Help and Advice Needed

[Jenwren]

Hi I’m Jennie, I have so many questions to ask and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

So I don’t officially have a diagnosis yet but I’m told I will get this after a second blood test.
I had a health check blood test done and my blood sugar level came back as 75, I have never been told I was pre diabetic and I have had blood tests done more than most due to surgeries and a spinal injury I’ve had for 16 years, I had a major abdominal surgery in June last year and was told I had low potassium levels and given medication short term but no follow up.
Being proactive I got myself the finger prick test set and have checked my glucose 3 times a day, I wasn’t eating well before this high blood reading but I’ve been very strict this week, hardly eaten anything compared to normal.
My readings are still high though, this morning pre food or drink it was 10.7, before bed it was 12.8, the lowest reading I’ve had all week is 7.0 highest reading 16.2.

I’ve ordered ketone tests strips so I can check that.

Should I be worried? Do I need to get urgent treatment to lower blood sugar or can it wait two weeks till I get the next blood test done ?
Do they usually test c peptide with T2 as I’m wondering if the pancreas has been affected by my most recent surgery?

Thanks in advance everyone

 

[Docb]

Hi @Jenwren and welcome to the forum.

Interpreting finger prick readings is not straightforward because the values vary a lot depending very much on what you have eaten and when you ate it. The "75" reading you were given is almost certainly an HbA1c result. This is not a measurement of your blood glucose but is a measurement of something related to your blood glucose levels over the last few months. 75 is high but by no means a forum record and the finger prick results you have are consistent with it so it is likely your second blood test will confirm the first. Guidelines say do to two tests to confirm a diabetes diagnosis and so your GP is following the rule book before giving a formal diagnosis. It is highly unlikely your GP will ask for c peptide unless there is good reason to suggest pancreas damage from your surgery might be the root cause or that your presentation is atypical.

Should you be worried? My answer to that is no. Diabetes is a serious condition but with a bit of understanding combined with dogged determination it can be controlled without it becoming a dominating feature of your life. If you read around the forum you will find many members who have successfully got their glucose levels down to "normal" levels from levels much higher than yours. You will see that different members have used different ways of getting there, emphasising that you need to work out a plan that will suit you. We can help you with that.

Above all, ask questions about anything you do not understand. No question is considered too silly on here. We have all been where you are now and know how confusing things can be at the start.

 

[Lucyr]

Should I be worried? Do I need to get urgent treatment to lower blood sugar or can it wait two weeks till I get the next blood test done ?
Do they usually test c peptide with T2 as I’m wondering if the pancreas has been affected by my most recent surgery?

I’d say your a1c and fingerpricks do suggest you’re diabetic but they’re not “can’t wait 2 weeks and need urgent treatment” high. Plenty of diabetics have far higher levels than you’re currently seeing even when they are on treatment for it.

I’d suggest getting started on any diet, exercise or lifestyle changes you are able to make but wouldn’t be suggesting you need an urgent appointment. If you particularly unwell and can’t wait till the next test and results though then of course seek medical advice.

You won’t get a cpeptide test unless you have a particular reason for needing to be referred to a diabetic specialist and then a specific reason for them to order one. Took me 15 years to convince someone to order one and I was on insulin for almost all that time and diagnosed age 21

 

[Jenwren]

Thanks so much, I have started to make changes in my diet, exercise is more of an issue due to my spinal injury but I will figure something out to do better.

I just didn’t want to get told off for not speaking to GP when I go back for the second tests. ( I tend not to report issues with my health unless I absolutely have to because of CPTSD)

Just seems such a sudden onset when information indicates it’s usually a gradual progression over years. ‍♀️

 

[Leadinglights]

I think there can be a number of triggers which can suddenly increase blood glucose and that would be reflected in an increased HbA1C if it was for 3 months or more previous to the test. Those things can be stress, infection, some medications like steroids or issues with your pancreas.
Getting clued up about diet as that is going to be the thing which will have most impact but I suspect you will be put on some medication like metformin which is normally the first one to be prescribed.
Many find that a low carb approach successful and there is no issues with that if only on metformin. Have a look at this link for some good explanation and some meal ideas and recipes. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Jenwren

Sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis.

Diabetes can be a fickle and contrary foe, and there are several more niche and rarer types than the more obvious type 1 or type 2. So if you have atypical aspects to your presentation, it can be worth keeping an open mind about your classification as your treatment progresses - depending on whether your BG levels respond to whatever diabetes management options you try.

