Hello - room for one more? :)

[Jenny65]

Although not 100% official yet my GP said my glucose plasma result of 19.3mml is very indicative of type 2 diabetes. I have also just heard I have high cholesterol and a fatty liver and need a scan. I am 57 and still in shock to be honest. I am looking forward to receiving and giving support to others in the same situation.

 

[Jenny65]

Can I ask if a Glucose Plasma test is the same as a Glucose test. My result was 19.3 and on my form it said normal is 3 - 6. I have not officially been diagnosed with Diabetes but due to being investigated for a skin condition, blood tests were taken and this result came back. The dermatologist said they couldnt get hold of me and so sent my results to 111, I am confused about this part. What on earth would 111 do with them

 

[admc26]

Hi @Jenny65 and a very warm welcome to the forum! I'm sorry to hear about your recent shock from the tests from your dermatologist, but rest assured you can definitely find advice, help, or just a listening ear on here!

As for your questions, I'm not too sure if a glucose plasma test is the same as a blood glucose test (that many of us would take on a blood glucose meter, for example). I'm sure one of our other members will be able to shed some light on this. As for passing the results to 111, I'm guessing that it might be to get a doctor to be able to talk through these results with you? Your dermatologist may not be used to dealing with indicators of diabetes, so may have passed it on to someone more used to dealing with this kind of data. Have you managed to speak to you dermatologist since at all and have they outlined any next steps for you?

 

[Jenny65]

Hi @Jenny65 and a very warm welcome to the forum! I'm sorry to hear about your recent shock from the tests from your dermatologist, but rest assured you can definitely find advice, help, or just a listening ear on here!

As for your questions, I'm not too sure if a glucose plasma test is the same as a blood glucose test (that many of us would take on a blood glucose meter, for example). I'm sure one of our other members will be able to shed some light on this. As for passing the results to 111, I'm guessing that it might be to get a doctor to be able to talk through these results with you? Your dermatologist may not be used to dealing with indicators of diabetes, so may have passed it on to someone more used to dealing with this kind of data. Have you managed to speak to you dermatologist since at all and have they outlined any next steps for you?

Hi

Unfortunately I havent had any further dealings with my dermatologist, he basically handed it back to the surgery. I received the a text from them saying my blood test results were normal and there is no further action this was 17th June.

Then yesterday I had loads of missed calls from my GP and an appointment made on my behalf. I called the surgery as was shocked to see the calls from 7.30am. I was told it was following a letter from the dermatologist.

Went in yesterday and asked to see a copy of the letter, which basically said that they had tried to contact me (hadnt, only to text and say my bloods were normal), they said about my high glucose plasma levels and abnormal liver test results and said they had passed this on to 111 (why 111)

Anyway, my GP arranged for a follow up blood test yesterday, to check on the liver (now need a scan) and my cholesterol is really very high too so need to go to a Lipid clinic. Havent heard anything back about whether I have diabetes although I assume I have it as it was so high, they have done another blood test to confirm an average I think it was something like an HCAB1 or similar. To be honest I am really scared, even to the extent when I missread my butternut squash soup just now (thought it was 82 cals per half pack but it was per 100mg and I had the whole 600) which means I had 500 cals for lunch instead of under 200...sorry rambling but everything is making me panic. I feel like I have a timebomb inside me that I knew nothing about. To be honest without the rash and scars I have which havent healed since March 2020, I would be completely oblivious as no other symptoms.

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi Jenny65, welcome to the forum.

Glad you've found us as it seems as though you've got a lot going on at the moment.

We can't give medical advice but given that you have a few coexisting health challenges, it's worth having a good chat with your GP who can take everything into context.

Your HbA1C number is your blood sugar level over a period of three months so it's good that you're getting that confirmed so you get a measure of where you're starting from.

I know it seems scary at the moment but we're here to support you every step of the way so please do keep us updated and post as much as you like.

 

[Jenny65]

Hi Jenny65, welcome to the forum.

Glad you've found us as it seems as though you've got a lot going on at the moment.

We can't give medical advice but given that you have a few coexisting health challenges, it's worth having a good chat with your GP who can take everything into context.

Your HbA1C number is your blood sugar level over a period of three months so it's good that you're getting that confirmed so you get a measure of where you're starting from.

