• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Newly diagnosed Type TBC

B

bolt911

Newbie
Messages
4
Hi All,

I'm new here and to this diabetes lark, I thought I'd introduce myself and tell my story so far.

I'm 43, 5ft 11 and currently about 81Kg

I'm looking to understand what his diagnosis will mean to my life and looking to find anyone else out there who has gone through a similar situation as I have.

A month ago I went to see my GP, as I had an infection which I couldn't shake off through normal methods, the doctor prescribed a heavy antibiotic (ciprofloxocin), and as the issue I had could be related to diabetes suggested I have a blood test done.
Well the infection didn't respond to the antibiotics, I had the blood test a week or so later and a few days afte that, my blood test came back as positive with a blood sugar of 16.7mmol.

I was advised by the doctor over the phone that I was a diabetic and should cut out any sweet and sugary items from my diet.

The doctor also booked me in for a glucose dump test, in 9 days time.

In the meantime I started to become increasingly unwell, I managed to borrow a Countour monitor from a freind and started to monitor my levels which were always in the 13 - 17 ball park. I was also advised to test my Ketones by my wife's sister who's a GP in a different part of the country. She knew me well and wasn't convinced I was just a 'normal' type 2 as I had lost quite a lot of weight (14Kg in a couple of months it transpires) whilst only trying a little, well it's lucky she did as I was producing high levels of Ketones in my urine. between 40 - 80 on a dip test.

I then went to see an independent doctor through work, who immediately referred me to a endocrinologist, I was a bit taken aback when he asked to see me the next day, it would have been the same day if they could have got the results of my blood tests back, which were taken by the GP in the morning.

I went to see the consultant, he explained to me the various types of Diabetes and that they'd need to run further tests to establish which type I have, but with the symptoms I have the treatment would be the same

For the moment I've been placed on insulin (20 units of Lantus) gliclazide and sitagliptin (Januvia) although this will be reviewed later on this month and it's highly likely I will be moved onto other drugs and the current oral drugs will be ceased.

My HbA1c was initially 13.7% although it has now dropped to 11.5% over the last couple of weeks, since starting on medication
As has my blood pressure and cholesterol levels which were also quite high upon inital tests

I have cut out large amounts of carbohydrates from my diet, am eating more fruit and veg, I have also given up drinking alcohol for the moment. I'm also trying to exercise again, but am winding up slowly. so mostly walking etc rather than flogging myself with heavy cardio vascular workouts.

I can't really describe how poorly I was feeling prior to being prescribed insulin, I was low, feeling sick unmotivated and foggy, now I don't feel like that at all.

I haven't really got to grips with my blood sugar as yet as it still seems to be all over the place with fasting levels overnight being 8 - 12mmol and daytime lows sometimes as low as 3.6 - 4 but other days in the 8 to 10's

Before diagnosis I regularly competed in motorsport and am very keen to continue if it's at all possible, although it may be an uphill struggle if I'm kept on Insulin.

So far it's all been a bit of a blur, I've gone from being 'normal' to a insulin dependent diabetic in a matter of weeks although I understand the medical side of things to a certain extent I'm unsure of what this means on a ongoing basis.

Has anyone else out there had this type of experience? how has it worked out for you? what advice can you give me to make transitioning my life?

Cheers
Bernie
 
Hi. Your friends and docs appear to be taking the right action. Whilst you may be a Type 2 and possibly slightly overweight, at your age late onset Type 1 is a possibility as weight loss before diagnosis, ketones etc are pointers. There are two tests the doc can do to confirm or otherwise i.e. c-peptide for insulin level and GAD to check for T1 anti-bodies. In many ways the treatment is the same but progression to insulin is quicker as tablets may have little effect. You are doing the right thing by controlling your carbs whilst the docs sort out the diagnosis. You may stay on insulin or move back to tablets depending on the outcome. Check your sugars 2 hours after a main meal to see which foods affect you and by how much. T2 mostly comes on slowly but can be insidious whereas Late onset T1 (LADA) can come from nowhere fast as my 22 year-old nephew found out with ketones and feeling unwell.
 
Has anyone else out there had this type of experience? how has it worked out for you? what advice can you give me to make transitioning my life
Click to expand...
I had a T1 (most probably LADA) diagnosis in my early 50s. I am now a lot fitter and more active than I was in the year or so before diagnosis. I enjoy exercise and hill walk, ski and have run marathons.
You might find this website gives you some insight.
http://www.locallada.swan.ac.uk/
I would suggest that at first you let your health care professionals guide you as to medications.
If you end up as a variety of T1 on insulin I'd suggest a couple of books
Either
Think Like a Pancreas: A Practical Guide to Managing Diabetes with Insulin [Paperback]
M.S. Gary Scheiner M.S.
and/or
Using Insulin: Everything You Need for Success with Insulin [Paperback]
John Walsh
And Type 1 Diabetes in Children. Adolescents and young adults Ragnar Hanas.
(in spite of the title it's a really useful book for anyone with T1)
 
Thanks for the reply's, have now started to get my BG under some sort of control and it seems to be a lot less erratic now

Have cut out carbs where ever possible, so no rice, pasta, potatoes etc.

Have ordered the one of the recommended books from amazon

with the meds and insulin my BG is now averaging high 6's to low 7's

Had a high of 10.3 this week with a low of 3.6 (should I be noticing anything at this level?)

Going back for a review on the 20th Nov, so should find out if I'm a 1 or 2 or something else then
 
bolt911 said:
I have cut out large amounts of carbohydrates from my diet, am eating more fruit and veg,
Click to expand...
don't forget that lots of fruit is high in carbs. You probably know that already but just in case you don't... eg a large banana is about the same amount of carbs as a Krispy Kreme ring doughnut. (20-25g). I find it quite helpful to gorge on the lower carb fruits, eg a handful of blueberries is only 5g, raspberries are lovely and low (5g of carbs equals a whole bowl), strawberries aren't bad (5 or 6 strawbs and you have 5g).
I got all those from the Carbs and Cals book (also a phone app) - another thing to add to your Amazon list!
 
Hi Bernie and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information that we give to new members and I think you will find it helpful. You have already got some good advice from other members. Ask all the questions you like 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 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.
 
Hi. A meter reading of 3.6 is quite low and on the way to a hypo. On the forum you will find info on hypo symptoms but disorientation, sweating and so on are warning signs. Do keep some form of glucose handy in case and warn others to help you if needed whilst you get your insulin in balance; less carbs in general means less insulin but your meter will guide you.
 
Hi All.

Have once again been to see my endocrinologist and the Jury is still out as to which type I am,

Apparently I'm more likely to be a decompensated type 2 than 1 but LADA is still a distinct possibility.

I've been praised for getting my BG under control quickly, thanks in part to information provided by you guys, so a big Thank You to you all

My HBA1C has dropped from 13.7% to 10% in the last 25days and I'm well on my way to getting it to a the target of 6% which is fantastic news.

I'm now changing meds to remove gliclazide and add metformin (slow release) as well as the Lantus (insulin) and Januvia

The idea is now to see if we can keep control of my BG with metformin and possibly remove the Insulin.
 
Back
Top