First proper appointment

Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Pam123

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 9 weeks ago when I was taken ill and in hospital for 3 weeks, they put me on Lantus which
on advice I’ve increased to 24units and apart from the fasting blood sugars which range from 6.4 to 7.6 my other readings are not much better than before ranging between 8.5 at the best to mid 9s and the odd 12.

My first proper appointment with 2 diabetic Nurses the other day has left me very confused, first they both said the fasting readings were very good but the others a little on the high side and i might need help but didnt offer to give me anything, they said my diet was good, ive lost almost a stone and said my HbA1c coming down in just 6 weeks are spot on it was 84 its now 57 which she said was fine and that was the range, but i thought iit had to be lower?. they now want me to have more blood tests in a couple of weeks to find out why its not lowering in the day time? but that doesn’t make any sense to me ? and suggest i might have late onset type one ? again seams odd as surely the hospital would have checked, anyway i am thinking of increasing the Lantus tomorrow and see if it helps and taking Berberine with my main meal to be honest i have had so much conflicting advice i dont know what is the best.
 
Last edited:
What have you been advised (and what are you actually doing) regarding diet (way of eating as much as weight loss regime). As in what do you eat or avoid and why?
 
I haven't been advised anything, i am doing everything i can to reduce my blood sugars, an example of my diet poached egg with one slice of brown toast in the morning or bacon egg grilled tomato, lunch I have tuna salad, dinner chicken or other lean meat with assortment veg, I dont eat many carbs at all, i don't like Pasta, Rice or Potatoes that much. the weight loss was contributed to with being very poorly. and subsequently changing my eating habits because of the diabetes.
 
If it was me I would keep doing what your doing and if the readings start to drop and bloods taken confirm this then I'm sure they will start to adjust medications For the good but seems it is being ccontrolled.
 
Hi @Pam123 The hospital wouldn’t routinely check for Type 1. This requires special blood tests and is only done when there’s doubt about the diabetes type. Contrary to popular belief, Type 1 can occur at any age but is often misdiagnosed as Type 2 in adults. So, you’re lucky they’re considering it.

Even if you do turn out to be Type 2, you might benefit from a bolus/mealtime insulin, which would help your daytime blood sugars.
 
Sorry i didn't make myself very clear, before increasing the dose of Lantus which was 12 units to begin with, its only the morning readings that have dropped the rest of the day its not gone down much, ive been on 24 units for 2 weeks now
 
Pam123 said:
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 9 weeks ago when I was taken ill and in hospital for 3 weeks, they put me on Lantus which
on advice I’ve increased to 24units and apart from the fasting blood sugars which range from 6.4 to 7.6 my other readings are not much better than before ranging between 8.5 at the best to mid 9s and the odd 12.

My first proper appointment with 2 diabetic Nurses the other day has left me very confused, first they both said the fasting readings were very good but the others a little on the high side and i might need help but didnt offer to give me anything, they said my diet was good, ive lost almost a stone and said my HbA1c coming down in just 6 weeks are spot on it was 84 its now 57 which she said was fine and that was the range, but i thought iit had to be lower?. they now want me to have more blood tests in a couple of weeks to find out why its not lowering in the day time? but that doesn’t make any sense to me ? and suggest i might have late onset type one ? again seams odd as surely the hospital would have checked, anyway i am thinking of increasing the Lantus tomorrow and see if it helps and taking Berberine with my main meal to be honest i have had so much conflicting advice i dont know what is the best.
Click to expand...
When there might be doubt about your diagnosis Type 2, late onset Type 1 (LADA) then the parameters which will be regarded as OK at different points in time may vary. In 6 weeks you have made good progress in lowering your HbA1C as it represents an average over the previous 3 months so there will be a period of time before treatment commenced where your level was high and in any case it is better to bring levels down slowly as it will be kinder on the body causing less potential problem with your eyes and nerves.
The aim if Type 2 would be fasting or before meals of 4-7mmol/l and no more than 8-8.5 2 hours after meals so you fasting readings are what you would expect with an Hba1C of 57mmol/mol. Again if Type 2 it would be the aim to reduce HbA1C to below 47mmol/mol.
The insulin you have is a basal insulin designed to cope with background release of glucose by the liver but not to cope with meal carbs.
You say you were in hospital, was that related to your diagnosis?
 
Inka said:
Hi @Pam123 The hospital wouldn’t routinely check for Type 1. This requires special blood tests and is only done when there’s doubt about the diabetes type. Contrary to popular belief, Type 1 can occur at any age but is often misdiagnosed as Type 2 in adults. So, you’re lucky they’re considering it.

