Bit of a shock

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ColinUK said:
The doctor said that tests showed weekend it started. And it was years ago.
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I'd certainly want to know why/how it has been overlooked for so long, there must surely be something in your records - perhaps you have been tested since but your levels have been below diabetic range, so they haven't mentioned it? Are you being treated for any other conditions? When you get the opportunity, ask your GP what your HbA1c is now, and what it has been in the past including diagnosis - this is a special blood test that gives a good indication of how well your blood sugar levels have been controlled in the 12 week period prior to the blood being taken for the test, and should be performed at least once a year.
 
I’ve now thrown out all bad sugar produce in the cupboards and freezer.

I bake so I had tonnes of different types of sugars and they’re all gone.

I’ve chucked all rice, pasta, couscous, potato produce etc too. If it’s not in the house then I can’t eat it.

Just knocked up a lovely mushroom omelette for breakfast and dressed it with a chilli spiced yoghurt.
 
ColinUK said:
I’ve now thrown out all bad sugar produce in the cupboards and freezer.

I bake so I had tonnes of different types of sugars and they’re all gone.

I’ve chucked all rice, pasta, couscous, potato produce etc too. If it’s not in the house then I can’t eat it.

Just knocked up a lovely mushroom omelette for breakfast and dressed it with a chilli spiced yoghurt.
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Colin, just a word of caution - make sure the changes you make will be sustainable, you don't want to feel massively deprived in three months time. I'm not saying you will! 🙂 As I mentioned earlier, if you can get a test meter and start checking your responses to your food choices then you'll be able to retain maximum flexibility in your diet - there's no point in ditching things that actually have a benign effect on you, unless, of course, you feel that this is the only way to tackle things 🙂 It is true though, that a diagnosis (even if only learning about it several years after the event!) can prompt us to rethink our food and discover new ways and new things to enjoy 🙂
 
Pleased you enjoyed your omelette and it sounds like you have a very positive mental attitude to this. Learning how to eat low carb takes a bit of practice and trial and error but once you get into the swing of it and add in a bit of fat, it becomes much more sustainable than you would expect. I don't feel deprived because I eat a chunk of my favourite cheese whenever I fancy it and fatty meat which has so much more flavour than lean meat and cream in my coffee on a morning, which all makes me feel quite spoiled, decadent even, and it is hard to feel deprived when you have a nice cooked breakfast instead of a bowl of boring cereal or a couple of slices of toast.

Symptoms often don't occur with diabetes until your levels are really high.... I was over 100 when I got symptoms and the threshold for diabetes is 48 with prediabetes being 42-47, so more than double the baseline diabetic range for me. The concern is that in that in between range there can be small changes taking place in your blood vessels and nerves which are not immediately apparent and cause no obvious symptoms but can cause complications over time. Increasing your activity as well as improving your diet should help to reverse any changes that may have already occured. If your HbA1c is very high like mine was, then they will likely want you to start on medication straight away and I wouldn't argue with that but if it is not too high, perhaps below 70, you might have room to negotiate a 3 month hiatus to enable you to see if you can reduce it with lifestyle changes first. Since you have been untreated for the past 5 years, I think you have reasonable grounds to argue your case for another 3 months drugs free now you are armed with knowledge, not just of your condition but how to tackle it.
 
I'm appalled at the way you have been, or rather not been, treated. Symptoms vary - my HbA1c was 57 on diagnosis, but I was experiencing extreme fatigue and pee'd for England, so was not surprised with the diagnosis. So you just don't know what, if any, damage has occurred in the past 5+ years. You seem to have taken on board the right sort of dietary changes, but would agree with Northener and suggest moderation rather than total abstinence. I have a little low carb bread, or a little mash padded out with with carrots, swede and parsnips. I experimented with reducing carbs and settled on 75gm +- 15gm which is well under the recommended <130gm from DUK. But we are all different. My last HbA1c was 48 so my DSN said I could have the occasional treat, and I do. So I don't feel deprived. I do keep an online daily diary with an app which measures every cal, carb, sugar in every item of food or drink, so I know exactly where I am each day.
I hope you get your refund. As for exercise, are you able to get out at lunchtime and go for a brisk walk - even just 10 minutes? Mushroom omelette is one of my "go-to" meals when I go out, the others being a nice salad or a home made soup. Best wishes
 
That is utterly disgusting. A similar thing happened to me. I was back at the docs for something else and he asked me "You are diabetic aren't you?" but I'd gone into denial on diagnosis so neither of us were sure. Crazy.
 
