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lirael17

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Hi all, new here with a few questions.

I was diagnosed with type 2 just before Christmas, I was given metformin (currently taking 4 a day), had a blood test two weeks ago, and when I phoned for the results I was told "everything is normal" and that's it.

My questions are, am I supposed to be doing anything? I've had no other appointments, nothing has really been explained to me, I don't even know what "everything is normal" means.

Should I have had more appointments? I was reading through the site and it keeps mentioning "healthcare team", who or what is that? and diabetes clinic, again what is this?

I'm just thoroughly confused.

Tia for any answers or help.
 
Welcome @lirael17 🙂 Never accept “normal”, “fine” or “Ok” when you need a number! Just ask politely for the actual number. You might be able to see it online or you can phone up and ask.

There are people here with all types of diabetes. I have Type 1 and have a team at the hospital which consists of a consultant and specialist nurses. A Type 2 might just have a nurse at their GP surgery. People say speak to your team as a kind of cover-all general statement.

My clinic is a hospital pump clinic. Your ‘clinic’ might be going on Wednesday afternoons (I just made that up) when the nurse with the special interest in diabetes sees people with Type 2. You might not even have a clinic and just make an appointment as suits you.
 
Welcome @lirael17 - I hope you get a number from the team. @Inka has explained /answered your questions. It may also be in a bit of a muddle at your surgery perhaps, mine is. Since staff were deployed during Covid the teams have changed and been reduced. There are just 2 nurses now I think and unfortunately I haven't yet managed to build the supportive relationship I had with the old team. There should be at least 1 dr/ nurse for diabetic patients. I would definitely contact your surgery.

This forum is a great place to find support and knowledge from lots of friendly fellow diabetics.
 
You need to get more information from your surgery, what your HbA1C was in December that gave you your diagnosis as it must have been high enough to have been prescribed metformin and unless you also made some substantial dietary changes I would be surprised that it would become 'normal' in only 2 months. Brilliant if it has but you need to know the number. It is not usual to have a second test before 3 months after the first.
Once you are diagnosed as diabetic you should have eye retinal screening and have your feet checked.
 
Thank you all for your replies, I looked on my surgeries' website and found my HbA1C from December and the latest one, it looks like my numbers aren't too bad, and while not in range yet they have gone down, I'm feeling a lot less confused and concerned now.

I was told about the retinal screening, but my Dr said to wait until 3 months after I started the metformin as it can cause fluctuations? I think he said, I would need to wait that long anyway as pregnancy/postnatal hormones can also do things to your eyesight, I've been told in the past to wait a year after birth for any eye tests.

I wasn't told about having my feet checked though, so thank you for that, I'll have to get in touch with my surgery for that I guess.

I think the main thing that was worrying me was the lack of monitoring, I was diagnosed type 2 after having gestational twice previously, which is very closely monitored.

Again thank you all.
 
lirael17 said:
Thank you all for your replies, I looked on my surgeries' website and found my HbA1C from December and the latest one, it looks like my numbers aren't too bad, and while not in range yet they have gone down, I'm feeling a lot less confused and concerned now.

I was told about the retinal screening, but my Dr said to wait until 3 months after I started the metformin as it can cause fluctuations? I think he said, I would need to wait that long anyway as pregnancy/postnatal hormones can also do things to your eyesight, I've been told in the past to wait a year after birth for any eye tests.

I wasn't told about having my feet checked though, so thank you for that, I'll have to get in touch with my surgery for that I guess.

I think the main thing that was worrying me was the lack of monitoring, I was diagnosed type 2 after having gestational twice previously, which is very closely monitored.

Again thank you all.
Click to expand...
That is good you now know the numbers, are you willing to share as then people can make suggestions to help you with a way forward.
The retinal screening is different to the normal eye sight check which you have at the optician and in that respect your eyesight can change as your blood glucose comes down, some experience fussy vision when levels drop quickly.
You probably have a good idea about diet and if you still have your blood glucose monitor from when you had gestational diabetes then that would be useful for you to keep a track of what is happening as you make changes. In particular you can test your tolerance to your meals by testing before you eat and after 2 hours aiming at an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l or 8-8.5mmol/l 2 hours post meal as levels come down.
 
lirael17 said:
Hi all, new here with a few questions.

I was diagnosed with type 2 just before Christmas, I was given metformin (currently taking 4 a day), had a blood test two weeks ago, and when I phoned for the results I was told "everything is normal" and that's it.

My questions are, am I supposed to be doing anything? I've had no other appointments, nothing has really been explained to me, I don't even know what "everything is normal" means.

Should I have had more appointments? I was reading through the site and it keeps mentioning "healthcare team", who or what is that? and diabetes clinic, again what is this?

I'm just thoroughly confused.

