New to it all and very worried

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Greeneyez

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Hello, I'm new here and new to the world of diabetes.

My fiance is 32 and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about 3 years ago (before I met him) and I made him go back to the doctor a couple of weeks ago to have a test to see how things were because they haven't talked to him in ages. It turns out that his diabetes has got a lot worse and he now has to take medication. Not only that, but his eyesight has recently deteriorated.

I never really got involved with his diabetes until now because he had it since before we met. I now can't help feeling a little bit angry with his GP because all he was ever told was to "not eat sugar" so he's stayed away from everything sugary for 3 years. This clearly isn't the correct advice but it was all he was given. He's not very overweight (I don't know anyone who would say he was fat, being totally honest) and if anything has lost weight so I thought he was doing a lot better. Even now, all the doctor said to him at his appointment on Monday was to "lose weight"... nothing more, despite telling him his diabetes is much worse. I wish I'd got involved sooner. This vague advice has led me to do more research.

Reading all the things online about it has really frightened me. It all seems so serious, so much of it, and involving big life changes and I'm now terrified he's going to die, lose limbs, lose his sight etc. Why wouldn't the doctor tell him about this? I'm just so upset I don't know what to do. I've joined this forum and I've printed some stuff off a website about what his diet should be. I need to figure out what checks he needs and MAKE our doctor do something about it. I've said that we should ask the doctor to see a dietician to help us as the "no sugar" thing that his doctor said seems to be completely bogus from what I've read.

We are getting married in a few months, looking forward to the future but now I'm terrified that by then he won't be able to see or something even worse. Reading the info has been hard as well because when you're all panicked about something the words just don't go in.

Gosh, sorry for the long post. He tells me not to worry but as you can tell, I don't think he knows the full severity of the situation because his doctor is so blase about it all. I'm very worried. :(
 
Hi Greeneyez (me too!), welcome to the forum 🙂 Very sorry to hear about the lack of care your partner has received over the years, unfortunately this is quite common with people being given little or no information and expected to just get on with it - appalling! :(

Don't worry though, because here you will find lots of friendly, knowledgeable and experienced people happy to answer your questions and guide you to good, dependable resources. I would suggest looking at our Useful links thread and following some of the links there so you and he can gain a better understanding of how to manage Type 2 diabetes. I would particularly recommend Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter, and getting a copy of Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year by Gretchen Becker - highly recommended by many of our members. Although he is 3 years down the line, the poor information he has been given means that it would be better starting from today as though he was newly-diagnosed. It would also be worth reading What you should expect from the NHS in terms of support to see where his care may be falling short.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have and we will do our best to help! 🙂
 
Hello greeneyez and welcome to the forum. Sorry that you OH has not had much advice.

Did your Dr tell him what his HbA1c was ? Have you been given a meter.

Have a look at the following link and see if your OH can get the GP to give you a referral. It is a course designed for people with type 2 that will explain the condition and give help with management.

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Professi...tructured-Education-for-people-with-Diabetes/
 
Weclome Greeneyez - and sorry you have to be here.

When you say your fiance's eysight has deteriorated, what has happened? Has he been to an optician? Has he had any retinopathy screening? This can happen at an optician or clinic, and usually involves putting drops in eye so pupil becomes bigger, making it easier for optician / technician to look at all parts of retina and / or take a digital photograph. If he's had higher than normal blood glucose levels for some time, then it may be wise to get those under control before changing glasses / contact lens presciption or getting new glasses / CLs.

What medication has been prescribed? Has he started taking i? How is he getting on with it?

Diet is part of the story, but exercise / activity (eg walking, cycling, not necessarily sport / gym etc) is also vital in maintaining good blood glucose levels. Ideally, everyone with type 2 diabetes would get individual help from a dietician, but that doesn't happen in most areas. However, you should ask about local education courses eg DESMOND (Diabetes Education and Self Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed) http://www.desmond-project.org.uk/ or whatever acronyms are used in your area - such courses include aspects such as diet, exercise, medication, complications etc.
 
I'm wondering if he is def a type 2 or been misdiagnosed.

PS welcome to the forum.
 
Thank you for your helpful replies.

I will need to find out exactly what the name of the medication he's been given is (I'm currently not at home) however he told me he has to take two a day with food. I did ask if the doctor had given him a way of measuring the blood sugar levels and he said no.

With regard to his eyesight - he recently and quite suddenly got blurry vision which isn't constant. This was partly why I insisted he get a bloodtest and check-up for his diabetes. He asked the doctor about three weeks ago if he could have a diabetic eyetest and the doctor said that they ask once a year and to wait until then. Because his eyesight was bad he went to Vision Express and got tested and has bought some glasses (which are yet to arrive actually) and the optician checked for the usual things although said that she didn't have the special camera for the diabetic test. Instead she had a look in his eyes manually with a torch. Then when he got called back to the doctor's yesterday to be told his diabetes was "much worse", he mentioned his eyesight and apparently the doctor was concerned and said he would contact the diabetes eyetest people.

Again, telling someone with diabetes who is suffering bad eyesight to wait until the annual test is another example of why I think this doctor has made things worse for my fiance. You really put your life in the hands of these medical professionals and hope that they will care for you. No amount of complaining will bring someone's sight back. I just hope it's not too bad and they can treat it.

I will get us both onto a much healthier diet and sort out more activity. Would you expect us to have a method of measuring blood sugar considering he is now "bad enough" to have been given the tablets? -(I will check what those tablets are... he has them with him).

Thank you again. It's good to hear from people who know what they are talking about. I've lost all faith in the doctor.
 
He also said on Sunday that his hands were tingling. I'm worried this is a bad sign as well. I must read about that somewhere. There's so much to read through though and I get bogged down when trying to find out particular things.

