Newly diagnosed

Welcome to the forums. My guess (possibly incorrect) is that you've just been diagnosed with T1 diabetes, though it's not impossible for T2s to present with DKA on diagnosis.

Wmh87 said:

Lowest sugar test to date has been 14.2 which was yesterday but earlier it was 18.1 before meal and 23 2hrs after the meal

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They'll want to bring your levels down gradually, partly because some organs can be damaged by too sudden a drop and partly just because they don't want to overmedicate the insulin. You've now experienced hyperglycemia (and either diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or a near miss at that), but you will in the future experience hypoglycemia, which is too low blood sugar. This is much easier to treat (just take sugar) and recognise (most people learn to recognise the various symptoms which can include sweating, shakiness and old fashioned hunger). If your blood sugar goes too low you can become increasingly confused and eventually fall unconscious and go into a coma. While high blood sugars are damaging in the long term (months and years) they are only an issue in the short term if they cause DKA, which is why they are getting you to check your ketones. DKAs are actually pretty rare for T1s as long as they have access to insulin, I've been T1 for 49 years and never had one.

It sounds like you have been put on a traditional basal/bolus regime. The basal insulin typically is a background insulin lasting 24 hours - it acts to keep your body working while you're not eating (eg at night). The orange pen will be your bolus insulin. In the long term you'll be able to vary its amount so as to adjust for the amount of carbohydrate in the food you eat, and to act as a correction dose if your levels are too high. While you're newly diagnosed they'll be working out how much insulin you need and it may take some time for them to do so.

Hopefully you have some appointments set up to see diabetic educators etc? There's a scary amount to learn but you will get there in the end. Diabetes is a club that no one wants to join but it is one of those illnesses where the sufferer has a surprising amount of control over the management. You'll learn how to adjust your own insulin doses to your diet and lifestyle. There's very little that it you can't do as a diabetic, though I'm afraid a career as an astronaut is definitely out.

Welcome again, and bear in mind that if it turns out that you are T2 diabetic rather than T1, you may well be able to come off the insulin by adjusting your diet (low carb is the way to go). If, as I suspect, you're T1, then you're stuck with it but it's not the end of the world.

Hi @Wmh87,

Sorry about the whirlwind diagnosis, but welcome here. We won't read one another much if you are a T1, as I'm a T2 and therefor quite useless to you, but just wanted to say there's a lovely bunch of people here... They'll help where they can. Hang in there!
Hugs,
Jo

Wmh87 said:

Hi all .

My head's been Abit all over the place tbh after being diagnosed Thursday
Basically I went doctors because I've been having constant dry mouth
Went doctors Thursday afternoon and my blood sugar was 28.2 and ketones was 3.1 didn't even know what ketones was
She sent me straight to hospital where they tested me again sugar was 26 and ketones was 3.2
Bloods was taken to be tested for acid in the blood and I was put on a drip .
Later in the night my sugar came down to 18 but my ketones went up to 3.3
.
My numbers are up and down
Using insulin over the weekend I've managed to get the ketones down to 1.1 yesterday
But my sugar level I'm struggling
I have to do one 20point shot of insulin on a grey pen once a day and 6points of a orange pen before breakfast and lunch and 8points before evening meal .
Lowest sugar test to date has been 14.2 which was yesterday but earlier it was 18.1 before meal and 23 2hrs after the meal

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JoKalsbeek said:

The original poster is on insulin and didn't mention type. Right now they're being treated as a T1 though, and if they are, diet won't reverse anything. (And there is no cure to T2 as yet, just ways to manage it through diet).

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No he didnt mention type but his symptoms were identical to mine and I was immediately prescribed gliclazide that Im glad I did not take, no need for hostility I was reminding someone of my success that I so dearly would have loved to read when I was diagnosed on the the 13th March, each to their own but I know mine is 100% cured, regardless what doctors say, I havent heard from my docs about my supposed serious condition since march and I dont order meds ever, I handed mine ine and they havent contacted me so i will have to arrange an hba1c test myself because i now know most medics dont believe in cure, cannot wait for them to test me even more! you got angry and i have no idea why when its a site to lift spirits and tell the truth, i did! im cured 100%

Macspiffing said:

No he didnt mention type but his symptoms were identical to mine and I was immediately prescribed gliclazide that Im glad I did not take, no need for hostility I was reminding someone of my success that I so dearly would have loved to read when I was diagnosed on the the 13th March, each to their own but I know mine is 100% cured, regardless what doctors say, I havent heard from my docs about my supposed serious condition since march and I dont order meds ever, I handed mine ine and they havent contacted me so i will have to arrange an hba1c test myself because i now know most medics dont believe in cure, cannot wait for them to test me even more! you got angry and i have no idea why when its a site to lift spirits and tell the truth, i did! im cured 100%

