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Out of the blue

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sirjohnfaulkner

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I had raging thirst in November/December and could have peed fot England in Olympics.
Put off seeing GP till 19th December 2011 diagmosed type one and prescribed 1 metaformin daily. By 23rd December I was in a bad way and admitted to Hospital

I was treated for atrial fibrillation. urinary tract infection and started on insulin. Staff at Salford Royal were exellent and couldnt do enough. I hd a week in Hospital missing xmas excessive food and drink along with a trip to Cuba booked for 29th. { Pity party over now]

I have worked out that this diabetes business is all a but tricky, the Salfod diabetes clinic are leading me thru the murky waters slowly and providing constant support. Reading these forums has opened my eyes to how little I know but it is early days. I intend to read a lot more which leads me to one of my questions.

Prior to diagnosis I used off the shelf 1.5x reading glasses. Those specs are now useless for reading and work for longer distance which I never had a problem with before, clinic says this problem will
go away. Is this a common issue. Has anybody else had issues with Atrial Fibrillation, It has been syggested that it may be linked to my diabetes . The most painful aspect of the issues during the last three weeks was the UTI, can I expect lore of them?

Thanks in anticipation
 
Hi Sir John, I was diagnosed and started on one metformin tablet on a Friday and had a bad weekend so went back to the docs on the Monday who tried to take my blood pressure but couldnt get a reading, he sent me straight to A&E and called ahead to let them know I was coming.

I walked into A&E feeling OK and when the triage nurse took my bp she told me to lay on a stretcher and not move and I was wheeled straight into the resuscitation ward. I had a heart beat of 188bpm and was experiencing a Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT) where my two heart ventricles where beating out of sync, I was given a drug that temporarily stopped my heart then another immediately after to restart it and thankfully it worked. My HbA1c was 12.9% and my actual bg level was recorded as 29 mmol/L or there abouts, I was admitted to hospital and put on an insulin drip and my bg levels were taken every half hour and then every hour until they were brought down to a safer level, the following morning a specialist diabetes nurse came to see me to give me the good news that I was to be started on insulin treatment and may be on it permanently.

The cardiologist thought I had had a stroke but after a full heart MOT it was found I hadn't my SDN gave a wry smile and said it was my out of control bg levels that had caused it and I think she was right.

Anyway, I read everything I could find about diabetes and started to cut back on the carbohydrates I ate as it appeared that it was those that made my bg levels rise - not just sugar - I then found this forum and found more information and made some lifestyle changes and after 6 or 7 months I had lost 4 stones in weight and after one year managed to wean myself off insulin, that was three years ago now and I still restrict the amount of food I eat and the amount of carbs I eat but am managing very well on just Metformin.

Oh, and just as you describe my eye sight went totally wonky for about six weeks but it did calm down, I had to wear +1.25 reading glasses so I could see to drive :lol: I was told not to have an eye test for at least six weeks after getting my bg levels sorted as any prescription would have been a waste of money, your sight will recover it is just the release of pressure in the blood vessels behind the eye that have squashed your eye out of shape but it does return :thumbup:

So in answer to your question, yes diabetes can and does cause arterial fibrillation when bg levels are raging out of control.


Have a good look round the forum and just shout if you have any questions :D
 
Hi Sir John and welcome to the forum :) If any members have had the same problems that you have, they will be along soon to give you advice from their own experience. In the meantime, here is some general advice we give to new members. If you have any more questions please ask as there is usually someone who can help.

While I was writing this Sid already replied !

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.
Click to expand...
 
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