Tia for any answers or help.
Click to expand...
I was diagnosed a few years ago and
-I was sent on an education programme with a diabetic nurse/dietician specialists
If you haven’t been given an appointment ask GP to refer you if you feel it would help.
-I get HBA1C checked twice a year
-GP nurse checks me once a year but I need to book in for review myself
-I also get special eye exam once a year via diabetic team they send appointments
- I attend a diabetic foot clinic once a year the appointment is automatically sent
-initially I did not get much input maybe GP had referred me to services and I was awaiting app appointments to be sent
I started Metformin which was twice a day increased to four a day and now also Dapagliflozin once a day!
I used to be told 42-46 was my target now it’s 50
I have been told below 70 without major spikes or drops in twelve month period means GP can’t refer me to the community diabetic team (I was referred as take a medicine that can cause sudden spikes in glucose but am expected to manage myself using a specific tablet to lower sudden increase in glucose)
My problem is I can’t tell high from low glucose levels, I feel my symptoms are the same ‍♀️
 
lirael17 said:
Thank you all for your replies, I looked on my surgeries' website and found my HbA1C from December and the latest one, it looks like my numbers aren't too bad, and while not in range yet they have gone down, I'm feeling a lot less confused and concerned now.

I was told about the retinal screening, but my Dr said to wait until 3 months after I started the metformin as it can cause fluctuations? I think he said, I would need to wait that long anyway as pregnancy/postnatal hormones can also do things to your eyesight, I've been told in the past to wait a year after birth for any eye tests.

I wasn't told about having my feet checked though, so thank you for that, I'll have to get in touch with my surgery for that I guess.

I think the main thing that was worrying me was the lack of monitoring, I was diagnosed type 2 after having gestational twice previously, which is very closely monitored.

Again thank you all.
Click to expand...
The retinal screening has nothing to do with the fluctuations in focal length of the lenses - you don't need to wait to have a retinal screening done.
Checking blood glucose levels using a glucose meter is a good idea, but most type 2s have to fund them themselves, but the testing is only intense in the first few weeks to sort out what to eat and what to avoid.
 
Leadinglights said:
That is good you now know the numbers, are you willing to share as then people can make suggestions to help you with a way forward.
The retinal screening is different to the normal eye sight check which you have at the optician and in that respect your eyesight can change as your blood glucose comes down, some experience fussy vision when levels drop quickly.
You probably have a good idea about diet and if you still have your blood glucose monitor from when you had gestational diabetes then that would be useful for you to keep a track of what is happening as you make changes. In particular you can test your tolerance to your meals by testing before you eat and after 2 hours aiming at an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l or 8-8.5mmol/l 2 hours post meal as levels come down.
Click to expand...
Hi, my numbers when I got diagnosed were 63, it's gone down to 56 since then.
I do still have my monitor and I have been using it on and off, but even my fasting bloods seem high, but I'm just going by what I was told for my gestational numbers and I know that are a lot stricter understandably.
I have got a libre 2 sensor coming on a trial, I'm hoping that will help me see what is and isn't helping over the two weeks I'll be using it.
As for diet I learnt a lot during my last pregnancy from a gestational diabetes website, the diet info there is a lot more involved than just cutting down carbs and choosing wholegrain so I'm trying to stick to that.
Is the retinal screening still done at an opticians? I'll have to get myself booked in for that soon then.
Thank you for your help it's very much appreciated.
 
Welcome to the forum @lirael17

Sorry your GP surgery weren’t very forthcoming with information for you :(

Sadly this is not all that uncommon these days, with the healthcare system as stretched as it is. Many newcomers to the forum have a similar experience unfortunately :(

Great to hear you have experience of glucose management from your gestational diabetes, and a BG meter (and trial sensor) to help you see the impact of different amounts and sources of carbs in your menu.

Your fasting levels may be a bit stubborn and the last to come down (this seems to be the case for lots of newcomers here) so perhaps initially aim to keep meal rises down to 2-3 mmol/L between the premeal level and 2hrs after the first bite. If you can limit the BG rises from meals, your overall levels should coast gently downwards, and this can be gentler on the eyes and nerve endings.

lirael17 said:
Is the retinal screening still done at an opticians? I'll have to get myself booked in for that soon then.
Click to expand...

There are checks your optician can do, but the national retinopathy screening service is a separate thing (you should get an invite in the post once a year). They take photographs which are then examined in great detail before a results letter is sent.

www.nhs.uk

Diabetic eye screening

Find out about diabetic eye screening, which can help spot eye problems caused by diabetes before they affect your sight.
www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk
 
Go on Google and search for 'Retinal Screening Name of town' (that is, wherever you live) and ring them to find out for definite whether you've been referred and when/where it's likely to be.
 
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