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Squiggles

Squiggles

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Type 2
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Hi, I'm new here. I was diagnosed today with type 2, and to say I'm stressing a bit is an understatement. My GP is starting me off with meds but my blood sugar levels are so high that she said it was very likely I'll have to move on to insulin - fantastic as I have a fear of needles! I'm also a fibromyalgia warrior so I have to deal with that on a daily basis too. 🙄 Anyway, enough of the pity party - I hope to chat with some great people here and get help, advice and a community who knows what I am going through.

Have a good day if you can 😎
 
Squiggles said:
Hi, I'm new here. I was diagnosed today with type 2, and to say I'm stressing a bit is an understatement. My GP is starting me off with meds but my blood sugar levels are so high that she said it was very likely I'll have to move on to insulin - fantastic as I have a fear of needles! I'm also a fibromyalgia warrior so I have to deal with that on a daily basis too. 🙄 Anyway, enough of the pity party - I hope to chat with some great people here and get help, advice and a community who knows what I am going through.

Have a good day if you can 😎
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum
Would you like to say a bit more about your diagnosis, were you having symptoms or was it just a routine check. I hope they told you what your HbA1C is as that is important to know, the actual number not just high, very high etc and what medication have you been prescribed as that will affect what dietary changes it is safe to make.
It is not given that you will need to go onto insulin as many manage to reduce blood glucose by a combination of diet and oral medication.
 
Squiggles said:
Hi, I'm new here. I was diagnosed today with type 2, and to say I'm stressing a bit is an understatement. My GP is starting me off with meds but my blood sugar levels are so high that she said it was very likely I'll have to move on to insulin - fantastic as I have a fear of needles! I'm also a fibromyalgia warrior so I have to deal with that on a daily basis too. 🙄 Anyway, enough of the pity party - I hope to chat with some great people here and get help, advice and a community who knows what I am going through.

Have a good day if you can 😎
Click to expand...
Hello and welcome 🙂

The days and weeks after diagnosis are tough. I was shocked, felt hopeless, and went into denial for a while - 'Maybe the lab mixed up my blood sample?' - that kind of thing. Learning about the concept of remission and striving for it gave me hope and purpose.

I was also told by my GP in October that I might need to go on insulin. A few weeks ago the same doctor wanted to reduce my current medication because he was worried that my blood glucose might get too low. No insulin for me any time soon. Between those two appointments all I did was lose a lot of weight. Losing a lot of weight fast is hard, no question, but so long as you're not stick thin at present it might, maybe, be the single most effective action you can take in the short term. It doesn't work for everyone, but it works for many. If weight loss is not an option then there are changes to diet that can also yield very good results. There is hope, and hope is a powerful thing 🙂

Very best of luck
 
But - you might already have loads of insulin in your blood, as a type 2, but still have high blood glucose and a poor hysterical pancreas being totally ignored despite all its efforts.
What works well for quite a few ordinary type 2s is to evaluate your intake of carbs and get hold of a blood glucose tester (I used a tee2+ from spirit healthcare) make a shopping list of low carb options and alternatives and plan on reducing your carb intake just a little each day - doing it all at once can be a problem if starting at a high level. Stock up on things you can eat, the proteins and fats.
If it doesn't work there is obviously something more interesting going on. You could still be a type 2, but we're not all the same.
I found I had lost a lot of weight quite unintentionally early on, just by working on normal blood glucose levels. I don't seem to have any trouble keeping my weight stable.
 
Welcome to the forum @Squiggles

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. But glad you have joined us!

Do you live with overweight? Have you unintentionally lost weight recently? Do you have any autoimmune conditions in your close family? Any family history of T2?

I’m struck by the rapid-onset of your diabetes diagnosis. It’s not impossible for this to happen in T2, but diabetes can be a tricksy beast, and there are other rarer forms that some GPs may not immediately consider. For example, there’s a form of autoimmune diabetes that develops more slowly in adulthood called LADA, which can be muddled with T2 in the early stages - but which involves beta-cell destruction and reauires insulin more rapidly than T2 usually would.

If you have some ‘atypical’ aspects of your clinical presentation, it might be worth getting your Dr to screen for diabetes antibodies, and measure cPeptide. cPep will show whether you are insulin resistant and producing lots as in T2, or insulin deficient through autoimmune attack which might suggest LADA or T1.
 
Leadinglights said:
Welcome to the forum
Would you like to say a bit more about your diagnosis, were you having symptoms or was it just a routine check. I hope they told you what your HbA1C is as that is important to know, the actual number not just high, very high etc and what medication have you been prescribed as that will affect what dietary changes it is safe to make.
It is not given that you will need to go onto insulin as many manage to reduce blood glucose by a combination of diet and oral medication.
Click to expand...
I was diagnosed as part of a regular check up I get for my fibro and I was wondering if I was going through the change, as I'm that age. Hence the blood tests. My current numbers are 94mmol/10.8%. I've been given metformin and empagliflozin, and I'm staggering my intake going up to the dose prescribed. I've started a Diabetes Diary, making sure I take my meds, monitoring for any side effects and making small adjustments to my diet. 🙂
 
