Newly Diagnosed not sure if type 1 or 2

[chrisdoh1983]

Hello,
My name is Chris, I am 30,

I was diagnosed with diabetes Friday 25/10/13. I had been at the doctors 2 days previous for unrelated problem and mentioned that I was really thirsty a lot and going to the loo often, she advised me to come in on the Friday morning with a urine sample and to give blood, I done this and the nurse put a test strip in my pee sample, she asked if I had drank a lot of fizzy juice that morning, I told her no I had only drank some no added sugar diluting juice. She was then asking if I was tired and any family history of diabetes (which there is none), I heard her saying to the nurse that my the glucose level in the urine was off the scale. She then took my blood and asked me to wait while she spoke to the doctor, she came back and said the doctor would call me later when the bloods were done. I had no call from the doc until I got home from work around 5.30pm, the doc said my urine and bloods were pointing to diabetes and prescribed me metformin (500mg) sachets and I was to go back in Monday morning to see the specialist at the health centre. I went to see him and he was really scratching his head as to what type I had and why I had got it, I am only 30, not overweight, there is no family history at all, I had to give more blood and need to wait 2 weeks before I see him again. He has me on metformin (850mg) pills at the moment.

This is a complete shock to my system, I don't really know what to or where to turn, the next 2 weeks are just going to be full of worry, I know very little of diabetes, I have been reading up on it but nothing is really sinking in.

 

[daisy1]

Hi Chris and welcome to the forum

To help you to know something about diabetes, here is the information we give to new members. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will 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 30,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

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

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.

 

[chrisdoh1983]

Hi Daisy, thank you.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Yes, it must have been a bit of a shock for you as it was for many of us. At age 30 and not being overweight it would indicate that you are likely to be a late onset type 1 (LADA). It's not for me to diagnose you as an amateur and from afar, but that is the probability. There are two tests the docs can do to try to confirm T1 i.e. GAD for antibodies and c-peptide to measure insulin levels. As you may be learning on this forum already, the two main types of diabetes are T1 and T2. T1 is usually but not always where anti-bodies attack the pancreas and insulin output is severely reduced. T2 is normally where obesity causes the muscles to become resistant to insulin. Both conditions result in high blood sugar. Treatments to start with may be similar i.e. tablets, but for T1 it will mean insulin at some point depending on the state of the condition. Either way don't panic as diabetes can be managed and with blood sugar under control with the right medication you won't need to worry about future health problems resulting from it. Do come back with more questions after diagnosis and make sure you are given a blood sugar monitor or get hold of one yourself so you know where you are. Note that keeping carbs down will help to keep blood sugar down as these are converted quickly into glucose in the blood.

 

[chrisdoh1983]

Hi Dailbell, thank for taking time to reply.

Yeah it's a big shock to my system, what's more worrying is the specialist at my health clinic was really stuck as to what type, he said I didn't really fall into either category. Anyway as you sais I'll just wait till diagnosed and take it from there, just so much to take in about sugar levels, what not to eat, hypos (which I have had quite a few of now I know what they are). It's just good to have a forum with people who have and understand how I am feeling, luckily my fiancée has been really good and read up a lot herself.

 

[Daibell]

Just one point. You say you have had hypos but these are unlikely if you have high blood sugar and are not yet on Gliclazide tablets or insulin? It is more likely that you are having the effects of hyperglycemia i.e. very high blood sugar; the symptoms are similar.