Missed Diagnosis

Hi, sorry you have had such a difficult experience so far. Many people on here with Type 2 have had a lot of success in lowering their blood sugar numbers with adding in exercise daily and eating a low carb diet, so you are definitely in the right place.

Many foods that can make your blood sugar go up a lot are things like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, and dairy milk (the milk you put in tea, although Dairy Milk chocolate is very sugary!).

A good way of getting more information on what affects your blood sugar is to get a blood glucose monitor and strips, and test at the first bite of food and then 2 hours later.

Some people also use a CGM - continuous glucose monitor, which shows you what is happening minute to minute and is very useful to see what foods are problematic and how different things affect you, for example, stress, and illness - I am currently higher than normal as I have a cold and can usually see it coming via the blood sugar numbers before I am sympromatic!

@Rachox has a list of the blood glucose monitors and where to get them as cheaply as possible.

This forum is really brilliant as a place to come for support and to see what other people have found works for them. I would have been lost on diagnosis completely if I had not found the forum and learned so much that could help me manage the diabetes, even though there have been a lot of stumbles on the way I feel I am now doing OK and have got my HbA1c down to 40, when it was in the 120s last year like yours.

edited to add - some diabetes drugs cannot be combined safely with very low carb diets, as Resurgam has mentioned in their post, so testing is a good idea in order to make sure you are not causing yourself issues by going too low carb.

Hello @mark.hance and welcome to the forum.
Are you concentrating on sugar, or all carbohydrates?
When taking gliclazide you do ned to have some carbohydrate in your diet, but high blood glucose levels can result from starches just as much as sugars.

Thanks for the tag @AllieRainbow , I think as @mark.hance is on gliclazide he should have been provided with blood testing equipment. If you haven’t Mark it might be worth checking with your GP if they can prescribe it for you, rather than funding it yourself.

@mark.hance As people here mention, people with diabetes have to look at all carbohydrates not just sugars. It is a general misunderstanding by most people until diabetes rears its head. All carbohydrates affect us. I’m a type one on insulin, I do not eat any carbohydrates without matching them with insulin. As you are taking glicazide I agree with @Rachox your Gp should be providing a blood testing kit. I also agree with your concerns about your Gp being a little slow in the information and help they are giving you.

Unfortunately, doctors can be slow in diagnosing or indeed quite casual about doing so. My diagnosis was in 2015 with the words, 'You are diabetic' and zero follow-up for about 5 years despite my pushing. 11 years later, I have just had my first appointment with a diabetic dietician...ho hum.

My situation is similar - my medical records show I was pre diabetic in 2016 but nobody told me! Then when I went to the Dr in 2018 with blurry vision I was told I was then diabetic with a HbA1c of 67! When I questioned it, I was told well it’s too late now isn’t it so just do diet and exercise for 3 months and see how it goes

9 months later my bloods hadn’t changed so was started on Metformin. I have been on the slow release version since and seem to tolerate it well although there has been little change in my A1c over the years.

I have seen the practice nurse several times, although with minimal contact through covid. I’ve had little guidance from them about how to manage my sugars and no info about low carb. I’ve been tried on dapagliflozin and Alogliptin but couldn’t tolerate either of them.

It’s interesting to read that with gliclazide, I should have been given a testing machine but despite my asking, I was told I was not entitled to one and it was only for type 2’s on insulin. I bought my own at this point as I failed to see how I could manage my sugars without it.

In March 2025 I was due to have surgery on my hand. I was sat there, all prepped and ready to go to theatre when the surgeon appeared and asked how long I had known that my sugars were so high. My A1c was 95 and they could not do the surgery as anaesthetic guidelines need it to be below 60 for surgery!

I begged to be put on insulin immediately due to them refusing my surgery. I have been on Humulin I since. My A1c initially came down to 62 and they agreed to do the surgery but it is not really controlled, despite the insulin. I do finally though have a funded monitor and testing strips.

You have to be very pro active with getting follow ups from GP’s. It will take years at my surgery from someone to contact me and it is very unlikely to be the GP, they usually leave management of long term conditions to the practice nurses.

I’ve not done myself any favours as have basically been in denial about my diabetes from the time I was diagnosed. I am very angry with the whole situation but it is what it is now and only I can do something about it. I have finally been referred to a dietician when I told them I was doing low carb, they think it might be helpful! Lol

Hi Mark, I know exactly how disheartening it is when the tablets don't seem to be doing much. What helped me was realising it's not just sugar that's the problem; carbs like bread, spuds and pasta were sending my levels up just as much. Once I cut those down and started getting out for a daily walk, things finally started shifting.
Worth a try while you're waiting for that nurse appointment!

Hi, Mark! I, too, was late in diagnosis - I was livid, actually, because the doctor just said my blood glucose was through the roof (I don't think I took in what it actually was), and I needed to start taking Metformin which I'd have to take for the rest of my life. I queried this, naturally, and refused the drugs until I'd spoken to the practice again. So they rang up and said I *must* take them, whereupon I asked why this hadn't been picked up earlier - I'd been having annual health checks for some years. So the reply was "Oh, we were too worried about your white blood cell count" (this was a storm in a teacup, they thought I had some kind of blood cancer, but I never). So I went for at least a year without a diagnosis when I should have had one. I've never seen a diabetic nurse - I think my practice feels that as long as you're not on insulin, and coping well with metformin, you don't need any kind of regular checks except your annual health check. So anyway, the good news is that the metformin, arguably in conjunction with the oral semaglutide I'm taking as part of the Ascend Plus trial, has brought my blood sugar levels right down to normal! I'm afraid I'm not too careful about my diet - my mantra has always been "everything in moderation" - but I believe low GI, high protein, high fibre is the way to go.

mark.hance said:

Hi,
I'm after some advice for myself male aged 46 just finally been diagnosed with type 2. My GP missed diagnosing me in April 2025 when a blood test showed my level to read at 122.3. finally diagnosed 3 weeks ago with another full blood test still reading 120+. Aside from that it feels as if my GP is really dragging their heels with appointments etc. I'm concerned with being undiagnosed for so long if there may have been any long term/permanent damage but an appointment with a diabetic nurse has not been forthcoming. I adjusted my diet last April when I personally beloved I had diabetes and cut out as much sugar from my diet as possible. I've been prescribed metaformin and gliclazide and still my blood sugar levels are normally in the 12/13 range. Is there any way to speed up an appointment or anything else I should be doing. Thanks

Click to expand...

My advice is to keep pushing for appointments and more tests if you feel they are needed. I was told I was pre diabetic in 2035. got admitted to hospital late jan 2026 after several blood tests showed low sodium and when my gp tested my sugars they were high so so wrnt to A&e had to wait 2 days fir a bed on the ward. I’m blunt from birth so thid was far from ideal. Was told I had t2d but then a Month later git told I was t1d threw the MyChart app . I was comforted at first so phoned my local hospital and they confirmed it so from there in had to re learn everything again. Haven’t seen my consultant waiting on an appointment or Evfn been offered the faffnr course so had very lottjr help from the start. I wish I had pushed for more tests in 2025 and I feel that more of an eye should have been kept on mr as I’ve other health issues as well.
This is why I said to kero pushing for the help you need.