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Newly diagnosed!

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Oh and the blood pressure meds habe a dual action of bringing down blood pressure but also protecting kidneys so it wasn't because I had blood pressure issues, more of a preventative measure so have been fully reassured about that!
Thank you Juliet!
 
That's all good news, Leo, hope you are able to enjoy your holiday soon!

It's worth asking the diabetes nurse for her phone number/email address - you will undoubtedly have questions before you see her again - we can answer some here, and no doubt your brother can answer some too, but there are likely to be some specific to your insulin dose which would be better answered by your DSN. You probably know that whatever dose they put you on will be a "best guess" so they will probably need to change it about a bit before they get it right.

You might find it useful to get a Frio wallet to keep your insulin cool while you're travelling, in this weather.
 
Hi all
Well I had the diabetes nurse come to is and she decided that she strongly suspected LADA and I am now on insulin. She also :"made" me have a carby breakfast to look at sugars etc (which I thoroughly enjoyed but all good and ketones now very low. She's happy for us to fly off and see her in a month at which point she'll get confirmation on the GAD and C-peptides tests. I just need to adjust with this new life on insulin! And we can fly off as soon as we have all the relevant supplies so hopefully a day or 2. Still waiting to get discharged from hosp and off the drip, but hoping any time now.
I'm sure I'll have many more questions once this has all sunk in but thank you again for all your support! It has been invaluable!
That's good news, phew! 🙂 Did they say what insulin you would be using?
 
Im only a Type 2 but I was put straight on Insulin (basal), that side of things is nice & straight forward so should not be any problem.
I guess as a type 1 you will probably need a bolas as well, I think they need a bit more managing but I am sure it will settle down quickly I am sure northerner will correct me shortly if necessary ;-)
Glad to see you are now in recovery
 
Hi guys,
Well I spent the night in hospital as they weren't happy with my ketones. It was 2.6 or something initially and went down to 1.1 yesterday late afternoon but for some reason went back up to 1.7 so they kept me in (I don't understand why it went up, I barely ate, have been drinking litres of water and ended up having 4 bags of fluid). My sugars have dropped to 9.5 this morning (which isn't great given they were 9.6 last night).
So yes I was massively dehydrated so was on fluids and then they gave me a shot of insulin. Vision is actually a bit better today!

I'm.seeing the diabetic team this morning who hopefully will have some results (they were doimg GAD antibodies and c-peptides) so they can sort out a treatment plan.
So far, they have lost my notes (eventually found them) and couldn't do my ketones test this morning as they couldn't find test strips... not hugely impressive!
And of course, I'm.not.flying anywhere today... :-(
Hi Leo

I am glad to hear that you are now getting sorted. If you had gone away it would not have ended up as a holiday, you would have just been trying out a different health care system.

The Gad antibody along with c-peptide test will confirm the type of Diabetes you have. Once that is sorted you will feel a lot better with the correct treatment. I came out of a very foggy world once I was given my insulin. It took time to get my levels back in range but I certainly felt a lot better.
 
Hi all!
Thank you again for your support!
I am now enjoying being in France with my family and am slowly getting used to the injections etc. I'm on Abasaglar as well as Novorapid. I've had a few hypos so far, when I've totally misjudged the food I was eating (for things like lentils and bulgur wheat, quinoa, things with high carb but low sugar etc I don't seem to need any insulin input. Does that seem right to you?) And how exercise affects things but I'm learning pretty fast what I need it for. I hope! I get annoyed about constantly testing BG but realised the depth of the prick thing was too deep so was hurting (duh!).
And yes, I got the email address of the DSN (whom I've been emailing) and got the Frio wallet too! 🙂
I will feel better definitely when I get the final diagnosis. I keep wondering if there's any chance I could be type 2. Regardless I've been really quite good and eating very well and healthily (with the occasional glass of wine) although that's with the exception of today as it's my birthday and I'm very old (40) so am allowing myself some cake, champagne this afternoon and had dessert after lunch AND croissants/pains au chocolat for breakfast (for which I underestimated the amount of insulin I might need but corrected subsequently!).
My vision is still rubbish though although a tad better when looking far today, so have resorted to using my 80 yo father's glasses! It's 2 weeks now since my vision went bad. Should I be worrying?
All in all, I feel pretty good and starting to get a grip. The thirst has pretty much gone and feel I can do pretty much anything! I suppose I'm familiar with the diabetes thing due to my brother so not so much of a shock but maybe this will hit me later psychologically once the reality of it settles in once back at home...? All good in the meantime! :-D
 
Happy 40th Birthday Leo!! How great that despite the chaotic week you have had, you are able to sit and enjoy a glass of wine on your birthday, in France as you had hoped - great news!
Sounds like you are on the right track and although perhaps you do not have a finalized diagnosis as yet, its good that you were given medication that has allowed you to enjoy your holiday and your very special birthday. Hope you enjoy the rest of the day! :D
 
Wishing you a very Happy Birthday. 🙂 Good to hear you're getting on alright and enjoying your holiday. Enjoy your cake and champagne 🙂

Blurred vision can take a good few weeks to settle down once blood sugar starts to return to more normal levels so I wouldn't be too worried about your sight after only a few days/weeks of insulin treatment.
 