Even if you do turn out to be Type 2, you might benefit from a bolus/mealtime insulin, which would help your daytime blood sugars.
Click to expand...
THank you for the information
 
Leadinglights said:
When there might be doubt about your diagnosis Type 2, late onset Type 1 (LADA) then the parameters which will be regarded as OK at different points in time may vary. In 6 weeks you have made good progress in lowering your HbA1C as it represents an average over the previous 3 months so there will be a period of time before treatment commenced where your level was high and in any case it is better to bring levels down slowly as it will be kinder on the body causing less potential problem with your eyes and nerves.
The aim if Type 2 would be fasting or before meals of 4-7mmol/l and no more than 8-8.5 2 hours after meals so you fasting readings are what you would expect with an Hba1C of 57mmol/mol. Again if Type 2 it would be the aim to reduce HbA1C to below 47mmol/mol.
The insulin you have is a basal insulin designed to cope with background release of glucose by the liver but not to cope with meal carbs.
You say you were in hospital, was that related to your diagnosis?
Click to expand...
No it wasn't related i had several infections from Sepsis, E coli and a kidney infection
 
Sorry to hear about the tough time you have been having @Pam123

Do your nurses know you’ve been trying to limit the carbs in your diet?

Depending on how much insulin you are able to produce yourself (and this is most likely one of the checks they are considering running) it may be that Lantus is going to struggle with meals.

It is a long slow acting insulin which lasts around 24 hours, but isn’t really designed for the bumps in glucose that usually occur from the carbs in meals. It can work well if your own body’s insulin production just needs a bit of gentle background support, but if your insulin supply or insulin signalling is impaired it may not be the best medication on its own, and as others have said you may need a rapid-acting meal insulin (whichever type of diabetes you end up having).

Hope the results provide some helpful information and don’t take too long to come back (if it is GAD antibody and cPep checks, those can take a while).

Let us know what you find out 🙂
 
Hi - well I'd agree that they may need to test you for Type 1, because you did tell us the only other drug you take is Thyroxine, from which I assume you were diagnosed with being Hypothyroid - which is an auto-immune condition - as is Type 1 Diabetes and it's not at all unusual to have more than one auto-immune health problem. I have both T1 and hypothyroidism except in my case the T1 came first. But, they're quite understandably waiting to see how you go on first is all.
 
trophywench said:
Hi - well I'd agree that they may need to test you for Type 1, you did tell us the only other drug you take is Thyroxine, from which I assume you were diagnosed with being Hypothyroid - which is an auto-immune condition - as is Type 1 Diabetes and it's not at all unusual to have more than one auto-immune health problem. I have both T1 and hypothyroidism except in my case the T1 came first. But, they're quite understandably waiting to see how you go on first is all.
Click to expand...
Hi thanks for your reply yes was diagnosed with an underachieve thyroid 35 years ago and have been on Thyroxine ever since i didnt realise it was an auto-immune condition, it makes sense with the replies i need to be tested further.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Sorry to hear about the tough time you have been having @Pam123

Do your nurses know you’ve been trying to limit the carbs in your diet?

Depending on how much insulin you are able to produce yourself (and this is most likely one of the checks they are considering running) it may be that Lantus is going to struggle with meals.

It is a long slow acting insulin which lasts around 24 hours, but isn’t really designed for the bumps in glucose that usually occur from the carbs in meals. It can work well if your own body’s insulin production just needs a bit of gentle background support, but if your insulin supply or insulin signalling is impaired it may not be the best medication on its own, and as others have said you may need a rapid-acting meal insulin (whichever type of diabetes you end up having).

Hope the results provide some helpful information and don’t take too long to come back (if it is GAD antibody and cPep checks, those can take a while).

Let us know what you find out 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply I will be sure to post when my test results are through, i dont go until the 27th of this month and have no idea how long they will take, i hope its not to long so I can get ettra help it needed
 
Pam123 said:
Thanks for your reply I will be sure to post when my test results are through, i dont go until the 27th of this month and have no idea how long they will take, i hope its not to long so I can get ettra help it needed
Click to expand...

Fingers crossed!

The lab at Exeter suggests a 7 day turnaround for cPeptide results

C-Peptide Exeter Clinical Laboratory International

www.exeterlaboratory.com www.exeterlaboratory.com

And perhaps 10 days for GAD antibody tests

Though from memory various forum members seem to have had to wait many weeks for results.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top