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Waiting for diagnosis

S

saz1

Well-Known Member
Messages
194
Hello all,

just found the forum, seems to have loads of good info!

I am currently waiting for final diagnosis for assumably type 2 diabetes. I had a urinary infection and loads of sugar in my urine and 8 hour fasting glucose came back as 16.3. No symptoms except tiredness and long period of having a cold. That was last tuesday and now it is Sunday and waiting for the second round of tests including full blood works and finalisation of my diagnosis.

But strangely enough I have been following my glucose at work (I'm a nurse) and for the last two random samples I have taken Friday and Saturday night were 8.1 and 8.7 after eating so I suspect that the large amount of cranberry juice I drank for my infection had something to do with the high numbers...

I had started a weight loss program earlier since I have a load of weight to lose and have restricted my carb intake and only have unrefined carbs and all sorts of weird grains like quinoa and millet and of course brown rice. I have also found a book by Sarah Brewer, which gives natural advice on managing diabetes with exercises and eating plans so am looking into supplements too after I have seen the diabetic nurse next week. :roll:
 
Hi saz1, and a very warm welcome to the forum.

Great to have another healthcare professional on board, though you may be surprised by the strength of feeling concerning the dietary advice on offer from the official agencies!
It sounds as if you already have a good understanding of the dietary changes necessary for good blood sugar control and weight loss. It's a well trodden path on the forum these days.

All the best,

fergus
 
Welcome to the forum Saz. Have you tried testing your blood sugar levels first thing in the morning to see what they are? 16.3 after an 8 hour fast is pretty high.At work you would be burning a lot of energy so that may explain why the numbers are not as high but they are still high!!Do you remember how far after eating you took the random tests?
 
The tests were taken 1-2 hours after eating and not being busy so in my mind a good improvement. I'm going to take another reading after finishing this reply since I'm at work again. Just checked my results and good news there, normal cholesterol and normal kidney function and the HbA1c was 11. :?
 
Hba1c of 11 is very high Saz.I hope that with diet etc you can get those blood sugar levels down and under control fairly quickly.
 
Oh yes it is, was meant to put that result in another sentence...

I'm actually surprised that I haven't been diagnosed before since my mum, gran, 3 uncles, 3 cousins and sister have type 2 too.
 
I hope that they get you onto a good regime straight away .I also hope that they give you a blood test monitor so that you can test and find out which foods put up your blood sugars.
 
I have a massive list of questions and requests to take with me in on the first visit to the nurse. It will be interesting to see what kind of team my surgery have since they are generally very very good. We have practice nurse who is specialised in diabetes apparently and also a diabetes doctor... As I am a healthcare professional myself, I can fight my corner and will have no cr*p from anyone.

I find it appalling that so many people seem to mismanaged so grossly here in the forums and all sorts of weird advice is being given. A low carb diet isn't like carb free diet so the the body still gets all the nutrient groups but in a different compositions. And believe you me, low carb diet does not produce ketosis like for instance Atkins does, Atkins makes people feel generally really bad and also has side effects like BO, bad breath and skin eruptions.
 
Good luck with it Saz1, and I hope your team lives up to your expectations!

Just a quick point about ketosis though. It's often portrayed, even by some professionals, as a harmful even dangerous metabolic state. The truth is somewhat different of course since ketosis is a natural consequence of fat-burning, something many people these days ought to be doing more of, not less! Quite a few members have found that a low carb diet with a similar proportion and composition of carbohydrates as some of the Atkins plans actually works very successfully, with none of the side-effects you mention.

All the best,

fergus
 
saz1 said:
Oh yes it is, was meant to put that result in another sentence...

I'm actually surprised that I haven't been diagnosed before since my mum, gran, 3 uncles, 3 cousins and sister have type 2 too.
Click to expand...

I'm not at all surprised by that. Five years before I was finally diagnosed my doctor found glucose in my urine and sent blood samples for tests. The results, apparently, were normal; what a relief!

Until I started collapsing in the street...

Best of luck to you Saz1 and welcome to the forum.
 
saz1 said:
Oh yes it is, was meant to put that result in another sentence...

