Previous Type 2 diabetic - now on insulin due to prolonged sugar levels in high 20s

[MellowRedWC]

Hi all. I am 59, female and live in South Africa. Have registered here because, despite having been on Metformin and Glimepiride for about 10 years, I am pretty ignorant about this disease. My Mum was diabetic, as is my sister, but I decided I was Super Woman and would NEVER need to be on insulin. Stupid, stupid me.
Over the past several years, I have ended up in the emergency ward three times with sugar levels near on 30. Being on South African National Health, there is not much support as you are pretty much a number. BUT I was stubborn and lived under the illusion that a healthy diet and exercise would cure my Type 2 diabetes. Not having a testing machine, I only ever thought my sugar was high when I started slurring and feeling fuzzy.
I wrote off most symptoms to depression and laziness. I was very frustrated with myself and realised that I was making so many mistakes at work (working for myself doing industrial sewing and bookkeeping).
Anyway, two weeks ago, after feeling terrible for about 4 months, I decided to invest in a tester. Sugar was 28! Drank lots of water to try and bring it down. On day four of high 20 readings I went off to the hospital. Went on a drip and was discharged with insulin and instructions to return to the Day-Clinic a few days later. Sugar remained in the mid 20s - insulin was upped; metformin kept the same; Glimepiride was stopped. This was four days ago. Levels are better - mornings still in low 20s, evenings mid teens.
The problem is that I am feeling terrible, and have a fever. Is this normal? And when can I expect to be able to get back to my business?
Thank you for reading. Sorry it was such a long waffle.

 

[Drummer]

Not at all a problem - more information is better than just a little.
Glimepiride is used for type two, I thought - and your signature shows type one.
Your glucose levels are likely to go up if you have an infection, but a type one left without the ability to test their levels is just - well - crazy.

 

[Lucyr]

Not at all a problem - more information is better than just a little.
Glimepiride is used for type two, I thought - and your signature shows type one.
Your glucose levels are likely to go up if you have an infection, but a type one left without the ability to test their levels is just - well - crazy.

Are you confused with another post drummer? There’s no mention of type 1 or a signature.

 

[Drummer]

Are you confused with another post drummer? There’s no mention of type 1 or a signature.

Post from MellowRedWC - oh I wonder if it is because they have been put on insulin after originally being diagnosed type2, but the type 1 is there on my screen - not at the foot of the post, in the 'relationship to diabetes' place under the new member designation.

 

[Robin]

Are you confused with another post drummer? There’s no mention of type 1 or a signature.

OP's ‘relationship to diabetes' under their avatar states 'Type 1' and thread title is 'Previous Type 2 diabetic - now on insulin' so I think it’s fair to ask the OP the question:- Is your medical team now saying you were misdiagnosed and were Type 1 all along, or are you under the impression that if you start insulin, it automatically makes you a Type 1? Having clarification of this makes it easier to provide a more tailored and useful answer.

 

[Lucyr]

OP's ‘relationship to diabetes' under their avatar states 'Type 1' and thread title is 'Previous Type 2 diabetic - now on insulin' so I think it’s fair to ask the OP the question:- Is your medical team now saying you were misdiagnosed and were Type 1 all along, or are you under the impression that if you start insulin, it automatically makes you a Type 1? Having clarification of this makes it easier to provide a more tailored and useful answer.

None of this appears on mobile

 

[trophywench]

Clearly says T1 on my laptop too !

 

[Lucyr]

Just says previous type 2 here and no signature as was stated

 

[MellowRedWC]

Seems my ignorance has caused a bit of a debate. Solid proof that I am in the right place to set me right .

Possibly I am confused as to what Type 1 and Type 2 are.

To clarify (and find out which type I am) :
I was diagnosed with diabetes about 10 years ago and put on Metformin - this one I am pretty sure made me Type 2. Over time Glimepiride was added to the mix. Due to my out of control high levels I was put on Insulin two weeks ago - Ole Ignoramus here assumed that makes me Type 1 (?).

@Drummer - my profile states Type 1 (maybe I need to correct that - will find out soon). Your response has answered my confusion as to why the doctor removed the Glimepiride. I sincerely though this was another form of Glucophage and wondered why he took me off it.
@Drummer and @Lucyr I haven't added a signature ... yet. Imagine the confusion if I had . For instance, HbA1c (?) - I have heard the term no idea what it means. And there I would have been spouting off that I am Type 1 - when I could be Type 2.
@Robin - yep, being put on insulin made me assume that I am now Type 1. I don't know if I was misdiagnosed as Type 2. I do know that I did not take the disease seriously (stupid me).

