my salary this month, not including the testing strips or lancets.

But I personally would prefer to die suddenly (perhaps a heart attack like my father) rather slowly of diabetes.
Click to expand...
not necessarily a question. but yeah, I suppose that's all we can really hope for. The thought of wasting away to diabetes is what scares me more than anything right now.

and since you are burdened with high cholesterol, I take it you're on statins?
Click to expand...
I stopped taking statins almost a decade ago. for some reason they caused me to have blackouts whenever I stood up(sitting around 10-15 min beforehand, averaged 5-6 blackouts a day). The last day I took them, I blacked out onto the asphalt in summer(60c summers here btw) and landed up with first degree burns on my right arm and back. I've asked the doctors repeatedly to try get me onto the new cholesterol meds, but.... not covered by insurance and I cant afford 150USD a month on a single medication.



as for a general update...

After having a definitely slight mental breakdown(that's what I'm telling myself) in the pharmacy today, I got myself a glucometer and have started testing myself before eating and 2h after the first bite. for todays readings... 71 before food, 92 2h later(Chinese chicken hakka noodles with a side of sweet and sour prawns, which after researching, I really REALLY shouldn't be eating....). I did have food earlier in the day(5h prior) before I got the meter. which.... from what I've seen is encouraging numbers???? I'm not 100% sure if its not too low now and maybe the meds need to be adjusted... I think I remember seeing somewhere that 80-130 is being "normal" before food.

I've branched out a little and tried my first sugar free drink(Lipton zero sugar peach ice tea) in, well, since I can remember... and while definitely not bad, not a fan of the aftertaste it leaves in my mouth for 45 min afterwards and I think I'll just stick to water, I've found that nothing is quite as refreshing as ice cold water now... maybe a slice of lemon if I'm feeling posh.

My weight continues to drop at an alarming rate, this week alone has been a drop of 2kg. brings it up to just shy of 12kg lost in a little over 2 months. While I am very happy to be losing weight, I just wish I knew why I'm losing weight so quickly while changing nothing other than the change to water 6 months ago, which for 4 whole months didn't cause any changes in my weight. The doctor has been next to useless in giving me an answer to why I'm losing weight and it's infuriating me, the best she gave me was some metaphor about how my blood is like sugar in a frying pan(????????????????) I'm just hoping that nothing more sinister is waiting to rear its ugly head... been 136.0kg-136.7kg for over 8 years.... 12kg lost in 2 months without changing anything doesn't seem normal or healthy to me....

I apologize if I'm using this as kind of like a blog... it helps me to put everything down and hopefully get some answers from people who are going through similar situations. I honestly cannot thank everyone enough for the responses so far... I've been forced down this rabbit hole and its nice to know there's more than a few people willing to offer me a hand.
 
Hi Luthia, I can’t comment to your additional medical conditions but I can give you hope regarding your diabete, I was diagnosed with type 1 at sixteen, I also was told that if I was lucky I would make 40. It changed the direction of my life, I lived life to the full, I saw as much of the world as I could, I took risks that I shouldn’t have.
I am now 67! I am type 1 for 51 years, I have had complication, I had a heart attack at 48 but thanks to doctors, I had a stent fitted. One doctor told me he was shocked at how well I coped and he wrote in a book that people like me live a good life with T1 because of the my state of mind I have, it never defeated me but I always respected it.
i truly wish you well in your journey keep a positive mind, they are not alway right!
 
I tried to respond and the computer lost the message! I've sorted it I hope so here goes.
Has the doctor done a thyroid check, may not be the reason but its one thing that could cause problems. Especially as you already have a family member with thyroid issues. It might be a genetic link.

Age 18-21 I went from 11 stone to 9stone 6 lb, no diet changes, diagnosed overactive thyroid.. in 20s and thirties thyroid got underactiveactive, weight going back on slowly. I have autoimmune problems aparently.

There are so many reasons to make you lose weight. When I lost it in my 20s, I was told it was puppy fat I'd got older and that is when you lose weight as other people in the family did as well- I don't think that was true!! Old wives tale! In some cases starting a very active job, after leaving school age 15-16 caused it. wartime rationing was another cause.

