Hello-I’m a newbie

[Debbie6668]

Hello
I am a newbie and am struggling. I was diagnosed Sept last year. I went from 82 to 115 and again Tuesday my results were 115 again. When my results were 1st 115 I had to increase metformin to 2000mg an evening, this made me feel quite weak and tired and just could not concentrate. So dr advised back down to 1000mg but introduced saxagliptin 5mg in the morning. With the second diagnosis of 115 I now have to increase the metformin to 1500 mg, which has already started to make me feel bad.
I have lost two stone since diagnosis (14st 12lb). I have reduced my intake of carbs although just recently fell off the wagon, but back on now.
I am really worried and don’t want to wait another 3 months to get the same results so I want to get a blood monitoring machine to try and see where I am going wrong but don’t know which one to buy, can anyone recommend one please?
Thanks

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Debbie and welcome

So sorry to read of your problems. With those HbA1c results I am quite disappointed that your GP has not had the foresight to provide you with a BG meter. They do not generally prescribe them for Type 2 diabetics unless they are on Gliclazide or insulin but to be honest with those HbA1c results I think an assumption of Type 2 diabetes is questionable and you should probably be pushing for Type 1 testing or referral to a consultant. Many GPs believe Type 1 diabetes only exhibits in children or young adults but many of us here on the forum were diagnosed late in life. I was diagnosed last year at the age of 55 with an HbA1c of 112 which went up to 116 after 5 weeks of eating low everything. My nurse practitioner gave me a meter and test strips to help me but after consultation with the specialist I was started on insulin at week 6 and tested for Type 1 after I saw the consultant a month later. I think your GP has let it go far too long.

If you want to get a BG meter in the meantime to log your readings together with a food diary, I think it would be beneficial towards creating evidence in getting referred to a diabetes specialist unit or tested for Type 1, if your GP is not responsive to those suggestions and also in case your BG goes through the roof which it could at any time if you are Type 1 or LADA which is a slower onset Type 1. If you suddenly get BG readings in the high 20s or 30s then a 111 call giving them that info should warrant a hospital visit via ambulance and hopefully appropriate treatment with insulin commenced at hospital but your GP should be keen to prevent that and therefore open to alternatives.

The BG meters that we recommend here on the forum are the ones with the cheapest test strips because when you are self funding the test strips are what soon rack up the financial cost. For that reason, the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Healthcare Tee2 are popular. These are basic models but will do what you need them to. They cost approx. £15 to purchase and additional test strips are £8 for a pot of 50 whereas other meters can be double or even triple that and the only real difference is that those other meters have fancy features which you probably would not benefit from at this time and if you are eventually diagnosed Type 1 your will be provided with a meter and test strips on prescription which may provide some of those other features. I would suggest you order at least a couple of pots of extra test strips with which ever meter you buy as you go through quite a lot in the early stages of testing.... because you are looking to test before and then 2 hours after each meal.

I hope than answers your question but also gives you a bit more insight into your situation.... Not saying you definitely are Type 1 or LADA but I do think it is a strong possibility, especially if you have not seen a significant decrease in HbA1c as a result of low carb eating.

Good luck and if you don't understand anything I have written, please ask.

 

[Debbie6668]

Hi Barbara
Thank you for your advice, very informative and scary. I have now ordered a BG meter now so will do as you say. Keep a food diary and blood sugar levels and that way I am armed next time I go to the doctors. I did not realise this could develop into Type 1.
Thank you again, so glad I found this forum.
Kind Regards
Debbie

 

[rebrascora]

Please keep us posted with your BG results when you get your meter and if you are at all concerned in the meantime about anything at all, just ask.

By the way, it can be helpful to view You tube videos as to how to use a BG meter, since you haven't been given any formal training or advice on their use by your Health Care Professionals. Some people have difficulty figuring it out but a visual aid like a video tutorial can be really helpful in making sure you get it right or figuring out what you are doing wrong if you have problems. Always watch several different videos because no single individual can be assumed to be correct in all respects but seeing it done is so much easier than reading instructions in my opinion.

 

[trophywench]

Unlike @rebrascora I find nothing unusual about your being Type 2 and having an HbA1c reading of 118, frankly.

Exactly how have you amended your diet, since you were first diagnosed?

 

[rebrascora]

@trophywench I base my reasoning on the fact that the OP has been on Type 2 medication (Metformin and Saxagliptin) since last year and followed a low carb diet and HbA1c has gone up or remained very high.... and has lost a couple of stones in weight which might indicate Type 1 although I appreciate there is no mention of the other 3 Ts.... thirst, toilet and tiredness but if LADA, would perhaps not necessarily exhibit all of those at this stage.

 

[rebrascora]

Actually there is mention of tiredness, but in connection with Metformin, although that might be a coincidence. We all know that a high BG makes you feel tired and her BG is clearly high with an HbA1c in triple figures.

 

[trophywench]

When some people reduce their carb, they only think it means sweet things - hence before making assumptions that folk have reduced their carb intake to below Bernstein's magic 30g a day, I'd rather ASK first!

 

[silentsquirrel]

Hi Barbara
Thank you for your advice, very informative and scary. I have now ordered a BG meter now so will do as you say. Keep a food diary and blood sugar levels and that way I am armed next time I go to the doctors. I did not realise this could develop into Type 1.
Thank you again, so glad I found this forum.
Kind Regards
Debbie

Hi Debbie
Welcome to the forum!
It would be very helpful to know what a typical day's meals are for you.
Type 2 does not turn into Type 1, if you were Type 1 it would be that you were initially misdiagnosed, which is not uncommon.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Debbie6668

Yes diabetes doesn’t switch types, but it can be trickier to get the 5ick in the right box for medics than you might imagine.

50% of people with T1 are diagnosed in adulthood. And children are now being diagnosed with T2

People who are carrying extra weight develop T1, and a proportion of people who develop T2 are normal weight or under weight at diagnosis.

As a reminder - assume none of us here has any medical qualifications at all. Having said that, diabetes is a great teacher for improving your ‘pattern spotting’... and after a while there are a few things about intro posts that begin to make members here ponder. And sometimes are guesses aren’t entirely wide of the mark! Even if they end up completely groundless, sometimes it is worth asking the question.

One of the rarer types mentioned, LADA, is a form of diabetes that develops slowly in adulthood. It is autoimmune, just like T1, but the rate of beta cell loss is slower. T2 meds can work in the beginning as there are still enough beta cells for a while. And as it’s rarer it isn’t one that GPs or nurses often think of first.

Keeping a food diary, with carbs, BG levels and activity is a great step for you at this point. More information to base decisions on, and less guesswork 🙂