Felinia said:
I'm appalled at the way you have been, or rather not been, treated. Symptoms vary - my HbA1c was 57 on diagnosis, but I was experiencing extreme fatigue and pee'd for England, so was not surprised with the diagnosis. So you just don't know what, if any, damage has occurred in the past 5+ years. You seem to have taken on board the right sort of dietary changes, but would agree with Northener and suggest moderation rather than total abstinence. I have a little low carb bread, or a little mash padded out with with carrots, swede and parsnips. I experimented with reducing carbs and settled on 75gm +- 15gm which is well under the recommended <130gm from DUK. But we are all different. My last HbA1c was 48 so my DSN said I could have the occasional treat, and I do. So I don't feel deprived. I do keep an online daily diary with an app which measures every cal, carb, sugar in every item of food or drink, so I know exactly where I am each day.
I hope you get your refund. As for exercise, are you able to get out at lunchtime and go for a brisk walk - even just 10 minutes? Mushroom omelette is one of my "go-to" meals when I go out, the others being a nice salad or a home made soup. Best wishes
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I’m lucky because I’m within walking distance of my local shops so I’m going to make sure that I don’t overstock the basics. That way I will have to detour via the shops frequently and that will help build a daily walking habit 🙂
 
Northerner said:
See if you can cancel it :( The GP should have told you (nobody told me either, when I was diagnosed) :( Seems you're not getting the right information from your healthcare professionals :(

Well, since this is all new to you and you're probably wondering what it is all about, I'd suggest setting aside a bit of time and reading Maggie Davey's letter, which will give you a good overview. I'd also recommend getting a copy of the excellent Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker, which will help to guide you through these early months. With these you should begin to understand what it all entails and how you can tackle it. It's a serious condition, but the good news is that it is manageable and you can lead a full and healthy life with it as long as you stick to some basic principles 🙂 Ideally, I'd suggest getting a blood glucose meter so you can monitor the effects of your food choices on your blood sugar levels. You are unlikely to be prescribed one by the nurse or GP as many see them as unnecessary, but in reality they are just looking for short term savings in their budgets - the long term benefits of knowing what you can safely include in your diet and what you may need to reduce or exclude are worth far more to you and the NHS than any short term penny-pinching 🙂 Have a read of Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S to understand how it all works 🙂 If you do decide to get a meter, then the cheapest option we have come across is the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50 (substantially less than the £25-£30 you might pay for most brands on the High St, and perfectly adequate for the job! 🙂 ).

Another important thing is to start doing some regular exercise, if you don't already do so 🙂 You don't need to go mad and hit the gym - find something you enjoy and can stick with. For some that can be as straightforward as a brisk daily walk - whatever you can do will really help with your blood sugar levels, as well as improving your overall general health and feeling of well-being 🙂 Many people find that the adaptations they make to diet and activity levels result in them feeling much happier and healthier than they have for some time - it's a shame you didn't know about your diagnosis earlier because you could have started all this years ago! 🙄 Ah well, lok forward, not back 🙂

Let us know if you have any other questions and we will be more than happy to help 🙂
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Ordered the BG monitor today. It should arrive Wednesday or Thursday. Haven’t ordered additional test strips yet but realised that I’m going to get through them at a heck of a rate initially. Just didn’t feel that getting everything arriving at once would be particularly good for my mental health.
I was only just commenting the other day that my bathroom cabinet had nothing medical in it apart from ibuprofen, paracetamol and a box of plasters - nose it’s got metformin and will be joined by BG monitor accessories. It’ll look like the cabinet of someone who’s ill.
 
Hi Colin, You have been given a terrible shock, but you are already taking huge steps to beat Diabetes.
I'm one of the many who are taking control of my T2 via a Low Carb Way Of Eating. I agree that it is best to start by making gradual sustainable changes.