I'm 71, been on thyroxine ever since but some drs want to change things, so you need to find out as much as you can before you talk to them. This forum has members who know more than me. Hope you get answers soon.
 
Hi Luthien,

Diabetes is not a sudden thing (although the diagnosis can be a shock) so think on a timescale of months or years for getting it under control. Getting a meter was a wise move (even though the strips will go on costing you money for a while) because it will give you data to relate how your blood glucose levels vary in response to the different kinds and amounts of food you eat. Once you know that, you can set yourself targets, try to adjust your diet accordingly (as far as you can, I appreciate you don't have much control) and you will not need to meter so often. It took me a few months to get enough data but now that I know what not to eat and how much of different things are okay, I've got my T2 into remission. My grown-up son on the other hand, who has the same T2 as me (it's presumably a hereditary predisposition) eats what he likes, takes Metformin and doesn't listen to his father. Everyone is different.

I won't try to give you specific advice because we are obviously polar opposites - I'm chronically underweight and have low cholesterol - and my diet of low starch, high fat and high protein wouldn't necessarily be right for you. But maybe I can explain a few things. The peak 2h after a meal is from starch; the sugar peak happens much more quickly, on a timescale of minutes, and you probably won't see it in your meter numbers although it will show up in the A1c results. The more starch you consume, the higher 2h peak (within limits) and the longer it takes to go down (which might be many hours, depending how active you are) and the A1c responds to both factors combined.

The real message is - you are not alone !
 
Hello Luthien
I can really empathise with your disappointment and fear. However, it's a good thing that you have been diagnosed - you'll be in a much better position to manage your health. I am in the UK so I don't really understand your numbers. However, I also have familial hypercholesterolemia and type 2 diabetes. I have never been particularly overweight, but my FH was discovered when I was 40, which is 32 years ago now. I'm 72, and was diagnosed with diabetes 12 years ago. I felt utterly miserable thinking I had to cut down carbs as well as the fats - what's left to eat? The answer is to take those carbs as unrefined rather than refined - that means wholemeal bread, crackers, brown rice, potatoes with the skins on. I draw the line at wholemeal pasta - it's disgusting. I make a green smoothie every morning. For me and my husband I blend a banana, a handful of spinach or kale, an apple, a chunk of cucumber and a stick of celery with some oat milk and water - it gets blitzed in the nutribullet and it's a great start to the day - all that fibre is great for your gut microbes which help to regulate your sugars. And I know it sounds disgusting but it grows on you. And as the gastroenterologist said "You don't have to like it, you just have to drink it". But to me it's delicious.

And I'm still active and mobile - last weekend I ran 3 miles (yes I know not very far) and I swim 20 lengths of the local pool twice a week. I honestly believe that the best thing you can do for yourself going forward is to follow your medic's advice regarding medication in the short term, and then take a longterm approach to diet and exercise. Exercise is so important. With your blood sugars more under control you will find the weight drops off and if you start to do light to moderate exercise you'll be pushing those calories into your cells to fuel your exercise. It's a positive process. You'll feel more energetic and actually start to enjoy yourself.

I'll be thinking of you, so when you feel low and discouraged remember there's an old lady in England with the same conditions as you who's active and enjoying life, and not afraid any more.
 
@Luthien
I'm not diagnosing, but to me your age 29 and sudden unexplained weightloss would be red flags pointing towards t1 rather than t2.
Just watch for sudden high bg and high ketones. Make sure you have a way of testing the latter. Pee sticks are cheap, monitors les so but more accurate.
If you have both high bg and high ketones get to hospital as there's a state called dka which is very dangerous. Its rare but watch out.
If it is t1 your pancreas may be giving up in fits and spurts, hence the uncertainty by your doctors.
It your are in fact t2, then low carb and weightless are they way to go.
Good luck, and keep posting
 
Don't ever give up Luthien, keep trying to do the right thing. Search videos, seek support. We know the inevitable.... So be philosophical and enjoy what you can while you can. Having children and getting married is not the picnic it's painted to be. Try to have faith in both god and yourself.
 
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