Recently diagnosed

[RHS]

I'm confused to say the least. About 5 weeks ago my vision went blurry so I went to the opticians and was given a +1 prescription. A week later I went back because the glasses weren't perfect and he said "your prescription has doubled in a week are you urinating more than normal because I think you need a glucose blood test". Well I was peeing all night because I was drinking like a fish....sugary drinks. The evening before I drank 7 litres of coke and fruit juices trying to quench my thirst. I didn't know this causes thirst - these drinks should carry a warning "Don't drink if thirsty"!!!!. Anyway. Suffice to say that I immediately cut all sugar and carbs and got a test at the chemist the next morning which read 29. The next day it was 21.7 so I went to the doctors who gave me a hb test which came back at 116. The doc put me on 500mg metformin, one in the morning and one in the evening. That was 3 weeks ago. At the same time, I have been monitoring my blood and ALL my readings are between 4.8 and 5.6. Occassionally if I test first thing in the morning it is up to 6.5. This all seems to be in the correct non-diabetic range yet she wants to double my meds! Oh. The vision came back but slid past where it was into what seems to be an astigmatism - will they ever get back to normal? My readings seem to have been stable 3 weeks now.

 

[Northerner]

Hi RHS, welcome to the forum 🙂 Sounds like quite a rough ride! Certainly, your blood glucose and HbA1c at diagnosis, plus your pronounced symptoms would be sufficient fro a pretty firm diagnosis. Did these symptoms come on quickly, or with hindsight can you see that they developed slowly over a long period of time? Have you lost any significant weight lately? Are you eating very low carb now? Eyesight can take a few weeks to stabilise, but it should do so once your body has got used to the improved levels.

 

[RHS]

Thanks Northerner. No. My symptoms came on very quickly. I suppose at the start of November I noticed I was peeing more at night but put it down to the fact I'd simply drunk a bit more and remember joking with my wife "are you trying to kill me with salt". Then I was painting the woodwork at my brother-in-laws house and everything was fine but when I looked up, I saw everything was a blur. But...I no longer needed reading glasses so thought that this was a mere sign of age (I'm 55). Shortly afterwards I'd say over a period of 3 or 4 days I got a raging thirst but only in the evening. And that is when I would always have a glass of coke or other full-fat pop with my dinner. The moment the optician said "it could be a sign of diabetes" I stopped the sugar and the thirst disappeared within a couple of hours. That's when I knew something was up. I haven't lost weight but have done so since diagnosis because I am now on a healthy diet....very few straight carbs (i.e. little or no potato, pasta or rice). It's the fact that my eyes went back to pre-diagnosis i.e. from +2 back to -1 (for reading only) and now I'm on a pair of 99p specs from the pound shop at -2 (refuse to pay for specs until I know what level I will settle at). That's the bit that worries me most.

As an addendum. I know I may be wrong, but I really cannot see there was anything wrong with me as recently as 2 months ago and my glucose levels appear fine...I almost feel as though there was some sort of blip, perhaps something which affected my glucose and now I'm better. But I realise this may just be something you've heard before.

 

[Northerner]

Don't worry about the eyesight. It's due to the high sugar levels distorting the shape of the lens - you have gone from very high to a much reduced level of blood glucose and it will take a few weeks to adjust fully, but you will get there! 🙂

I think it would be worth discussing with your GP whether you may be a slow-onset Type 1, rather than Type 2. I say this because symptoms of Type 2 are generally slow to develop and the kind of abrupt escalation of yours might suggest that, for some reason, your pancreas became inhibited from producing the insulin you needed. This results in not only extreme thirst - your body tries to flush the excess glucose away, making you feel dehydrated - but also causes you to crave sugar, hence the sugary drink. In my case, I was drinking 30-40 pints of milk a week! 😱 The lactose in milk is a form of sugar and my brain thought I was being deprived of it. I was 49 when diagnosed.