Happy birthday, Leo! - hope you enjoyed your treats today and enjoy the rest of your holiday 🙂

You will find that different foods effect different people in different ways, so I'm not at all surprised that you've found yourself over-estimating the insulin for some and under-estimating it for others. There are no hard and fast rules, just what works for you, which is why you need to keep testing to see how everything effects you personally.

With the finger-prick testing, it helps if you use both sides of all your fingers and thumbs in turn, if you're not already doing that - it doesn't need to be just the middle fingers, but it does need to be just the sides and not the pads.

I was told not to get new glasses for a few months after I was diagnosed, so apparently it can take as long as that for your vision to settle completely, don't worry. Mine took about 5-6 weeks, I think, and I've had no problems with it since (except it sometimes goes squiffy when my blood sugar is obviously plummeting or spiking - if I suddenly find I can't see the computer properly I know it's time to test my blood sugar (or clean my glasses!)!). But there was no permanent damage or anything like that.

It never hit me psychologically - I just got on with it, but then I was ill with something more serious already, so diabetes didn't seem a big deal in comparison: it is a secondary condition for me. I know a lot of people do find themselves in a grieving process for their old lives. But the more you learn about managing it, the easier it should be, and the more you can just get on with your life and not let it stop you doing anything you want to do 🙂
 
my vision to about 6 weeks from start to finnish, going more and more long sighted to start with before returning back to my normal prescription.
(I resorted to a cheap (£1.50) pair of of the shelf reading glasses when necessary.
 
Hi all! Just in case anyone was curious, I thought I'd update!
Thank you for all your birthday wishes, it was a somewhat tame one, but nice overall!
So I got my results last week and I am definitely LADA so that's at least certain! I have to admit it felt a bit... not quite like a shock (obviously) but I felt something. I had had a few days when I had barely needed any insulin and I did wonder whether they had it all wrong etc. Anyway, it is what it is and I must embrace it! I have now stolen the diabetic thunder that my brother has been hogging for 35 years! ;-) I do feel lucky that I was exposed to diabetes from a very early age so it doesn't feel like such a shock as I imagine it may be for someone who hasn't been. Anyway results show that I'm still producing some insulin (c-peptides was 278mmol) but doesn't sound like it will be for long.

My eyesight thankfully came back towards the end of my holiday, so was absolutely delighted about that, as that was the worst part of it! Thank you for reassuring me on that account! Other than that, apart from occasionally going "Sh*t, I forgot to take my insulin" in the middle of a meal, it's going ok! I've started to carb count which I find a bit of a pain but it is useful to start judging how much insulin I need. I seem to be a bit low generally (around the 5 mark) so need to make an adjustment or have a bit more carbs maybe in my diet. I'm trying to be good (and frankly I can't be bothered to be too bad, especially between meals, as I simply can't be bothered to inject so pure laziness is making me eat better!) and will be starting at the gym soon, so hopefully that should help stabilise my BGs somewhat (which is what I've been told). Currently I'm unsure about how to tackle the gym thing in terms of what I should eat before and after and how the BGs are affected during and after the sessions so that's a whole new variable to manage! The only time I did proper excercise was when I treaded water for 30mn in the pool and my BG went down to 1.7 after so I feel I need to be cautious!

So here comes a healthier version of me. And I've been told I could have the freestyle libre, which sounds amazing (I'm not a fan of this finger pricking business, especially as I feel I do it all day long) so will be interested in whether it comes through!
Thank you again for all your support. This forum is great!
 
Thanks for the update Leo 🙂 Great to hear that you now have a firm diagnosis so that you will receive the correct medication and the appropriate support - especially good to be given a Libre! 🙂 Please keep us informed, and remember, no questions is silly, so if something confuses or bother you, please ask 🙂
 
Great to hear from you @Leo Browning and thanks for sharing your progress with us! Glad to hear that you now have a diagnosis - great news!
Wonderful to here that your eyesight returned to normal and overall sounds like things are going well. Sure you'll have more questions when you start the Libre, so ask away! 🙂
 
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