Has anyone heard of tingling hands as a diabetic thing?
 
I am surprised that the optician dispensed glasses.

Vision can vary with fluctuating blood sugar levels - did the optician ask about his diabetic control ? I was told to wait for my labels to stabilise (when first diagnosed) before getting any glasses as it was likely that if I didn't I would have to have got a new prescription.
 
margie: He told the optician he was type 2 diabetic but at the time he wasn't on any medication to help control it. He was only prescribed that yesterday which is why I'm still all in a fluster about it. I'm not sure what you mean about waiting for labels to stabilise. The GP said yesterday he was going to get the medical diabetic eyetest people to phone us for an appointment. I hope he does and maybe they can clear up whether his eye problems are diabetes related or just coincidental.

Just to clarify, he's not had glasses before. First time.
 
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Hi Greeneyez. Welcome 🙂

Just to clarify that a lot of complications associated with high blood glucose (BG) are temporary, as long as the high BG is addressed and it comes down to more reasonable levels (preferably normal) within a reasonable time (non-specific but say a few weeks).

Now he's on meds and you're on a steep learnign curve, he should be able to see some improvement. The tingling and the eyesight issues can resolve themselves but equally, some deterioration can remain. It's obviously impossible to say, but always assume the best outcome.🙂

Do you think he will take it more seriously if you can pass on all of your new found knowledge or does he tend to prefer things as they are ?

It may benefit him to join the forum also and read for himself.🙂

Rob
 
Greeneyez said:
margie: He told the optician he was type 2 diabetic but at the time he wasn't on any medication to help control it. He was only prescribed that yesterday which is why I'm still all in a fluster about it. I'm not sure what you mean about waiting for labels to stabilise. The GP said yesterday he was going to get the medical diabetic eyetest people to phone us for an appointment. I hope he does and maybe they can clear up whether his eye problems are diabetes related or just coincidental.

Just to clarify, he's not had glasses before. First time.
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I think margie meant for his levels to stabilise i.e. for them to reduce to near-normal blood sugar levels. I agree though that he should not have been prescribed glasses as they could be useless in a few weeks if better blood sugar control is gained. The tingling could also be due to high and fluctuating blood sugar levels and may be temporary.

Is there another doctor he could see? This one has already shown a terrible lack of knowledge and care - to be told to wait fr an annual eyetest when you are having problems is dreadful.
 
Welcome to the forum

Sorry to hear your boyfriend has not by the sound of it had the checks he needed.

Before I was diagnosed with type 2 I had tingly toes rather than fingers & once on the meds I upped my exercise and blood sugar became a lot better the tingling went.

My husband(diagnosed a year before me) on his first eye test for retinopathy had background retinopathy & the following year as diet/meds took effect it had cleared up.

I'd suggest you print off the 15 checks list on this site (he won't need all of them) then send him back to GP & ask for all the recent test results and this should highlight any he still needs which the GP should sort.

My GP practise didn't mention education to me but I googled "diabetic education in Oxfordshire" and up came the NHS contact I applied for a course myself and they put me on 1. Very informative on diet especially.

I don't get any testing strips on prescription but took the decision myself to do some self-testing as a way of understanding what my diabetes was doing. I got a free meter from "Abbotts" via their web-site & bought some strips & lancets. I also use their software to download results which means I have all details to hand for appointments at GP practise.

I'd recommend the book Type 2 the first year by Gretchen Baker I got mine via amazon very readable and informative.

Hope you feel like you are getting a handle on this he is lucky to have you on his side. Be kind to yourself.

Regards
Lynne
PS. I tend to write novels when I post so sorry.
 
Thank you everyone.

I have calmed down a bit today after quite an emotional and panicky time yesterday. I will have a look at the books and see about obtaining some testing equipment too.

We talked yesterday about him shifting doctor because I'm concerned his current one takes little interest in diabetes in general. I read the leaflet that came with the tablets he's been given and it said he should not drink any alcohol. The doc didn't mention this so I'm glad I gave it a good read. It's a doctor near where he used to live so he's got a perfect excuse to leave and go to a new doctor because the surgery will be closer to our house now.

I've been going through things online and gathering educational things and he is being serious too - even giving up smoking yesterday which is quite a big thing for him. It will help him that I don't smoke so all smoking things are now in the bin!

Thank you again everyone. You've really helped me calm down and get on the right track. I didn't know where to start at all and got all tied up in knots!
 
Stopping smoking is absolutely the best thing you can do if you have diabetes, so I wish him well! I stopped 17 years ago - best decision I ever made! 🙂
 
Well doen both of you. Expect a bumpy ride with the non-smoking. It can take a cople of weeks of intense grumpiness and mood swings.🙄

Rob
 
Agree on the stop smoking; can be a bit difficult for a few weeks but I was surprised when I did it 6 years ago, how easy it became after those first few weeks. Get through those and its easier thereafter.

He is one lucky guy to have so supportive a partner, well done to you, and good luck changing Drs, best thing to do from the treatment or lack of you seem to have had.
 
Hello Greeneyez. Welcome to the forum. I have to say I'm absolutely disgusted at the uncaring attitude of that GP. The advice "Don't eat sugar" is just, well 😡 The day after I was diagnosed as a type 2, I asked my Diabetic nurse, "With the exception of natural sugars, is a Diabetic diet 100% sugar free?" "No. There is sugar present in practically everything."

The best thing to do is change the GP. Keep on reading about Diabetes by all means. But really your OH needs the care of a Diabetic clinic which would offer him regular check-ups every three or maybe six months. They'll help by offering advice from a dietician, eye care, blood & urine tests and also podiatry.
 
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