• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Type 2 Confused

david7953

Member
Messages
16
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi.

Dec 2014 HbA1c - 93
Jan 2015 HbA1c - 113
Mar 2015 HbA1c - 52

Glocophage 500 mg SR 1 tab twice daily.

Lost 2.5 stone, now 14st 4lbs. BMI 25. 6' 2" Height

Had my first Endocrinology appt today and some what confused by conflicting information I'm getting from medics. Firstly, GP says my body is producing too much insulin hence high BG. Secondly, Diabetic Consultant says I'm not producing enough insulin for body to absorb sugars therefore high BG. Confusing. Yet he can see no problems with pancreas from tests I've had. Gallbladder and liver working fine.

I unfortunately have an intolerance to oral medication and have been struggling with Metformin, so I asked consultant about having insulin injections instead. His answer was to stop my meds altogether and told me to see what my BG levels become in coming weeks without medication. I find this strange as my reading was 113 in January.http://

Anyway, my question. Has anyone else encounter similar witj conflicting diagnosis and meds?

Regards

David
 
Where do you want to start?
Misdiagnosed prediabetic 2001(?), misdiagnosed T2, 2009.
Diagnosed RH 2013!

The flushing insulin is something I can also relate to.
If you have a look in the 'Ask a question' forum. Then click on reactive Hypoglycaemia.
There you will see a thread about my condition. You will also find links, that you will want to read.
This may not be your condition but it will give you an insight into what you might need to do, to make yourself better.
Do you suffer hypos? What diet are you following?

Keep posting.
 
Thank you for your reply nosher8355. I will head over there and read it.

I was found to be Glucose Intolerant in 2008, but had no further fasting bloods or a HbA1c test until Dec 2014. To be honest I'd never heard of a HbA1c blood test until I was given the form. I felt really bad for about 18 months, and in the end I had to beg another consultant to run some blood tests. That's when my GP sat up and took notice.

I have had two hypos (3.8 & 4.0) but I knew what was happening from reading this forums web site and took appropriate action, however BG just up and down everyday even eating same food, so frustrating.

I stick to a low carb, high protein diet, but struggle to get enough calories (between 800 - 1000 kCal a day max) from GPs diet sheet. Consultant says I need to up calories, but on the GPs hippy diet that ain't gonna happen. So I'm going back to the drawing board to get a better food in take.
 
I'm allergic to carbs and sugar! That's what I say now, as it's easier to explain.
It's a good description of my condition.
When I very,very low carb, I am good and feel energetic and my life signs have reduced to good.
When I was dieting the way my GP wanted. I was up and down and my fluctuating blood glucose levels bounced everywhere and was very ill and putting on weight.

Low carb gives you control and keeps you healthier.
 
Thank you nosher8355 informative read.

The way you describe RH makes perfect sense especially if you take the sufferer 'out of the box' labeled Diabetes Conformity.
 
david7953 said:
Thank you nosher8355 informative read.

The way you describe RH makes perfect sense especially if you take the sufferer 'out of the box' labeled Diabetes Conformity.
Click to expand...

If, like my specialist, he first noticed that my fasting levels, were normal, then he noticed in my food diary, non diabetic levels before I ate. My hba1c level was normal. Then with the symptoms I described to him and the hypos. He started the tests. To confirm his diagnosis.

Non diabetic, outside the box indeed!

Have you had a prolonged oral glucose tolerance test?

I wouldn't worry about how much protein you have. You have to get your higher form of saturated fats somehow.

Read up about the effects of polyunsaturated fats have on someone like me. They are just as bad for me and they play havoc with my metabolism. I only use animal fats or coconut oil in cooking.
 
To just clarify one of your first questions, the question of how much insulin your body is producing is a tricky one.

Type 2 (if you are a T2) is a disease of insulin resistance.
Often the insulin resistance comes before any signs of glucose intolerance, raised blood glucose, or anything that could be identified on a standard doc's test.

What happens is, that (for whatever reason, and there are MANY) your body's fat and muscle cells decide that they are going to take less notice of the insulin circulating in the blood. So the pancreas thinks 'aha, the levels of insulin I am producing are not doing the job. I shall increase the amount of insulin I produce'

And then the body's cells think 'Hah! I didn't take notice before, why should I take notice now?' and they become more insulin resistant.

So the outcome is that there is actually more insulin circulating in the bloodstream, but it is having less and less effect.

And large amounts of insulin often result in weight gain, because insulin is the hormone that tucks excess glucose into the body's cells as fat.

So type 2s get a lovely spiraling rise of high blood glucose, increased insulin resistance and weight gain.

And the fatter a type 2 gets, the bigger their body is, and the more, bigger their cells are, and the more insulin resistant they become...

So actually, both your doc and your consultant are speaking the truth.

You may well be producing 'too much' insulin for your body to cope with, leading to too high bg levels and increased insulin resistance.

While at the same time, you may not have enough insulin circulating to force the bg out of the blood and into your body's cells due to that same insulin resistance (your pancreas may be wearing out, or not functioning efficiently due to 'fatty liver disease').

The whole process is actually much more complicated than that, especially when you add in the effects of medication and individual diet, activity and metabolism, but hopefully I have managed to explain it - as I understand it.

Because of this, I firmly believe that the key to treating type 2 is NOT an escalating drug regime (which leads to drug resistance as well as insulin resistance). Instead in my opinion, the key to type 2 is diet (low carb) and exercise (where possible) which leads to reduced insulin resistance, reduced drug use, and a healthy downward spiral of blood glucose.

But of course, if there are other medical conditions, such as with nosher (who was never a type 2 in the first place!), then my comment may not apply...
 
Something else to bear in mind is that if you are going drug-free in order to see what that does with your bg levels for your consultant, then you shouldn't mess with your diet in the interim.

If you change your diet, you may give a false result to his tests...
 
Thank you for heads up and very much appreciated.
 
Wow @Brunneria, what a great explanation.
You are indeed, a reasoning and knowledgeable person and a great inspiration.

Have I creeped enough?

I know I'm weird! But there are limits! Lol!

Great post brunneria!
 
david7953 said:
Thank you for heads up and very much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Keep posting and let us know how you get on.
Take the knowledge and ask questions of your docs!
 
Not to derail the thread, have you read my first blog, ' A Reactionary'

If not please read it.

If you have already, ignore this weird creep!

By the by, my GP called me weird the other day, really weird!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…