I know it seems scary at the moment but we're here to support you every step of the way so please do keep us updated and post as much as you like.

Hello Cherrelle

Thank you for the welcome, I have been reading a lot of the posts and its good to know there is a place for support as I must admit the feelings I have had since getting yesterdays results have ranged from denial, anger and now acceptance and determination to get myself sorted.

I am fortunate my adult son and his fiance have been really supportive, they both work for the NHS (as do I) but his fiance also manages patients care who have diabetes so they took me to do a food shop and helped me organise my weeks meals, basically lots of lean meat, low fat yoghurt, porridge, berries, salad and veg, a few healthier carbs, brown rise, wholewheat pasta etc.

Today I had another shock as my doctor wants me to attend a lipids clinic for genetic testing connected with my high cholesterol level. My liver scan I suspect will show a fatty liver. I gained a lot of weight in lockdown and stopped my regular 3.5 miles to walk and back (so used to walk 7 miles a day) now I need to start that up again. My BMI is so high (35) Just 3 years ago I was 9 stone, I am now over 14 stone, so a true wake up call for me. I also gain weight all around my middle and have stick thin legs and arms. (Think of a potato with sticks and thats me!)

I am trying to do normal things as well, like my work and watch TV as I keep having panic attacks thinking I may die before my sons wedding next month. I agree I need to talk to my doctor about my concerns but am not very confident as was told my bloods were normal by text and then suddenly 10 days later they had a mad panic to contact me and tell me they were far from normal.

I know mistakes happen, but the high of thinking I was OK followed by the complete opposite really made me feel I cant trust anything even from the professionals.

Anyway, lovely to meet you Cherelle, I am normally a very happy upbeat person and am sure I will get back to that again when I get my head around this. Is there a next stop for where new people post, like a general chat area?

Thanks again

Jenny

 

[Leadinglights]

It would be good to know what your actual HbA1C is as that will indicate how much work you need to do to reduce blood glucose.
Yes dietary changes will help and will getting back to your exercise. Some of the foods you have been advised to get may not be too good for reducing blood glucose as they are high carb foods. Particularly the brown rice and pasta are foods many Type 2 diabetics will avoid or certainly have in very small portions as well as potatoes, bread, breakfast cereals and the obvious cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice and tropical fruits.
If you have a lipid issue you may need to opt for low fat though many people who go with a low carb approach have full fat dairy.
Many find a low carb approach successful and that is less than 130g total carb per day. But people have found success with other approaches but whatever you choose has to be enjoyable and sustainable long term.

 

[Jenny65]

It would be good to know what your actual HbA1C is as that will indicate how much work you need to do to reduce blood glucose.
Yes dietary changes will help and will getting back to your exercise. Some of the foods you have been advised to get may not be too good for reducing blood glucose as they are high carb foods. Particularly the brown rice and pasta are foods many Type 2 diabetics will avoid or certainly have in very small portions as well as potatoes, bread, breakfast cereals and the obvious cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice and tropical fruits.
If you have a lipid issue you may need to opt for low fat though many people who go with a low carb approach have full fat dairy.
Many find a low carb approach successful and that is less than 130g total carb per day. But people have found success with other approaches but whatever you choose has to be enjoyable and sustainable long term.

Hello,

Thanks for replying 🙂

I agree I was a little confused about the brown rice etc but compared to my previous typical diet of thickly buttered toast with marmalade, lots of cheese (cheeseaholic) pasta, etc the brown rice in a small portion will probably be an improvement on that 🙂

I had zero fat yoghurt and strawberries and cherries for breakfast
Butternut squash soup for lunch
1 stuffed pepper with caulflower, brocolli and carrots and 2 tiny new potatos with skin on for dinner
I have snacked on almonds (apparently help reduce cholesterol and dont raise blood sugar)
I small fat free yoghurt and a slice of melon

I have drank 2 litres of water and just one cup of coffee.

And also today stopped smoking which I think also will help lower cholesterol and blood sugar but I may be wrong.

I am not on any medication (yet) and dont drink alcohol.

