Confused about my diabetes

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helli said:
Some with untreated diabetes will not go hypo.
The risk is DKA.

@DodgyScotsman that reminds me - it would probably be a good idea to get some ketostix from your pharmacist.
The risk of high BG with Type 1 is DKA, Diabetic Ketoacidosis which can be very bad as your body produces ketones.
So, if you start to feel unwell, you can test your ketone level with the ketostix.
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yes but after a meal and sweets he was 6.5 not really in DKA statis is it ?
 
DodgyScotsman said:
I do not have the app and not even sure how to go about accessing it.

I have similar readings when doing my own tests at home, a kit was provided by my diabetic Doctor. Sometimes it’s oddly high and other times I can eat a full dinner and sweet snack afterwards and it will be low. For instance yesterday I ate a quick microwave dinner of spaghetti bolognaise and afterwards had two celebrations (a twix and mars one) yet less than 2 hours later I was 6.8.

My doctor said it could be quick or even a few years before something happens but when it does I would need insulin. I have a long family history of diabetes both type 1 and 2.
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It sounds like there’s an element of erraticness @DodgyScotsman Is there any pattern to when it goes high? Those two Celebrations wouldn’t have been very carby. If your Spag Bol was a ready meal, you’ll be able to see the carbs on that. Have you experimented with particular meals? When I did my experiment with not taking any insulin, I did this at breakfast time and had two Weetabix, a fair bit of milk, then two slices of toast with butter and a scrape of marmalade. I’m wondering whether your body struggles at particular times of the day or with particular meals?
 
Nayshiftin said:
yes but after a meal and sweets he was 6.5 not really in DKA statis is it ?
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My point was that if he had untreated diabetes (as diagnosed), he would not experience a hypo.
As Type 1 is an autoimmune condition which tends to come on slowly as an adult, it is possible for "rested" (in this case by eating a lower carb diet) damaged cells to start producing insulin which is what makes the honeymoon period challenging for some people. This could explain why the BG was only 6.5 which is perfectly normal for "working" pancreas and not an indication of a hypo.
 
Have you been tested for MODY @DodgyScotsman ? That’s a form of genetic diabetes:

Maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY)

MODY is a rare form of diabetes which is different from both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and runs strongly in families. MODY is caused by a mutation (or change) in a single gene. If a parent has this gene mutation, any child they have, has a 50% chance of inheriting it from them. If a child does...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk

You mention lots of diabetes in your family, so I wondered.
 
helli said:
My point was that if he had untreated diabetes (as diagnosed), he would not experience a hypo.
As Type 1 is an autoimmune condition which tends to come on slowly as an adult, it is possible for "rested" (in this case by eating a lower carb diet) damaged cells to start producing insulin which is what makes the honeymoon period challenging for some people. This could explain why the BG was only 6.5 which is perfectly normal for "working" pancreas and not an indication of a hypo.
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I am NOT questioning you but trying to understand myself. Still do not get this at all. I was 9.9 when I got up mmol. then before breakfast ate nothing it goes to 10.7. Then it was 13.2 2 hrs later. All I had was yoghurt.
Lunch was 8.3 it did not do it after. Tonight 7.5 . It will be up later I'm just having salad. not good enough. Nowhere near 6.5 Also 6.5 is fair between 4 and 7 is normal before meals so it's within that range but I have had an HbA1c of 108 and not in DKA that would be way double that but below 3 is hypo. Or so I was told never to go below 3.
 
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But you have insulin resistance (I presume) @Nayshiftin so your own insulin isn’t working properly. If the OP is Type 1 or some variation of that, he might still be making some of his own insulin and he won’t be resistant to it so it will lower his blood sugar if he makes enough - sometimes. He also reports occasional highs.
 
Inka said:
But you have insulin resistance (I presume) @Nayshiftin so your own insulin isn’t working properly. If the OP is Type 1 or some variation of that, he might still be making some of his own insulin and he won’t be resistant to it so it will lower his blood sugar if he makes enough - sometimes. He also reports occasional highs.
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Yep one time I ate two large soft cookies both 20g+ of sugar each a few hours apart and my reading didn’t go above 8. A few days later I was working hard that day and had a normal amount of food and only one cookie and my reading was 12.5.
 
DodgyScotsman said:
Im definitely not prediabetic as I’ve been told I am diabetic by my GP, my diabetic Doctor and other doctors when I was in hospital. Type 3 has been ruled out from the CT scan.

I was basically told I’m running out of insulin and eventually stop producing it and that then I would insulin.
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If that last bit is correct then it is much more likely that you have insulin deficiency so generally Type 1 or 3c ( depending on what has caused it- so whether you have had pancreatic damage or not).
So you may be producing enough insulin at the moment to give you some protection but sooner or later you will need exogenous insulin.
Non insulin medications which are used in Type 2 situations ( insulin resistance) could help improve the “ efficiency” of the insulin your Beta cells are producing but the best thing is to get a clear diagnosis and an agreed plan moving forward.
Good luck
 
Inka said:
But you have insulin resistance (I presume) @Nayshiftin so your own insulin isn’t working properly. If the OP is Type 1 or some variation of that, he might still be making some of his own insulin and he won’t be resistant to it so it will lower his blood sugar if he makes enough - sometimes. He also reports occasional highs.
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So does insulin resistance change by losing weight and a low carb diet?
 
Nayshiftin said:
So does insulin resistance change by losing weight and a low carb diet?
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Losing weight, reducing abdominal fat, etc can improve insulin resistance. There are various diet options. Low carb is one, low calorie is another, and very low fat plant-based is another too.
 
