New diagnosis

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Hi there,

My story is that at the end November 22 was diagnosed when a nurse came to give me insulin injection, which I rejected, in hospital with blood sugar of 28. I was in for a catheter fitting due to my prostrate , I'd been medication for 6 years and lost weight from 78kg to 72kg in that period. Saw my doctor early following hba1c yeast was put on metformin slow release and statins, advise a low carb diet, though I've just reduced portions. My weight is now stable at 70kg. With metformin I myself tired, sleeping during the day, though for the last month , I've changed from after breakfast and after (6pm) to (6pm) to midnight/1am and find I'm feeling a lot better.

So my weight is stable now though not strictly a low carb diet in order to stem my weight loss.

I've recently had a second hba1c test and waiting to seeing the practice nurse on the result.

Why isn't there advice for those like me are not overweight with no need to go on a weight loss diet.
 
Welcome to the forum @kenrw8

We have a few forum members who share your experience of a diagnosis at normal weight or even underweight. Hopefully they will be along to share their experiences.

Did they investigate your cPeptide to see how much insulin you are currently producing?

Unintentional weight loss, a fairly rapid onset of disease and very high BG levels at diagnosis (28 is a significantly high level) can indicate an autoimmune form of diabetes which is a sort of slow-onset T1 (LADA) and which can be confused with T2, as it often comes on later in life.

Let us know how your follow-up HbA1c works out, and do give your surgery a nudge to explore other diabetes types if your BG doesn’t respond as expected to oral meds.
 
Thanks for quick response.

What is cPeptide, not had that test. Just checked what is and no not had cPeptide.

I had my op day before new year eve, told not to take metformin whilst in hospital., blood pricks , as performed for reading of 28, which fell to 15 on discharge 3 days later. Whilst in for op BG was 9.8 down to 9.3 on discharge . Discharge was supposed to be next day but had urine infection so discharge was 4 days later , BG 9.3.

Not had any blood pricks since hospital discharge , except for hba1c following day of discharge, that was week 1 of 23 with second 1.5 weeks ago.
 
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kenrw8 said:
What is cPeptide, not had that test. Just checked what is and no not had cPeptide.
Click to expand...

CPeptide is a substance that is made by the pancreas alongside insulin production. So as I understand it, the greater your amount of beta-cell mass and the higher your level of insulin production, the higher your level of cPeptide.

In ‘classic’ T2, early after diagnosis insulin resistance can lead to excess insulin being produced by the pancreas, because it isn’t being used very effectively. Whereas with autoimmune diabetes, reduced beta-cell mass and fewer islet cells can give low cPeptide results. It gets a bit more complicated, and often needs experienced clinical interpretation, but it’s one of the checks that can shed extra light on atypical diabetes presentations.
 
Thanks,

You given me good info to discuss with my practice nurse.


Regards

Ken
 
Well had my Diabetes review Hba1c is 112 down from 121 in December. cPeptide is not available to me.
So agreed to maintain my reduce portion diet and next review in 6 months.

Also waiting Diabetes eye test results in 3-4 weeks.
 
Thats still high...mine was about that high on diagnosis and they sent me straight to a and e. And they intend to do nothing to bring it down?
I'd be questioning that. T1 or T2, that sort of a1c will do you harm.
Get yourself cpeptide/GAD tests
 
You mentioned 'not strictly low carb' in your previous post so I wonder if you are still having too much carbohydrate as your HbA1C has not gone down as much as one might have expected. Of course that could be an indicator of Type 1 or LADA depending on what your diet is like.
Perhaps you would like to post examples of typical meals you have and people might spot some foods which could be the problem.
Have they offered you any additional medication as with blood glucose levels so high metformin may not be sufficient.
Did they say why the c-peptide and GAD antibody tests were not available, you should ask for referral to your diabetic specialist clinic where they could do it.
 
Typically meals of not big portions also ingredients are gluten free as wife is gluten intolerant and has been many years. So we are both gf and also get sugar free.
breakfast : rice crispies, bran flakes with fruit, oat porridge.
Dinner: Soup with toasted brown bread, baked beans with sausages, cooked meat or tuna sandwich, salad with cooked meat or tuna, with 50/50 bread, egg beans with potato cake. Homemade veg soup,
Tea: cottage/sheppard pie, broth with veg, potato's and as is, with Chicken or pork or beef, chicken chorizo and rice, chicken or pork or beef stir fry, garlic chicken or fishcake with boiled potatoes, carrots and/or, cabbage , Brussels sprouts, peas , cauliflower
Sometimes followed by jelly and fruit or banana's with custard
We also share gf confectionary treats
No additional medication, cpeptide just not available from my surgery. I'll ask doctor for a referral.
 
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I can see from those foods you are mentioning that you are having a lot of high carb foods, even though the portions may be moderate. But cereals, bread, baked beans, potatoes, rice, jelly unless the sugarfree, bananas and custard unless actually made with eggs and milk or cream are all high carb foods and some may manage some of them but not all at once.
Gluten free does not necessarily mean low carbohydrate.
The suggested amount of carbs that people should be aiming at is no more than 130g total carbs per day and I suspect from your menu you may be well over that.
Keeping a food diary with an estimate of how many carbs would help you see how close you are to that and also provide some evidence for your diabetic nurse that if your intake of carbs are low that you may need to be referred to the diabetic clinic for those additional tests.
I would seriously look at the carb intake as a priority. No good taking more and more medication whilst still having the very foods which convert to glucose.
 
Thank You for your constructive comments.

