Hello,
I hope you’re all well.
I have yet to receive an official diagnosis as the results of my antibody test haven't arrived, though I am currently being treated as a T1D.
In February 2018 I was diagnosed with Crohn’s at the age of 25. For those who don’t know, Crohn’s is another autoimmune disease which causes inflammation of the digestive tract. Fortunately, it’s never caused any issues (touch wood). In late 2019 I noticed that I was becoming increasingly thirsty, but my Crohn’s consultant told me that this was a common symptom of Crohn’s and told me to just drink plenty of water. Throughout 2020 my thirst increased, and I was finding myself having to go to the toilet between 6-10 times a day. Again, my Crohn’s consultant told me that this was a symptom of the disease. During the summer of 2020 I began to lose weight unintentionally. I weighed 12st 12lbs in June 2020, and by February 2021 I weighed 11st 2lbs. Again, my Crohn’s consultant told me...you get the picture. It seems these symptoms had nothing to do with Crohn's.
By October 2021 I had developed further health issues. I was feeling very lethargic and struggled to eat. I was falling asleep during my lunch breaks, and would have to take at least an hour-long nap at the end of the working day. By this point my weight had dropped further – I now weighed 9st 2lbs, which is nothing for somebody who’s 6’0”.
Later that month I learned that several distant relatives have haemochromatosis, which can cause diabetes, so I finally had my blood tested in late November, and in early December I was told that my HbA1C was 110 mmol/mol, and was asked to attend a meeting with a diabetes specialist nurse a few days before Christmas. I attended this meeting, and within a few minutes they tested my blood ketone levels, which read 6.2 mmol/L. I was taken to A&E, and within an hour my blood ketone levels had increased to 7.2 mmol/L, and my blood glucose was 20.3 mmol/L. At this point I weighed 8st 8lbs.
After five days in hospital (including Christmas day) I was discharged. In the fortnight since then I’ve regained quite a bit of weight (now weigh 9st 12lbs) and strength, don’t feel the need to drink anywhere near as much as I did beforehand, and my average blood glucose level last week was 7.7 mmol/L (which is far better than it was, but there’s obviously plenty of room still left for improvement). I'm not falling asleep during the daytime either. The only issue I’ve had since being discharged from hospital have been night sweats. I’ve never experienced them before, but most nights I now wake up sometime between 03:00 and 05:00 absolutely dripping in cold sweat. I’ve read that hypos can cause this, but when I measure my blood glucose levels at 08:00 they’re usually high - almost always between 8.5 to 9 mmol/L. Am going to take a Ryvita right before I go to bed tonight to see if that does anything.
I am now using Novorapid (8 Units before breakfast, 10 Units before lunch and dinner) and Toujeo (20 Units). I have been told that I’ll soon be contacted by a diabetes nutritionist and will be taught to carb count. I am scheduled to attend a Libre 2 presentation later this week, and will hopefully receive a Libre 2 monitor very soon.
Sorry for such a long introduction. I’m looking forward to learning more about this disease. If you can recommend any resources to help me manage my blood glucose levels, or provide me with any advice, it’d be gratefully received.
I hope you’re all well.
I have yet to receive an official diagnosis as the results of my antibody test haven't arrived, though I am currently being treated as a T1D.
In February 2018 I was diagnosed with Crohn’s at the age of 25. For those who don’t know, Crohn’s is another autoimmune disease which causes inflammation of the digestive tract. Fortunately, it’s never caused any issues (touch wood). In late 2019 I noticed that I was becoming increasingly thirsty, but my Crohn’s consultant told me that this was a common symptom of Crohn’s and told me to just drink plenty of water. Throughout 2020 my thirst increased, and I was finding myself having to go to the toilet between 6-10 times a day. Again, my Crohn’s consultant told me that this was a symptom of the disease. During the summer of 2020 I began to lose weight unintentionally. I weighed 12st 12lbs in June 2020, and by February 2021 I weighed 11st 2lbs. Again, my Crohn’s consultant told me...you get the picture. It seems these symptoms had nothing to do with Crohn's.
By October 2021 I had developed further health issues. I was feeling very lethargic and struggled to eat. I was falling asleep during my lunch breaks, and would have to take at least an hour-long nap at the end of the working day. By this point my weight had dropped further – I now weighed 9st 2lbs, which is nothing for somebody who’s 6’0”.
Later that month I learned that several distant relatives have haemochromatosis, which can cause diabetes, so I finally had my blood tested in late November, and in early December I was told that my HbA1C was 110 mmol/mol, and was asked to attend a meeting with a diabetes specialist nurse a few days before Christmas. I attended this meeting, and within a few minutes they tested my blood ketone levels, which read 6.2 mmol/L. I was taken to A&E, and within an hour my blood ketone levels had increased to 7.2 mmol/L, and my blood glucose was 20.3 mmol/L. At this point I weighed 8st 8lbs.
After five days in hospital (including Christmas day) I was discharged. In the fortnight since then I’ve regained quite a bit of weight (now weigh 9st 12lbs) and strength, don’t feel the need to drink anywhere near as much as I did beforehand, and my average blood glucose level last week was 7.7 mmol/L (which is far better than it was, but there’s obviously plenty of room still left for improvement). I'm not falling asleep during the daytime either. The only issue I’ve had since being discharged from hospital have been night sweats. I’ve never experienced them before, but most nights I now wake up sometime between 03:00 and 05:00 absolutely dripping in cold sweat. I’ve read that hypos can cause this, but when I measure my blood glucose levels at 08:00 they’re usually high - almost always between 8.5 to 9 mmol/L. Am going to take a Ryvita right before I go to bed tonight to see if that does anything.
I am now using Novorapid (8 Units before breakfast, 10 Units before lunch and dinner) and Toujeo (20 Units). I have been told that I’ll soon be contacted by a diabetes nutritionist and will be taught to carb count. I am scheduled to attend a Libre 2 presentation later this week, and will hopefully receive a Libre 2 monitor very soon.
Sorry for such a long introduction. I’m looking forward to learning more about this disease. If you can recommend any resources to help me manage my blood glucose levels, or provide me with any advice, it’d be gratefully received.
