Diagnosed Saturday, long story warning!

[dave0992]

So i went to work on Friday (i work in theatres, general hospital) with a blood test form requested by my GP just as a check up as i take BP medication. As usual i skipped the queues of the blood clinic by getting my friend to take it and then i walked it off to the lab myself for testing.

arrive home at 6pm with my GP frantically calling me to urge me to go to A and E as my blood sugar was pushing 30!

so by 7pm i was back at work only this time being prodded and poked and attached to an iv drip as well as having insulin. I was finally released about 11.

Now i was at work the following day but i had also been given an appointment at some day clinic thing (they keep changing the names of it) where i spent nine hours having more blood tests, drips (over 3 hours, how dull) and urine tests.

upshot of it all, type 2 (which brings me here)

Im a little shocked by it all having had lots of blood tests over the past few years due to BP meds as well as not having a sweet tooth although i am a little overweight but nowhere near as much many of the people i work with?

I have a meeting with the diabetic nurse on Wednesday and have been put on metformin 500 x2 and Alogliptin.

Id like to say I'm worried and nervous but in fact i feel positive and optimistic as i now have the kick up the backside to get healthy and live a fuller life, I'm lucky to have caught it as i hate going to the GP.

One thing that irritates me is ive had a few symptoms over the years but the GP always told me its because of the BP meds (frequent peeing etc due to diuretics)

Also the hospital has been really good to me because i work there, it does have some benefits!
Thanks for listening

 

[Ralph-YK]

as my blood sugar was pushing 30!

What sort of test is that? Finger prick? If it was a HbA1c, that would be below normal on the scale some of us use. (I never remember the names).

 

[Ralph-YK]

Welcome to the forum Dave, from a fellow T2.

 

[dave0992]

What sort of test is that? Finger prick? If it was a HbA1c, that would be below normal on the scale some of us use. (I never remember the names).

No idea I'm afraid, looking through this forum its all numbers and letters, I'm guessing its a new language I need to learn!

I'm thinking the pushing 30 result was the random glucose blood test I had earlier in the day followed my a result of 25 on the BG machine in the evening

by the time I left Saturday it was down to 15 after insulin

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I'm thinking the pushing 30 result was the random glucose blood test I had earlier in the day followed my a result of 25 on the BG machine in the evening

by the time I left Saturday it was down to 15 after insulin

I agree. Nobody panics about HbA1c (it's approximately an average over 3 months), but a glucose blood test of 30 is an appropriate thing to panic about. I presume you'll be given an HbA1c test, just to see where things are.

(30 is over what some of our blood test meters will read. Some way above the normal sort of ranges (which are more 3 to 20 or thereabouts, with the intended range being more like 4 to 8, though individual circumstances can vary what's desirable and appropriate as a target).)

 

[dave0992]

I agree. Nobody panics about HbA1c (it's approximately an average over 3 months), but a glucose blood test of 30 is an appropriate thing to panic about. I presume you'll be given an HbA1c test, just to see where things are.

(30 is over what some of our blood test meters will read. Some way above the normal sort of ranges (which are more 3 to 20 or thereabouts, with the intended range being more like 4 to 8, though individual circumstances can vary what's desirable and appropriate as a target).)

I now panic bought a klinitek glucose monitor and its between 18 and 14 depending on time of day (ive used it so much today)

 

[Drummer]

Looks like you are still overdoing the carbs with blood glucose levels in the teens, so a gradual reduction should soon reduce them into a more normal range.
Maybe start by totting up the carbs in your meals to see what your usual intake is.

 

[dave0992]

I now panic bought a klinitek glucose monitor and its between 18 and 14 depending on time of day (ive used it so much today)

24 sorry!

Looks like you are still overdoing the carbs with blood glucose levels in the teens, so a gradual reduction should soon reduce them into a more normal range.
Maybe start by totting up the carbs in your meals to see what your usual intake is.

thank you, ive employed the use of myfitnesspal, hopefully that will help me

 

[Ralph-YK]

Are you still on insulin? If so ask GP about test strips. They only do them for certain meters.
Check the price of strips for your meter. Some are a lot more expensive than others. For my meter it's £8 for 50 strips. The meter itself was £13.
I recommend testing before and after eating, to see what affect it has, along with any changes you make. Keep a food diary, along with a record of your levels. Hopefully after a couple of weeks you should start to see a pattern.

