Update, and Puzzle

Greetings,

My last post was about 15 months ago and that was also the last time I'd had an HbA1C check. I have been a bad boy because it was not until this week that I had a new blood test. Even worse, I have if anything increased my consumption of beer to something like four pints a day. However this latest A1C comes out at 37, which was so "good" that it surprised me greatly (see below, concerning recent symptoms).

I moved to the UK nearly two years ago, a year after being diagnosed (in America) with T2 diabetes with an A1C of 67. I was able to bring this under control rapidly by shifting to a low-carb diet and increasing physical activity (see signature).

Life in the UK has been good! I live in a village in Kent and go on frequent country walks, either alone or with the local walking group. My *food* diet has been very low-carb so the only major carb intake is the beer.

The "puzzle" in the subject line to this thread is: I have been urinating frequently, especially at night, and feeling thirsty. During the night I am probably going to the bathroom half a dozen times in a typical night. This started about two months ago and is quite exhausting.

Of course, I shared this information (and was also frank about my beer intake) during my appointment at the local NHS clinic. Until I got the latest A1C result today I had assumed that my "bathroom problems" were diabetes-related but now it seems likely (to me) that they are not. Of course I will discuss this at my next NHS appointment a couple of weeks from now.

I feel a bit sheepish even posting this. For some reason that I do not fathom, controlling T2 seems to have been relatively easy for me (albeit with a very low carb *food* diet) and I know that many forum participants have it far worse than I do.

I have Googled all the reasons why a middle-aged male might urinate frequently and they are numerous....

Edited to add: I have also put on a fair amount of weight since moving to the UK. See signature.

Tipetoo said:

@Grateful You might need to get your prostate checked out, it might be giving you an early warning.

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Thank you for the suggestion! I'm aware of the prostate issue. Sounds like, in most cases, it is benign (i.e. not cancer) and just an annoyance, with various drug treatments available. I will see what the doctor thinks.

bulkbiker said:

That's a lot of liquid to pee out especially if taken later in the evening.. could this be the cause of your problem?

Edit to add great to see you back by the way.. we missed you!

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Great to hear from you @bulkbiker! I know what you mean, but (a) the hoppy liquid is imbibed at both lunch and dinner i.e. spread relatively evenly through the afternoon/evening, (b) the nocturnal peeing is in small quantities although every event brings relief, if only for half an hour or so, and (c) on some days I don't drink much but *still* end up getting up during the night to go to the bathroom, albeit not quite as often. (Sorry to be so graphic but it is the nature of the subject.)

The nurse at the NHS clinic said they would check for a UTI but the initial tests came back negative.

Thank you @Rachox, @Antje77, @Tipetoo, @Goonergal and @Little Bird. I was actually glad to find out that my problem has (probably) nothing to do with diabetes. I am also kicking myself for not getting the HbA1c much earlier. The best testing interval for me is about six months but this time I let it lapse for more than a year, resulting in needless worry when these latest symptoms came along.

It is a bit frustrating that after nearly two years in the UK, this is being left entirely up to me. The NHS have me in their records as Type 2, but I have to phone them up and ask for appointments for things like HbA1c, annual foot and eye checks, and so forth. However, my last appointment a couple of days ago was officially labeled as a "per diabetes appointment" and my next appointment is with a DN (first time either of these things has happened). So I am now hopeful that I have finally got "into the system" for T2 follow-up. I am assuming that the problem originated from the fact I was diagnosed in America, and have never been measured *by the NHS* as having a high A1c. I did give them a piece of paper with my U.S. diabetes record (dates, A1c readings, body weight) which they glanced at quickly and then gave back to me.

It is probably also time to moderate the drinking, for my general health. This is really obvious so let that be my rather belated New Year resolution. I was totally truthful with the NHS concerning my drinking, which caused some raised eyebrows.

As for the peeing problem, I assume that when I have my upcoming NHS appointment later this month I may be referred to a urologist so we can figure out what is going on. I am feeling fine except for exhaustion from getting up so many times during the night.

As @Little Bird pointed out, this condition is common among men of a certain age (I am 62). In America, the "old style" TV networks (CBS, NBC, ABC) have a fairly elderly viewership nowadays, because so much TV viewing by younger people has moved to cable TV and streaming. The "old" networks show a lot of commercials for (medical) drugs (showing these ads is legal in the USA). Many of these ads depict silver-haired men bemoaning how they keep having to "go" and thus be inconveniently forced to flee the golf course, or the banquet table, or some other sumptuous setting. Then, some kind of miracle drug is promoted! (Edited to add: I just remembered that one of these drugs is called "Flomax"! Needless to say, these ads always used to "gross out" my children when we were watching U.S. football or baseball on TV!)

Dark Horse said:

If this is not happening at least yearly, you should check with your GP surgery that they have notified the screening programme that you have a history of diabetes.

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I mentioned this to the nurse at my appointment earlier this week. She asked me, "Haven't you been getting a letter in the mail" (about the eye check). I said no, and asked if she could do something about this, and she said that she would.

Edited to add: my last check was in America just before I left, two years ago. At that time, all was fine (no sign of retinopathy) but I'm obviously overdue for a check.

Jo_the_boat said:

Where in Kent? We had great friends in Goudhurst.

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It's a large village in eastern Kent (the parish has about 2,300 inhabitants). It is small enough that giving you the name of the place would be tantamount to identifying me, so regretfully I will hold off. The place has four pubs plus three additional restaurants so the opportunities for imbibing are considerable. Fortunately it is also in the heart of the North Downs so there are dozens of excellent walks doable directly from the village.