Gwynn
Active Member
- Messages
- 26
This is a bit long but the moral of the tale is I had to take control and responsibility as much as I could. Of course what I did is not possible for type 1 diabetics, but that is what they labelled me as. So I am a bit of an enigma it seems.
Late in November I felt very ill. I couldn't balance at all, I could't speak without slurring my words and I was loosing a lot of weight. I had a thirst that Niagra falls could not have quenched. My wife thought I was constantly drunk. My daughter said to get to the doctor with some urgency. I rang 111 as the doctors were not answering the telephone. An ambulance was sent and I ended up in hospital for a week. Now that was an experience!
I got no information about what was wrong with me, but tons of blood tests. That is, until the last day where the consultant (first time I had seen him) stated that I was a type 1 (but they were not sure) diabetic, my HA1C (I think that's what they called the test) result had been 130. I was given an I insulin pen, a blood sugar tester, and that was it. No instructions about diet, no instructions about the insulin, a little about testing and the target being between 5 and 6 on the tester.
They sent me home like that, in shock, with no idea what to do. I really freaked out. Hands up those who recognise that scene.
I joined diabetes.org.uk forum, similar to this one (it seems to be off line this morning). They were really helpful and supportive.
Anyway, on my own, I had to work out which way was 'up'
Mistakenly, I thought diabetes was all about sugars. I soon learned that it was all about carbohydrates (sugars being a form of carbohydrate I presume) and set about detailing every single thing that I ate and drank in minute detail. Calories, carbohydrates, proteins, etc. It was not a pretty sight. My diet had consisted of a constant feed of wine gums, chocolates, whisky, cakes, oh and the occasional real bit of food. I had had a diet like that for years. No wonder I became ill (ahh, hindsight)
So, I started in hospital at a weight of 90.4Kg (actually I think I was that weight sometime before hospital. They read that weight from my notes and I had lost some weight by the time I was admitted) and an HA1C of 130
They had started me on insulin injections and metformin, but the diabetic nurse, a few days later, said to experiment with the insulin dosage as my blood glucose levels at home were dropping and continuing to drop. 4.2 at the last count and going down. I was getting quite stressed because I couldn't pull my blood glucose levels up.
So I set about controlling my diet and seeing if reducing the insulin (under supervision) might help.
Still no firm diagnosis except that one month in the doctor mentioned that the blood test results were back and I was not type 1 but possibly LADA. He did not know. But he only told me because I rang the GP surgery to ask to speak to him. By that time I had reduced my insulin to zero and metformin to zero too. My blood glucose levels were now stable and in the target range. It kinda shocked the doctor and it told me that the different diabetic agencies struggle with communication sometimes. I had informed the diabetic nurse already but that important information seemed to have got lost.
I have stuck to the diet and blood testing and the result so far has been for the blood glucose levels to drop to between 5 and 6 consistently. My weight has dropped to 74Kg !!! And I feel well again. Balance is back. Clear speaking is back. Thirst gone. Etc etc I now realise that I have felt increasingly unwell for many years! How had I missed it? Because it was very gradual.
Of course the next H1?? Test will reveal what may be going on inbetween my own testing times which may not reflect my present results.
So, taking control, learning as much as I could, gathering real data and using it, sorting out my diet, a wee bit of exercise seems to have wrestled things back.
If you are newly diagnosed (not type 1, unless they got it wrong) then may I suggest that you learn as much as you can about you, get diet advice, test, test, test, for some it may lead to remission. However, a healthy diet, weight control, exercise surely will benefit all.
I hope that I stay in remission. The tight diet and testing will continue going forwards. I need to know what my body is doing.
Just one more thing. The NHS were actually very good. They were overworked but stuck to doing the right thing. They were (the nurses and doctors) kind, considerate, sympathetically understanding. Everyone was excellent in spite of the present circumstances. And I now understand a little more about how hospitals work.
Late in November I felt very ill. I couldn't balance at all, I could't speak without slurring my words and I was loosing a lot of weight. I had a thirst that Niagra falls could not have quenched. My wife thought I was constantly drunk. My daughter said to get to the doctor with some urgency. I rang 111 as the doctors were not answering the telephone. An ambulance was sent and I ended up in hospital for a week. Now that was an experience!
I got no information about what was wrong with me, but tons of blood tests. That is, until the last day where the consultant (first time I had seen him) stated that I was a type 1 (but they were not sure) diabetic, my HA1C (I think that's what they called the test) result had been 130. I was given an I insulin pen, a blood sugar tester, and that was it. No instructions about diet, no instructions about the insulin, a little about testing and the target being between 5 and 6 on the tester.
They sent me home like that, in shock, with no idea what to do. I really freaked out. Hands up those who recognise that scene.
I joined diabetes.org.uk forum, similar to this one (it seems to be off line this morning). They were really helpful and supportive.
Anyway, on my own, I had to work out which way was 'up'
Mistakenly, I thought diabetes was all about sugars. I soon learned that it was all about carbohydrates (sugars being a form of carbohydrate I presume) and set about detailing every single thing that I ate and drank in minute detail. Calories, carbohydrates, proteins, etc. It was not a pretty sight. My diet had consisted of a constant feed of wine gums, chocolates, whisky, cakes, oh and the occasional real bit of food. I had had a diet like that for years. No wonder I became ill (ahh, hindsight)
So, I started in hospital at a weight of 90.4Kg (actually I think I was that weight sometime before hospital. They read that weight from my notes and I had lost some weight by the time I was admitted) and an HA1C of 130
They had started me on insulin injections and metformin, but the diabetic nurse, a few days later, said to experiment with the insulin dosage as my blood glucose levels at home were dropping and continuing to drop. 4.2 at the last count and going down. I was getting quite stressed because I couldn't pull my blood glucose levels up.
So I set about controlling my diet and seeing if reducing the insulin (under supervision) might help.
Still no firm diagnosis except that one month in the doctor mentioned that the blood test results were back and I was not type 1 but possibly LADA. He did not know. But he only told me because I rang the GP surgery to ask to speak to him. By that time I had reduced my insulin to zero and metformin to zero too. My blood glucose levels were now stable and in the target range. It kinda shocked the doctor and it told me that the different diabetic agencies struggle with communication sometimes. I had informed the diabetic nurse already but that important information seemed to have got lost.
I have stuck to the diet and blood testing and the result so far has been for the blood glucose levels to drop to between 5 and 6 consistently. My weight has dropped to 74Kg !!! And I feel well again. Balance is back. Clear speaking is back. Thirst gone. Etc etc I now realise that I have felt increasingly unwell for many years! How had I missed it? Because it was very gradual.
Of course the next H1?? Test will reveal what may be going on inbetween my own testing times which may not reflect my present results.
So, taking control, learning as much as I could, gathering real data and using it, sorting out my diet, a wee bit of exercise seems to have wrestled things back.
If you are newly diagnosed (not type 1, unless they got it wrong) then may I suggest that you learn as much as you can about you, get diet advice, test, test, test, for some it may lead to remission. However, a healthy diet, weight control, exercise surely will benefit all.
I hope that I stay in remission. The tight diet and testing will continue going forwards. I need to know what my body is doing.
Just one more thing. The NHS were actually very good. They were overworked but stuck to doing the right thing. They were (the nurses and doctors) kind, considerate, sympathetically understanding. Everyone was excellent in spite of the present circumstances. And I now understand a little more about how hospitals work.