I'll try to take onboard taking out suggestions, but I don't want to lose any more weight, the current foods has maintained my weight of 68.8kg, bmi 24.3. Also it would mean an added expense two lots of food , low carb and gluten free.
I dropped from 72kg to 68kg december and maintained current weight since new year.
So with respect I'll keep to my current regime.
 
kenrw8 said:
Thank You for your constructive comments.

I'll try to take onboard taking out suggestions, but I don't want to lose any more weight, the current foods has maintained my weight of 68.8kg, bmi 24.3. Also it would mean an added expense two lots of food , low carb and gluten free.
I dropped from 72kg to 68kg december and maintained current weight since new year.
So with respect I'll keep to my current regime.
Click to expand...
You can have more protein and healthy fats and that can help in halting weight loss.
You would benefit from testing your blood glucose with a home monitor to check out what effect the high carb meals are having. Testing before you eat and after 2 hours and aiming at no more than 2-3mmol/l increase in the first instance and if your levels come down then no more than 8-8.5mmol/l after 2 hours. Together with an estimate of the carbs in your meal that would also provide some evidence for your diabetic nurse.
I felt I had been a bit harsh in my comments as it sometimes not recognised by GPs or diabetic nurses that a low carb approach can be very successful in reducing blood glucose and people are poorly advised.
 
I'm now cataloging a foods carb list that are also gluten free as an aide memoir.

Your weren't harsh with your comments just honest
 
kenrw8 said:
Typically meals of not big portions also ingredients are gluten free as wife is gluten intolerant and has been many years. So we are both gf and also get sugar free.
breakfast : rice crispies, bran flakes with fruit, oat porridge.
Dinner: Soup with toasted brown bread, baked beans with sausages, cooked meat or tuna sandwich, salad with cooked meat or tuna, with 50/50 bread, egg beans with potato cake. Homemade veg soup,
Tea: cottage/sheppard pie, broth with veg, potato's and as is, with Chicken or pork or beef, chicken chorizo and rice, chicken or pork or beef stir fry, garlic chicken or fishcake with boiled potatoes, carrots and/or, cabbage , Brussels sprouts, peas , cauliflower
Sometimes followed by jelly and fruit or banana's with custard
We also share gf confectionary treats
No additional medication, cpeptide just not available from my surgery. I'll ask doctor for a referral.
Click to expand...
I just needed to take a minute to recover from your post - I am really shocked that you eat so much carbohydrate - I can't imagine what your blood glucose must be like after one of those meals plus treats.
Please - If you get a blood glucose monitor and check your levels it might help you believe that you are not doing yourself any favours by eating those foods.
If you want to maintain your weight then go for protein and the natural fats which come with it. Meat, fish, eggs and cheese, full fat yoghurt - eat low carb options such as swede, salad, stir fry, mixed veges and mixed berries from the frozen aisle, mushrooms are good.
There are many low carb recipes for baked buns and cakes, low carb bread is good if it is handled gently.
Take a look on the website lowcarblondoner for recipes.
I have eaten low carb for 5 years and find it a great diet, I stay under 40 gm of carbs a day and - as a classic type 2 I see stable blood glucose numbers and only drop my weight when I go off galivanting with the morris dancers. I am still overweight after years of over eating carbs, but my waist is around 12 inches smaller, however I am noticeably stronger than I was, and a lot happier. My weight just drifts very slowly and gently towards what it ought to be and I am sure that if I began to eat 3 times a day rather than the twice I have settled on, my weight would be stable.
 
Thanks for the reply

I accept the comments you've made but you advising a veg diet , to me that's a step to far, I'm already as I'm concerned eating enough veg, for tea meal we have at least three of these Brussels, cabbage, carrots, sweet potato, potatoes, parsnips. As for salad I have small box salad on a Saturday from local market deli. Other than that I've presently no intention to increase this intake. I'm also not the best in taking medication , in fact I feel better on days when I miss metformin. I asked for different meds but told metformin is the best for me. And told the nurse I'm going to cut my dose to one a day , after evening meal, and have second dose every other day at 6-7 hours later as this improves me feeling better during the day. I'll look at my other foods I'm currently eating and reduce portion or find alternatives that get me to circa 150g. Going look at protein foods.
 
I think @Drummer was meaning was having more varied selection of veg instead of the starchy veg like potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips as there are lower carb alternatives like swede, butternut squash, celeriac which can replace the others. There are other green veg like broccoli, green beans, mangetout, spinach to expand your veg options.
You may get less effect from the metformin if you take it mid meal or if you haven't already ask for the slow release version.
Pasta from edamame or black beans is gluten free but also lower carb than normal pasta so that may be an option instead of rice or potatoes.
 
Yes I'm aware of them veg alternative, but that'll mean that'll change change family diet.

Thanks everyone for their advise and comments, don't think this forum is right for me, so I've request my account removal.

Again thanks I hope all your members the best for the future.
 
I'm aghast that your nurse has not added another level of medication with an HbA1c that high and to sign you off for 6 months instead of rechecking in 3, just seems negligent when your levels are still very high risk.
I appreciate what you are saying about diet and I really hope you will stay with the forum because I suspect you need some support to get the right treatment. I would be happier if you had a means of testing for ketones with your levels being so high. You can buy Ketostix which you dip in your urine for about £5 for a pot of 50 at a pharmacy or online. If you get readings above 1 then please seek urgent medical advice because you could be at risk of Diabetic Ketoacidosis which is when the blood become acidic and toxic and can lead to organ failure and coma.
Please seek urgent medical help if you start to feel unwell with abdominal pain, nausea or respiratory distress. Take care of yourself. Wishing you well.
 
I think peoples comments are out of concern for your welfare and concern that you have not been given the support you need from your GP or diabetic nurse.
 
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