No longer diabetic.....

[saz12]

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I was 17. I had v high blood sugars and had to spend a week in hospital. They put me on quite a high dosage of Novo mixtard 30 (can't remember how much exactly). I sometimes found it quite difficult to eat the right food and would reach for chocolate on occassions. But overally I wasn't too bad. I was on that insulin for quite a while, then they swapped me to 50 units of Levemir twice a day.

Around about the same time I decided to start loosing weight. I am 5ft6 and weighed 13stone so was overweight. I started a diet that involves lots of fruit & vegetables and basically nothing other than that except a little bit of cereal & bread, and quite a lot of rice, pasta and potatoes. (I have now reached my target weight of 9stone 6 and am still following this diet).

My insulin dosage had to constantly be reduced, and soon I was on just 3 or 4 units of insulin and was getting quite a few hypos, so when I saw the diabetic clinic, they suggested that I stop taking the insulin and keep a check on it. (Truth be told, I'd already decided to stop taking my insulin regularly a few months before that, and would go 3 or 4 days without injecting). He told me it was probably just what is called a 'honey moon period' and that it would eventually lead to me injecting again.

I went to the diabetic clinic at my hospital last week (about 7 months after he told me I no longer needed to inject) and he told me I was no longer diabetic and he discharged me from the clinic. He said he no longer believed it was the honeymood period as my results were perfect (sometimes even a bit low) for quite a length of time. I've got to have a blood test, and then a sugary drink, and they're going to monitor my results after 2 hours to check if my sugar levels are back to normal.....I'm almost sure they will be because I have done similar tests on myself before.

I am pleased with what's happened, but I really don't understand it. my mum wasn't too pleased about me not being diabetic anymore. She just said 'oh, so u'll have to start paying for your presciptions now' (even though I don't live with her, and she won't have to pay for them!!!). She's type 2 diabetic, so my partner said she's probably just jealous. Has kinda put a bit of a downer on how happy I am with the whole thing. I've been diabetic for 7 or 8 years now. Thought, and accepted that I had it for life. I just feel lost now


Has this happened to anyone else? Do you think that I will have to start injecting again in the future? Everyone on the boards talks about 'low carbs' to lower blood sugars etc....but surely my diet isn't low carb?

Thank you x

 

[fergus]

Intersting, saz12.
First of all, you weren't type 1 diabetic when you were diagnosed. Type 1 is a chronic, irreversible failure of insulin production and doesn't ever go away without a new pancreas.

That leaves type 2 diabetes, which can respond to dietary changes sufficiently to enable patients to become unmedicated. They will still be diabetic, only without the need for insulin or oral meds.

What makes your story extremely unusual is that you say you have normalised your blood sugars by following a diet that would cause an almost uncontrollably large increase in anyone elses.
To answer your last question, no, I doubt very much whether this has happened to anyone else!

fergus

 

[hanadr]

That's distinctly odd

 

[Stuboy]

Immediate thoughts are that you were miss-diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic when you were and still are type 2.

Sorry to break it to you but diabetes doesn't go away, type 1 or type 2... fact.

You may be able to come off of medication with type 2 and control simply with diet and exercise, but you still have diabetes and should continue to monitor your blood sugar levels.

Any doctor or nurse that tell you that you are 'no longer diabetic' should be struck off, because that's a pretty dangerous assessment to give someone.
If you were to go away and start stuffing yourself with all the things you've missed like cakes and sweets and what not because you think you're no longer diabetic, your sugar levels will go through the roof, and you wont even realise because you wont be testing, you'll go into DKA and even risk death in a severe case.

 

[saz12]

I am still going to monitor my blood sugar, don't worry! I doubt I'd ever have the confidence not to test. Don't know if I'll still be able to get the test strips now that I'm 'not diabetic'.

I'm really worried now about when I have that glucose drink and the blood tests at the hospital....Surely they wouldn't do it if there were any risks or doubts that my body couldn't handle it?

 

[Stuboy]

you shuld definatly seek a second opinion... if they say the same thing... seek a third!

Infact i would be inclined to report the new diagnosis of 'no longer diabetic'. Not sure who the incident should be reported to.. but im sure someone here knows!

 

[LittleSue]

I think you're probably type 2 or one of the 'in between 1 & 2' types. Type 2 was less common in teenagers 7-8 years ago than now so maybe they assumed you were type 1 due to your age and relatively acute presentation. Possibly type 1 with an unusually late and prolonged honeymoon period (maybe weight loss is a factor in this?) but most honeymooners still need small injections.

Why are you worried about the test if you think you're not diabetic? Its a very common test performed on possible type 2s. 2 hours with raised sugar isn't life-threatening, you'll be at the hospital throughout, and you say you've done similar tests and expect your sugars to be normal anyway.

 

[jopar]

saz 12

Firstly well done you...

Sadly has they have said it is likely that you're are a T2, and prehaps the Glucose torralance test that they are going to do in hospital will show that you are going to a T2 that can be controlled with diet alone...

Yes keep monitoring and don't go mad with eating... I'm also asssuming that you're a young female so when it comes to the time of decideing to start a family a visit to your doctors would be a wise move... So that they can gem you up if you need dome extra support or help concerning the diabetic side of things...

 

[Trinkwasser]

Immediate thoughts are that you were miss-diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic when you were and still are type 2.

Sorry to break it to you but diabetes doesn't go away, type 1 or type 2... fact.

You may be able to come off of medication with type 2 and control simply with diet and exercise, but you still have diabetes and should continue to monitor your blood sugar levels.

Any doctor or nurse that tell you that you are 'no longer diabetic' should be struck off, because that's a pretty dangerous assessment to give someone.
If you were to go away and start stuffing yourself with all the things you've missed like cakes and sweets and what not because you think you're no longer diabetic, your sugar levels will go through the roof, and you wont even realise because you wont be testing, you'll go into DKA and even risk death in a severe case.

Also plausible that it might be one of the more obscure types such as MODY. The only type of diabetes that is truly reversible is drug-induced - and that doesn't always happen.

Probably a lot of people here and on other forums no longer have diabetic numbers but that's only through control, would be interesting to see what your GTT shows. It might make you feel like **** but you won't come to any more harm than that surrounded by medical professionals (hopefully).