Some people hear that losing weight can reverse T2 - then they go on a 'crash diet', lose some weight but also reduce their metabolic rate which makes it difficult to avoid putting that weight back on (plus more) once the 'will power' runs out (as it will). It is the dame sort of thing for changing your 'way of eating' - you can't do it through willpower alone.
Find Low Carb foods and meals that you actually like and eat more of those, unfortunately it isn't just the sugary things that you need to test your reaction to. Starches can actually be worse than sugars for some - we are all different, which is why testing with the Blood Glucose meter is so important.

I was fortunate in that my preferred way of eating before my GP scared me about possible heart problems, was very similar to what I eat now as a recovering Diabetic. I always loved meat, cheese, nuts, olives and even cauliflower. If you do it right your tastes will slowly change so that you are able to cut out enough sugars and starches without feeling deprived, and that is the most important thing because this is for life!
 
ColinUK said:
Ordered the BG monitor today. It should arrive Wednesday or Thursday. Haven’t ordered additional test strips yet but realised that I’m going to get through them at a heck of a rate initially. Just didn’t feel that getting everything arriving at once would be particularly good for my mental health.
I was only just commenting the other day that my bathroom cabinet had nothing medical in it apart from ibuprofen, paracetamol and a box of plasters - nose it’s got metformin and will be joined by BG monitor accessories. It’ll look like the cabinet of someone who’s ill.
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I heard ibuprofen is a no-no on Metformin and take paracetamol instead. I'm sure I got that info on here, may be wrong. It was when I first got diagnosed and I was soaking up stacks of info.
Could be wrong, dunno 🙂
 
Brando77 said:
I heard ibuprofen is a no-no on Metformin and take paracetamol instead. I'm sure I got that info on here, may be wrong. It was when I first got diagnosed and I was soaking up stacks of info.
Could be wrong, dunno 🙂
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Found this... like most drug interaction sites it basically says everything pretty much interacts with everything. But ibuprofen seems OK 🙂

https://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/metformin.html
 
Lots on the other diabetes organisation forums about ibuprofen causing kidney damage and that being an issue of diabetes has also impacted them. But they’re as confused over there as we seem to be here with half the posts saying that the Dr said it’s OK and the other half saying they were told to stop using it immediately.

i only take it if I’m in need of an anti-inflammatory and that’s not a frequent occurrence but I’ll speak with the surgery and the pharmacist about what to steer clear of in the form of OTC meds from now on.
Anything interesting or definitive I’ll feed back here.
 
Brando77 said:
I heard ibuprofen is a no-no on Metformin and take paracetamol instead. I'm sure I got that info on here, may be wrong. It was when I first got diagnosed and I was soaking up stacks of info.
Could be wrong, dunno 🙂
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I was advised by heart specialist nurse not to take ibuprofen because of heat medication. Could take paracetamol. Don't know about metformin.
 
Just saw this thread of yours Colin.
Blimey!!
My diagnosis was lovely in comparison.
I had blood tests because I'd been feeling decidedly iffy for a while and I also had some 'lady problems'.
Then I got a phone call to come in to see the GP urgently!!
No explanation and when I asked they said they couldn't tell me anything it had to be face to face.

I made an appointment which was a few days (which scared me more because usually it takes weeks to get an appointment) and I worried myself sick there was something awful coming up like something fatal.
Then I got to the GP and he had a sad, sympathetic face and started by saying it was bad news and I nearly had a heart attack on the spot.
Then he started waffling on and beating around the bush so I cut him off and asked him if I was dying and if not could he cut to the chase.
And then he told me it was diabetes type 2 and by then I was so relieved it wasn't cancer or something really ominous I was practically pleased as I knew diabetes could be managed with exercise and diet.

I like cooking so for me this has been a licence to have a huge amount of fun making all my favourite foods - I never liked carby things anyway and was only eating them because I thought I had to have them for a healthy diet.

If you want to find out properly what has been going on with your health to get a proper handle on what you are dealing with as far as your GP etc are concerned you can make a Subject Access Request and then they have to give you copies of all the documents etc that relate to you that have been generated in the practice and they are not allowed to charge you for it either. Then you will have control over your own data and you will be able to see if there is anything else they haven't told you and also whether the information you have is actually correct - just in case they mixed your information up with someone else with the same name or something. There should be information on your surgery website on how to make this request.
This is the link on the Information Commissioner's Website on your rights regarding your personal information so you have the information you need.
https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/your-right-to-get-copies-of-your-data/
 
I’ll be off to the GP in a little while and I’ll hope for some answers. I want to know what figures have been returned from blood tests over the years and when precisely he thinks I became diabetic.