Our National Health does not provide machines or test strips to Type 2 diabetics, and the strips are expensive - in my wisdom I decided there were far more important things to spend money on. 🙄

Life had been extremely stressful for the past 5 years. Causing anxiety attacks and depression. I blamed the fuzzy head, lack of concentration, lethargy, etc. on depression. I also decided that the stress and depression were causing the periodic highs (around 30) that landed me in the emergency ward. In hindsight, it could have been the other way around.

So, bad lifestyle combined with ignorance, combined with a terror of having to inject insulin for the rest of my life - has put me in my current situation.

I am due to return to the doctor on the 7th. Readings started to improve two days ago - last night was 12 - YAY. BUT, I am feeling horrible. If I did not have a machine I would guess levels were in high 20s. My temperature is also 37.6 (99.7 in my language).

Main worry at this time is - is this feeling rotten normal for having had high levels for a prolonged period of time, and when can I expect to feel better? I have a suspicion my levels were very high for at least 4 months.

Thank you all so much for the responses. I really do need help to get me on the right track.

 

[silentsquirrel]

The "relationship to diabetes" bit under the avatar and membership status eg "New member" only appears on my laptop if the Zoom is at 200% or less. As soon as I zoom up to 240% or more I lose that information. Perhaps it just does not show on phones?

@MellowRedWC welcome to the forum! I have been Type 2 for over 21 years, the last 15 of them on insulin. Many T2s are on insulin, it does not make you Type 1.

The misdiagnosis of some T1s initially as T2 is another issue - Type 1 used to be known as juvenile diabetes, and medics assumed anyone diagnosed as an adult must be Type 2. The age at which this assumption is made has crept up, but diagnosis is often initially made partly according to stereotypes of age and weight, and a correct diagnosis is only made later, when Type 2 treatment stops working. The onset of Type 1 is often much slower in mature adults than in children and young adults (but not always!), and T2 meds can often seem to work initially.

I'll leave someone else to explain the basic differences between the types - I'm up early to mark IGCSE papers, and I need to get on with it!

 

[MellowRedWC]

The "relationship to diabetes" bit under the avatar and membership status eg "New member" only appears on my laptop if the Zoom is at 200% or less. As soon as I zoom up to 240% or more I lose that information. Perhaps it just does not show on phones?

@MellowRedWC welcome to the forum! I have been Type 2 for over 21 years, the last 15 of them on insulin. Many T2s are on insulin, it does not make you Type 1.

The misdiagnosis of some T1s initially as T2 is another issue - Type 1 used to be known as juvenile diabetes, and medics assumed anyone diagnosed as an adult must be Type 2. The age at which this assumption is made has crept up, but diagnosis is often initially made partly according to stereotypes of age and weight, and a correct diagnosis is only made later, when Type 2 treatment stops working. The onset of Type 1 is often much slower in mature adults than in children and young adults (but not always!), and T2 meds can often seem to work initially.

I'll leave someone else to explain the basic differences between the types - I'm up early to mark IGCSE papers, and I need to get on with it!

Thanks a million for your reply. I must be T2 then (note the new use of the abbreviation 😎) - will do a bit of research myself as well and get educated.

 

[Inka]

I was diagnosed with diabetes about 10 years ago and put on Metformin - this one I am pretty sure made me Type 2. Over time Glimepiride was added to the mix. Due to my out of control high levels I was put on Insulin two weeks ago - Ole Ignoramus here assumed that makes me Type 1 (?).

To be clear, it’s not the medication you take that determines your diabetes type. Both Type 1s and Type 2s can be on insulin. A Type 2 put on to insulin doesn’t become Type 1. Type 1 and Type 2 are two very different conditions. Type 1 is an auto-immune condition where a person’s immune system mistakenly destroys the insulin-producing cells in their pancreas. Before the discovery of insulin, it was a terminal condition. Type 2 is often connected to insulin resistance - that is, the person makes plenty of insulin but they just can’t use it properly.

So, it sounds like your Type 2, I think, but you should check with your doctor as it is possible you were misdiagnosed initially.

 

[Inka]

To answer your question, no, a fever isn’t normal with diabetes. It sounds like you have something else going on, and I’d get that checked out. Your blood sugar has been high for a while and that does make people more susceptible to things like UTIs and other infections.

