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Admitted to hospital with DKA

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Rae1709

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Type 1
I came out of hospital yesterday after being admitted to hospital with DKA. In my previous posts I was asking for advice as I felt my GP was ignoring me. Last week I spoke to 2 other doctors at my practice but they both agreed with the other GP and said I should wait until the end of April to have my blood test! I felt like I was dying, I was getting weaker, the vomiting was getting worse. I called 111 and they sent me to A&E. Once admitted I was started on fluids and potassium. I had a candula in each arm as it seemed they were trying to get a many fluids in me as possible. My blood sugar was 21.5 (not bad for me) and my ketones were 6. The hospital was amazing, especially at this time, as they are so busy. I was also told yesterday that I have tested positive for Covid 19, but at the moment the only symptom I have is a slight cough, so I am self-isolating for 14 days. The reason I am writing this is because I am so upset with my GP and will be putting in a complaint and if I am not happy with this going further. I felt he was trying to meet his own agenda. He did not want me to be Type 1 diabetic and he was going to make sure that I wasn't regardless of the symptoms I was presenting. Please if you feel your GP is not listening to you or a member of your family, please get help or ask for a second opinion. Obviously I don't want to be Type 1 diabetic, but now I am on the insulin I feel so much better and can start getting into a routine and getting my bloods down and who knows, I may end up being a type 2. Please all take care and stay safe.
 
How horrible - and incredibly stressful for you @Rae1709 I quite understand why you’re complaining. If nothing else, it will make them think twice before assuming adults must be Type 2.

I’m glad you’re feeling better. Take it really easy so your body can recover. XX
 
Oh @Rae1709 that's a terrible experience, DKA of 6 could of ended in a coma. I`m glad you are better now I`m not one to complain but feel you are justified in this case, the Insulin as you have found out will make you feel better and don`t forget to carb count, take care stay safe.
 
Hi Karnak, no I don't like to complain either, but hopefully it will help someone else. Stay safe.
 
Hi @Rae1709 – i'm so sorry to hear what you've been through. I hope your complaint does some good and the doctors in question realize their mistake. We can but hope.

And in the meantime – good luck with getting back to full health.
 
Ignoring your symptoms and denying insulin in your situation deserves a strong response - particularly as two other doctors saw you and did not question the diagnosis. Both types one and two can require insulin, but refusing even to consider the possibility is negligence - surely?
I hope you you soon recover from all this.
 
Hi. I'm not surprised as many GPs don't understand diabetes but won't admit it. Even Dr Sarah Jarvis on Jeremy Vine show 2 weeks ago said you can't be T1 when older. My GP refused to accept I was T1 and refused me insulin for a year. There are lots of great things about the NHS but the GP system which doesn't refer to experts when needed due to budgets and ignorance is the other side of the coin. I'm glad you got the treatment you needed.
 
I am very sorry all this has happened to you. Definitely complain as this is totally unacceptable. Thank goodness you followed your instincts and got help. I hope the coronavirus symptoms don't become any more severe. Take care of yourself.
 
DaveB said:
Even Dr Sarah Jarvis on Jeremy Vine show 2 weeks ago said you can't be T1 when older.
Click to expand...

That's weird. Didn't they notice that our previous Prime Minister was diagnosed in middle age (I forget the age and don't much care, but she wasn't a child) and even more recently the Speaker was diagnosed late last year.
 
I am sorry that you have such a poor experience and became so ill. It will be worth following this up, even if only to ensure that the Practice are more aware of the incidence of T1. After a bad experience with my GP I ended up going in and doing a training session on managing T1 for them.

Now that you have your diagnosis you should start to feel a lot better with the insulin. Your doses will nodoubt need to be monitored and adjusted to suit you and help you to get your levels back on track.

If you have now been diagnosed with T1 there will be no going back to being T2 and off insulin. They are completely different diseases. With T1 your beta cells in the pancreas will have been destroyed by your own antibodies. Once they are gone they are gone, and you take on the responsibility of delivering insulin instead. This just becomes part of a new normal life.

Come back with any questions that you have.
 
My only experience of DKA was just before diagnosis in France in 1981. Horrible! I had been ill, a GP had suggested I have a blood test, but I had not felt well enough to go to the address on the slip. Later I found that a nurse would have come to me. Once in hospital, treatment apart from insulin involved a large quantity of Vichy water.
 
Wow! I’m so sorry you had to go through this @Rae1709

Your description of your symptoms certainly raised question marks on the forum, and I can understand why you are disappointed with the way you were handled, and how you ended up in DKA.

Glad you are beginning to feel better now - and hope you get a satisfactory outcome from your practice manager or PALS.
 
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