AlanMarson
Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi everyone,
I'm new to this site today, so posting here. Here's a bit of my background to anyone that can be bothered reading it!
I was diagnosed with diabetes about a month and half ago. . . March 10th, I remember the date quite well. . . from a fasting test result of 15.7 with most of the symptoms. The doctors assumed it was Type 1 as I was only 32 and although my BMI peaked at 31, it was much lower by the time I was diagnosed (when I first went into the hospital). At the hospital, the same day as the diagnosis, they took a sugar reading of 17.4 and tested for ketones, which came back negative. Following negative anti-body tests for type 1, I think they've diagnosed me as Type 2 - but from what I can gather (and perhaps you nice folk can help me out here!) - that is only because I am NOT type 1? There are other rarer types, but I'm not sure if they have been ruled out or in yet. . .
To be honest, I've found it pretty hard. I feel a little isolated; 32 is a weird age to be diagnosed - and especially with Type 2 when I don't drink, smoke, took moderate exercise and had maybe only been obese (BMI>30, waist 37in+) probably a year or two. It doesn't really matter how many times I tell myself that a) I was actually at an increased risk because I WAS overweight and b) I was unlucky, especially with no family history at all, I still struggle to come to terms with it. It probably highlights my limited knowledge that there is a little voice in the back of my head that nags that I must have been really unhealthy and fat and lazy to have developed it so much younger than "normal".
I've lost about 2 1/2 stone since my heaviest weight; 1 1/2 stone was before I was disgnosed and a stone in the 6 or so weeks since by diet and exercise. It sounds good, but since over half was being ill, it doesn't really count! I'm also finding it increasing hard to stick to the diet and exercise - I'm just so irritable either from stress or hunger, and I did use to reach for the Coke or Chocolate bar to overcome that. I can't expect the rest of the world, or even my family (wife and 3 young kids) to revolve around me and change just to suit my needs, but fitting in and constantly being reminded of what I know need to avoid is very hard.
I used to be quite confident and my wife always relied on me to make decisions! But that seems to have evaporated as well. My wife, my GP, friends keep telling me I'm being over-optimistic to expect to have "dealt with it" by a month, but as the weeks pass I feel I should be making progress and I'm not. If anything I feel more anxious and isolated. It's not even related to the disease directly - I get anxious over whether I can find cucumbers in the supermarket! I can see the humour in that looking back, but it's very intense at the time.
Anyway, I've probably havered enough for a first post!
I'm new to this site today, so posting here. Here's a bit of my background to anyone that can be bothered reading it!
I was diagnosed with diabetes about a month and half ago. . . March 10th, I remember the date quite well. . . from a fasting test result of 15.7 with most of the symptoms. The doctors assumed it was Type 1 as I was only 32 and although my BMI peaked at 31, it was much lower by the time I was diagnosed (when I first went into the hospital). At the hospital, the same day as the diagnosis, they took a sugar reading of 17.4 and tested for ketones, which came back negative. Following negative anti-body tests for type 1, I think they've diagnosed me as Type 2 - but from what I can gather (and perhaps you nice folk can help me out here!) - that is only because I am NOT type 1? There are other rarer types, but I'm not sure if they have been ruled out or in yet. . .
To be honest, I've found it pretty hard. I feel a little isolated; 32 is a weird age to be diagnosed - and especially with Type 2 when I don't drink, smoke, took moderate exercise and had maybe only been obese (BMI>30, waist 37in+) probably a year or two. It doesn't really matter how many times I tell myself that a) I was actually at an increased risk because I WAS overweight and b) I was unlucky, especially with no family history at all, I still struggle to come to terms with it. It probably highlights my limited knowledge that there is a little voice in the back of my head that nags that I must have been really unhealthy and fat and lazy to have developed it so much younger than "normal".
I've lost about 2 1/2 stone since my heaviest weight; 1 1/2 stone was before I was disgnosed and a stone in the 6 or so weeks since by diet and exercise. It sounds good, but since over half was being ill, it doesn't really count! I'm also finding it increasing hard to stick to the diet and exercise - I'm just so irritable either from stress or hunger, and I did use to reach for the Coke or Chocolate bar to overcome that. I can't expect the rest of the world, or even my family (wife and 3 young kids) to revolve around me and change just to suit my needs, but fitting in and constantly being reminded of what I know need to avoid is very hard.
I used to be quite confident and my wife always relied on me to make decisions! But that seems to have evaporated as well. My wife, my GP, friends keep telling me I'm being over-optimistic to expect to have "dealt with it" by a month, but as the weeks pass I feel I should be making progress and I'm not. If anything I feel more anxious and isolated. It's not even related to the disease directly - I get anxious over whether I can find cucumbers in the supermarket! I can see the humour in that looking back, but it's very intense at the time.
Anyway, I've probably havered enough for a first post!
