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- 15
About 15 years ago - I cannot recall exactly when - my GP in the UK diagnosed me with Type 2 Diabetes due to high blood sugar readings. I had a friend who was Type 1 who managed his very well and still managed to eat “treats” and drink in moderation, and had to self-medicate with insulin, but knew very little about Type 2.
I was immediately prescribed medication for high cholesterol and high blood pressure, although I had low readings for both, as “this is protocol for Type 2 patients as a preventative measure”, but was told I could manage my Diabetes with “diet and exercise”. I was given a blood sugar monitor and started daily testing, and, though I already ate fairly healthily despite having a slightly “sweet tooth”, I watched my diet a bit more. I have never been a fan of “diet” soft drinks as found they had a horrible aftertaste, but the arrival of Coke Zero and Pepsi Max, helped give me an occasional alternative to water. My work at the time kept me reasonably active, so I didn’t do too much to change my “exercise” routine. My self-measured blood sugar readings were always within acceptable limits, and after a while I lowered the frequency of testing (ran out of fingertips to prick!), stopped taking the medication (full blood analysis at the GP continued to show low cholesterol, and my BP was, and still is, very good, but continued with the healthier diet.
I occasionally ate sweets (particularly mints - though did start on sugar-free Polo mints) and desserts, but have never been big on puddings when eating alone, so that wasn’t really an issue, and subsequent tests showed no appreciable change in my sugar levels - so much so that I wondered if the initial diagnosis may have been incorrect, or at least premature.
2009 I moved to Brazil and my diet, if anything, was even healthier as there were no processed foods available, and for the first two years I was volunteering with a children’s charity so was keeping pretty active, and my monthly testing still showed acceptable, if a bit higher than “normal” sugar levels. I had reduced my schedule to monthly testing primarily as it was difficult to find the test strips in Brazil (I had plenty of lancets), and because the results were consistently “good” so no real cause for concern. Until one day when the reading jumped from the usual below 7 to 23! I was in shock, as I had done nothing different, and that reading was way, way too high, but decided to leave it 24 hours, watch really carefully what I ate and drank that day, and test again in the morning. That second reading was 21! Then I noticed that the expiry date on the test strips was a year earlier - could this be the reason?
None of the pharmacies here stocked diabetic test kits, so I drove the 70 km to Seabra, the next slightly large town, and found the required strips (I thought I might have to buy a new kit if they didn’t have the strips), though they were very expensive. With some trepidation I did another test the following morning ... 6.9! What a relief! The old test strips had given the false reading that had panicked me!
I have never been a big drinker - at least not since university days - so forgoing alcohol was not a big deal, though on occasions I would have a beer or a glass of wine, and I must admit that occasionally I would also buy a bar of chocolate, but none of these seemed to affect my sugar levels to any great extent, with 9.0, being the highest registered, though generally in the range 6.5-7.5.
My annual trek to Peru didn’t really change things, though I did eat out a lot more there while travelling on my bike - generally I cook at home and rarely eat out, especially in Brazil - so nothing much changed with my sugar levels. I ran out of test strips again, and couldn’t find the ones I needed in Peru, so a couple of times went to the pharmacy there and had blood tests done “properly” and the results were still reassuringly acceptable. Back in Brazil I also had blood tests done, and similarly good results, so much so that about 3 years ago I stopped testing altogether. OK, maybe this was a little foolish, but my test results had not given me any cause for concern, and I felt healthy enough, plus I was not about to go wild and change my lifestyle. I had intended to get tested at least once a year, especially since I had not seen my own GP for about 8 years, but first one, then the other test places where I was in Peru closed down!
2018 I went to the UK for my daughter’s wedding, and planned to spend a whole month there so decided to get checked up at the doctor’s. I registered with the local surgery on arrival and asked for an appointment for a check-up. They said they needed to wait for my “notes” from my previous GP and would make the appointment. It was eventually set up for the day before I was due to leave! When I got there it was with the “Well Man Clinic” and was simply height, weight, blood pressure and waist measurement! I asked the nurse what about blood tests since I was diabetic, and that I had requested a full check-up, only to be told that this was a “normal” preliminary check-up and I would have to make a further appointment for anything else! Frustrating to say the least since I had hoped that a whole month in the UK would give enough time for a proper medical review.
Back in South America, and back in the same no-test routine, though still careful with my diet, and doing some exercise, well, I was walking a lot while in Peru along the seafront, and still feeling in reasonably good health, so not that concerned about the situation.
