Type 1 & 2

StuREC

Newbie
Messages
1
Hi I'm new here and joined because of concerns for my Mum who has been given very confusing information regarding her condition, or its confusing for me...
Mum is in her 70's and was diagnosed with type 1 a 5 years ago and take insulin and monitors her blood levels regularly. About 2 years ago she has had eye and sight issues and diagnosed with cataracts and has been in and out of the hospitals and doctors surgery to get treatment etc. This has all been delayed and stressful due to a well known virus affecting us all but now hopefully things are moving in a more structured way and she can get the treatment she needs to get back to her old self and not have to worry about driving and reading related problems.
She has been told lots of different things about age-related macular degeneration and how this is delaying any treatment she can have on her cataracts, she has also been told she doesn't have type 1 but has type 2 and then at a later date no she does have type 1.
Has anyone else experienced this and is there any advice to get help? Would trying to go private help? Not sure what to do to help Mum so would appreciate any advice. Thank you. Stuart
 

EllieM

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
9,208
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
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forum bugs
Welcome to the forums @StuREC

T1 and T2 are quite different diseases so I can see why your mother is unhappy that she is being told contradictory things.

So the first question is, who has told her she is T1 and who has told her she is T2?

I would believe a hospital endocrinologist over a GP....
 

In Response

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,373
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I completely agree with @EllieM but @StuREC is the type of diabetes making a difference to the treatment she is getting?
Does she have the support for her diabetes that she needs and is her management ok with insulin?
Whilst it would be great if health care workers are aware that Type 1 is not just a childhood disease (more than half of the people with Type 1 are diagnosed as adults, the oldest often referenced was diagnosed in his 90s), my feeling is that the care we get should be more important that the name they apply to the condition.