• 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.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

could i be type 1 , not type 2

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Derek Stubbs

Derek Stubbs

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi.

I have just tested myself with a reading of 12.0, all I had was a couple of slices of wholemeal toast about 3 hours ago.

The last few weeks I have been very good with the diet, lost about 1 stone & eating all the right
things.

My reading at the doctors 1 month ago was 53 (7.0) when a month earlier it was 58(7.5).

I am on two x 500mg SR metformin each day & nothing else.

I feel really weak & tired despite the good progress made in the diet.

I am beginning to wonder if I could be either Type 1 or Insulin dependant type 2.

Although, I haven't drank much fluid today, can that increase blood sugar ?

I don't feel very thirsty though & I have just tested my pee & it was clear, so not dehydrated like I thought.

Many thanks
 
Last edited:
Hi Derek,
If you were type 1 I would suggest you would have other symptoms as well (you mention weak & tired) but you would be extremely thirsty, going to the toilet alot and losing weight, together with (potentially) blurred vision, leg cramps etc etc.
Your BG levels would also be far higher than you are seeing without any added insulin.

When I was diagnosed I had all of the above (and more) but if you feel your diagnosis is wrong then the best thing is to go back to your GP.

regards
zx

PS If I had a couple of slices of wholemeal toast then (without any insulin) my BG would be way higher than 12!
 
Hi, thanks for the reply.

I am thinking perhaps insulin dependant type 2.

I noticed that Theresa May was diagnosed Type 2 & in turned out to be type 1 or at least LADA

Are there any specific tests the Dr's can do ? I read they can test certain things to see if any insulin is being produced but can't remember the name.
 
what was your pre breakfast reading ?
I think it could be that your Metformin dose may not be enough for you atm. That's the dose I started on many years ago, it was gradually increased. It can take a while to sort out correct doses.
 
The GAD test checks for antibodies, if positive then you have autoimmune diabetes (T1 or LADA).
C-Peptide tests for insulin creation.
 
I agree that maybe my dosage is too low. Although the DR says it's fine. I did request to go to three a day & he agreed (500 each), but I have been reluctant to do that as I could see my weight coming down, but I am feeling weaker aswell, so I have now added a 3rd tablet to see it that starts to help.

So I am now on 2x Slow release (500mg)
I have started a standard 500mg fast release.

I was originally put on 2x500mg fast release in the morning & 2 in the evening but my stomach couldn't handle them.

It's been nearly two months since then & my stomach has lost some weight now & I am hoping it will cope with going back on the fast release
tablets as my stomach has been on SR for nearly two months now.

Going forward I am to do..

1x500mg fast release in the morning
1x500mg SLOW release early afternoon
1x500mg fast release in the evening

& we'll see how my energy is after this.

I am going to ask my doctor for the tests to see if I could be type 1 or LADA
 
Derek Stubbs said:
I agree that maybe my dosage is too low. Although the DR says it's fine. I did request to go to three a day & he agreed (500 each), but I have been reluctant to do that as I could see my weight coming down, but I am feeling weaker aswell, so I have now added a 3rd tablet to see it that starts to help.

So I am now on 2x Slow release (500mg)
I have started a standard 500mg fast release.

I was originally put on 2x500mg fast release in the morning & 2 in the evening but my stomach couldn't handle them.

It's been nearly two months since then & my stomach has lost some weight now & I am hoping it will cope with going back on the fast release
tablets as my stomach has been on SR for nearly two months now.

Going forward I am to do..

1x500mg fast release in the morning
1x500mg SLOW release early afternoon
1x500mg fast release in the evening

& we'll see how my energy is after this.

I am going to ask my doctor for the tests to see if I could be type 1 or LADA
Click to expand...

Derek - You talk about doing well on your diet, Whilst I applaud you for that, many T2s find that the diet suggested by their diabetes nurse doesn't help them bring their numbers down. You might be caught up in that group. Frustratingly, carrying any extra pounds doesn't help us out either; particularly if those pounds are around our mid sections.

Unfortunately, for most T2s, the most important thing in the management of our condition is what we eat and drink, with medication being the add-on. For me, once I worked out which things I ate skyrocketed my bloods I was on my way to a much better place. That doesn't work for everyone, but certainly for a very large percentage it does.