You say your blood sugar ranges from mid-teens to 20. That’s quite high and would be making you feel rough quite apart from your fever. What insulins do you take and when?

 

[Docb]

Seems my ignorance has caused a bit of a debate. Solid proof that I am in the right place to set me right .

Possibly I am confused as to what Type 1 and Type 2 are.

To clarify (and find out which type I am) :
I was diagnosed with diabetes about 10 years ago and put on Metformin - this one I am pretty sure made me Type 2. Over time Glimepiride was added to the mix. Due to my out of control high levels I was put on Insulin two weeks ago - Ole Ignoramus here assumed that makes me Type 1 (?).

@Drummer - my profile states Type 1 (maybe I need to correct that - will find out soon). Your response has answered my confusion as to why the doctor removed the Glimepiride. I sincerely though this was another form of Glucophage and wondered why he took me off it.
@Drummer and @Lucyr I haven't added a signature ... yet. Imagine the confusion if I had . For instance, HbA1c (?) - I have heard the term no idea what it means. And there I would have been spouting off that I am Type 1 - when I could be Type 2.
@Robin - yep, being put on insulin made me assume that I am now Type 1. I don't know if I was misdiagnosed as Type 2. I do know that I did not take the disease seriously (stupid me).

Our National Health does not provide machines or test strips to Type 2 diabetics, and the strips are expensive - in my wisdom I decided there were far more important things to spend money on. 🙄

Life had been extremely stressful for the past 5 years. Causing anxiety attacks and depression. I blamed the fuzzy head, lack of concentration, lethargy, etc. on depression. I also decided that the stress and depression were causing the periodic highs (around 30) that landed me in the emergency ward. In hindsight, it could have been the other way around.

So, bad lifestyle combined with ignorance, combined with a terror of having to inject insulin for the rest of my life - has put me in my current situation.

I am due to return to the doctor on the 7th. Readings started to improve two days ago - last night was 12 - YAY. BUT, I am feeling horrible. If I did not have a machine I would guess levels were in high 20s. My temperature is also 37.6 (99.7 in my language).

Main worry at this time is - is this feeling rotten normal for having had high levels for a prolonged period of time, and when can I expect to feel better? I have a suspicion my levels were very high for at least 4 months.

Thank you all so much for the responses. I really do need help to get me on the right track.

Hi @MellowRedWC and welcome to the forum. That's a brilliant evocation of what diagnosed with T2 can be like. T2 is a portmanteau diagnosis, poor glucose control which is not T1 is shoved into it without any attempt to figure out what the problem really is.

To get on track, read around the forum and check out the learning zone on the red tab above. Then just ask questions. We have all been where you are now and have in the main got sorted and are only too happy to throw in our experience to help.

 

[Lucyr]

I would say you are T2 who now takes insulin. A T1 wouldn’t last 10 years before going onto insulin.

 

[MellowRedWC]

@Inka thanks for the clarification - I have been through numerous blood tests over the years, so believe the T2 diagnosis was correct - I just decided (ignorantly) that I was now T1. I will chat to the doctor about it though. @Lucyr yep, knowing a bit more now I believe I would have been long gone if I were T1.

This is my current medication - have to use the full names as they mean very little to me at this stage.
Diamin - (Metformin hydrochloride) 1000mg morning + night
Isophane Soluble Human Co (brown) - 25 units morning + 15 units night

On top of that, I am on medication for Low Thyroid. The doctor has sent off to retest this as he feels this may be influencing my sugar levels. Then I am also on high-blood pressure, gout and cholesterol medication. Yep, I do rattle when I walk. I was on Citalopram but due to moving town, and meds getting mixed up, I haven't had this for a couple of months. Seem to be managing without so will stay off.

@Docb - Thank you for the welcome. The Learning Zone is very helpful - has already encouraged me to MOVE MORE . Sadly, our South African National Health is curative with very little time spent on preventative care. The again, I have to admit that I am (was) a bit of a cowboy when it comes to my health. But life at present is unbearable - huge wake up call that I need to take care of myself and get healthy.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @MellowRedWC

Glad you are finding the forum helpful. It can be so helpful to have others living with diabetes to compare notes with.

Keep asking questions, and hope you can reduce your elevated BG levels over the next few weeks. high BGs can make you feel pretty grim