I'm actually surprised that I haven't been diagnosed before since my mum, gran, 3 uncles, 3 cousins and sister have type 2 too.
Click to expand...

That's what really annoys me, they put off the diagnosis until you've crossed well over the threshold into irreversibility: before that you may be told categorically you are "not diabetic" or "not diabetic yet" when that's exactly the satge where you can alter your future.

Here's hoping you can educate your fellow medical professionals <G>
 
That's what really annoys me, they put off the diagnosis until you've crossed well over the threshold into irreversibility: before that you may be told categorically you are "not diabetic" or "not diabetic yet" when that's exactly the satge where you can alter your future.
Click to expand...

Precisely!

All it would really take would be a measure of serum insulin as part of a general physical check-up. Just as cheap, and a whole lot more informative, than a total cholesterol measurement. Elevated insulin is a precursor to weight gain, hypertension, raised triglycerides and metabolc syndrome of course. Reduce the carbs, and it will fall into line.

I think they routinely measure insulin levels on the continent, but presumably the penny still hasn't dropped.

All the best,

fergus
 
I find all the feedback and threads very interesting. I'll try and get myself a bg monitor so I can truly see what different foods do to my sugar levels. For the moment I'm eating pretty much by food combining and reduced carbs. Will report after my appontment at 9 and tell how the nurse seemed...
 
fergus said:
That's what really annoys me, they put off the diagnosis until you've crossed well over the threshold into irreversibility: before that you may be told categorically you are "not diabetic" or "not diabetic yet" when that's exactly the satge where you can alter your future.
Click to expand...

Precisely!

All it would really take would be a measure of serum insulin as part of a general physical check-up. Just as cheap, and a whole lot more informative, than a total cholesterol measurement. Elevated insulin is a precursor to weight gain, hypertension, raised triglycerides and metabolc syndrome of course. Reduce the carbs, and it will fall into line.

I think they routinely measure insulin levels on the continent, but presumably the penny still hasn't dropped.

All the best,

fergus
Click to expand...

What's REALLY scary, I was bemoaning with a friend elsewhere that I was unable to get certain tests on the NHS and was seriously considering paying for a private workup.

She has BUPA through her work, and despite being diabetic and hypothyroid she was told that even the private lab has no facilities for CRP, fasting insulin, T3 and T4 - all relatively common tests elsewhere.
 
Well, here I am, had my first appointment with the nurse... And it's good news really, I am on the right track. And recommendations of reduced amount of carbs too, surprise surprise! Next step is to see the "diabetes" doc on thursday and start my Metformin journey. Bad news in the glucometer front though, it seems I won't be able to get a meter and apparently it would be a waste of money and time. That is my biggest gripe, so I will be appealing to the doctor on Thursday. Surely anything that can optimise the management of bs levels isn't waste of money or time?

But at least my surgery seems to be coming out of the loads of complex carbs advice. I'm getting a bit overwhelmed now, I think I have had an information overload over the last week. Somehow just today I have lost the faith of being able to upkeep the new lifestyle and manage my condition. I think the reality is now hitting home and I just feel highs and lows within a few moments. :(
 
Hi Sazi,I bought my own meter Once I had shown the doctor my graphs and readings against food diary and 'proved' that I wanted to keep on top of MY diabetes then she happily prescribed the test strips for that meter.Meters are not expensive to buy,it's the strips that are!! I think it is pretty ironic that they will not give you the meter,which most surgeries get free supplies of from the companies,but will prescribe the strips which are the expensive bit!! :?
 
Well, I have just had my first appontment with this diabetes GP and it was ok I suppose. I still won't get the meter or strips but I might get one at a later date. Anyways, I will start on Metformin today and I am really hoping I avoid the nasty side effects (except the weightloss of course...). It remains to be seen... I'm feeling really tired and run down still and I have a major upheaval ahead. I will be relocating in about 6 weeks time and am not looking forward to the stress and packing! But hopefully I have things under control by then and am feeling better. :roll:
 
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