I do need to increase my exercise though, my son at the beginning of lockdown told me that I had lots of risk factors for an early death and he was worried that with working from home I would stop exercising and become even more unwell. Unfortunately this happened and I now feel bad as he tried to encourage me to quit smoking, eat healthy and exercise, I feel I have brought this on myself so there is a lot of guilt here. He is getting married next month and I should have lost weight for that but I was waking up starving hungry at night and would binge on things like trifle, cheese, cereal, I am certain diet and giving up smoking will massively change my results, but I may need meds in the end. At what stage do they get prescribed as my GP has just said the follow up consultation will be over the phone and not prescribed anything or said what I need to do.

 

[Drummer]

I was pressured to eat high carb foods and avoid fat over and over again - never mind that it made me feel ill.
These days I eat full fat yoghurt, and the natural fats which come with the meat fish eggs and cheese in my diet. I have stir fries with chops or steak with mushrooms, drink coffee with cream - in the hot weather I have lots of salads with fish or eggs and cheese. I don't eat grain or high starch veges, no fruit other than berries. I don't need snacks and usually eat twice a day, at 12 hour intervals. I have much more energy now, and don't feel as old as when diagnosed.

 

[MikeyBikey]

Hi @Jenny65! I posted a reply to you in @Bullet 's thread after reading through the conversation at

http://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/newbie.100848/

 

[Leadinglights]

Hello,

Thanks for replying 🙂

I agree I was a little confused about the brown rice etc but compared to my previous typical diet of thickly buttered toast with marmalade, lots of cheese (cheeseaholic) pasta, etc the brown rice in a small portion will probably be an improvement on that 🙂

I had zero fat yoghurt and strawberries and cherries for breakfast
Butternut squash soup for lunch
1 stuffed pepper with caulflower, brocolli and carrots and 2 tiny new potatos with skin on for dinner
I have snacked on almonds (apparently help reduce cholesterol and dont raise blood sugar)
I small fat free yoghurt and a slice of melon

I have drank 2 litres of water and just one cup of coffee.

And also today stopped smoking which I think also will help lower cholesterol and blood sugar but I may be wrong.

I am not on any medication (yet) and dont drink alcohol.

I do need to increase my exercise though, my son at the beginning of lockdown told me that I had lots of risk factors for an early death and he was worried that with working from home I would stop exercising and become even more unwell. Unfortunately this happened and I now feel bad as he tried to encourage me to quit smoking, eat healthy and exercise, I feel I have brought this on myself so there is a lot of guilt here. He is getting married next month and I should have lost weight for that but I was waking up starving hungry at night and would binge on things like trifle, cheese, cereal, I am certain diet and giving up smoking will massively change my results, but I may need meds in the end. At what stage do they get prescribed as my GP has just said the follow up consultation will be over the phone and not prescribed anything or said what I need to do.

It seems to vary as to what an HbA1C has to be before prescribing medication depending on your GP and how they assess somebody as to whether they will engage with life style changes. From what you say you are very engaged and hopefully you will be given the opportunity for at least 3 months with your dietary changes if not very high.
I couldn't quite make head nor tail of the numbers you mentioned.
You do have to be guided by your potential other conditions as to the low fat/normal/high fat content of foods and meals, but certainly it is the carbohydrates which will be important in reducing your blood glucose.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

It sounds like you are in good hands, especially with the family!

Some on here tend to focus solely on BG, I decided I needed to look at my condition overall, which seems to be the way the NHS go as well, so I went down that route.
Like you, I had some weight to shift, and high cholesterol when I was diagnosed.
A year in a low fat diet, supported by the NHS, followed by the shake based Newcastle diet, exercise, and I got on top of things.

 

[trophywench]

I dunno where your doc is coming from with alcohol. Alcohol LOWERS blood glucose, not increases it. It's exactly why when you go out drinking with your mates at the weekend, when you leave the pub you all say you fancy a curry/kebab/ fish and chips etc - you all get The Munchies because unbeknown to you, your blood sugar has dropped!

Of course if what you drink contains a lot of carbohydrate (eg brown ale) or sweet liqueurs or spirits with full sugar mixers, then that increases your BG. But eg gin, whisky etc on it's own is carbohydrate free, so for me a gin (plain normal gin eg Bombay Sapphire or Gordons) and slimline tonic is still a favourite. Champagne (the real stuff) is always on the sec side of 'sec' ie a very dry white sparkling wine, so you'd have to add something sweet to it to increase your BG. If you're having it in champagne flutes rather than any larger glasses, you're unlikely to compromise your health, frankly!

