Newby parent to disabled( non verbal) son age 19

Joan561

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9
Hi my son is being monitored ( now two weeks), he has not been given a diagnose of type 1 or 2 yet. His blood sugars aren't coming down so they have prescribed metformin along with his gliclazide for the next week to see if comes down. His bs are between 15-23 just now.
Those that have a type 1 teen did your kids start off the same! Are we heading to injections. His diet is brilliant so this isn't causing his levels to rise.
 

Juicyj

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Pump
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Hypos, rude people, ignorance and grey days.
Hello @Joan561 Welcome to the forum - am tagging @daisy1 for our new members information which will be a useful starting point.

How was his high blood glucose levels picked up ? His levels are quite high, so perhaps see if you can bring your next appointment forward, it's been a couple of weeks now and current medication doesn't appear to be bringing his levels down so there's a chance he will be put onto insulin therapy. It would be good for you to find out what his diabetes type is as it will determine his treatment. We do have lots of type 1 parents in the forum so hopefully someone will be in soon to talk about their child's diagnosis.

Friendly bunch on the site so please feel free to ask questions :)
 

Resurgam

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9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
When you write that his diet is brilliant - is that for a diabetic or not?
If you were to look up the Atkins diet on Wikipedia you would see that it is edited to make it seem to be a fad diet - it is, however the basis of many reversals of diabetes - particularly type two.
Reduced carbs means reduced blood glucose for many diabetics and there are some type ones who keep their intake of carbs low to reduce their need for insulin.
 

Joan561

Member
Messages
9
Thanks for replies, he was picked up because I took him to doctor for something else and he had some bloods taken? Got a call that evening to take him to a &e. We do not have a type 1 or 2 diagnose just that he is def diabetic, don't think they want to say yet. I have reduced his carb intake and also sugar intake but it's making very little difference to results. It isn't such a drastic change to what we do anyway. I'm keeping a diary and can't see any foods triggering it to increase in fact it doesn't go down much at all except the morning one we take which is still high 15-18.
Think it looks like insulin based just wondering does it take so long to reduce!
 

azure

Expert
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9,780
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Thanks for replies, he was picked up because I took him to doctor for something else and he had some bloods taken? Got a call that evening to take him to a &e. We do not have a type 1 or 2 diagnose just that he is def diabetic, don't think they want to say yet. I have reduced his carb intake and also sugar intake but it's making very little difference to results. It isn't such a drastic change to what we do anyway. I'm keeping a diary and can't see any foods triggering it to increase in fact it doesn't go down much at all except the morning one we take which is still high 15-18.
Think it looks like insulin based just wondering does it take so long to reduce!

Hi @Joan561

Can I ask if your son has any risk factors for Type 2? At his age, he's more likely to be Type 1.

If he is Type 1, the Metformin will do little and the Gliclazide isn't recommended for Type 1s.

Frankly, if it was my son, I'd be asking for a bit more than 'waiting to,see'. I was diagnosed Type 1 with a blood sugar of 25 and started on insulin within a few hours.

Have you spoken to a specialist?

Just to,reassure you, if he is Type 1 he'll be able to,eat pretty normally and won't have to follow any special diet. Type 2 is a different matter, but for Type 1s the key is insulin not extreme diets.

Tagging @mahola for you as she has a Type 1 teen.
 

slip

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,523
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
What did a&e do?

What is his weight like? seems bazaar that a 19yo presented with high BG, high enough for the GP to say go to a&e, and then prescribe metformin and Gliclazide.

Assume he's drinking and peeing a lot?
 

Joan561

Member
Messages
9
He is over weight 11 stone and only 5 ft 3. He has been this weight for years and I put it down to his thyroid which he receives medication for. We have had no sudden weight loss! And no noticeable increase in drinking and peeing. He is up on a night anyways with bowel problems so I wouldn't have placed that as a trigger!
He has been tired a lot but out that down to lazy teen
We are present having weekly check ins with the diabetic team at hospital so will see how our weekend goes.
I am checking his ketones! I am correct these are the most important readings aren't I!
 

azure

Expert
Messages
9,780
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
@Joan561 Thank you for the further information.

There are tests that can help determine what diabetes type a person is. They look for the antibodies usually associated with Type 1. That test is called a GAD test. You could ask about that.

If he's overweight that can be a risk factor for Type 2.
 

azure

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Messages
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Type of diabetes
Type 1
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Thanks azure I will ask about this! I was rather confused that they wouldn't say which it was!

It's not always obvious @Joan561

Type 1 is an auto immune cndition that can come on quickly or slightly more slowly if you're an older adult. Type 2 is often associated with insulin resistance.

As your son is slightly overweight and hadn't lost weight prior to,disgnosis yet is only 19 yrs old and has high sugars, then I can understand they weren't able to say his type straightaway. However, if it was me, I would want them to do some tests rather than try various meds. That's just my opinion as a mum myself :)
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
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Cruelty towards animals.
@Joan561

Hello Joan and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want 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 well over 250,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.