What can happen with a slow-onset Type 1 (also known as LADA - Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adulthood) is that your pancreas can continue to produce insulin in decreasing amounts for some time, and it's possible that your dietary adjustments have relieved the stress on your pancreas and are currently producing sufficient insulin for your needs - I would wager that a high sugar/carb meal would raise your levels significantly.

I'm not trying to alarm you with this, just suggesting it as a possible explanation and something I think you should explore with your GP - it's most important that you get a correct diagnosis so that you get the appropriate treatment and are monitored accordingly. We've had a number of members here who have been misdiagnosed, partly due to assumptions made due to age (many GPs think Type 1 can only affect children or young people, and that over-40s must be Type 2), and it has led to many months of problems. I may be completely wrong, I'm not a doctor, but just going off the experience of other members I have read about here over the past 7 years.

 

[RHS]

Interesting. When I suggested that this was a recent or quick on-set, my GP said that with hba1c levels of 116 (111 a week later when I cut the sugars) I must have had diabetes for some time without knowing it. And I have to admit that in the couple of months before, I was feeling knackered - perhaps my BG was on the rise back then. What really really p^^^^^ me off is that on 1st June, I gave up smoking to get healthier....It'll all be alright if I go back to the fags (won't it?)

 

[Northerner]

Interesting. When I suggested that this was a recent or quick on-set, my GP said that with hba1c levels of 116 (111 a week later when I cut the sugars) I must have had diabetes for some time without knowing it. And I have to admit that in the couple of months before, I was feeling knackered - perhaps my BG was on the rise back then. What really really p^^^^^ me off is that on 1st June, I gave up smoking to get healthier....It'll all be alright if I go back to the fags (won't it?)

Stopping smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health - especially with diabetes! You've managed without them, don't waste your money on any more! (I smoked for 20 years, stopped 20 years ago, you really don't need them 😉)

I think it is likely that your BG was on the rise for a few months. I'd estimate, with hindsight, that my levels were on the increase for about 18 months, then I caught a virus which tipped me over the edge. A couple of months is still a fairly rapid onset - Type 2 can take years to develop to a point where it might be suspected. Taking an HbA1c a week apart won't really tell you much, although certainly at those levels your BG must have been high for a few weeks - the HbA1c shows exposure to glucose over a period of about 12 weeks. My HbA1c at diagnosis was 105, so similar to yours.

Do you have any family members with diabetes?

 

[RHS]

No no diabetes in the family. We always viewed diabetes as an "English disease" - I'm from Polish stock (refugees in WW2 thanks to Stalin) and our diet is so so different to an English one. I am however married to an English woman so eat an English diet now. I shalln't be back on the fags, don't worry - 40 a day for 40 years! The 2 HbA1c tests were only because the idiot nurse at the docs hadn't realised the first result came in.

 

[RHS]

Well after 4 weeks of my eyes being +2.5, then +2, then +1.5, then +1 and spending several 99p each on several pairs of Poundshop glasses, my eyes have finally returned back to normal. I've also been monitoring my levels and not once has any reading been over 7.5. All readings are between 4.8 and 6.5 after food, but I've cut ALL sugar and reduced significantly the carbs....Does this mean I have it under control with diet?

 

[Lynn Davies]

The metformin will have helped with stabilising your levels. You are doing great.

 

[RHS]

The metformin is not agreeing with my bowels....I was warned by a friend of mine. All I will say is that my dogs get blamed for many many farts these days.

 

[AlisonM]

I'd had a routine test 6 months before I collapsed and got carted off to hospital almost in a coma and been given the all clear - no sign of the Big D at all. It was a shock therefore, after I got back home from St George's to discover I was diabetic, they didn't tell me that, it was left to my GP. For me the downhill slide was fast and furious and I'm lucky to have survived it. I knew I wasn't well, but dismissed diabetes as an option because of the earlier test results, I just thought I was run down.

 

[grovesy]

You can get a slow release form of Metformin, which suits some better.