-
Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
-
Learn more about joining the Diabetes UK Support Forum team here: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/volunteering-opportunities-why-dont-you-join-us.112862/
Another newbie
- Thread starter nick74
- Start date
- Status
Sophie DUK
Supporter Care Advisor
Hi @nick74 welcome to the forum🙂 thank you for sharing, nice to virtually meet you!
I'm sorry to hear about your eyes and feet - have you been referred to specialists?
Are you on any medication for your diabetes?
Friendly lot on here, so ask away! And you can also give our helpline advisors a call on 0345 123 2399 (Mon-Fri, 9am-9pm) for some support, they'll be more than happy to have a chat.
I'm sorry to hear about your eyes and feet - have you been referred to specialists?
Are you on any medication for your diabetes?
Friendly lot on here, so ask away! And you can also give our helpline advisors a call on 0345 123 2399 (Mon-Fri, 9am-9pm) for some support, they'll be more than happy to have a chat.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @nick74
Sorry to hear you’ve got some signs of changes to your eyes and feet.
Have you made big changes to your menu since November which have reduced your BG levels substantially?
Sometimes retinopathy (eye changes) and neuropathy (nerve changes) develop gradually over time, but they can also be brought on by rapid changes to BG levels over a short timescale, and in those cases can sometimes improve and resolve over time?
Sorry to hear you’ve got some signs of changes to your eyes and feet.
Have you made big changes to your menu since November which have reduced your BG levels substantially?
Sometimes retinopathy (eye changes) and neuropathy (nerve changes) develop gradually over time, but they can also be brought on by rapid changes to BG levels over a short timescale, and in those cases can sometimes improve and resolve over time?
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome from me too. Sorry to hear you are suffering from some complication of diabetes so early after diagnosis. Can you tell us a bit about those issues. Ie is it background diabetic retinopathy or something more concerning which requires treatment? Also has the pain in your feet been diagnosed as diabetic neuropathy or peripheral arterial disease (PAD)? Have you had a doppler test done to test the pulse in your feet?
Can you tell us a bit about how your diabetes diagnosis came about? Were you symptomatic or was it highlighted through a blood test.... perhaps as part of your liver tests for your Wells? Do you know your HbA1c result? This is the blood test used to diagnose and track your progress with diabetes?
Just had a very quick internet search and one of the sources I found suggested that Wells disease might be autoimmune. This might be relevant to your diabetes if your BG levels and HbA1c are very high because Type 1 diabetes is also autoimmune and it it known that autoimmune conditions have a tendency to congregate and wreak havoc in the same body, so if you have one autoimmune condition you are more at risk of others. Type 2 diabetes is not autoimmune but a metabolic condition. Unfortunately tests to establish if you are Type 1 are not routinely performed and the HbA1c test, which is the standard blood test for diabetes, just diagnoses you as "diabetic".... ie you have raised Blood Glucose (BG) levels. After that there is an element of stereotyping and guess work involved in allocating the Type of diabetes and if you are a mature adult and particularly if you are carrying a bit of extra weight (and don't most of us in middle age), we are assumed to be Type 2, for which there is no specific test. There are however 2 tests to assess for Type 1. The C-peptide test, which checks how much insulin you are able to produce yourself and a GAD antibody test which looks for the antibodies related to your immune system attacking your insulin producing beta cells, causing the diabetes. In mature adults Type 1 can have a slower onset than Type 2 but generally HbA1c results will often be higher at diagnosis and you are more likely to show some symptoms like thirst and increased weeing and perhaps some weight loss if things have reached a crisis point with your insulin production.
Of course you may be a straight forward Type 2 who has Wells but it is worth finding out what your HbA1c was at diagnosis if you don't know it and if it is showing any progress now from the dietary changes you have made. It would not be unreasonable to have a follow up HbA1c test done 3 months from initial diagnosis.
Anyway, sorry for all the qustions and don't feel obliged to answer any of them if you are not comfortable doing so, but just thought with the possibility of Wells being autoimmune, it might put a question mark over your Type 2 diabetes diagnosis and be worth keeping in the back of your mind that you might actually be Type 1 if you don't respond to Type 2 meds or dietary changes or if you do initially but at some point your levels take a turn for the worse, despite your best efforts.
Hopefully the changes to your sight will be minimal and resolve on their own of with treatment if more serious than background retinopathy and that the pain in your feet is also transient and will resolve or at least improve with better Blood Glucose control.
Do you have a BG meter for home testing and if so, what sort of readings are you getting. If not, it might be worth investing in one as they are an invaluable tool in helping you to manage your diabetes, even if you are not on any medication and just dietary controlled. If you need advice on purchasing one, we can advise, so do ask.
Can you tell us a bit about how your diabetes diagnosis came about? Were you symptomatic or was it highlighted through a blood test.... perhaps as part of your liver tests for your Wells? Do you know your HbA1c result? This is the blood test used to diagnose and track your progress with diabetes?
Just had a very quick internet search and one of the sources I found suggested that Wells disease might be autoimmune. This might be relevant to your diabetes if your BG levels and HbA1c are very high because Type 1 diabetes is also autoimmune and it it known that autoimmune conditions have a tendency to congregate and wreak havoc in the same body, so if you have one autoimmune condition you are more at risk of others. Type 2 diabetes is not autoimmune but a metabolic condition. Unfortunately tests to establish if you are Type 1 are not routinely performed and the HbA1c test, which is the standard blood test for diabetes, just diagnoses you as "diabetic".... ie you have raised Blood Glucose (BG) levels. After that there is an element of stereotyping and guess work involved in allocating the Type of diabetes and if you are a mature adult and particularly if you are carrying a bit of extra weight (and don't most of us in middle age), we are assumed to be Type 2, for which there is no specific test. There are however 2 tests to assess for Type 1. The C-peptide test, which checks how much insulin you are able to produce yourself and a GAD antibody test which looks for the antibodies related to your immune system attacking your insulin producing beta cells, causing the diabetes. In mature adults Type 1 can have a slower onset than Type 2 but generally HbA1c results will often be higher at diagnosis and you are more likely to show some symptoms like thirst and increased weeing and perhaps some weight loss if things have reached a crisis point with your insulin production.
Of course you may be a straight forward Type 2 who has Wells but it is worth finding out what your HbA1c was at diagnosis if you don't know it and if it is showing any progress now from the dietary changes you have made. It would not be unreasonable to have a follow up HbA1c test done 3 months from initial diagnosis.
Anyway, sorry for all the qustions and don't feel obliged to answer any of them if you are not comfortable doing so, but just thought with the possibility of Wells being autoimmune, it might put a question mark over your Type 2 diabetes diagnosis and be worth keeping in the back of your mind that you might actually be Type 1 if you don't respond to Type 2 meds or dietary changes or if you do initially but at some point your levels take a turn for the worse, despite your best efforts.
Hopefully the changes to your sight will be minimal and resolve on their own of with treatment if more serious than background retinopathy and that the pain in your feet is also transient and will resolve or at least improve with better Blood Glucose control.
Do you have a BG meter for home testing and if so, what sort of readings are you getting. If not, it might be worth investing in one as they are an invaluable tool in helping you to manage your diabetes, even if you are not on any medication and just dietary controlled. If you need advice on purchasing one, we can advise, so do ask.
- Status