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Not angry at all, nor hostile, just maybe a little clumsily asking you to be careful about giving someone who's new to all this, false hope. If they're a T1, diet isn't going to fix them. As for medication free, I have been without diabetes medication and in the normal range for 3 years now. But if I eat like I used to, my bloodsugars will still go up. So, personally speaking, I am well-controlled, and in remission. Still a T2 though, and will be for life.

ok, but I do find some medics/people a bit tetchy if they hear diabetes cured or reversed, I think personally my body was unwell at the time of diagnosis in March 2019 and now I know its well again so I positively disagree with you. I would have loved to read my story when I was prescribed gliclazide in March it would have made not taking them less frightening, so maybe i took you wrong, I eat anything and I test myself when I do, I ate 4 subs with hotdogs and mustard intentionally on Saturday night as a big test for me including drinking guiness and eating chinese chilli chicken in batter with egg fried rice and chips, I was 6.2 after 2 hours and my undiagnosed wife was 6.8 although she only ate 1 hotdog and sub after her chinese of similar amouts, I(m not trying to convince you just fighting the rubbish it cannot be reversed when I know sometimes it can, it did for me! ,

Hi can I ask what your hba1c result was mine was 111 when I was diagnosed not sure if you are uk or not, they were not sure if mine was type 1 or 2 either.

i dont know about ketones really but when i was diagnosed with a result of 111 i was prescribed gliclazide and as i said above i didnt take it, i was a bit of a lager head and didnt eat as regularly as i should so i turned things around losing weight and eating more regularly cut lager out totally, why did they put you on insulin so quick if you didnt have a result? Mine dropped within a week not taking meds so just wondering how others deal with this taking meds, I would not have known my blood glucose had dropped by diet and changed eating habits had i took meds, I would have thought it was my meds if my glucose had fell so im glad i didnt take mine, im not advising you to but i am very happy i did not otherwise i would never have known and now im way low which i must say im relieved by, i wish you the very same success! but I know everyones story can be different.

Oh yeah my diabetic nurse said their is no chance I have prediabetes because my reading was so high and I now know that was incorrect so I dont listen to so called professionals quite so easily, hence me responding to you and your symptoms were my symptoms so just a heads up mate, Mine has sorted itself out totally now, I can test myself with silly amounts of sugar and carbs like we all did as kids and I know mine has gone thank god, I hope you find the right resolution for you too

Wmh87 said:

Macspiffi

They haven't told me yet as they haven't had the results at the time I was in hospital

They just kept taking blood and running tests due to my ketones reading . I'm hoping to get alot more clearer info on Friday . I've been testing each morning as soon as I get up and my sugar level has dropped every day bit by bit

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Hi @Wmh87 and welcome

It sounds like you’re having a rough time, but this is absolutely the right place for support.

It’s important that you get a correct diagnosis so you can then figure out the best way forward for you. It sounds like you may get the information you need on Friday - perhaps it would be helpful to list everything you’d like to know the answer to so that nothing is forgotten?

And please do stick around here. There are many knowledgeable and friendly members who will be happy to help, either with questions you have now or after your appointment on Friday.

Hello and welcome @Wmh87

It can take a while for your levels to come down so slowly slowly is the best way forward, the good thing is your getting treatment and in time you will start to feel tons better, lots of us have been where you are so know how much of a shock diagnosis can be. What’s other symptoms were you having before your diagnosis ?

Lots of good useful advice here so have a good look round

Wmh87 said:

Sorry I didn't mention type

Basically they haven't said exactly yet as they have said I fall into both types . But Friday I'm back at hospital for my full blood report and hopefully be told which one . They are treating me as type 1 on 20points injection of lantus once a day then
6 / 6 / 8 of novolog .

I've been trying to read up on do's and donts . I've already had one appointment with the diabetic unit where they drilled into me don't let diabetes run my life . I'm trying to follow that but it's just all Abit much to take on board .

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To make things more confusing, there's more than two types, it's just that 1 and 2 are the most common. But there's Mody, LADA, T3c, etc etc.... So sometimes it's not as cut-and-dry as a single test. (Or a set, actually: C-Peptide and GAD usually determine whether it's type 1). Some people here have had to wait years to find out what was what. So don't worry about not mentioning type, you'd not be the first not to know right from the get-go what they are classified as, because it's hard to tell sometimes.

