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Prediabetes

Kaity Thorpe

Active Member
Hi,
I was diagnosed this Thursday with type 2 diabetes with a blood glucose level of 101. The following day, I discovered a med I was taking for oral thrush ( which is what took me to the doctors in the first place contained sugar). I called the GP and spoke to the head doctor at the practice, firsy he said type two do not need to test their own blood sugar levels ( seems to be outdated view). What really upset me, is that he mentioned that blood tests I'd had done in 2014, which diagnosed Anaemia, also showed a " risk" for diabetes, I'm assuming this means I was in pre diabetic range. He went on to say that policy in 2014 meant that it wasn't taken further, though this policy was changed in 2016. So as I see it, for three years I was pre diabetic and they didn't bother telling me. Can't get my head round this. Is this normal practice?
Also is it usual for blood pressure to be off the scale at diagnosis? I've never had an issue before with BP, but it's sky high at the minute and really concerning.
 
1) The notion of being "prediabetic" is relatively new and confusing. In Canada, they changed the limits almost every year and they are still not very consistent in the way they screen people for diabetes.

2) I've seen my BP up indeed when my BG was high.
 

Diabetes T2 is a metabolic disease. High BP and also high cholesterol for many people one goes with the other I'm afraid.

As for pre-diabetes, your doctor is correct in that is was never considered as a condition that needed treating. It is only since T2 started to become a global problem and more research was undertaken that the NHS began to take it seriously, as recommended by NICE and other organisations. It was normal practice to ignore it, other than perhaps a gentle warning.
 
There was/is a lot of strange logic concerning Type 2 diabetes in particular. For instance, they say it's a metabolic disease and then ask if any blood relatives have it but they never ask if others at your dinner table have it.

They diagnose you by reading your high blood sugar level and don't like you to test to find what caused it. I have been given a load of lobbocks to explain this. I was given a pot of test strips, it's true, but they were taken off my prescription when I used them and went back for more. I was told the reason is that people get obsessed with testing, it's the quality of life versus the quantity of life and finally that they had £60,000 taken off their budget.

Another reason is that when I was diagnosed I was told that it's a progressive disease and it would get worse, I would have bits amputated and then die. I was then given some ineffectual pills and sent home. Written off I suppose. No-one ever explained that there might be something you could do about it and the only time food was mentioned was when they gave me two sheets of A4 with dietary advice which would be considered primitive in the light of subsequent events.

Is it normal practice to keep it to themselves? I have heard others say so but in my case it was me that hid it. The GP was on my case and put a note on the computer so when I went back in (10 years later) a nurse asked me if I would supply some blood and the rest is history.

Blood pressure is an issue for me and some others and you get pills. I get white coat syndrome so I can't avoid the pills. Interestingly I bought my own machine and it seems to alter when I move the cuff higher up my arm. Maybe DN puts it in the wrong place. That is still a work in progress.

Anyway, welcome to our world, and I hope this site helps you lots.
 
Thanks everyone. I have to agree, that I was sent home with no dietary advice, apart from eating a healthy diet and that I wasnt to consider any food, a bad food. On testing my BP the doctor said, "Oh its sky high, well let's leave it to the diabetic nurse to do it". My appointment with her is in three weeks. When I asked about monitoring my blood sugar, I was told not to worry about that as it wasn't necessary.
 
I am not a doctor so cannot tell you what is best for you but you can make your own decisions. If you want to monitor your blood sugar you can. If you wish to alter what you eat to help lower your blood sugars, you can. If your DN or Doctor wishes to advise you otherwise then to avoid confrontation you can always smile and nod.
 
If I were you I would definitely buy a blood glucose meter and test. I would also buy a blood pressure monitor and take your own BP at home where "white coat syndrome" won't interfere with your readings. You could then take some averages and show these to your nurse/GP.

It is best not to dwell on what has happened in the past but look to the present and take control of your own health - make sure you can either get access to test results on line or print outs of all your tests, analyse them and take action yourself. This forum will always be here to help.
 
Kaity Thorpe said:
policy in 2014 meant that it wasn't taken further, though this policy was changed in 2016. So as I see it, for three years I was pre diabetic and they didn't bother telling me. Can't get my head round this. Is this normal practice?
Click to expand...

Yep I am exactly the same. My most recent HbA1c which flagged me as pre-diabetic was the same as what I had in 2012 but back then it wasn't a thing. The nurse said with my risk factors I could become diabetic in 2 years time or in 20 years time so i said well go for the latter one LOL.

I have now bought myself a meter to see how I react to different foods and am eating low(er) carb, based on advice from this forum.
 
Another vote for a BP meter.
I always seem to read high at the surgery, as high as 150, but last home test was 122/73.
That was before the morning coffee, of course.
 

Just like you, I've been told for years by all GPs that I have to make lifestyle changes (diet and exercise) and nothing more.

I was initially frustrated they never told me people buy cheap meters for BG and BP. I have now both for years, but nobody told me to buy them. I had no idea the BG test strips are usually partially covered by the additional medicare insurance.

I've seen separately, a while ago, a homeopathic doctor, and he introduced me to the FODMAP and the diets. A totally different universe. But you know most GPs don't take homeopathy seriously.

So yes, we're not informed, or we are frequently misinformed, because the medical practice today is where it is. Professionals making a tone of money and not very open-minded after all.

Read the excellent The 30 Day Diabetes Cure book, by Dr Ripich. He has a lot to say about his colleagues, on this matter.
 
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Bluetit is right in that high cholesterol, high blood pressure and type 2 are best mates. I can identify with this, I had an NHS health check 5 years ago and they found high blood pressure and borderline high cholesterol. I do remember the HCA saying I didn't have diabetes when she tested the urine I had brought but about 12 months later I asked for my med notes online and saw the HbA1c test they had done was 41. I was cross nobody had mentioned how close it was to being borderline but the dr just said 41 was still normal but that it would rise and I would eventually need to take metformin. He seemed so positive which I found annoying.No mention of diet. They repeat the test annually and this year it rose to 43 and I had to formally be given the NHS guide lines to type 2. The less said about the Eatwell Plate the better ... I bought my own glucose meter and BP meter and take my BP readings to the dr who is satisfied with that, if I didn't I think I would be over medicated as the BP goes off the page in the surgery!
 
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