Whatever type of diabetes we happen to have - we are most unlikely to cause ourselves to drop dead PDQ by enjoying a son or daughter's wedding! OK I agree, I wouldn't actually want to eat eg tiramisu or wedding cake every day (if you eat or drink 'special' things all the while they cease to be 'special') but come on - you always live in hope that a wedding is a once in a lifetime event!

SO ENJOY IT!

 

[Jenny65]

It sounds like you are in good hands, especially with the family!

Some on here tend to focus solely on BG, I decided I needed to look at my condition overall, which seems to be the way the NHS go as well, so I went down that route.
Like you, I had some weight to shift, and high cholesterol when I was diagnosed.
A year in a low fat diet, supported by the NHS, followed by the shake based Newcastle diet, exercise, and I got on top of things.

This is interesting as its similar to Lipotrim which has a whole information page about the benefits of following it (with medical supervision) if you are T2 diabetic. I have filled in the patient screening form and my GP has approved for me to follow it, which is basically 3 shakes a day (600 cals a day) to lose 10% of my weight as a start up to long term weight loss. I have ordered 4 weeks of shakes and a shaker container and will start this on 22nd July when I get back from my sons wedding in Ireland. At the moment I am eating low fat, low sugar, low salt and low carb (thank god I dont have any allergies or I would have to eat just air and water! 🙂 ) The VLCD is best followed after cutting back on carbs so it wont be such a shock to my system but it looks just like the Newcastle Diet so hopefully I will have success with it too.

I hope they allow me to try and manage with life style changes as I suspect the biggest change will be stopping smoking as that can apparently affect insulin levels as well as increase the chances of high cholesterol. Walking every day to get my fruit and veg will be good as the shop is 2 miles away so its a 4 mile daily walk and 30 mins using my aerobic stepper for me. I have basically been a coach potato, snaking on unhealthy rubbish, smoking etc since working from home. I am ashamed as I work for an ambulance trust so should know the statistics but in my head they didn't apply to me, or there was always tomorrow to get fit. Oddly enough I embarked on a 3 day juice detox just before the blood test, I struggled to drink them each day, one was an activated charcoal drink that took toxins from your body, but mainly they were all made from vegetables and fruit. I managed 1 full day but on day 2 was hungry and snacked on ham! I think if I knew about my health I would have stuck to it to the letter.

I wont be allowed to follow lipotrim if I am on meds as the doctor has to agree for you to come off them for the duration of the diet. Not sure it it is the same with statins for high cholesterol but I guess weight loss for both conditions can only be a good thing.

Thank you for responding @travellor , I really appreciate it

How far along are you on your journey?

 

[Jenny65]

It sounds like you are in good hands, especially with the family!

Some on here tend to focus solely on BG, I decided I needed to look at my condition overall, which seems to be the way the NHS go as well, so I went down that route.
Like you, I had some weight to shift, and high cholesterol when I was diagnosed.
A year in a low fat diet, supported by the NHS, followed by the shake based Newcastle diet, exercise, and I got on top of things.

I dunno where your doc is coming from with alcohol. Alcohol LOWERS blood glucose, not increases it. It's exactly why when you go out drinking with your mates at the weekend, when you leave the pub you all say you fancy a curry/kebab/ fish and chips etc - you all get The Munchies because unbeknown to you, your blood sugar has dropped!

Of course if what you drink contains a lot of carbohydrate (eg brown ale) or sweet liqueurs or spirits with full sugar mixers, then that increases your BG. But eg gin, whisky etc on it's own is carbohydrate free, so for me a gin (plain normal gin eg Bombay Sapphire or Gordons) and slimline tonic is still a favourite. Champagne (the real stuff) is always on the sec side of 'sec' ie a very dry white sparkling wine, so you'd have to add something sweet to it to increase your BG. If you're having it in champagne flutes rather than any larger glasses, you're unlikely to compromise your health, frankly!

Whatever type of diabetes we happen to have - we are most unlikely to cause ourselves to drop dead PDQ by enjoying a son or daughter's wedding! OK I agree, I wouldn't actually want to eat eg tiramisu or wedding cake every day (if you eat or drink 'special' things all the while they cease to be 'special') but come on - you always live in hope that a wedding is a once in a lifetime event!

