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I really need some advice...

C

Catsymoo

Well-Known Member
Messages
301
Location
Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Having diabetes
Hello. I am 22 and I was diagnosed with diabetes just yesterday. (after losing 3 stone, bad luck eh!) They don't really know which type I have, because all of my symptoms suggest type 2, however I had ridiculously high ketones in my urine. My blood sugar yesterday morning was 37.2 and I felt really sick. I have been put on metformin for 2 weeks to give the benefit of the doubt and see how it goes. If there is no improvement I will need injections. (which I am dreading) There are a couple of questons I would like to ask, and sorry this is going to be long.

Firstly, my boyfriend lives in Holland, and I went out there to be with him about a year ago. I am a housewife over there and *unofficially* living there. It is by no means illegal, since it's the European Union, I'm just not registered or anything like that. I am currently in the UK visiting my parents, and then this happened. I was planning to go back next week, but my diabetes specialist persuaded me to stay here for 2 weeks to see how the medicine goes. I have been here for about 5 weeks now, and basically have been catching up on all the junk food I've missed. I have a pretty healthy diet in Holland, we live off of homemade vegetable soups mainly because it's cheap. I eat lots of fruit and dairy. However, we do eat ridiculous amounts of chocolate and cakes from time to time and it puzzles me how I felt fine all that time and suddenly over the last 4 weeks suffer from hyperglycemia. Anyways, taking meds and stuff isn't my concern, it's just getting them to Holland without the costs. I barely have any money, and neither does my boyfriend. I don't speak Dutch, so registering over there and getting a job will be very difficult, especially when I just want to be a housewife and raise a family. How can I get my medicine and needle etc over there without paying? Is it possible to get a year supply of medicine, needles, strips, etc in the UK and just come back to the UK once a year to get more?

I have a European Health Insurance Card, however, you still have to pay with it. You just claim it back when you come home, since it's meant for travelling. And I honestly think it's cheaper to fly back and get more medicine and things I need. I am just wondering if a doctor would prescribe such a long term amount? Is there a way around it at all? Keep in mind, registering in Holland will cause many complications as well. Health insurance is 100 euro a month at the lowest and we simply cannot afford that. My boyfriend cannot move to the UK, as he is handicapped and requires special doctors that we do not have for such a rare combination of conditions. He has offered to pay for my insurance but he is on handicap benefits at the moment and is having a lot of trouble finding a job that he can do. (he can't walk without a brace, which causes a lot of pain)

Of course, I will HAVE to register in Holland eventually, since I will get naturalized. But I'm just thinking short term e.g the next 5 to 10 years.

Any help would be much, much appreciated. Thank you. I am at my absolute wits end about this and it's really getting me down.
 
Catsymoo
You probably need to consult the doctor you are officially registered with, whichever country. about the rules
Age 22, high ketones and Metformin having no effect suggests type 1 to me. You need to see someone soon. If you have ketones and high blood glucose and feel ill; please go to A&E immediately! You are at risk of serious trouble.
Hana
 
I was only given Metformin yesterday and only took my first 500mg this morning so I don't know if it works or not. It's a trial period.
 
Do you know how high your ketones were? Did they test your blood ketone and blood glucose level before you were discharged and if they did what reading was it at? If you have developed type 1 then it would be very dangerous for you to be discharged from hospital if you still have high ketone levels and are not given insulin to bring your blood glucose levels down. If your blood glucose and ketone level is high you are in danger and need to get yourself back to A&E straight away.

You asked:
"However, we do eat ridiculous amounts of chocolate and cakes from time to time and it puzzles me how I felt fine all that time and suddenly over the last 4 weeks suffer from hyperglycemia."

Type 1 diabetes can develop quite quickly. My daughter a few weeks before being diagnosed was running around like a happy little girl with very few symptoms (on hindsight I can identify some mild symptoms but at the time they appeared nothing to be worried about). A few weeks later she got a flu-like virus and we found ourselves in A&E with very high blood glucose readings and a very unwell child. It can happen quickly.
 
