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SHOULD I GET A SECOND OPINION

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Kelly1106

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Hi, I am the daughter of someone who was just diagnosed with diabetes. I'm still shocked about it and I just wanted to ask for advice to our current situation. My mom, she is 46 years old, 5'6 height, 63 kilos . Lately she became curious why she is suddenly losing weight from 70 to 63 even though she's always hungry. When we asked our family doctor, right there and then she directly diagnosed her with diabetes. For the past 3 months my was constantly taking in sweets because of our birthdays in November, Christmas in December, and New years. She just took her blood result last week and was diagnosed diabetes because of her 14 mmol/L blood sugar level. I want to ask if we need to get a second opinion or was it just because she has been eating a lot sweets and all for the past 3 months causing her sugar level to be high.

I hope someone will answer this, im really confuse and I'm scared too. Thank You
 
What type of diabetes has she been diagnosed with? Was she diagnosed on the basis of a single blood glucose reading or was an HbA1c and/or GAD antibody / c-peptide tests done? The latter help to determine type.

None of us can diagnose, but it’ll be important to understand all of the above - will inform you and also any medic you do ask for a second opinion.
 
OK, well don't be scared about it coz there's lot's of good help out there, and it won't be confusing for long.
Do you know anything about it being type 1 or type 2? That would help a lot
 
You need more then just a blood glucose reading to be diagnosed. So, perhaps ask about any other tests that were done, like a Hba1c for example.

Losing weight rapidly and high glucose readings can be a potential sign of T1 developing. But you need tests to determine type. Hope she has a glucose monitor, measure before meals and 2 hrs after is a common practice. Keep a log of readings and a log of what she ate helps in the long run.

Try not to worry too much. It's not the end of the world.
 

Non diabetics can eat lots of sugar without their blood sugars going that high, even for months. so she probably is diabetic, though doctors don't normally diagnose on the basis of a blood sugar test, they normally do an hba1c (reflects an average of your last 3 months of blood tests), and they also don't normally diagnose on the basis of a single test (in case there is an error at the laboratory).

So, I wouldn't necessarily be asking for a second opinion but I would be asking
1) what tests have been done and what were the results
2) what type of diabetes does your mum have. Some doctors assume T2 once people are over 30 but the weight loss is a red flag for late onset T1, so GAD and cpeptide tests should be done.
3) What treatment is your doctor recommending?

In any case, whatever type of diabetes she has, it isn't the end of the world, though it's best to know about T1 sooner than later because she will need insulin.

If it's T2 she'll need to cut down on the carbs because her body can't tolerate them at the level she's been consuming. (This may be relatively easy to do if she's been knocking back the sugary confectionary for the last few months).

Good luck. Don't panic. Get informed.
 
Thank you for all your wonderful replies. She was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. For now, the doctor told us to cut off her carbs and focus on vegetables. Im not sure if she was tested for hba1c but the doctor told us to get her blood glucose test again after 3 months. She also recommended us to take metformim but my mom is a bit hesitant in taking it.
 
Should we start on her metformin medication? Or wait for 3 months to check again her blood glucose? The doctor only told us about her mmol/l, the doctor did not talk about hba1c
 
A typical sequence of events in diagnosing type 2 is as follows:
A pin prick test shows a high blood glucose level.
A phial of blood is taken from a vein and sent away for an HbA1c test which gives an indication of the average level of the glucose for the previous 3 months.
Unless the HbA1c is decisively high a second test is done a couple of weeks later, as a confirmation.
If the diabetes is not severe, doctors then often prescribe diet and exercise and a further HbA1c test in 3 months.
Is your mother able to access her results on line? If not she should be able to request a print-out of her blood test results. A single pin prick test is not conclusive, she needs to know her HbA1c.
 
Kelly1106 said:
Should we start on her metformin medication? Or wait for 3 months to check again her blood glucose? The doctor only told us about her mmol/l, the doctor did not talk about hba1c
Click to expand...
We can’t recommend medications but I would go back and insist on a A1C
 
Have a read of this link to understand the criteria for being diagnosed with diabetes (in the UK).
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/profess...nitoring/new_diagnostic_criteria_for_diabetes

You said that the doc diagnosed on a single test. That is fine, and according to the criteria, so long as it was a venous test (from a vein). Finger prick tests are usually backed up by a second form of test.

my suggestion would be that your mother gets herself a blood glucose meter and tests her own blood glucose before and after meals, to see which foods are sending her blood glucose up.

The doctor’s suggestion to cut carbs and focus on veg is only part of the story, although it is a good start. It would be best if your mother spent a bit of time learning which foods are carb laden (sometimes ppl are shocked when they discover that ‘healthy’ fruit is as carby as bread and cakes).

i would also suggest that your mother arranges with the doc surgery that she can see her medical records online. Just ring the reception and ask for the documents to sign, and what their registration procedure is. That way she will be able to access what tests have been run, and what the results were.

She would be very welcome here, as a member, and she could ask any questions she likes.
 
Hi. Metformin is a good safe drug which many of us take and it can be taken regardless of Diabetes type. Note, however, that it's effect on blood sugar is limited. I would be asking for a GAD and C-Peptide test as already suggested as the T2 diagnosis (versus T1) will almost certainly have been a guess by the GP (it usually is). A sudden loss of weight is one pointer to T1. Anyone diagnosed with diabetes should have an HBA1C test within 3 months to check the average BS level
 
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