newly diagnosed

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fruitloaf

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Type 1
Hello,
I was diagnosed with diabetes 2 weeks ago. For the previous few weeks I had felt very tired and been drinking loads of water/going to the loo alot. As I work in a hospital laboratory I suspected I might have diabetes and did a urine dipstick which was positive for glucose but not ketones. My GP said she thinks it is type 1 because of my age (28) and I am quite slim so type 2 less likely. However I don't fit the classic type 1 picture either as I had no ketoacidosis and haven't lost any weight. I have been taking metformin for 1 week and my blood glucose readings are all still 13-23mmol/L. Did any other type 1s start on metformin? how long does it take to have an effect?
Food is very important to me, I love cooking and make most meals from scratch. I am a vegetarian (but I do eat fish sometimes) so I eat a lot of carbohydrate based meals and I am very keen not to change my diet if at all possible. I don't have a very sweet tooth but bake the occassional cake/pudding. I am beginning to think that I might be better off on insulin as I could then control the dose relative to what I was eating and I have also read some research articles saying that even slow onset type 1s should be treated with insulin as it preserves the remaining beta cell function for longer.
hopefully seeing a consultant diabetologist in a few weeks. Would be interested to hear from any other 'atypical' type 1s and how they progressed/what treatment they are on.
Also my cholesterol is a bit high at 6.1 but I have a family history of this, my GPs seem to disagree on whether I should start on a statin due to my age.
 
hi fruit cake and welcome to the forum ....sorry about the dx for you ...Im sure the other T1 will be on to help you soon ... we have a we have a few younger T2 .....it is all so confusing when they Dx as diabetes is so complicated... but well done for finding here ...and remember no question is regarded silly here so ask away xx 🙂
 
Hi, I was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 23 and had less of the typical symptoms than you - basically just tired and faint. I didn't drink more than usual or anything. My gp tested my urine and found sugar then did a finger prick test and got a reading of 12.8. I was started on tablets (sorry, can't remember the name, may have been gliclazide) but after a couple of weeks on those and no difference to my bloods I was started on insulin. I was on fast acting insulin only for a few months, then put on a long acting insulin too. For a couple of years the drs were undecided as to my type, considering type 2 and MODY before deciding that I was type 1 (my brother is type 1 too). I do agree that injecting enables you to eat more of what you like. Hope your diabetes team are good and help to get you under control quickly.
 
Hi fruitloaf, welcome to the forum 🙂 As you suspect, it may be that you have the slow-onset version of Type 1 diabetes, also known as LADA or Type 1.5. If so this means that your insulin production is declining. Should it stop completely, that is the point where you would be in danger of developing ketoacidosis and would need insulin. My own diabetes probably started about 2 years before diagnosis, when my pancreas finally gave up after I contracted a virus.

Alternatively, you might be a Type 2 - around 20% are not overweight at diagnosis. There are tests called C-peptide and GAD antibody that can show whether your high blood sugar levels are due to insulin insufficiency or insulin resistance.

I'm surprised you are having to wait so long to see a consultant - the sooner your diagnosis is confirmed, the sooner correct treatment can be started. You can still eat carbs, but look into Low GI or GL diets for the best forms and combinations to eat.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have - nothing is considered 'silly' here! 🙂
 
Hi there and welcome.

I was initially dxd as Type 2 last year because of my age (I'm 52) and my weight, but it turns out I'm what's now being called a 1.5 or LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adulthood) - basically slow onset Type 1. I had sky high blood sugars and no ketones at all. I'm now on Glucophage SR and Sitaglipton, but was initially on Metformin which didn't agree with me. I have enough function left that I don't need insulin yet but will do sooner rather than later. I sounds like you may be in the same boat. I began to notice a difference in my BGs within days of starting the pills, I was the side effects I couldn't handle.

I was advised to cut down on the carbs and to switch things like white rice, bread and pasta for the wholegrain/brown varieties and to cut out the spuds as much as possible. I'm afraid you may have to consider doing the same because it does make a big difference for those of us not on insulin. You can still have those things just not in the same quantity as before. It's not fair, but that's the harsh reality of diabetes. We have a whole section in here focussed on food and recipes, you may find some useful ideas in there.
 
Hi there and welcome to the forum.
 
Welcome to the forum. I suspect that if metformin isn't doing the job then you might do better on insulin. I hope you have been given the means to check for ketones in case you do find that you are starting to become unwell and need insulin before your appointment with the consultant.

If your blood sugars have been high then it's likely that your cholesterol will be high. Once you get control of blood sugars you might find that it naturally comes down. With young people and risks of statins in pregnancy, It would be something for careful consideration. Might be one for the consultant to decide on.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have
 
Thanks for all the advice. Had my lowest fasting glucose of 8.6 this morning. Really pleased to be back in single figures although still not normal!
I think I will book an appointment with my GP next week just to talk things over and let her know how I am doing.
Thankfully I haven't had any nasty side effects from the metformin so far. I started on 500mg per day and have now increased to 1000mg so hopefully should make a difference soon. Will let you know how I get on.
 
Hi Fruitloaf, welcome to the forum.
 
Hi,

I was diagnosed in April this year after going to the GP having lost a lot of weight, drinking lots and urinating a lot. The GP did the dipstick test and came back with Glucose +++ and ketones ++++, and packed me off to the Medical Admissions Unit at the local hospital. They sort of 'flushed me out' with lots of water, and sent me home with a huge prescription list for some insulin and all sorts of testing gear. The DSN did say that they could have started me off on tablets, so it doesn't seem to be unknown to try treating T1 with tablets, but said that they might not work at all, and they certainly wouldn't work for more than a few months, so we might as well get going with the insulin straight away.

Best of luck with everything, and let us know how things go on,

Best regards,

Richard
x
 
Welcome to the forum

The same thing happened to me, my initial urine test was positive for glucose but not for ketones, or maybe it was low levels of ketones, i don't remember, the whole "how long have you been diabetic?" question was occupying my concentration at the time. I was in hospital on an insulin sliding scale for most of the day and they sent me home with a couple of insulin pens (novorapid and levemir) assuming i was type 1. By the morning the diabetes clinic had decided i was type 2 and put me on Metformin,m and my blood sugars dropped pretty quickly after that. It was horrified because i was under the misconception that type 1 was something that could happen to me randomly and that type 2 was "my fault". That's not strictly true, but it's a hard belief to shift, even as i type i'm getting tearful about it. I'm gonna stop there before i depress the heck out of you.
As for statins, my gp just plonked me on simvastatin and ramipril without any explaination. Except with leaving me with the vague feeling that i was suffering for kidney failure (which i'm not), but that say quite a lot about my relationship (or lack of) with my GP.

All i really wanted to say was it's not impossible to develop type 2 diabetes under the age of 40 , i was 32. Sometimes i wonder if i'm LADA but i don't know how to discuss this with my , unapproachble, GP. And hello! I also work in a hospital and sort of in a lab, i'm in Pharmacy.

Rachel

Rachel.
 
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