It could be worthwhile giving us an idea of what you're actually eating and drinking on an average day. For some a few tweaks make the difference, and for others there needs to be more of a radical approach to diet.
 
I eat plenty of veg & some fruit. Scambled eggs. Sardines, Then evening I will normally lean mince beef with broccoli.
I sometimes have the odd yoghurt but I always look for the lowest carb ones.

I have tried to ignore what the doctors said regards diet as I have opted to go low carb & no sugars.
I have really cut down on carbs & obviously no chocolates / sweets.

I tend to drink water, green tea, or decaff tea sometimes.

Before I was diagnosed, I was eating all types of sugars & carbs & alcohol etc, but I feel my blood sugars are higher now than before
being diagnosed & I have very little energy compared to before I was diagnosed, when I had a lot more energy.

Can some alcohol restrict blood sugars as I don't have alcohol now ?
I just seems everything is back to front.
 
The lack of energy is much more likely to be simply the constant higher BG catching up with you Derek. Whilst it is quite possible to be mis-diagnosed as the wrong type of diabetes - if Metformin doesn't do the job for a genuine Type 2 - they don't automatically just progress straight onto insulin - there are lot more choices of T2 specific drugs available to try, these days.

Alcohol lowers blood glucose for the simple reason that whilst the kidneys are processing it - they are unable to do anything else at the same time - so they can't help out as they are intended to do, by increasing the supply of glucose into the bloodstream to fuel the body cells.

If there's great medical doubt to begin with whether a person's likely to be T1 or T2, then GAD65 tests may be ordered - but your symptoms weren't doubtful it seems. C-peptide tests aren't ordered at the drop of a hat. They are not even tested in all hospital path labs, only a few specific ones - so to do one they first have to get the correct vials from wherever the tests will be done, take your blood and send it off separately and the results may take weeks to get back from the lab depending on how busy they are. So - don't be at all surprised if your Doc says No.

Are you actually testing your BG before and after meals etc, to define exactly what the food you eat and drink is doing to your BG - or are you just assuming you've got it exactly right for you? Unless you know what your BG was before you ate that toast - how do you know it's increased hugely? If it was eg already 10 - then it's hardly increased, has it?

We also have a contradiction in terms - you say low carb and I tell you you've had at least 30g of carb if not more, just for brekky. I'll also tell you that most T2s have far more trouble dealing with carbs at all, first thing in a morning. You'd do far better generally not having any carbs at brekky - stick to protein - couple of rashers of bacon and an egg. Cheese or ham, in an omelette if you want. If you want a bit of carb how about a goodly dollop of full-fat plain yoghurt, with a few berries for carb?
 
Many thanks Jenny

Well this is going to sound strange.

Shortly after being 12.0 around lunch time, I then had 4 eggs scrambled & then ate it in a whole grain tortilla wrap. Very Nice.

About 45 mins later, I went for a fast walk & did quite a bit of jogging, at first, my heart was really pounding & it felt like it was coming out of my chest.
Then after a few resting walks & then some more jogging, the pain eased & the jogging got easier.
I was out about 45 mins walking & jogging in total.

I have been home for a couple of hours just resting & I thought I would do another prick test.

Now it's down to 4.2....amazing. This reading was taken from my left middle finger.
Previous reading were in my index finger but I couldn't get enough blood out, so went for the middle finger instead.

So I really don't know what's going on with my blood sugar , just seems very strange, so much drop in a couple of hours.
 
How long have you been diagnosed, and working with your diet, Derek? The body is very clever at regulating itself, and will try very hard to hang onto it's usual state, even when that isn't a great state. So, if it is used to running with high blood sugars, it will try it's hardest, by utilising it's reserves to keep the numbers high. Eventually it catches on and drops.

It sounds very much like you could benefit from a structured system of testing for yourself, with recording of it, and also recording your food intake and exercise.

It's a bit of a bind to begin with, but that's how you really get to know your body and what you can and can't tolerate.
 
It's been about 2 months since I was diagnosed.
I am pretty slim, never been obese, used to cycle a lot, & only running I ever did was in cricket years ago.

The only thing apart from the exercise, is that I took an metformin 500mg fast release straight after the scrambled eggs.
It was a further 45 mins before I headed out.
But I do quite enjoy heading down the local paths for half an hour or so, so I will keep that up as it looks like it might be helping.
I will keep a record, but the strips are expensive & I can't afford them.