The two main tactics used by forum members living with T2 (alongside any appropriate medications) are either:
1. Weight loss (BG levels tend to improve as weight reduces) and
2. Carbohydrate management (weight tends to reduce as BG levels normalise)

or a combination of both!

You are right that classic T2 does more usually develop relatively slowly over time. Whereas some other forms of diabetes often have a more rapid onset. Do you have anyone with close family with T2? Any experience of autoimmune conditions? Do you have weight to lose, particularly around the abdomen?

 

[Jenwren]

Welcome to the forum @Jenwren

Sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis.

Diabetes can be a fickle and contrary foe, and there are several more niche and rarer types than the more obvious type 1 or type 2. So if you have atypical aspects to your presentation, it can be worth keeping an open mind about your classification as your treatment progresses - depending on whether your BG levels respond to whatever diabetes management options you try.

The two main tactics used by forum members living with T2 (alongside any appropriate medications) are either:
1. Weight loss (BG levels tend to improve as weight reduces) and
2. Carbohydrate management (weight tends to reduce as BG levels normalise)

or a combination of both!

You are right that classic T2 does more usually develop relatively slowly over time. Whereas some other forms of diabetes often have a more rapid onset. Do you have anyone with close family with T2? Any experience of autoimmune conditions? Do you have weight to lose, particularly around the abdomen?

Yes I definitely have weight to lose from my abdominal area mostly, that’s why I initially thought yeah totally about my poor food choices and sedentary lifestyle recently.
It was as I started reading about it, that it made me question the causation. I’ve had multiple surgeries since 2014 mostly on my abdominal area as well as surgical procedures all requiring blood tests and nothing has to my knowledge ever been flagged as being pre diabetic, never had any issues with blood and I donate as well but not sure if they test blood sugar as part of screening?

The surgery I had in June last year was a large incisional hernia repair and the mesh covers almost all my stomach area with anchor stitch’s all the way around. They did flag low potassium in hospital but it was towards the end of my stay, I had significant swelling on my upper abdominal area. Soon after surgery I started getting pain in my upper left side abdominal area, this continued for several months and I saw the GP several times as this was not usual for me. Eventually as it settled it was just assumed it was an anchor stitch that had possibly gone through a nerve.

So that’s why I’m wondering if it could possibly be a pancreas issue triggered somehow in that surgery, from my understanding I would need the C- Peptide test to establish this. Even if I need to pay for that I would still want to establish this, because I was injured at work and the spinal surgery that went through my abdomen has lead to many other surgeries, if this last surgery was the cause of my issue with diabetes then it’s relevant to my pension payments as it’s linked to the original injury, if not they may try to reduce my pension at some stage blaming my health on diabetes. It’s all a bit complicated on that but just trying to explain my need to know, I wouldn’t be bothered otherwise as the cause doesn’t change the end result of having diabetes.

 

[Jenwren]

Yes I definitely have weight to lose from my abdominal area mostly, that’s why I initially thought yeah totally about my poor food choices and sedentary lifestyle recently.
It was as I started reading about it, that it made me question the causation. I’ve had multiple surgeries since 2014 mostly on my abdominal area as well as surgical procedures all requiring blood tests and nothing has to my knowledge ever been flagged as being pre diabetic, never had any issues with blood and I donate as well but not sure if they test blood sugar as part of screening?

The surgery I had in June last year was a large incisional hernia repair and the mesh covers almost all my stomach area with anchor stitch’s all the way around. They did flag low potassium in hospital but it was towards the end of my stay, I had significant swelling on my upper abdominal area. Soon after surgery I started getting pain in my upper left side abdominal area, this continued for several months and I saw the GP several times as this was not usual for me. Eventually as it settled it was just assumed it was an anchor stitch that had possibly gone through a nerve.

So that’s why I’m wondering if it could possibly be a pancreas issue triggered somehow in that surgery, from my understanding I would need the C- Peptide test to establish this. Even if I need to pay for that I would still want to establish this, because I was injured at work and the spinal surgery that went through my abdomen has lead to many other surgeries, if this last surgery was the cause of my issue with diabetes then it’s relevant to my pension payments as it’s linked to the original injury, if not they may try to reduce my pension at some stage blaming my health on diabetes. It’s all a bit complicated on that but just trying to explain my need to know, I wouldn’t be bothered otherwise as the cause doesn’t change the end result of having diabetes.

No family connections at all with Diabetes. Sorry missed that off.