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Life after burnout

Just spoke to the lab. All my blood tests are normal showing no indication of cancer. One test has nor been completed yet though. They will call me later when it's done.

Glucose level currently at 4,6 mmol. It is now half past three and I am not allowed to have anything to eat until after my ultrasound. I hope I don't dip much lower.
 
OK scan done.
Two findings according to the doctor, my liver shows very early stage fat infiltration and I have an enlarged prostate. Happy days!
Fortunately liver enzyme values indicate that liver function is not impaired but now I have one more reason to keep on top of my diabetes.
As for the prostate I will need to go to a urologist for further tests (lucky me) but I have just been reading that 1 in 2 of men in my age group have prostate problems so I guess I am in good company.
It is never easy to hear that not everything is fully perfect but all things considered, I am not too unhappy with the findings.
 
It could have been a lot, lot worse. I call that a result! A nuisance that you have to have urology tests, but at least you are being looked after.
 
Good news today as the results of my last outstanding blood tests came out, including a couple of additional tests (PSA and free PSA) arranged over the phone, after the result of my ultrasound scan showed I have an enlarged prostate. All results are within normal range.

Feeling relieved.

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A few photos from my garden

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Still walking, a total of 105 km almost in September, at about 5 km per session

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Sugars are firmly under control these days

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and I am still shedding weight. I was 84 kg today with a Bmi of 24,8.
 
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pavlosn said:
Diabetic burnout

I had read about it but did not really think it was a credible condition.

Sure, we all hate the discipline of being a diabetic I thought but, inconvenient or not, how can one reach the point of just not caring about being a diabetic and not looking after his condition?

And then that is exactly what happened to me. Or rather, let me rephrase that, this is exactly what I did.

I can't even offer an explanation why? I can't even point at a specific point in time when things changed or a specific event which trigger it off.

There was no such event. No dramatic trigger. Not even a conscious decision.

More a gradual erosion of discipline and a diversion of my focus to other things that seemed more urgent or important.

You realize that you have fallen off the horse but getting back on can always start tomorrow. Only there is always another tomorrow, until days grow into weeks, months years.

I did my best to ignore my diabetes but of course diabetes does not forget about us. It's there working away.

Finally I decided I can not ignore the symptoms any more, the frequent urination, the loss of weight recently the pins and needles in my toes just recently.

So from next Monday I am trying again.

I am measuring my glucose again. That is the most important thing for me. Even I can not ignore something when it stares at me in the face from my glucose meter.

My first reading last Monday was 218mg/dl, that's over 12 mmol; much too high.

So I had to do something about it.

I had to look at my diet and change it. Cut out a lot of the carbs.

I have been doing this for almost a week now. Doing a lot of testing before and after meals as well.

For the last two or three days my readings have been within acceptable range; fasting was 6,1 mmol today.

My challenge is to stick with it, keep the discipline.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
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Hello
I can relate to how you feel having had type 1 for 48 years. Groundhog day every day with no respite! Sometimes We just want a day off from the hard work of constant testing calculating and eating correctly and we never get it. Having had reasonably steady weight most of my life it started to creep up as the dreaded menopause took its hold. Another problem to deal with! Hormones effected my control considerably both mentally and medically. However after reading lots of info on this forum re low carb eating it is definately the way to go. I have my sons wedding next year to focus on and have already lost 2lbs. Cut out rice and bread as much as possible. Cauliflower rice is really tasty! No cereal for breakfast, just berries and yoghurt or egg and cottage cheese and tomatoes. I do feel hungry at times but it is a feeling I know won't catch me out like going hypo due to an incorrect calculation. Good luck! Diane.
 
Dianemacfaden said:
Hello
I can relate to how you feel having had type 1 for 48 years. Groundhog day every day with no respite! Sometimes We just want a day off from the hard work of constant testing calculating and eating correctly and we never get it. Having had reasonably steady weight most of my life it started to creep up as the dreaded menopause took its hold. Another problem to deal with! Hormones effected my control considerably both mentally and medically. However after reading lots of info on this forum re low carb eating it is definately the way to go. I have my sons wedding next year to focus on and have already lost 2lbs. Cut out rice and bread as much as possible. Cauliflower rice is really tasty! No cereal for breakfast, just berries and yoghurt or egg and cottage cheese and tomatoes. I do feel hungry at times but it is a feeling I know won't catch me out like going hypo due to an incorrect calculation. Good luck! Diane.
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Hi Diane
Thank you for writing.
I am firmly back in the saddle these days, very disciplined about my diet and doing lots of exercise.
Being on this forum and the support of people like you does wonders in helping me maintain focus.
I am glad to read that you are doing well yourself. Having your son's wedding to look forward to must be very exciting for you and wonderful motivation. My own son is still only fourteen and at school.
 
pavlosn said:
The guy at the lab that discussed the results with me said that the low heamoglobin/iron could be at least in part causing the elevated ESR. That seems consistent with your reference to anaemia.

