lionheart101
New Member
Hi,
First time here. My girlfriend is 27 and has been feeling 'off' for about 3 months now, losing weight despite eating loads (and I mean LOADs, I'm a lot bigger than her and she will go plate-for-plate with me!), having no energy, getting regular episodes of thrush. She went to the doctors 4 separate times across the 3 months, the first 2 visits made no connection between the symptoms and just diagnosed stress and prescribed thrush medication, the 3rd visit suggested she may be 'pre-diabetic' based on blood glucose levels but gave no valuable advice because she does not have any of the 'risk' factors - she is healthy weight, eats healthy, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, exercises regularly - so there were no lifestyle elements to actually do anything about! So after another month of feeling bad she went for the 4th visit, once again no immediate action taken, then out of the blue a week later the doctor calls and asks her to attend A&E as her blood sugar was very high (over 20).
They admitted her and decided to keep her in overnight, and another night, and so on, she's been in for 5 days now. They were very quick to jump to the conclusion it was Type1 diabetes and have been infusing her with insulin since she arrived, but it's having no affect on her blood glucose levels, they are actually still going up. They haven't actually explained why they think it is a Type 1 diagnoses.
We've both been very frustrated with the treatment in hospital, she has been put on a general ward and has only seen a doctor once in the 5 days, different nurses come and go and attach insulin to the cannula without explaining why or what dosage, every time they take her blood glucose and it's still way high they just look confused. One nurse even accused her of tampering with the infusion machine! The first two days one of the nurses was very rude and almost aggressive to her, then one morning she came over and said "Oh you're a new diagnosis, we thought you were just managing it badly" then was nicer to her. It's all very un-reassuring.
This morning before breakfast, despite having intravenous insulin for 5 days, her blood glucose was 22.5mmol/L, last night after her dinner it was just 16.5mmol/L - so it's gone UP overnight. All the signs seem to be pointing to the fact this is probably an insulin resistance problem, rather than a lack of insulin issue, we've mentioned this to the nurses but they just nod and smile and do nothing about it.
She is very upset, they are talking about her having to be insulin dependent, teaching her how to inject, telling her about having to notify the DVLA and not drive, but not actually explaining the diagnosis.
Is there actually a conclusive test that is done to identify Type1 (i.e. not able to produce insulin) vs having low levels or a resistance to insulin, or is it all based on blood glucose and lifestyle factors?
Finally, this is both of our first time experiencing the NHS, first time either of us has been into a hospital and we're totally dumfounded by the disorganisation and lack of information. Are we entitled to demand to see a doctor? So far all we get is "the doctor might be along today" - and they haven't turned up in the last 3 days, meanwhile they just keep pumping her full of insulin to no avail.
Any advise would be appreciated!
First time here. My girlfriend is 27 and has been feeling 'off' for about 3 months now, losing weight despite eating loads (and I mean LOADs, I'm a lot bigger than her and she will go plate-for-plate with me!), having no energy, getting regular episodes of thrush. She went to the doctors 4 separate times across the 3 months, the first 2 visits made no connection between the symptoms and just diagnosed stress and prescribed thrush medication, the 3rd visit suggested she may be 'pre-diabetic' based on blood glucose levels but gave no valuable advice because she does not have any of the 'risk' factors - she is healthy weight, eats healthy, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, exercises regularly - so there were no lifestyle elements to actually do anything about! So after another month of feeling bad she went for the 4th visit, once again no immediate action taken, then out of the blue a week later the doctor calls and asks her to attend A&E as her blood sugar was very high (over 20).
They admitted her and decided to keep her in overnight, and another night, and so on, she's been in for 5 days now. They were very quick to jump to the conclusion it was Type1 diabetes and have been infusing her with insulin since she arrived, but it's having no affect on her blood glucose levels, they are actually still going up. They haven't actually explained why they think it is a Type 1 diagnoses.
We've both been very frustrated with the treatment in hospital, she has been put on a general ward and has only seen a doctor once in the 5 days, different nurses come and go and attach insulin to the cannula without explaining why or what dosage, every time they take her blood glucose and it's still way high they just look confused. One nurse even accused her of tampering with the infusion machine! The first two days one of the nurses was very rude and almost aggressive to her, then one morning she came over and said "Oh you're a new diagnosis, we thought you were just managing it badly" then was nicer to her. It's all very un-reassuring.
This morning before breakfast, despite having intravenous insulin for 5 days, her blood glucose was 22.5mmol/L, last night after her dinner it was just 16.5mmol/L - so it's gone UP overnight. All the signs seem to be pointing to the fact this is probably an insulin resistance problem, rather than a lack of insulin issue, we've mentioned this to the nurses but they just nod and smile and do nothing about it.
She is very upset, they are talking about her having to be insulin dependent, teaching her how to inject, telling her about having to notify the DVLA and not drive, but not actually explaining the diagnosis.
Is there actually a conclusive test that is done to identify Type1 (i.e. not able to produce insulin) vs having low levels or a resistance to insulin, or is it all based on blood glucose and lifestyle factors?
Finally, this is both of our first time experiencing the NHS, first time either of us has been into a hospital and we're totally dumfounded by the disorganisation and lack of information. Are we entitled to demand to see a doctor? So far all we get is "the doctor might be along today" - and they haven't turned up in the last 3 days, meanwhile they just keep pumping her full of insulin to no avail.
Any advise would be appreciated!
When people are initially diagnosed as likely Type 1 then they will gradually increase insulin levels to try and find the suitable dose, so it may yet be early days, I'm afraid. The relatively rapid onset do suggest Type 1 to me as they pretty much my symptoms, although mine came on slower, probably because of my age. I was 49, and due to run a marathon that week - I thought it was the training that was making me thirsty (it was summer), and keeping my weight down. I was in 8 days and was frequently in the upper 20s/low 30s, partly I suspect due to type of food I was eating, which may also be contributing in your partner's case - I'd suggest keeping a food diary of the meals she is having, particularly the amount of carbohydrates in them). It then took a few weeks after being discharged before I was getting regular, more reasonable levels and now I am happy to say I have it under good control. Whilst it obviously affects my life, it is a controllable condition, with a great range of knowledge and treatments available, and getting better all the time. There is a very steep learning curve to begin with, but there is little you can't do once you get a handle on it that you couldn't do before. I'm still running, and probably much healthier than I might have been, which may sound surprising, but it has taught me a great deal about how to look after myself better - just trying to offer some honest reassurance, which may not help a great right now, but I hope it will at least offer hope 
