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Newly diagnosed- with what??

P

Pandemonium

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all.
I've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last week. I insisted on having a glucose monitor, which she gave me very begrudgingly.
My concerns are these:
I have 6 other autoimmune diseases, including liver diseases and spondyloarthritis. The nurse didn't even want to discuss that it could be type 1, given my medical history!
Also, I'm trying to be good diet wise, and have been started on metformin, but I'm feeling awful. How long does it take before I start to feel better, if it is type 2?
Thanks
 
Hi @Pandemonium and welcome to the forum.

I am/was Type 2 (in remission for 4yrs). but 6 autoimmune diseases makes Type 1 seem a possibility. However, there are 2 specific tests for that, which are not usually done unless the medics feel it may be Type1.

Metformin can cause digestive tract issues in some people, there are (kinder) Slow Release versions available if it remains a problem.

If it isn't the Metformin making you feel awful but the high Blood Glucose levels, then it depends upon how long they take to get down. Metformin has no effect on the majority of Blood Glucose which comes from the digestion of the carbohydrates we eat. It works by discouraging the liver from dumping so much glucose into the blood, so the effect can be quite minimal in some people.

As a predominantly lifestyle condition, Type 2 diabetes is easiest dealt with by cutting down on the consumption of carbohydrates.
I have been in medicine free remission for 4yrs now using a low carb way of eating.

Here is the blog post (by a member here) which put me on the right track: https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html
 
The nurse refused to test for the type 1 antibodies, she said that they're going to treat it as type 2. If my Hba1c levels haven't come down in 3 months time they may consider testing for type 1.

I'm only on 1 metformin tablet a day, slowly building up to 4, with 1 more each week.

I tested this morning, and my glucose level has gone up, despite me trying to eat well. I only had a couple of baby potatoes with my dinner last night.

I'm just feeling so awful at the minute-just so fatigued and yucky! I have no energy to do anything at all, and I feel ill.

The other autoimmune issues make me feel ill from time to time, and fatigued on a daily basis, but this is on another level!! The nurse didn't seem to care, and I don't know what to do...
 
Hopeful34 said:
If you don't mind sharing your hba1c result, and the levels you're seeing when you do your blood tests, and when you're doing them that would be helpful for people to try to help you.
I'd suggest ringing 111 for advice.
Click to expand...
My Hba1c was 78.
My glucose tests are done in the morning, before breakfast. 8.7 yesterday and 9.3 today.
 
Pandemonium said:
My glucose tests are done in the morning, before breakfast. 8.7 yesterday and 9.3 today
Click to expand...
A single test is just a snapshot of your blood sugar level and really doesn't give you much useful information.
The first thing you need to be aware of is the accuracy of the glucose meters, every test is only accurate to +/- 15% so a result of 9 for example , means that your actual sugar level is
somewhere between 7.6 and 10.6.
The meters just give us an idea where our levels are, your 2 morning readings are basically the same. The equipment we have available is just not accurate enough to be concerned because one morning is just a few decimal places higher.
The other thing about morning readings is a thing called the dawn phenomenon.
Our liver can store and manufacture glucose if it feels the need, first thing in the morning , before we have had any food, our liver can release glucose into our blood.
The purpose, so they say, is to give us a shot of energy to get us going. Our morning levels are the ones we have very little control over and are usually the last to fall.
If you use your meter to test around your meals, you will gain a lot of useful information that will help you to discover what foods you need to cut down.
If you check out the link for the nutritional thingy at the base of this post. It explains how
 
Pandemonium said:
My Hba1c was 78.
My glucose tests are done in the morning, before breakfast. 8.7 yesterday and 9.3 today.
Click to expand...
I'd test before and after meals as well as fasting numbers.
The fasting test is the one you can't change directly, the meal numbers are because you can change what you're eating depending on what your meter tells you.

With your hba1c at 78, your average blood glucose has likely been at around 12, so higher than your current fasting numbers.

And with regular testing you'll spot any alarming increasing numbers indicating something else than T2 is going on, so you'll be able to act on them before things get worse.
 
Thanks for all the advice- very much appreciated! So when is the best time to test before and after meals? I've read somewhere that testing 2 hours after meals is OK
 
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