I understand what they mean but ...

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helli

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Eighteen years after my diagnosis for Type 1 diabetes, this year, my GP surgery finally caught up with me for bi-annual reviews.
The first was in January where I had a hba1c test and a phone call with the surgery based DSN who asked me if I had ever had a hypo.

This week, they took a little more blood and sent me a text to say

"Just to let you know that your diabetes level is stable and remains in the pre-diabetic range.
Please do continue to pay close attention to activity levels and diet and attend for annual monitoring of this to ensure you do not drift into the diabetic range."

My results are good and I understand the message because I read up on diabetes. But is the concept of "pre-diabetic range" applicable to Type 1? Would this make sense to most people with Type 1? How relevant is keeping an eye on my diet rather than correctly managing my insulin dose?

I know having Type 1 I am in the minority of diabetics in my surgery but it would be nice to think they don't just lump all of us into one category.

For now I will be grateful for the tests and results and just a little bit peeved by the message.
 
I’d send them feedback, not a complaint but a suggestion of improvements to their text messaging so that the message is more clearly worded. We understand that it’s meaning your control is great, but the average person might misunderstand and think they are now prediabetic not diabetic.
 
I agree that it’s potentially confusing for people. Just in the same way that some people believe they will change from being T2 to T1 if they start on insulin.

Sounds like a message that was intended for people with T2?

Would certainly be good to send them some feedback I think 🙂
 
Rob Oldfield said:
I have to ask: how did you answer the 'Have you had a hypo?' question?
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Something like "Any person with Type 1 who answers no to that question is either lying or has very high numbers."

She also asked me which basal insulin I use. I told her I don't use a different basal insulin and then had to explain how an insulin pump worked.

The experience taught me to take the blood tests, read my results online and don't waste my time or her's with an appointment unless the results show any problems.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
I agree that it’s potentially confusing for people. Just in the same way that some people believe they will change from being T2 to T1 if they start on insulin.

Sounds like a message that was intended for people with T2?

Would certainly be good to send them some feedback I think 🙂
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I think it could confuse T2s too though? An a1c in the prediabetic range doesn’t mean you’ve changed from diabetic to prediabetic, even if T2, so would be confusing to people who haven’t been told much
 
I do 3 monthly private hba1c’s as my doctors are rubbish, the company I use have all my medical info, the last one they did the message from the doctor was, your hba1c indicates you are not at risk of diabetes. Brilliant what have I been worrying about :rofl:
 
Lucyr said:
I think it could confuse T2s too though? An a1c in the prediabetic range doesn’t mean you’ve changed from diabetic to prediabetic, even if T2, so would be confusing to people who haven’t been told much
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My concern for someone with Type 1 is they may think being in pre diabetic range means they are no longer diabetic so don’t need to take their insulin.
For someone with type 2, this is less of a risk and, I guess, the author of the message thinks they covered the type 2 treatment by mentioning activity levels and diet.
 
Lucyr said:
I think it could confuse T2s too though? An a1c in the prediabetic range doesn’t mean you’ve changed from diabetic to prediabetic, even if T2, so would be confusing to people who haven’t been told much
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That does seem to be a question people ask, 'once diagnosed as Type 2 diabetic if my HbA1C goes below 48mmol/mol am I then only prediabetic'.
 
I wouldn't feel the need to be very gentle with them. It's just abject incompetence, and they should fix it.
 
It sounds like a Type 2 message and why I don’t bother going to my. GP’s ‘expert’ nurse for diabetes. I would contact them though - firstly to check they have your type correctly recorded everywhere, then to tell them their message is not appropriate for Type 1s.
 
Prediabetic range you have to laugh.

Have nothing to do with gp surgery apart from having bloods taken for hospital pump clinic to check, been that way for past 10 years since making switch to pump.

Past experience is they know very little about type 1 so happy to be under hospital, once got told by gp that only needed to test 2x day so shows how little he knew.
 
Sounds liks someone thinks that you are T2! Any diabetic over the age of 20 MUST be T2 as we all hnow. I was told that I was T2 and had been on insulin for six months by a SDN who was looking at the on-screen record. I corrected her three times -T1 on insulin 40+ years, befor denabsing to know if her hearing was defective.

I was asked if I has ever had a hypo after almast 50 years on insulin, folowed by "so you have had an alergic reaction"
A hypo is NOT an alergic reaction.
 
Thankfully, my records are clear and my surgery knows I have Type 1
I think I was lucky when first diagnosed that Type 1 was assumed straight away despite being in my 30s. The reasons were suspect "you must have Type 1 because you are too slim to be type 2" but good enough for me. I was given an appointment at the diabetes clinic at the hospital and been treated with insulin (and remained slim and active) since.

My main treatment is via this clinic but my GP surgery offers 6 monthly reviews which, this year I decided to attend. This was partially out of curiosity but mostly to check that I had no complications as the hospital based diabetes clinic was behind with their annual appointments (my last one was march 2021 and my next one is August).
 
Gosh, I'm impressed, you have apparently got a GP surgery who communicates with you!
 
helli said:
My concern for someone with Type 1 is they may think being in pre diabetic range means they are no longer diabetic so don’t need to take their insulin.
For someone with type 2, this is less of a risk and, I guess, the author of the message thinks they covered the type 2 treatment by mentioning activity levels and diet.
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Not really less of a risk? A type 2 who normally takes insulin can have DKA if they stop taking it, same as a type 1.
 
Lucyr said:
Not really less of a risk? A type 2 who normally takes insulin can have DKA if they stop taking it, same as a type 1.
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Apologies. I incorrectly assumed insulin was only used by someone with type 2 to bring down higher levels and would not be used by someone with pre diabetic HbA1C levels.
Thank you for correcting my misunderstanding.
 
helli said:
Apologies. I incorrectly assumed insulin was only used by someone with type 2 to bring down higher levels and would not be used by someone with pre diabetic HbA1C levels.
Thank you for correcting my misunderstanding.
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No problem. If you use insulin to bring down high hba1c and reach the great control of prediabetic levels, then just stop taking it, you’ll just end up back where you started at high bgs.
 
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