 

[dave0992]

Are you still on insulin? If so ask GP about test strips. They only do them for certain meters.
Check the price of strips for your meter. Some are a lot more expensive than others. For my meter it's £8 for 50 strips. The meter itself was £13.
I recommend testing before and after eating, to see what affect it has, along with any changes you make. Keep a food diary, along with a record of your levels. Hopefully after a couple of weeks you should start to see a pattern.

i was diagnosed Saturday, i have no idea what is what yet! I'm meeting the diabetic nurse Wednesday

 

[trophywench]

Let us know how you get on, Dave. Try and write down any questions you have so you can ask her - and then when you come back from seeing her and wish you'd asked her this that and the other - come on here and ask us. There is no such thing as a stupid question however old you are or however long you've had diabetes!

 

[dave0992]

Let us know how you get on, Dave. Try and write down any questions you have so you can ask her - and then when you come back from seeing her and wish you'd asked her this that and the other - come on here and ask us. There is no such thing as a stupid question however old you are or however long you've had diabetes!

Thank you to everyone, hopefully I will know more tomorrow!

 

[KARNAK]

Good luck for tomorrow Dave got to see my DSN (Diabetic Specialist Nurse) team tomorrow lets compare notes.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @dave0992

How did your appointment go?

Hope things are getting a little clearer, and that your are getting some clarity about your diabetes type and your treatment going forwards.

I know what you mean about the ‘kick up the pants’ - many people on the forum later reflect that their diagnosis became a sort of catalyst which prompted them to make the positive changes towards a healthier and more active life that they had been wanting to do for a while. Sometimes people haven’t realised how lethargic and lacking in energy they have become until they begin to get their BGs back into a more normal range by eating foods that their body can cope better with. Plus of course, with the regular checks you will be getting any potential issues will be spotted earlier and canbe sorted out.

Diabetes is a serious condition, but it’s also one that can usually be managed well with a few changes and adaptations - it’s something that you can learn to live well with, and it shouldn’t stop you doing things you enjoy 🙂

 

[dave0992]

Well, my appointment...

I turned up to the ESAC ward (they give wards fancy names now) on the Saturday morning as I was instructed to only for them to have no knowledge of me coming, great start.

I think as I'm staff there anyway they somehow managed to find a Dr to look over my blood work and she gave me the run down on my numbers and conformed diabetes.

The ward then managed to contact the on call diabetic nurse for me whom it turns out I kind of know anyway and she gave me a BM meter and loads of test strips and changed one of my meds to Gliclazide so now I'm on metformin 500mg twice daily and Gliclazide 80mg in the mornings until my I can see my GP in the next few weeks.

I spoke to my surgery yesterday and there is nothing on my records to show that I had been to A&E and the ESAC clinic the following day!

Not wanting to condemn the hospital but as a staff member, I am not surprised, its such an over bloated system these days and patients get lost into the system. The nurse asked if when I was diagnosed with high BP a few years ago, way i referred to an endocrinologist as there was a mention of a benign tumour and aldostron? on my kidney and it may all be related but no further investigations were made at them.

I feel let down by the system but its made me realise that we as patients really have to look out for ourselves and ask questions, the hospital is not perfect (especially with the current situation)

I cannot remember what my numbers were on the Saturday but it was between 25 and 30, my app is telling me my average is now 13.

Before meal Avg 12.2
After meal Avg 13.5

Standard deviation 1.5

I forgot to mention in my first post that on the Friday I was ordered to go to A&E, my gf had insisted i drank a costa Christmas hot chocolate with dark cherry syrup with her as well as eat a gingerbread man, shes trying to kill me! (of course she is, shes a nurse)

 

[trophywench]

LOL Dave!!! fortunately my diabetes specialist nurse had a perfect way of describing what you consumed in Costa, she'd have said 'Well - that probably wasn't the best plan, Dave, was it? ' and burst out laughing with you.

 

[dave0992]

LOL Dave!!! fortunately my diabetes specialist nurse had a perfect way of describing what you consumed in Costa, she'd have said 'Well - that probably wasn't the best plan, Dave, was it? ' and burst out laughing with you.

lol! I dont even like sweet stuff but my gf wouldn't go alone, the things i do for her

 

[trophywench]

A flat white is my standard request in such emporia. A small capucchino at worst - but DO NOT ADD any muck to mine thanks.

 

[dave0992]

A flat white is my standard request in such emporia. A small capucchino at worst - but DO NOT ADD any muck to mine thanks.

I drink tea without sugar so life is wonderful anyway. we went to our fave seafront emporium this evening and despite the temperature they were still selling gelato, they had banana! I opted for a tea, just as yummy (I convinced myself)

 

[trophywench]

LOL !!