He also said that pain in leg joints could also be the reason.

He suggested that I concentrate on increasing my iron/hemoglobin levels through food supplements and retest after a month.

What he said seems reasonable but I will book to see my doctor just the same for a general check up and to show him the results.

I suspect trying to find out exactly what is causing this upnormal result when I don't have other symptoms could be an expensive and time consuming exercise.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
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If you get your fasting insulin done, you should be able to see how far along the journey back to metabolic health you are.

The normal range is 2 to25, but the optimal range is 2-6 . basically obese but metabolically healthy people still have fasting insulin of about 4.5 M/IuL but once you become metabolically deranged is starts to go up, but it takes a while to come back down again. In the meantime its likely that you might get high readings for each of GTT and ferritin ,both should improve with time on the diet, as should ESR and creatinine. Your HDL number should improve as well.

You may well find that if you just stick with what you are doing, the next set gets even better anyway
 
Mike D said:
How's he doing Pavlos?
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Typical teen, hormones working overtime but a good boy basically.

I am having to learn how to give him more space to be his own man, which sometimes I am not finding too easy


Here he is, well here we all are, on a recent trip to San Francisco, with the bay and Alcatraz Island in the background.

Sorry about the matching tops, we don't usually dress like that but we only packed short sleeve clothes and SF proved colder than anticipated so we had to make an emergency purchase from a souvenir shop.

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SFO is a fantastic place ... one of my all time favourite cities :) .... and yes, it can get cold but it's so far ahead of that LA dump. I love America but their high density cities I don't. San Fran is completely different
 
Glad you're back @pavlosn and doing the wonderful photos. Brill plants, fantastic seascapes. I'm glad you're back on track with diabetes as well. We're all in this together and know what it's like - quite a drag much of the time! I went on holiday last week and though I had a good time, my bs didn't much like the change in routine! Anyway, I'm back too now, and your thread is encouraging me to return and enjoy the photos and also to keep on keeping on with the diabetes!
 
Just been to my doctor to discuss the results of my ultrasound and blood tests.

He confirmed that other than the early stage fatty liver a d bening hyperplasia of my prostate, neither of which he was particularly concerned about, the results did not show anything abnormal.

He is determined to get to the bottom (excuse the pan) of the cause for my anemia so he has hit me with the double whammy of both gastroscopy and colonoscopy.

I have already contacted a specialist doctor and I am waiting for a date for these.

Update: just heard back that I will be having the above procedures on Friday at 9am, which means I have to also take Thursday off work to "prepare".
 
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This is me immediately before going to the hospital for my gastroscopy and colonoscopy this morning.

The actual procedures I do not recall anything about as I was given an aneasthic.

The result is I suppose a positive one.

My colonoscopy was completely clear. I have been put on a 5-7 year period before I have to have another suggesting that I am low risk.

My gastroscopy was not clear but at least I have a diagnosis now, bacterial infection by h. Pylori. Bad news if left untreated as it can cause ulcers and even cancer, but nothing a couple of weeks of antibiotics can not take care off.

So all thinks considered, it has been a good day!
 
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Myrtus communis, the common myrtle, in bloom today.

In Greco-Roman antiquity, the common myrtle was held to be sacred to Venus/Aphrodite (the goddess of Cyprus) and was used as an emblem of love in wreaths and other decorations.

The village of Myrtou in the north west of Cyprus takes its name from this plant.
 
Heart attack and 4 stents when diagnosed T2.
Blessing in disguise.
I was close to death, so the choice was very simple - if I wanted to live I had to change completely my lifestyle. Or commit suicide by ignoring my diabetes.
 
Great results @pavlosn. I agree with you that you are in good company as far as prostate enlargement is concerned. Yours truly went through ultrasound scan April 2016. There wasn't any problem except prostate enlargement which was queried. Was referred to Urologist and have been receiving medical attention since then.
 
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