In March this year when I discovered the lump on my shoulder-blade things changed. I went to the Health Centre in Huanchaco about it, and this started a series of tests and consults regarding what the problem might be, including full blood work. The first test showed 13.6, the highest “genuine” reading I had ever had, and subsequent tests all ranged between 10.3-13.7, which are far too high. I was given medication to lower my sugar levels, but all this did was make me violently ill (sickness and diarrhoea) - both times between tests - and did nothing really to my sugar levels. They needed to do a biopsy on my shoulder to diagnose what the lump was as all the tests (X-ray, ultrasound, tomography) were “inconclusive”, but refused to do it with my glucose levels so high, as they felt the risk of infection (as a diabetic) was far too great, so wanted to give me more medication, which I refused as the last lot had kept me house-bound for 5 days, as I needed to stay close to the bathroom! By then it was pretty clear that the lump was not malignant, and most likely not life-threatening, so I decided to leave it unless it gave me further problems, but that I would try and tackle my high sugar levels.
I started a low-carb diet, cutting out bread, pasta, rice, grains, pulses, potatoes and bananas (all on advice from a variety of web sources), and bought a new blood test kit. Early results were promising and within days I was between 9.0-10.0, but then it started creeping up again and was regularly around the 12 mark! It made no sense to me - I had drastically changed my diet, and was going for much longer walks each day. Again I turned to Doctor Internet and very soon found out that these “spikes” on fasting blood tests were a known effect of the low-carb diet among diabetics, called the Dawn Phenomenon. Apparently as you have reduced your sugar intake (from carbs) your body thinks that you might need an extra morning boost to get you going, so your body creates sugars, and these create the “false” results. They suggested testing pre-lunch, bearing in mind that these would be slightly higher than a fasting result. It worked, and soon my results were much lower - in the 8.3-9.4 range - higher than they used to be, but certainly better, and I even got some readings as low as 7.3.
I ran out of time to have more tests and the possible biopsy in Peru, so decided to get that done back in Brazil (saw a specialist the other day and he says I need to see another in Salvador, 400 km away, so waiting to make an appointment), and continued the regular (every other day) testing regime once back here. Surprisingly the results were again higher, up around 10, with the best one 8.5, and I put this down to the change in climate, diet (different ingredients), and cutting back on my daily walk - it was easy to walk along the seafront in Peru, but much hillier and hotter here so not getting as much done. The past week the results have been improving, in the low 8’s, until yesterday - when I got the lowest test result I have ever had self-testing at 6.2, which is in the range they class as “pre-diabetes” and considered to be “normal”, so I am feeling pretty good about it at the moment.
Being diagnosed as a diabetic does change your way thinking - some people will have a drink and then cut out something else to balance it out, others get paranoid about what they eat all the time, and others will just continue as normal and hope for the best. I tend towards the last one - though I am more aware and careful of what I eat and drink, and try not to be too cavalier in my approach. I do miss bread - and potatoes - and bananas! 15 years since first diagnosis and still managing on “diet and exercise” isn’t too bad, though. Life is for living, and not for worrying too much!
I was immediately prescribed medication for high cholesterol and high blood pressure, although I had low readings for both, as “this is protocol for Type 2 patients as a preventative measure”, but was told I could manage my Diabetes with “diet and exercise”. I was given a blood sugar monitor and started daily testing, and, though I already ate fairly healthily despite having a slightly “sweet tooth”, I watched my diet a bit more. I have never been a fan of “diet” soft drinks as found they had a horrible aftertaste, but the arrival of Coke Zero and Pepsi Max, helped give me an occasional alternative to water. My work at the time kept me reasonably active, so I didn’t do too much to change my “exercise” routine. My self-measured blood sugar readings were always within acceptable limits, and after a while I lowered the frequency of testing (ran out of fingertips to prick!), stopped taking the medication (full blood analysis at the GP continued to show low cholesterol, and my BP was, and still is, very good, but continued with the healthier diet.
I occasionally ate sweets (particularly mints - though did start on sugar-free Polo mints) and desserts, but have never been big on puddings when eating alone, so that wasn’t really an issue, and subsequent tests showed no appreciable change in my sugar levels - so much so that I wondered if the initial diagnosis may have been incorrect, or at least premature.
2009 I moved to Brazil and my diet, if anything, was even healthier as there were no processed foods available, and for the first two years I was volunteering with a children’s charity so was keeping pretty active, and my monthly testing still showed acceptable, if a bit higher than “normal” sugar levels. I had reduced my schedule to monthly testing primarily as it was difficult to find the test strips in Brazil (I had plenty of lancets), and because the results were consistently “good” so no real cause for concern. Until one day when the reading jumped from the usual below 7 to 23! I was in shock, as I had done nothing different, and that reading was way, way too high, but decided to leave it 24 hours, watch really carefully what I ate and drank that day, and test again in the morning. That second reading was 21! Then I noticed that the expiry date on the test strips was a year earlier - could this be the reason?
None of the pharmacies here stocked diabetic test kits, so I drove the 70 km to Seabra, the next slightly large town, and found the required strips (I thought I might have to buy a new kit if they didn’t have the strips), though they were very expensive. With some trepidation I did another test the following morning ... 6.9! What a relief! The old test strips had given the false reading that had panicked me!
