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Symptoms, Advice

You're right, there are too many things that go wrong in healthcare but there are also individual nurses and doctors who do a fantastic job, picking up on issues that others miss, and so on. I look for those ones and hang onto them when I find them.

If I'm honest there have been about 50 mistakes made in my care over about 35 years - most of them didn't do lasting or major harm, and the ones that were significant still didn't cause loss of function of a body part or, obviously, death. The biggest issue I have faced was being fobbed off and told it was all in my head, then to find out years later that other doctors proved I did have the illness, using objective measures like CT scans, blood tests, surgical findings etc.

In many cases, the doctor who missed it has given me a sincere apology, and I could tell it was genuine, and I accepted it. I do think that for the doctor, when that happens, it stays with them and they always remember to suffering they could have helped me avoid, and it makes them a better doctor, who can help hundreds of other patients avoid the same fate. I had to decide to stop dwelling on it or I would be missing out on the present and the future, for no gain.

I'm almost totally certain that once your BGs come down to the target range, your tiredness will reduce to a bearable level or even go away completely. I know what that tiredness is like - mine only resolved very recently. I call it "extreme fatigue" or exhaustion. The fact you are able to still work full time is a credit to you. I have been through periods of sleeping for virtually all of my time off work in the evenings and weekends. It becomes depressing in itself because you know you can't do the things you want and need to do.

While you wait for your BG meter, the fewer carbs you eat the better you will feel. If you are hungry, don't skimp on meat and full fat dairy products, as they will help. A few days of reduced carbs is unlikely to have much impact on your readings, so they will still be valuable to you. Drink enough water and try to conserve your energy and rest. Pamper yourself with hot baths and other things you enjoy doing that aren't alcohol or other things that will make you more fatigued. That's about all you can do while you wait for the next steps, IMO.

You are right about glucose in the urine. Normally there should be no dumping of urine from the kidneys into the urine. It's what the body does when it can't reduce the glucose from the bloodstream. The body is really quite amazing, in what it does to keep us going when something is going wrong. Fortunately we can help it along by eating better and if needed, taking medication for short or longer time.
 
Hi Jenny, my monitor finally arrived today. I have had episodes all week with dizziness especially after eating or when I'm hungry.

I have done 3 test today.
1 immediately after eating,
1 an hour after eating,
1 3 hours after eating.
My results are 1st test 158, second 143, third 140.
I was also feeling dizzy when doing the test like I have been when eating.

Do you understand these readings?, are they good or bad? I can't make sense of them to be honest.
 
Hi Marcus, glad your meter arrived. I had to convert from US into UK to see that your numbers were between 8.8 and 7.8.

What would be really helpful is if you could take a reading when you wake up (fasting BG) then before a meal and two hours after. Please note down what you ate at the meal, too.

Your three results show that your BG was decreasing in the 3 hours after your meal, which is good, but they don't show much else because we don't have the pre-meal reading.

This link has tables showing what normal vs diabetic BG readings are, in the US format your meter uses:

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html

You are getting closer to finding out what your BG levels are doing. I am hesitant to say more until there is more data available. Dizziness can be caused by diabetes but also by many other things. It's almost bedtime for me so I won't be able to respond for a while, but I hope to catch up with you later.
 

Hi there Marcus and welcome to the forum.

Where are you based and which urine strips are you using, to see your 5.5 score?
 

I did another check before and after evening meal. Before evening meal my BG was (5.7-103) one hour after eating it jumped to (234-13) it shocked me a lot, I started feeling dizzy fuzzy headed not long after finishing my meal. My meal was not the healthiest, chips peas gravy from chip shop and 3 slices bread. Cup of tea with 2 sugars and semi skimmed milk.
What has puzzled me is the monitor did not indicate "HI" on my code free monitor. The instruction manual says if above 188 the display will show "HI" and if below 70 will indicate "LOW"
Panic is setting in now because I do not want to go to the doctors. Is there anyway I can get around not having these symptoms with eating different foods?
 
It appears the dizziness etc. is due to rapidly;y changing blood glucose levels. Big roller coaster swings from high to low are not desirable.

Yes, you can avoid all this by cutting out the carbs. Chips, peas, gravy and 2 slices of bread may have to go.
 
Marcus1234 said:
Does this mean I am type 2 diabetic?
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None of us can answer that. Only a doctor can by taking the appropriate blood tests - an HbA1c. If you are so worried you really do need to make an appointment. Diabetes is not a condition to be messed with.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
None of us can answer that. Only a doctor can by taking the appropriate blood tests - an HbA1c. If you are so worried you really do need to make an appointment. Diabetes is not a condition to be messed with.
Click to expand...
Ok thanks. I don't think it is a condition to be messed with. Going to the doctor is not easy for me unfortunately. Thanks for your reply.
 
Hi Marcus,
I know the rapid changes in your BG could be making you feel dizzy and experience other frightening symptoms, but those symptoms can also be symptoms of anxiety, which you may be having after you eat because of your fear of having to see the doctor. If you want to see if it might make a difference, when you feel those symptoms, you can try a grounding exercise. It's very easy, and not hard to remember or do. You put your feet flat on the floor and your hands on your table or desk or even on the arms of your armchair. Take 5 nice deep breaths first. Then while sitting, identify 3 things you can see. Take a few more breaths.. it's good if you can go in through your nose and out through your mouth, but it doesn't matter if you can't do it that way. Next identify 3 things you can hear. Take a couple more deep breaths and then close your eyes and identify 3 things you can smell. This is a very basic grounding technique I was once taught and it did wonders for me. I hope you can find a way forward. Do they have "telehealth" where you live? That's where you can use your computer to see and speak to a doctor. I wish you all the best.
 