The thing with ketones, depending on your diet and what type you are, they shouldn't show up. I have them, because I follow a ketogenic diet, and that's fine. But I'm a Type 2, with normal bloodsugars now, because of the diet I follow. More often than not, when a T1 has high ketone levels AND high bloodsugars, people freak out. There's such a thing as diabetic ketoacidosis. When you're so short on insulin, or have none of your own at all, that it can't help you burn glucose anymore. So... Instead your body starts cannibalising itself. It burns body fat and muscles rather than glucose, and as that gets burned, ketones are released. So bloodsugars are high because no glucose gets burned off, and ketones show up because you're basically using yourself as fuel. That's why they checked you, and why you weren't just given pills to bring your bloodsugars down gradually, but put straight onto insulin: having high levels of ketones and bloodsugars can turn very, very ugly. When your blood turns acidic, well... Let's just say it's not good. So whatever type you turn out to be, the docs did right by putting you straight on insulin, with the situation being what it was right then. DKA doesn't happen in T2's often, but it can happen.

All in all, everything's still up in the air right now, but please believe me: You ARE going to be okay. It's easy for someone to tell you not to let diabetes run/ruin your life, but right when you're diagnosed you're basically sitting on the rubble of what you thought your life was going to be like. You've lost an idea of your future, and that hurts. Plus, it's scary, there's so much to learn , and such a steep learning curve! It's okay to be upset, it's okay to grieve, you feel whatever you need to feel right now. Just know you're not alone in this and whatever way this ends up going, there are people here who can help you. You're not alone.

Hugs,
Jo

Macspiffing said:

why did they put you on insulin so quick if you didnt have a result?

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Probably because the OP had DKA or was on the verge of having it, and it kills pretty quickly if untreated. Going onto a drip doesn't happen if you aren't at risk of DKA.
It's really good that diet control followed by weight loss has put you into remission but not all T2s can achieve that, and for sure no T1s can achieve that.

Wmh87 said:

I must say I'm overwhelmed with the support and that in here .

There was no other symptoms other than dry mouth and peeing alit due to the amount of fluid I was drinking .

I'm starting to learn about what foods help and don't help now and until I go back Friday I guess I will just carry on as a new T1

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Just be careful if you're going to try and cut back the carbs, if you're on a fixed dose of insulin. The possibility of a hypo is very real, so don't start anything that might put you back in the hospital right now eh. No need to rush things.


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JoKalsbeek said:

To make things more confusing, there's more than two types, it's just that 1 and 2 are the most common. But there's Mody, LADA, T3c, etc etc.... So sometimes it's not as cut-and-dry as a single test. (Or a set, actually: C-Peptide and GAD usually determine whether it's type 1). Some people here have had to wait years to find out what was what. So don't worry about not mentioning type, you'd not be the first not to know right from the get-go what they are classified as, because it's hard to tell sometimes.

The thing with ketones, depending on your diet and what type you are, they shouldn't show up. I have them, because I follow a ketogenic diet, and that's fine. But I'm a Type 2, with normal bloodsugars now, because of the diet I follow. More often than not, when a T1 has high ketone levels AND high bloodsugars, people freak out. There's such a thing as diabetic ketoacidosis. When you're so short on insulin, or have none of your own at all, that it can't help you burn glucose anymore. So... Instead your body starts cannibalising itself. It burns body fat and muscles rather than glucose, and as that gets burned, ketones are released. So bloodsugars are high because no glucose gets burned off, and ketones show up because you're basically using yourself as fuel. That's why they checked you, and why you weren't just given pills to bring your bloodsugars down gradually, but put straight onto insulin: having high levels of ketones and bloodsugars can turn very, very ugly. When your blood turns acidic, well... Let's just say it's not good. So whatever type you turn out to be, the docs did right by putting you straight on insulin, with the situation being what it was right then. DKA doesn't happen in T2's often, but it can happen.

All in all, everything's still up in the air right now, but please believe me: You ARE going to be okay. It's easy for someone to tell you not to let diabetes run/ruin your life, but right when you're diagnosed you're basically sitting on the rubble of what you thought your life was going to be like. You've lost an idea of your future, and that hurts. Plus, it's scary, there's so much to learn , and such a steep learning curve! It's okay to be upset, it's okay to grieve, you feel whatever you need to feel right now. Just know you're not alone in this and whatever way this ends up going, there are people here who can help you. You're not alone.

Hugs,
Jo

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Absolutely spot on Jo. These were my circumstances and they do NOT mess about when you present like that, let's face it, if they were to hang about trying to figure out the type for a week before giving insulin, well let's just say they could stop doing anything after a week! It's insulin first to combat the DKA and high glucose levels and then they may readjust in the following weeks. x

Hi and welcome. A lot for you to digest so quickly. If you do remain on insulin and treated as a T1 then you should be taught carb counting where you adjust the insulin at each meal depending on the carb content. Don't worry about that at present just be guided by the medics but just be aware of not varying your carbs at each meal greatly whilst on fixed doses. Note that diagnosis of type can be difficult sometimes and can take years to determine if it's T1 or T2 due to slow failure of the pancreas if T1.