Finally diagnosed.

[timgil]

Hi everyone,

I've posted a couple times in these forums before, basically realised something was up, read up on my symptoms, put two and two together, and got myself a meter. Found my sugar was pretty high (around 15mmol/L). I tried to make an appointment at my doctors only to find out that they had redacted me from their lists so I had to register with another doctors practice which takes time (paperwork etc). Same time I was not feeling well at all so phone out of hours doctor and they told me to go to A&E as I had blood sugar levels of 27mmol/L and keytones 8mmol/L in urine. Of course once I got there it was treated as an emergency as suspected DKA as they had no clue if I was type 1 or 2 as I had never been diagnosed. After 4 hours they let me go home - but they did no follow up etc.

Eventually got registered with new doctors and had an appointment for 28th December, but someone spotted me saying diabetes and no diagnosis has been done, and they noticed I had been to A&E and nothing done after so they moved my appointment forward - got a phone call today to go see diabetes nurse today.

Have to say she was very nice. It was a 10 min appointment but she spend over 30 mins with me. Gave me some advice and some literature (which I will make my own evaluation of), took bloods, and a haemoglobin test. I asked her if this was the hba1c, and she said it was. Kinda surprised me as I thought that had to go to a lab, but she had a machine on her counter that did it in around 6 mins - so not sure if that's the same thing. Either way - she said it was 120 (or so) and said it was through the roof. If I read some conversions right - about 13%? Sending bloods off today and I have another appointment with her on Monday when she bloods should be back - basically double check the readings from her machine, and also check for other problems.

Started me on 2mg Glimepiride for now to get levels down quick, said that would probably be replaced with metformin once the levels are lower.

Not sure how I feel about this. I've been taking this well I think - but somehow having someone actually say "yes, you have type 2 diabetes" it's hit me more than before even though I KNEW I did with finger prick readings of between 12.5mmol/L and 19+mmol/L. My symptoms have got far better since suspecting my feeling rough all the time was maybe caused by diabetes and changing my lifestyle a fair amount. I've lost weight (apparently very noticeably to someone I work with who's been off ill for 4 weeks), I have cut down my carbs from probably 500+ a day to around 120-150, virtually cut out sugar etc. Of course the fact that Glimepiride can cause weight gain is not encouraging, but I am told this will be cut down and probably stopped once I am on metformin. I believe the Glimepiride is because it has quicker effect and my levels are pretty high - does that sound right?

I do think I am already heading in the right direction - my blood sugar levels are already lower than they were due to diet changes. My first real warning signs that made me sit up and read up was polydipsia but I have no idea what my blood sugar levels were back then as that stopped before I started using a meter. That's since stopped - which i believe is down to my self management, but clearly that isnt going to be enough to manage this without medicines.

Anyway - thats my story, back to the diabetes nurse on Monday, then... whatever in the weeks to come.

(sorry about the wall of text - I tend to ramble)

 

[Rachox]

Hi timgil and welcome! Firstly, although you may have already seen @daisy1 ’s useful info post, I’ve tagged her in to post it for you as a reminder is always useful. A definite diagnosis is a shock for us all, I remember very clearly the shell shocked feelings I had on my diagnosis which was 19 months ago now. You have made a good start with your understanding of the importance of reducing your carbs and self testing. I’m not familiar with your medications so I don’t know if there’s a risk of hypo as your levels drop, but hopefully your nurse has covered this with you if necessary.
Let us know how you get on on Monday. Have a good read around the forum and ask us anything that concerns you, there will always be an answer forthcoming.

 

[daisy1]

@timgil
Hello Timgil and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful and interesting.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. From what you say particularly the high BS and weight loss I suspect that you may be a LADA (late onset T1). The Glimepiride may help al least for a while but you may be in the honeymoon period during which your insulin output may continue to decrease. If so insulin may be needed but don't panic as it's not a problem and does the job. Many of us have been down the same road. Keep the carbs down. BTW I'm impressed that your nurse had access to a portable HBa1C machine as most surgeries don't have them (why?). The private hospital I used a 3 years ago used one to do my HBa1C in 5 minutes.

 

[Phoenix55]

It is hard, having an initial suspicion confirmed. It could be worse - it could come out of the blue. Well done with making some adjustments already, you are clearly heading in the right direction if work colleagues are commenting! Keep going with the lower carbs as best as you can, the longer you keep it up the better you will feel and the quicker your bg will come down. It is a hard time of year to start your journey but if you can cope with this then you will be able to cope with most things. Get out there, have fun, I snack on olives of various types, salami and soft cheese, treat yourself to some really good cheeses and a bottle of whisky (not if you are driving but for consumption at home). Keep cutting down on the sugar. Keep in touch and let us know how you get on with the DN on Monday, she sounds like a keeper. Remember you are still you, don't let the diabetes stop you being the best version of you.

 

[timgil]

Well, went back to the DN today, A1c confirmed at 120, kidney function fine, cholesterol 5.1mmol/L so 0.1 over the threshold. As I am eating more healthily now, I don't think I need to be too worried about that as hopefully it will be going down with my current diet. Some other tests not back yet - but she seemed happy enough.

After three days on Glimepiride, my levels have come down and are somewhere between 8 and 12 now depending on the time of day, which is a vast improvement. Hopefully that will reduce more, and I know I need to watch now for the possible occurrence of hypos. Overall a short and positive return visit. Two more appointments booked in for next year so far, foot check and first month review. I am determined to have a lower reading by then!

 

[Debandez]

Well done you. You are gaining control. And from the changes you have made already you are seeing significant improvements. Brilliant. I am one of many on this forum who managed to reduce their hba1c level to non diabetic in a relatively short space of time. For me it was 6 months with low carb high healthy fat way of eating. And an added bonus of weight loss that usually happens with this woe. My symptoms disappeared and to be honest I've never felt better in all my adult life and I'm 56 now. Keep doing what you are doing. Cutting out sugar is the way, and as carbs turn to glucose the lower the carbs the better. I eat less than 50g a day on average. But many on here go keto which is less than 20g. You will find your own happy level. It's a wonderful community of people on here who want to help as much as possible. You have come to the right place.