Hi MrsGruffy, thanks for your reply.
Since getting my BG monitor I've felt 10 times worse. my dizziness extreme fatigue, eyes feeling heavy is 10 times worse after eating, but is also happening when I'm getting hungry. I am questioning myself on how much of this is in my head and how much is real. I have done several readings and really don't know what is happening, I am getting high, low, normal. I don't know what is good and what is bad, I have browsed the internet and seem to be getting mixed messages.
My readings have been, highest 234 -13 and lowest 100-5.7, I did a fasting one this morning which was 138-7.7, my BG had dropped to 100-5.7 when I tested again 8 hours later when I finished work. For my tea I ate grilled pork chop, salad 2 slices x whole seeded bread and 1 satsuma my BG had shot up to 203-11 immediately after eating. I tested again 1 hour after eating my BG was 231-12.8.
I will try the grounding exercise and see if this can help me. I already use deep breathing techniques and relaxation but when its fixed in my head that I may have to see a doctor I find it hard to get away from. I was going to visit A&E but then I thought they may want to admit me which would send me over the edge.
I don't think we have telehealth but is something I will certainly look into
 
You seem to be testing at the wrong times if you want to judge how your diet affects your BG you should test just before starting to eat and then two hours later. A maximum rise of two whole numbers or 36 in US terms is the ideal, but eating bread and a satsuma will put up your readings in the way you saw.
 
Hi @Marcus1234

I do sympathise and know how difficult this will be for you, but with readings like those there is every possibility you may be diabetic, so you really do need to have the appropriate blood tests at your surgery. I don't know what else to say.
 
I never thought for 1 minute that satsumas and healthy bread would raise blood glucose and that I may be testing at the wrong time. The reason I tested straight after my meal was because of the way I was feeling, which was heavy headed, dizzy and extremely tired. Since I've got the monitor the symptoms are worse 10 fold. Maybe that is down to my health anxiety.
I have suffered with health anxiety for many years and it can destroy a person. An everyday individual will go to the doctors and not give it a second thought, unfortunately I cannot and the thought of it can make me physically vomit and shake uncontrollably. If you read my first post, I said that I am waiting for an appointment with CBT specialist who will hopefully change my way of thinking that will enable me to go to the doctors and be like a normal person. (I'm still waiting for the appointment)
I'm not a little boy, I am a grown man with a good job, my own home and a good family, if you saw me you would not think for a second that I could suffer health anxiety because over the years I have become an expert at hiding it.
Thank you all for your replies and I will continue on improving my diet and monitoring my BG,
 
Hi again, Marcus - you should definitely keep a record of these numbers, and how they relate to eating. You can test whenever you like, but the numbers which are the most important to record in terms of diabetes are on waking up, at first bite of every meal, and then 2 hours afterwards. You can get an app for your phone to help you keep track of them if you have a smartphone. One good thing to remember right now is that diabetes is a controllable chronic illness and isn't terminal. You can turn it around through your diet. It just means you have to educate yourself about what foods have the greatest impact on your blood glucose, and then avoid them. That's why you test 2 hours after you eat. During that preceding time, your BG will go up and that's the same for everyone, but if it goes up too much and stays up, then you have a problem. It's not the greatest news in the world, but it's definitely not terminal - unless you ignore it. I hope you get in with the therapist soon. CBT is really, really excellent for circumstances like yours. Also, the fact that you know what it is you're most worried about.. that's fantastic, and that will help you and your therapist a lot. A lot of people haven't got that far, or never do.. so well done, you!
 
Satsumas are a tropical citrus fruit - close kin to oranges etc - so high in fructose - and bread is made from flour - just because there is the husk left in doesn't make it any less starchy. I would be feeling really tired if I ate bread and fruit even with a meal. If you can lower your intake of carbs you will lower your blood glucose and perhaps - like me, become a lot less interesting to the doctor. I have not seen mine for 19 months, since diagnosis as I have normal numbers.
 
Morning all, my fasting BG was 120 - 6.7 not brilliant, but better than yesterday which was 138 - 7.5
I did think that seeded bread, all fruits, all salads are ok to eat.
Am I better off not eating bread or fruits at all? I am always hungry as well since trying to start reducing my carbs.
Thanks
 

Foods such as seeded bread and fruit are recommended as healthy choices for the general public, but sadly they are not really healthy for type 2 diabetics, or those trying to avoid becoming diabetic.

Please have a read of this website https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds It explains which foods we can eat safely, and some to avoid or cut down on. By using your meter you can soon learn which your own personal danger foods are. (Test before eating and 2 hours after first bite. If the rise is more than 2mmol/l (preferably less) there were too many carbs in that meal for your body to cope with.) It helps if you keep a food diary and record your levels alongside so you can watch for patterns.
 
Thanks for this, I will have a look.
 
Marcus1234 said:
I'm not a little boy, I am a grown man with a good job, my own home and a good family, if you saw me you would not think for a second that I could suffer health anxiety because over the years I have become an expert at hiding it.
Click to expand...
Marcus, I hope you don't imagine that everyone else here, or at work, or that you see in the street, is untroubled by irrational fears or compulsions or anxieties etc etc. You are not the only one!!! Every day I do things that I know perfectly well, even at the moment I do them, are not in my best interests. As does every person who has a problem with alcohol or who smokes, or gambles, or eats too much, or is terrified of snakes or travelling on public transport etc etc. In total that's an awful lot of people, who like you and me mostly manage to pass for completely normal and competent. My mother could go to the doctor, no problem, but she couldn't drive on a motorway or travel in an aeroplane. She was also terrified of thunderstorms. I am fine with thunder and lightning, I have hitch hiked across Europe without turning a hair, but opening business letters panics me. No-one would think it. So please don't ever feel embarrassed by your anxieties. They are not so out of the ordinary, if all were known.
 
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