Inka said:
Losing weight, reducing abdominal fat, etc can improve insulin resistance. There are various diet options. Low carb is one, low calorie is another, and very low fat plant-based is another too.
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So i am not diabetic then ? Just fat.
 
Nayshiftin said:
So i am not diabetic then ? Just fat.
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No one said that. Excess weight, especially around the organs potentially means they don’t function as well and one effect of that can be type 2 diabetes. Excess weight elsewhere can affect the way cells respond to glucose and insulin too. Losing weight can improve things but it’s not the entire story for many type 2, for others it makes a huge difference.

Type 2 is a bit of a catch all for “not any other type” and seems to include a variety of unofficial subtypes that respond to different actions. For instance some are fairly slim, others are very active, some larger, some eat nutritionally well, others eat poorly with huge amounts of processed carb laden junk, some have a lot of diabetes in their family history, others don’t. The media (and some medical professionals :( )would have us believe we all are fat, lazy and guzzling sugar. It’s not always true.
 
I was talking about ways to improve insulin resistance. If you have an HbA1C in the diabetes zone, then you have diabetes. You asked if insulin resistance could change if somebody lost weight:

“So does insulin resistance change by losing weight and a low carb diet?”
 
Inka said:
I was talking about ways to improve insulin resistance. If you have an HbA1C in the diabetes zone, then you have diabetes. You asked if insulin resistance could change if somebody lost weight:

“So does insulin resistance change by losing weight and a low carb diet?”
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Yes, I am not saying you are saying I am not diabetic. I am saying it.
So if I improve my weight it will improve my diabetes which is the cause of it.
lets face it medication has made my diabetes worse not better and diet alone seems to improve it.
So really it is for me I am not diabetic just my obesity is causing my diabetes otherwise the medication would have helped.
So I am not diabetic just fat
 
I do not have type 2 diabetes but from what I have read, I understand that the relationship between weight and diabetes is complex - it is not a simple case of weight causes type 2 diabetes. But losing weight has been shown to help reduce insulin resistance.
@Nayshiftin as it says at the top of every page
everyone manages their health differently
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But guilt and blame should not be one way of managing your health.
Your comments worry me - I think you should be kinder to yourself and remember to take care of both your mental and physical health.
 
Nayshiftin said:
Yes, I am not saying you are saying I am not diabetic. I am saying it.
So if I improve my weight it will improve my diabetes which is the cause of it.
lets face it medication has made my diabetes worse not better and diet alone seems to improve it.
So really it is for me I am not diabetic just my obesity is causing my diabetes otherwise the medication would have helped.
So I am not diabetic just fat
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Let me rephrase that a bit. Your weight may be a factor (amongst other potential factors). So yes your obesity may be causing your diabetes. Even if it is, you still have diabetes (as demonstrated by your hba1c) not just obesity alone, which would not have raised blood glucose levels alongside it.

Naming a cause isn’t the same as naming a condition caused by it. Eg, a heavy drinker may have liver/pancreas damage caused by the alcohol. Stopping drinking (akin to an obese person losing weight) may well help the damaged liver/pancreas but it doesn’t mean the organ isn’t damaged and doesn’t necessarily mean it returns 100% to normal even if improvement is made, though it may. It also doesn’t mean that was the only factor. Maybe they had a virus or an infection that contributed too or a genetic condition.

Currently, medically, there is no official definition of “cure” for type 2. It is currently a lifelong diagnosis. Maybe that will change in time given they now accept it doesn’t have to be progressive but we aren’t there yet. There is however the next best thing which is “remission”, which means normal blood glucose levels achieved without medication.

There will still be some maintenance required (diet/weight/activity etc) and there may be underlying changes which aren’t being measured such insulin resistance, beta cells activity, first and second stage responses, insulin levels etc that may make recurrence of diagnostic blood glucose levels more likely than a never diabetic person. Those underlying changes wouldn’t be present with a full “cure”.
 
Nayshiftin said:
Yes, I am not saying you are saying I am not diabetic. I am saying it.
So if I improve my weight it will improve my diabetes which is the cause of it.
lets face it medication has made my diabetes worse not better and diet alone seems to improve it.
So really it is for me I am not diabetic just my obesity is causing my diabetes otherwise the medication would have helped.
So I am not diabetic just fat
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I don’t know about you as an individual. Some Type 2s can lose weight/visceral fat and achieve remission, some can’t. Note: by ‘can’t’ I don’t mean a lack of willpower, I mean it’s impossible due to their body’s situation through no fault of theirs. Some Type 2s are slim to start with so losing weight wouldn’t be an option for them. It could be there’s a genetic element to their Type 2, it could be they’ve lost beta cell function.

I have no idea whether you’re overweight, but, in general, I would say that losing weight can help insulin resistance, so is a reasonable thing to try. That doesn’t mean it’s simple to do or that it’s guaranteed, but if a person were to be overweight then losing weight would be a sensible option to try.

I think you’re trying to ask if you’d be diabetic if you lost lots of weight? Nobody can answer that.
 
DodgyScotsman said:
So just off the phone with the GP about my Hb1ac and it's dropped from 51 to 48. I am type 1 that's atypical possibly due to a genetic disorder. Currently I don't need insulin but will in the future.
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Glad you’ve got a little clarity around your diagnosis @DodgyScotsman

Diabetes can be a complex condition with many variants and sub-types as you can see (and atypical presentations within those)

We have a few members whose diabetes refuses to fit into any of the standard boxes!
 
Inka said:
I think you’re trying to ask if you’d be diabetic if you lost lots of weight? Nobody can answer that.
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You hit the nail on the head.
 
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