Not sure if this is the right place to do this, but here goes:
I was diagnosed with type 2 on the 17th October this year, so it's all very new to me at the moment. If i'd have taken the time to research the net a bit more carefully I may have picked up on it a number of months ago when i first started having the, now obvious, symptons that may lead to a succesful diagnosis.
For me it started off with an increased intake of fluids, up to as much as 6 or 7 litres a day in some cases, plus an increase in appetite with weight loss - I just put it down to stress with my job (car salesman, under a lot of pressure). I'd been suffering with a recurring chest infection every 6 months for about 5 years, the doc just put it down to me "not being well and picking up every bug that was floasting around"
Then the dreaded genital itch started followed by thrush, so a trip back to the docs for antibiotics and cream. Still no mention of diabetes and no blood tests - doc said it was balanitis (is that how it's spelled ?)
After starting to clear, the symptoms became worse and it got to the point where i could not retract my foreskin at all (phimosis) - this started to have a dramatic effect on my previously active sex life. I rang NHS direct for some advice and they asked me a load of questions that I thought were completely irrelevant at the time - I now thank the staff there for their prompt actions.
A trip to my late night walk in centre provided results of 18.7 for my BM's - even the doc said they were quite high seeing as i'd NOT eaten for about 5 hours, plus a urine sample full of ketones confirmed that I was on my way to the hospital.
I was called at home around 3.30 am on the saturday to be told that they now had a bed. so could i drag my sorry ass into the H for some tests - in a nutshell I spent 4 days there while they got me stable. My highest reading went 26.8 whilst there.
Im on Metformin now, plus a helthy balanced diet, and am told in time i will return to some sense of normality, but can no longer go on the binges i used to have at work (the vending machine company may go bust now i'm told
)
A minor op in 12 days will cause me no more problems with thrush and or phimosis as I now have to be circumcised. I check my BM's on a daily basis and for the last few days they were around the 9.6 mark - even after A 12hr fast, but again i'm told this will settle down in time - the only exception to this has been this morning when they were 14.2 with a check ketones message on my monitor.
I'm 35 and have been a bit overweight for a few years now, but the weight is literally falling off me - I was 18st 10lbs in december last year and on wednesday this week at the pre op assessment clinic i was 15st 11lbs, pretty much 3 stone in about a year.
So - i'll be an active participant on here, no doubt i'll have a million and one questions for people to answer, and i'll apologise if I ask something that has already been asked, but i'll try and make use of the search facility before I do.
Jim