I have never been a big drinker - at least not since university days - so forgoing alcohol was not a big deal, though on occasions I would have a beer or a glass of wine, and I must admit that occasionally I would also buy a bar of chocolate, but none of these seemed to affect my sugar levels to any great extent, with 9.0, being the highest registered, though generally in the range 6.5-7.5.
My annual trek to Peru didn’t really change things, though I did eat out a lot more there while travelling on my bike - generally I cook at home and rarely eat out, especially in Brazil - so nothing much changed with my sugar levels. I ran out of test strips again, and couldn’t find the ones I needed in Peru, so a couple of times went to the pharmacy there and had blood tests done “properly” and the results were still reassuringly acceptable. Back in Brazil I also had blood tests done, and similarly good results, so much so that about 3 years ago I stopped testing altogether. OK, maybe this was a little foolish, but my test results had not given me any cause for concern, and I felt healthy enough, plus I was not about to go wild and change my lifestyle. I had intended to get tested at least once a year, especially since I had not seen my own GP for about 8 years, but first one, then the other test places where I was in Peru closed down!
2018 I went to the UK for my daughter’s wedding, and planned to spend a whole month there so decided to get checked up at the doctor’s. I registered with the local surgery on arrival and asked for an appointment for a check-up. They said they needed to wait for my “notes” from my previous GP and would make the appointment. It was eventually set up for the day before I was due to leave! When I got there it was with the “Well Man Clinic” and was simply height, weight, blood pressure and waist measurement! I asked the nurse what about blood tests since I was diabetic, and that I had requested a full check-up, only to be told that this was a “normal” preliminary check-up and I would have to make a further appointment for anything else! Frustrating to say the least since I had hoped that a whole month in the UK would give enough time for a proper medical review.
Back in South America, and back in the same no-test routine, though still careful with my diet, and doing some exercise, well, I was walking a lot while in Peru along the seafront, and still feeling in reasonably good health, so not that concerned about the situation.
In March this year when I discovered the lump on my shoulder-blade things changed. I went to the Health Centre in Huanchaco about it, and this started a series of tests and consults regarding what the problem might be, including full blood work. The first test showed 13.6, the highest “genuine” reading I had ever had, and subsequent tests all ranged between 10.3-13.7, which are far too high. I was given medication to lower my sugar levels, but all this did was make me violently ill (sickness and diarrhoea) - both times between tests - and did nothing really to my sugar levels. They needed to do a biopsy on my shoulder to diagnose what the lump was as all the tests (X-ray, ultrasound, tomography) were “inconclusive”, but refused to do it with my glucose levels so high, as they felt the risk of infection (as a diabetic) was far too great, so wanted to give me more medication, which I refused as the last lot had kept me house-bound for 5 days, as I needed to stay close to the bathroom! By then it was pretty clear that the lump was not malignant, and most likely not life-threatening, so I decided to leave it unless it gave me further problems, but that I would try and tackle my high sugar levels.
I started a low-carb diet, cutting out bread, pasta, rice, grains, pulses, potatoes and bananas (all on advice from a variety of web sources), and bought a new blood test kit. Early results were promising and within days I was between 9.0-10.0, but then it started creeping up again and was regularly around the 12 mark! It made no sense to me - I had drastically changed my diet, and was going for much longer walks each day. Again I turned to Doctor Internet and very soon found out that these “spikes” on fasting blood tests were a known effect of the low-carb diet among diabetics, called the Dawn Phenomenon. Apparently as you have reduced your sugar intake (from carbs) your body thinks that you might need an extra morning boost to get you going, so your body creates sugars, and these create the “false” results. They suggested testing pre-lunch, bearing in mind that these would be slightly higher than a fasting result. It worked, and soon my results were much lower - in the 8.3-9.4 range - higher than they used to be, but certainly better, and I even got some readings as low as 7.3.
I ran out of time to have more tests and the possible biopsy in Peru, so decided to get that done back in Brazil (saw a specialist the other day and he says I need to see another in Salvador, 400 km away, so waiting to make an appointment), and continued the regular (every other day) testing regime once back here. Surprisingly the results were again higher, up around 10, with the best one 8.5, and I put this down to the change in climate, diet (different ingredients), and cutting back on my daily walk - it was easy to walk along the seafront in Peru, but much hillier and hotter here so not getting as much done. The past week the results have been improving, in the low 8’s, until yesterday - when I got the lowest test result I have ever had self-testing at 6.2, which is in the range they class as “pre-diabetes” and considered to be “normal”, so I am feeling pretty good about it at the moment.
Being diagnosed as a diabetic does change your way thinking - some people will have a drink and then cut out something else to balance it out, others get paranoid about what they eat all the time, and others will just continue as normal and hope for the best. I tend towards the last one - though I am more aware and careful of what I eat and drink, and try not to be too cavalier in my approach. I do miss bread - and potatoes - and bananas! 15 years since first diagnosis and still managing on “diet and exercise” isn’t too bad, though. Life is for living, and not for worrying too much!