Is it possible to get free test strips from the doctor ? I have ran out now.

PS..years ago, before diabetes, when I cycled a lot, I was around 4.2-4.5 & I used to eat & drink anything although I didn't eat a lot of sugary stuff back then.
I also believe I could have had diabetes about 10 years.
 
Last edited:
Hi. If you are now slim but still having BS in the late teens or 20s then LADA becomes more likely. If it is suspected your beta cells are failing then medication such as Gliclazide and Sitagliptin might be added by the GP to stimulate the pancreas and/or to produce more output of insulin. When this doesn't work then it's time for insulin. Moving from 1000mg to 2000mg of Metformin won't make a lot of difference as Metformin never changes BS by much. I would keep going with the low carbs and if you BS regularly goes into the teens then discuss with the GP. Per NICE Guidelines, if your HBA1c goes above around 7% in old money then the GP needs to add or change the meds. I think it's too early to think LADA at this stage. What was your last HBa1C?
 
It was 53, last month, a month after being diagnosed with 58.

Yes, I have made good progress on that score & the weight, but the fact is, I have much less energy now as I did before being diagnosed.

I think the faster acting metformin may have helped today, but only time will tell as I will stick to them now & just have a slow release during the daytime, when I am maybe not eating as much. I seem to have lost my appetite since having diabetes but that's what might be causing low energy levels.
 
Update...The fast acting metformin has just made go to the toilet pretty quick & I have now lost all the water I had.

I am going back to the SR, but increase that to three x 500mg per day.
 
I felt tired and weaker more once I was diagnosed, I put that down to my radical change of diet and my body was adjusting. I think over time - ( about 6 weeks now ) my tiredness has alleviated somewhat and my strength is a bit better. Maybe for you you need to add more high fat to give yourself energy ? ( instead of using glucose for energy from the carbs - if you are trying low carb diet ? )

It could be the Metformin - not agreeing with you very well ?

I am no expert but my LCHF seems to be working I am able to keep my BG between 4-6 on average most of the time these days.( I am on 2 x 500mg Metformin daily - I've no idea if they are fast or slow acting ones ! ) I just hope I am not full of bad cholesterol with the high fat I am eating - time will tell.

Good luck, hope you figure it out.
 
zx10pilot said:
Hi Derek,
If you were type 1 I would suggest you would have other symptoms as well (you mention weak & tired) but you would be extremely thirsty, going to the toilet alot and losing weight, together with (potentially) blurred vision, leg cramps etc etc.
Your BG levels would also be far higher than you are seeing without any added insulin.

When I was diagnosed I had all of the above (and more) but if you feel your diagnosis is wrong then the best thing is to go back to your GP.

regards
zx

PS If I had a couple of slices of wholemeal toast then (without any insulin) my BG would be way higher than 12!
Click to expand...

Are these symptoms exclusive to type 1, I've had all of these ,especially leg cramps NSFW blurred vision, but diagnosed type 2.
 
No they aren't exclusive to Type 1 - these are symptoms of extremely high Blood Sugar levels. The OP would likely still be suffering these if he was misdiagnosed as Type 2 as his BG levels would not be dropping.
I would hope that your symptoms have calmed down a bit now that you have had the correct treatment and your HBA1c has dropped?
 
zx10pilot said:
No they aren't exclusive to Type 1 - these are symptoms of extremely high Blood Sugar levels. The OP would likely still be suffering these if he was misdiagnosed as Type 2 as his BG levels would not be dropping.
I would hope that your symptoms have calmed down a bit now that you have had the correct treatment and your HBA1c has dropped?
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. I misunderstood when I read it and thought that the symptoms themselves indicated the type of diabetes rather than the high glucose.

Yes I'm doing well since started on meds and reducing sugars in my diet ☺
 
When first diagnosed 6 weeks ago I took metformin twice daily. Was totally lethargic, couldn't walk more than a couple of metres. Felt sick, couldn't eat and so irritable husband and pet pig were packing their bags ....

Changed to Gliclazide 60 mg 1 per day. Amazing difference in exactly one week. More energy eating better not particularly any more lovable but OH and pig are still here .

Hope things improve soon
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top