Drummer said:
But - you might already have loads of insulin in your blood, as a type 2, but still have high blood glucose and a poor hysterical pancreas being totally ignored despite all its efforts.
What works well for quite a few ordinary type 2s is to evaluate your intake of carbs and get hold of a blood glucose tester (I used a tee2+ from spirit healthcare) make a shopping list of low carb options and alternatives and plan on reducing your carb intake just a little each day - doing it all at once can be a problem if starting at a high level. Stock up on things you can eat, the proteins and fats.
If it doesn't work there is obviously something more interesting going on. You could still be a type 2, but we're not all the same.
I found I had lost a lot of weight quite unintentionally early on, just by working on normal blood glucose levels. I don't seem to have any trouble keeping my weight stable.
Click to expand...
Th weight loss thing is definitely a must for me - I am a lot overweight, have had spinal surgery and have hip problems so yup! A skinnier me would be an improvement all round 😛
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Welcome to the forum @Squiggles

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. But glad you have joined us!

Do you live with overweight? Have you unintentionally lost weight recently? Do you have any autoimmune conditions in your close family? Any family history of T2?

I’m struck by the rapid-onset of your diabetes diagnosis. It’s not impossible for this to happen in T2, but diabetes can be a tricksy beast, and there are other rarer forms that some GPs may not immediately consider. For example, there’s a form of autoimmune diabetes that develops more slowly in adulthood called LADA, which can be muddled with T2 in the early stages - but which involves beta-cell destruction and reauires insulin more rapidly than T2 usually would.

If you have some ‘atypical’ aspects of your clinical presentation, it might be worth getting your Dr to screen for diabetes antibodies, and measure cPeptide. cPep will show whether you are insulin resistant and producing lots as in T2, or insulin deficient through autoimmune attack which might suggest LADA or T1.
Click to expand...
Thanks Everyday. Yes, I am overweight, and I have a family history of T2 (mum). I had blood tests recently for fibro/hormonal changes and obviously a BG test is tagged onto many of those tests. I have a full exam (what I call an MOT) in the first week of March where I will have the chance to discuss things with my diabetic nurse so will certainly raise the question of further tests to make sure we have the correct type of diabetes.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Welcome to the forum @Squiggles

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. But glad
If you have some ‘atypical’ aspects of your clinical presentation, it might be worth getting your Dr to screen for diabetes antibodies, and measure cPeptide. cPep will show whether you are insulin resistant and producing lots as in T2, or insulin deficient through autoimmune attack which might suggest LADA or T1.
Click to expand...

This is an excellent point. A friend was automatically diagnosed as Type II despite being 5' 11" and 12 stone. Max'd out on Metformin his BGs remained high and he could barely leave the house because of the side effects. He finally got a referral to an endocrinologist. Result he is Type 1.5 (LADA). Fifteen years later he remains well.
 
Thanks for the welcome everyone. The shock of diagnosis has worn off now, I'm into my second week of Metformin and my first couple of days of the empagliflozin. The side effects are.... 'interesting'... I didn't know wind could smell so eggy without actually consuming eggs... 😱
 
At least it is just wind! 😉 There were a few times when I was out horse riding that I didn't dare let rip in case it wasn't just wind 😱 and/or frightened the horse! The colicky trapped wind pain was better than the alternatives!
I also turned out to be a misdiagnosed Type 1.... There are quite a few of us on the forum.
 
rebrascora said:
At least it is just wind! 😉 There were a few times when I was out horse riding that I didn't dare let rip in case it wasn't just wind 😱 and/or frightened the horse! The colicky trapped wind pain was better than the alternatives!
I also turned out to be a misdiagnosed Type 1.... There are quite a few of us on the forum.
Click to expand...
I get that. Since starting the second round of metformin I've taken to passing my gas on the loo just in case - lucky for me I have a downstairs loo that's only a few steps away from my couch 😛
 
Welcome to the forum, it's a fantastic place, full of friendly advice and help.

I started off with a very high HbA1c and went into a bit of a panic but things can be changed. First of all, take some time to process what you have been told and work out a plan how you want to proceed. You have been put on medication but that will only help to a degree.

If you have weight to lose, that will contribute massively to reducing your BG levels and take the strain of both your pancreas and liver, not to mention your other vital organs.

My plan, following experiences on here, was to go low carb to lower by blood glucose. That was my priority. As a very welcome side effect however, going low carb also contributed to a massive amount of weight loss for me. Good luck with whatever you decide and remember to keep logging in 🙂
 
Side effects of Metformin (that might be better being called Metfartin) - people often find these wear off after a fortnight/3 weeks ish of starting them and the same when upping their dose of em BUT! if they don't wear off, back to the GP and request being swapped to 'Slow Release' Metformin instead, which can help.
 
MikeyBikey said:
This is an excellent point. A friend was automatically diagnosed as Type II despite being 5' 11" and 12 stone. Max'd out on Metformin his BGs remained high and he could barely leave the house because of the side effects. He finally got a referral to an endocrinologist. Result he is Type 1.5 (LADA). Fifteen years later he remains well.
Click to expand...
It was the same for me, after a couple of years on increasing Metformin doses GP realised it wasn’t working and bmi was 21 he needed to refer me. LADA was soon confirmed. Been on insulin for 10 years now. If you get a chance to DAFNE take it, I found it really helpful though carb counting take effort but worth it.
 
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