A SAR shouldn’t be required as you have a right to see all of your medical records already. However I’ll go down that route if necessary. Most importantly I want to know what the treatment plan is, why I’ve apparently fallen through the net, when and what clinical checks are planned and also when the side effects from the metformin will bugger off!!
 
So... the GP gave me a print out of all my figures and I’ll look over them in the morning but he was astonished that I’d bought a BG monitor and was quite dismissive of the steps I’ve taken so far.
“Most type 2’s just take the medication and that’s all”
“I’m not most type 2’s”
“Evidently.”

So putting aside that realisation that my GP is a prat, what else did I learn?

Well it seems my HbAC1 has hovered around the upper limit for a while... one test it’d be 0.1 over and the next it’d be 0.1 under. Last two years it’s been 0.1 over each time. So I haven’t been diabetic since 2014. I’ve been borderline since then and really just into the diagnostic range for the last two years.

“It’s really borderline so that’s why you weren’t probably told.”

He’s changed my metformin to the slow release after my detailing the side effects. Which elicited a response of “Haven’t you gotten used to them by now?”
“No”
“So have you cut the dosage down?”
“No”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s what you prescribed me!”
“And you’ve not become used to the side effects?”
“Yes I’m very used to the side effects. I can set my watch by the side effects. But if they can be stopped I’d like to get used to not having them!”
“I’ll change your medication.”

We spoke about diet a little and I mentioned I’d significantly cut down on carbs, was weaning myself off sugars, eating more fish, olive oil and other healthy fats, veg etc...
“Well I can give you a diet sheet if you’d like. It just says to follow a Mediterranean low carb diet. Do you know what that is?”
“Yes. It’s what I’ve said I’m following! Low carb, natural fats, good quality protein.”
“I won’t print off the diet sheet then.”

During the consultation the printer toner needed changing so the practice manager came in to do that. The GP himself was pacing around the room at one point. It was like a comedy sketch. Especially when he bumped into a shelf and knocked a pot plant flying.

Anyway.... I’m more relaxed. He’s happy with my monitoring everything but thinks it’s unnecessary of course. He’s given me the form for prescription charge exemption. I’m going to see the practice nurse on 10/2 which is a week after a repeat of the blood tests. Immediately after the nurse appointment I’m in with the same GP to get the blood test results.

He’s quite keen to put me on statins and something for high bp. I’m quite keen that he doesn’t have the need to do that so I’ll do everything I can do between now and then to make sure he doesn’t need to.

Also mentioned that I’d looked at the DUK website and joined this forum. He said it’s the gold standard for advice and I agree with him 🙂
 
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Thanks Colin.I had such a good giggle at that. You describe it so vividly that I can see it in my head.
Doctors so hate not to be in control! of your treatment!
I can't believe he is continuing to prescribe Metformin, even the slow release version, when your levels are so borderline and you have modified your diet and clearly know more than him about what you need to do to control it. I have every confidence that you will have it well into the pre diabetes range and maybe complete remission by your next blood test... although it may be tight time wise for that .... and I would have been inclined to negotiate a hiatus on medication for at least 3 months to give you an opportunity to prove that you can do it through diet and exercise alone, but look forward to you getting a good HbA1c next month and hopefully coming off Metformin in whatever form after that.
You are doing really great, so keep at it!
 
ColinUK said:
Which elicited a response of “Haven’t you gotten used to them by now?”
“No”
“So have you cut the dosage down?”
“No”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s what you prescribed me!”
“And you’ve not become used to the side effects?”
“Yes I’m very used to the side effects. I can set my watch by the side effects. But if they can be stopped I’d like to get used to not having them!”
“I’ll change your medication.”
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ColinUK said:
During the consultation the printer toner needed changing so the practice manager came in to do that. The GP himself was pacing around the room at one point. It was like a comedy sketch. Especially when he bumped into a shelf and knocked a pot plant flying.
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You've got the start of a very good sketch/scene there
 
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