SO ENJOY IT!

This is exactly what I needed to read, thank you so much, so is it safe to have a glass of white wine with my meal 🙂 To be honest 2 days ago I was eating and drinking what I liked so the fact I will be eating healthy and given up smoking alone will be a massive improvement, thank you for this. One concern is though, why my doctor said this to me. It makes me question her knowledge of a fairly common condition.

 

[Leadinglights]

This is interesting as its similar to Lipotrim which has a whole information page about the benefits of following it (with medical supervision) if you are T2 diabetic. I have filled in the patient screening form and my GP has approved for me to follow it, which is basically 3 shakes a day (600 cals a day) to lose 10% of my weight as a start up to long term weight loss. I have ordered 4 weeks of shakes and a shaker container and will start this on 22nd July when I get back from my sons wedding in Ireland. At the moment I am eating low fat, low sugar, low salt and low carb (thank god I dont have any allergies or I would have to eat just air and water! 🙂 ) The VLCD is best followed after cutting back on carbs so it wont be such a shock to my system but it looks just like the Newcastle Diet so hopefully I will have success with it too.

I hope they allow me to try and manage with life style changes as I suspect the biggest change will be stopping smoking as that can apparently affect insulin levels as well as increase the chances of high cholesterol. Walking every day to get my fruit and veg will be good as the shop is 2 miles away so its a 4 mile daily walk and 30 mins using my aerobic stepper for me. I have basically been a coach potato, snaking on unhealthy rubbish, smoking etc since working from home. I am ashamed as I work for an ambulance trust so should know the statistics but in my head they didn't apply to me, or there was always tomorrow to get fit. Oddly enough I embarked on a 3 day juice detox just before the blood test, I struggled to drink them each day, one was an activated charcoal drink that took toxins from your body, but mainly they were all made from vegetables and fruit. I managed 1 full day but on day 2 was hungry and snacked on ham! I think if I knew about my health I would have stuck to it to the letter.

I wont be allowed to follow lipotrim if I am on meds as the doctor has to agree for you to come off them for the duration of the diet. Not sure it it is the same with statins for high cholesterol but I guess weight loss for both conditions can only be a good thing.

Thank you for responding @travellor , I really appreciate it

How far along are you on your journey?

Slightly puzzled by the 19.3mmol/l glucose level as that looks like it would be from a finger prick test. Have you had an actual HbA1C test which is the one used for diagnostic purposes being the average over the previous 3 months and would be given in mmol/mol, anything 48mmol/mol and over would be diabetic.
If a finger prick the level will vary depending on what you have eaten but if it was a fasting test then that would be pretty high and they should probably have checked for ketones.

 

[Jenny65]

It seems to vary as to what an HbA1C has to be before prescribing medication depending on your GP and how they assess somebody as to whether they will engage with life style changes. From what you say you are very engaged and hopefully you will be given the opportunity for at least 3 months with your dietary changes if not very high.
I couldn't quite make head nor tail of the numbers you mentioned.
You do have to be guided by your potential other conditions as to the low fat/normal/high fat content of foods and meals, but certainly it is the carbohydrates which will be important in reducing your blood glucose.

Thanks for the response. Do you know how long the results of HbA1C normally take? had my test 2 days ago but had all the other results back except this one 🙂

 

[Jenny65]

Slightly puzzled by the 19.3mmol/l glucose level as that looks like it would be from a finger prick test. Have you had an actual HbA1C test which is the one used for diagnostic purposes being the average over the previous 3 months and would be given in mmol/mol, anything 48mmol/mol and over would be diabetic.
If a finger prick the level will vary depending on what you have eaten but if it was a fasting test then that would be pretty high and they should probably have checked for ketones.

The 19.3mmol/L was from the Glucose Plasma test part of a normal blood test (normal range is 3-6) so well over that. The other test HbA1C i am awaiting the result of a test done 2 days ago. I havent had any finger prick tests.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Do you know how long the results of HbA1C normally take?

I think typically a week or so, here. (I presume it depends on how busy a lab is rather than anything intrinsic to the test.)

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks for the response. Do you know how long the results of HbA1C normally take? had my test 2 days ago but had all the other results back except this one 🙂

Normally fairly quickly, definitely worth checking tomorrow. The delay is sometimes because the doctor has to review before it is released.