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Silmarillion

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I need some advice as I'm feeling a wee bit anxious about my health. I presented at my doctors with a UTI the other day. I've been feeling washed out and tired, ive had a bad feminine itch for a whole month that I can't get rid ofI've had eye problems, over the last week I've been drinking and peeing large volumes. My mum and dad and both sets of grandparents are all diabetic type 2

My doc did a urinalysis and it had glucose ++++ and keystones ++++.
He told me he's 99% sure I've got diabetes and did formal bloods and refered me to see the diabetic nurse. Last night he called me at 8pm 3 hours after the GP surgery closed and I wasn't at home. I tried to get in contact with him today but the receptionist wouldn't let me speak to him!

I'm so worried, I don't know what to do! Maybe I'm just being silly!
 
Hi Heather, welcome to forum. 🙂 The guvnors will be along soon with excellent advice. Just to say that being diagnosed with T2 is often said to be a 'wake-up' call to get life sorted out. Your GP and DN will probably work to a well-worn script but you can start doing what you are doing here... self-helping. Many folks take a firm grip on their T2 with or without medication and report that they 'normalise' that dangerous glucose syrup.

If you want a great website to browse and become more expert than you ever thought a sane person needs to be about diabetes, try Jenny Ruhl at:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/

I won't step further on the guvnors' toes... :D

Good luck
 
Hi Heather, welcome to the forum. I moved this to the Newbies section so it won't get lost in the flood of other stuff.

It certainly sounds as though you may have the Big D, but don't panic. Easy to say I know, but it's really not the end of everything and there's a lot you can do to manage it. We'll gladly help with that if you do indeed have Diabetes. First and most important you need to talk to your GP to find out what they wanted, I'd make a telephone appointment as soon as you can, if s/he hasn't called you already. Make it clear to the Rottweiler on reception that the doctor has been trying to contact you and you're simply returning the call.
 
Hi Heather, welcome to the forum 🙂 The doctor will probably want t do some blood tests and possibly what is known as an OGTT (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test) in order to make a diagnosis. I think if he was worried that it might be Type 1 diabetes then a greater effort would have been made to get in touch with you again. Try again tomorrow and insist on speaking to a doctor - when are you supposed to see the nurse? Do you feel sick at all?

Try not to worry, if it is confirmed as diabetes it is better it is found out as early as possible so you can start to do something about it. Diabetes can have serious consequences, but it is also something that can be well-controlled - in fact, many people find they feel much better than they have for a long time once they begin to make the modifications necessary to bring blood sugar levels under control.

Make sure you stay well-hydrated and try to avoid eating carbohydrates (rice, potatoes, pasta, sugary foods, fruit juice etc.) until you have seen the doctor or nurse, as these will raise your blood sugar levels. Let us know how you get on.
 
Welcome to the forum Heather 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum Heather.
 
Thanks for being nice everyone....I've been given a series of lectures from about a dozen people for being overweight, even though my Bmi is 29. They are saying I'm not looking after myself! How do you deal with doctors and relatives giving you annoying lectures when you are a nurse yourself and know a fair bit about diabetes already?
 
Heather Hughes said:
Thanks for being nice everyone....I've been given a series of lectures from about a dozen people for being overweight, even though my Bmi is 29. They are saying I'm not looking after myself! How do you deal with doctors and relatives giving you annoying lectures when you are a nurse yourself and know a fair bit about diabetes already?
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I find it's often a bit of a pot/kettle situation, and people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones! Do they all lead blameless lives? Anyway, Type 2 diabetes isn't entirely related to weight issues, around 20% of people are a healthy weight at diagnosis. You do need a thick skin sometimes though! 🙄
 
I'm going to ask a silly question! How old are you if you don't mind me asking? (you don't actually have to tell me)

Also, do you know what age you parents and grandparents developed diabetes? Was it the same age as you?

Diabetes can unfortunately be somewhat of an undodgeable bullet if you have the "wrong" genetics (I'm a third, possibly forth generation diabetic!). Unfortunately the general public and even your average NHS person isn't particularly aware of this.

Genetics isn't an excuse and trying to normalise your weight will help you a lot! But given the general population, BMI 29 is hardly that bad!

How do you deal with people being annoying? Slapping them with a wet kipper comes to mind - but that's possibly not appropriate 😱:D😛 Unfortunately the only thing you can do is either educate them or ignore them.
 
