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Hi - waiting for diagnosis

H

Helss

Active Member
Messages
44
Location
London
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi there,

Back in February I had a 24 hour Blood Pressure monitoring and the usual blood tests. Turns out I don't have high BP, but had a fasting glucose of 7.1 and GP said I was probably Type 2. Took me a fortnight to get a GP appointment after the tests, where she told me she was going to test again and not to do any drastic diets until the results were in. I did nothing until after that second test, then decided to go lower carb to see what happened and started testing my blood sugar. A fortnight later and I finally had an appointment for result, where I was rather surprised that she was furious with me for doing anything until I had the results. I genuinely didn't know I'd done anything wrong - just felt empowered. I had 7.1 fasting and 43 HBA1C at that point. (Didn't even know which tests she was running that time). She wants me to do the glucose drink test, which with Easter and hospital opening hours for the blood clinic will mean another four weeks until I hear for certain if I'm diabetic.

I'm trying to be positive and not get overwhelmed by all the different information plus feeling pretty unsupported by my GP. But I'm struggling with getting my head round this and denying myself food I love. I'm slightly overweight (5'6" weigh 11stone 9) so although we have a family history, I wasn't expecting it at age 46. And I'm furious with my GP to the extent that I'm thinking of changing surgeries. She said if I am, I must have metformin, if I'm not then I don't. I would only get a referral to the diabetic services if I am Type 2, not pre-diabetic.

What I suppose I most want to know is that if I technically am Type 2 but have already brought my bloods down to Pre-diabetic levels, would that matter for the short term in terms of taking this third test?
 
Hi, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you've been left in limbo, although sadly that is quite a common story. Lots of people are given a diagnosis of T2, told to go away and lose some weight then come back in a year for another test! If you are borderline T2 and have a fairly low HbA1c then don't feel pressured to start taking Metformin right away unless you want to. I'm tagging @daisy1 for her newbie guide to T2 :)
 
Hi. I agree with @Alzebra . Continue with a low-carb diet and the weight and blood sugar should come down and with a bit of luck your next HBa1C will be below pre-diabetic and no drugs needed. Daisy should be along shortly to give you excellent starter advice.
 
Thank you both. I guess to a GP this isn't an urgent diagnosis, but to me I feel like my life is on hold a bit until I know for certain what I 'am'. The monitoring I've done so far I think demonstrates pre-diabetes, but I'd prefer a firm diagnosis. For the record, when my dad was diagnosed at the age of 70 his blood glucose was off the scale at 35+ I believe. I can't believe he didn't die. He still has terrible management, won't test, is nearly blind etc. That's why I'm so bothered; I'll do everything I can to try and avoid that damage.
 
Your fasting blood glucose of 7.1 is only just above the 7 that may indicate Type 2. However, fasting blood glucose tests are notoriously unreliable because many outside factors come in to play. By the time the test is taken you have got out of bed and started your day, had a shower, rushed about, got yourself to the surgery, and felt a bit anxious about what was going to happen. All this could potentially raise your levels. Dashing about and stress, especially on an empty tummy, can cause your liver to dump natural glucose in to your blood stream, and this will impact on any spot test. The HbA1c, however, is a sort of average of your glucose levels over the preceding 2 to 3 months and far more reliable. The result of 43 is only just over the threshold.

If, after your next lot of tests, your levels haven't deteriorated unduly, you should not be offered Metformin. It is for diabetics, not for pre-diabetics, and even diabetics are generally given a period of grace to try diet before tablets.
 
@Helss maybe ask yourself what your reaction would be to A) you have T2 diabetes B) you are pre-diabetic C) you are 'normal'. Either way, it sounds like you are worried and want to get your sugar levels down, and you don't need your GPs help with that (in fact many of us find we do better by following advice on here rather than the NHS 'Eatwell' diet advice). Sorry to hear about your worries with your Dad, it's hard isn't it?
 
Hi @Helss From what I have read on here, the glucose drink test cannot be done without you eating "normal" carb amounts for a few days prior to the test. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will elaborate on this.
 
Hmm, interesting. My GP refused to give me any dietary advice at all beyond "do what sensible people do as it depends on the diagnosis."
 
@Helss

Hello and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful if you are diagnosed diabetic, prediabetic or just want to eat healthily to keep diabetes at bay. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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 over 150,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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 bloodglucose 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.
 
Alzebra said:
@Helss maybe ask yourself what your reaction would be to A) you have T2 diabetes B) you are pre-diabetic C) you are 'normal'. Either way, it sounds like you are worried and want to get your sugar levels down, and you don't need your GPs help with that (in fact many of us find we do better by following advice on here rather than the NHS 'Eatwell' diet advice). Sorry to hear about your worries with your Dad, it's hard isn't it?
Click to expand...
Good questions. Whatever happens, I intend to lose weight and this is a motivation to do it. I haven't thought through to the rest - maybe I've been focussing on the wrong thing. Thank you for highlighting it so well.
 
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