Well, I'm not quite sure about the ketones. I think it was darkish purple on the little chart. I can't be in that bad of a state because I had a simple doctors appointment for back pains. (I thought it was a UTI). They did a blood test and simply referred me to the diabetes clinic later on that day. There was no A&E involved or anything. Whilst I have been in the UK, I have pretty much lived on sugary things rather than meals. (lots of fruit as well). Yet I've only really felt slightly ill/nauseous maybe 3-4 times while out. I took one 500mg pill of Metformin this morning. I was supposed to take it with dinner last night but I was in shock and upset and didn't want to eat. Had a long day and had been up 24 hours or so and fell asleep. My blood glucose was 11 this morning. Then 26 2-3 hours after eating 2 slices of white bread toast and a bowl of rice krispies. I had a banana and a can of scotch broth for my lunch and 2 hours after that it's dropped to 17. So hopefully that is a minor improvement.

My main concern is the Holland thing and getting meds, though.
 
Sorry to hear about your troubles. I can't help you re the Holland problem as I don't know their health legislation but here the doctors have only been willing to prescribe me 2 months worth of medication at one time and they only upped it to 2 months after I had been taking it for a year.

I wouldn't presume to tell you what to eat especially when they have not been difinative whether you are type 1 or 2 but it might be an idea to dramatically reduce your sugar intake i.e biscuits, fruit etc.. and see if that makes any difference to your readings. I would also cut out white bread, potatoes and rice and replace them with wholemeal or just lots of veg. The better you eat hopefully the better you will feel.

Good luck.
 
Catysmoo, hate to sound like a harbinger of doom, but metformin won't make that much difference to your blood sugar levels. The max it can do is reckoned to be about 2 mmols/l, which won't make a dent in your scores. A strict low carb diet will make much more difference, but to be honest, I would challenge whether you're T1 or T2. Don't wait long; if you keep getting levels above say 14, despite changes in diet, see your doctor again sooner rather than later.
Good luck
 
Hi Grazer. I am changing my diet, yes. I am reading everything and watching the carbs. My specialist told me that I may have insulin resistance and metformin should help the glucose get into the cells when used in combination with a healthy lifestyle. But it's mainly a trial for 2 weeks just to see if it makes any difference. I find this all kind of confusing, because after lunch my blood sugar dropped from 26 to 17, and I had a banana and some soup with a decent amount of carbs. So this suggests that I must be producing SOME insulin, no? I didn't exercise between lunch and 2 hours later sugar test either.

I just find it really odd that I have gorged on chocolate, ice cream and cakes some days and surely I would be in A&E if I wasn't producing any insulin at all. I've only ever felt slightly ill when I stand around too long in supermarkets. I have this little theory that maybe the sugar builds up slowly and that's why sometimes I feel rubbish on some days despite not eating much sugar/carbs. Maybe it catches up with me from the chocolate fests a few days before? It also is infinitely worse if I don't sleep much or at all. Those are the days where I have had funny turns while in shops and need to sit down.
 
Hi Catsymoo!

Firstly, I don't think you can use the NHS if you are not a resident of this country (or genuinely visiting - not sure about that). If you think about it, only residents pay in - so why would you think you or your husband could take out? British tax payers can't subsidise the rest of Europe - and presumably you contribute to the country you are resident in? You'd need advice on that - I'm not an expert.

As for the diabetes, I have Type 1/1.5 diabetes, but it is a condition called LADA (Latent Autoimmune Deficiency in Adulthood). It means the Type 1 is developing slowly. That means I still produce some insulin, but it isn't enough and it diminishes as the condition develops. Your blood glucose levels and your symptoms sound very much as though this is what you have. Time and tests will tell. You need to have a GAD antibody test and a c-peptide test. If the GAD antibody test is positive, you have a form of autoimmune diabetes (Type 1/1.5) rather than Type 2. If that's the case, progression to insulin is inevitable.

Take care

Smidge
 
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