Mark T said:
How do you deal with people being annoying?
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Personally I find being even more annoying works well. Natural talent 😛
 
Hiya Heather and welcome. 🙂 Hope you've managed to talk to your doctor / DSN. A thick skin is definitely necessary! Most people know nothing about dbs but have an opinion nonetheless! A friend recently questioned me for finishing a meal with ice-cream. She was sure I wasn't allowed it. 🙄 We're still friends btw! 🙂
 
Hi Heather
Welcome to the forum 🙂. Hope they sort you out with a diagnosis soon so you can out your mind at rest. People can be very insensitive about Diabetes, I've had everything from "it's nothing I don't know what you're making such a fuss about" to "well you did drink a lot of Cherry Coke" (one can a month until they brought out diet cherry coke, which is utterly beside the point) and my favourite, the inevitable "I don't think you should be eating that tiramisu/anything containing sucrose" usually whilst they stuff their face with enough carb to fell an elephant :D. It depends what mood I'm in whether I choose to educate or tick them off.

Oh nearly forgot my personal best comment, the delivery man who treated me to a story about his brother who was a heroine addict and part of a needle exchange. I was baffled but nodded politely, then just as he was leaving he pointed to my sharps bin, and said "good luck love, life's so much better without it you know". Speechless, I nodded and said goodbye :D
 
Welcome to the forum Heather,hope they get things sorted out for you quickly, meanwhile you can get plenty of advice and support on here ....Tintin
 
Thanks for all your kind words everyone! So I got my results back today and they tell me I'm a type 2 diabetic with a side order of hyperthyroidism! Yey!

My fasting blood sugar is 28 and my Hba1c is 158 and a rip roaring UTI just to round it all off. So they've started me on metformin 500mg once daily for a week and I have to crank the dose to twice daily next week and a bit of trimethoprim.Trouble is I really do feel like something the cat has mauled and dragged home. I have the whole polydipsia and polyuria thing going on with keytones ......any tips to improve things a wee bit?
 
Heather Hughes said:
Thanks for all your kind words everyone! So I got my results back today and they tell me I'm a type 2 diabetic with a side order of hyperthyroidism! Yey!

My fasting blood sugar is 28 and my Hba1c is 158 and a rip roaring UTI just to round it all off. So they've started me on metformin 500mg once daily for a week and I have to crank the dose to twice daily next week and a bit of trimethoprim.Trouble is I really do feel like something the cat has mauled and dragged home. I have the whole polydipsia and polyuria thing going on with keytones ......any tips to improve things a wee bit?
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Wow Heather, that is a high reading, no wonder you feel awful :( Has this all come on quickly, with the symptoms? My concern is that you may not be Type 2 but a slow-onset Type 1, which could mean that the metformin may have little effect. Metformin takes a couple of weeks to 'build up' in the system, so you may not notice anything immediately - for now the best approach is to limit the amount of carbohydrates you consume as these are what will directly affect your blood glucose levels.

Promise me that if you do not start to feel better in the next couple of days or so you will go back to your GP and ask if you may be a slow-onset Type 1. Your symptoms appear to have come on very quickly, and your HbA1c is very high, plus you have high ketones, and this is potentially a medical emergency. I'm sorry if this is alarming, but just want to make sure you are safe. Type 2 normally manifests itself very gradually over a long period, sometimes several years. People are often misdiagnosed based purely on their age and many GPs are unfamiliar with the slow-onset type of diabetes because it is relatively rare ( it is sometimes called Type 1.5 or LADA: Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adulthood). Even if you are Type 2 I'm surprised the GP hasn't taken a more aggressive approach to treating your current very high numbers than merely prescribing metfomin.
 
Hi again

As far as symptoms go....ive been feeling exhausted for a few months, but im a. Nurse and I have a full on job with long commutes...so not so unusual....the polydypsia and polyuria I've only had for about 2 weeks, and I have really bad candida infection for 3 weeks that is not resolving despite numerous treatments. I presented at my Gp first thing Monday as I have bad dysuria, im peeing constantly and it's very sore. She dipsticked my urine and told me I have high keystones and glucose......a few days down the line, having seen my Gp for about 10 seconds in a session with the diabetes nurse...he fleeced in and out of the room and told me to take the metformin. My symptoms have progressed, I have a very very dry mouth, dry irritated eyes with intermittent blurred vision, and my mum noticed I was staggering a bit like I was a wee bit drunk and sweating profusely yesterday....

Feeling unwell with a crap GP......should I go for a wee trip to emergency just to be on the safe side?
 
Heather Hughes said:
Feeling unwell with a crap GP......should I go for a wee trip to emergency just to be on the safe side?
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Yes, yes, please do, I'm very concerned for you. Those symptoms do not sound typical of Type 2. I'm not medically trained but I have read the case studies of thousands of people here on the forum, and you do sound like your pancreas is not producing anywhere near enough insulin to cope with your levels. Please go immediately. Good luck, let us know how things go.
 
Good luck Heather.😱
 
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