Sympton-free diagnosis

[Margaret Colliver]

Hi, I am a new member having been told I am diabetic six months ago. I didn't want to accept the diagnosis because I have had no symptoms at all. My readings were 53mmols/7% (now down to 52mmols) I have been given no guidance at all other than a statement that I already have a good diet. Has anyone else been diagnosed without symptoms and if so how did you change things. Any advice/help would be very welcome. TIA|

 

[bamba]

Have you been given / obtained a glucose meter.

If so - then test before you eat / then two hours after to see what foods are causing a sustained increase in blood glucose.

Eat less of what raises blood glucose the most.

there's a good explanation at http://www.bloodsugar101.com - more precisely http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php

 

[Margaret Colliver]

Thank you for your quick reply and suggestion. I have been given no guidance at all, only given a 'Type 2 diabetes resource and information book' which I have found about as useful as a chocolate fireguard! To be honest I am not convinced and never have been that I actually have diabetes; I have done some research on drugs I am on currently or have had for other issues over the last two years (and there are a lot of them!) and I have found all of them can cause an increase in blood sugar readings; so add up six different drugs 3 times a day it soon mounts up. One of the drugs I was on made me like a zombie and I could hardly walk so exercise was out of the question, but since I came off them at Christmas my energy levels have risen dramatically and I am now able to do a bit of exercise since which the reading has gone down a point🙂. The practice nurse told me I was already having a healthy diet but did not say how I could improve it even more. I am trying to find ways to tweak it but there really is not much leeway if I am to stick with it. If I believed I had got diabetes I would willingly buy a monitor but I don't want the expense if it is only the drugs which are causing the raised level.

 

[Stitch147]

Hi, I was diagnosed with no symptoms. I went along to a voluntary health fair at work and my one the BG levels was 26.7, went to dr's who carried out a hba1c test which came back at 127!!!

 

[JMyrtle]

Yep same with me, diagnosed in September because of a problem with my eye which was not diabetes related. Eye specialist suggested I should have a blood glucose test because I had never had one.
Result came back at a mmol/ mol of 58.
GP said no cakes, sweets,biscuits or sugar and come back in six months no mention of carbs which wasn't much help as I already had a good diet and rarely ate most of the things he mentioned.
Not being happy with that I contacted Diabetes UK who gave me a councelling session and told me to join this forum.
Armed with what I had then learned I asked for another test in December, down to 51 and in January I bought a codefree meter on eBay.
As Bamba has said test before meals and two hours afterwards and keep a food diary, (excel spread sheet is the easiest way to do that)
I now know if I have white toast at breakfast my meter reading will go up from 7.5 mmol/ l to 14 but if I have wholemeal it will stay the same or even go down, should explain that the meter gives a one off reading in mmol/l at thet time you test but the GP's blood test reading is a two months average given in mmol/ mol, confusing I know but there we are!.
I also now know I can tolerate half a potato but not white rice or white pasta only wholemeal, everyone is different.
Don't worry once you know what you are doing it's a doddle, you just have to adjust your diet a little.

 

[Margaret Colliver]

Hi, I was diagnosed with no symptoms. I went along to a voluntary health fair at work and my one the BG levels was 26.7, went to dr's who carried out a hba1c test which came back at 127!!!

I don't want to offend, but now I don't feel so alone with the issue which I am finding hard to come to terms with. My initial HbA1c reading was 53mmols but since I have been able to do a bit of exercise it has dropped a point - and I hope can only get better! I see you are on medication but are there other ways you are controlling it which I may be able to follow?

 

[JMyrtle]

The others may shoot me down on this but as I understand it the word "diabetes" is not really the issue, the issue is that you have too much glucose in your blood.
Too much glucose in your blood is dangerous and in time will damage your heart, eyes, kidneys and lots of other things.
What you need to do is get your blood glucose down either by changing your diet or changing your meds.
The codefree meter with fifty test strips is only 20 quid and if you test four times a day a months worth of test strips will cost about fifteen for 100 so it's hardly a kings ransom compared with the dangers of not testing for a few weeks.

 

[Margaret Colliver]

Yep same with me, diagnosed in September because of a problem with my eye which was not diabetes related. Eye specialist suggested I should have a blood glucose test because I had never had one.
Result came back at a mmol/ mol of 58.
GP said no cakes, sweets,biscuits or sugar and come back in six months no mention of carbs which wasn't much help as I already had a good diet and rarely ate most of the things he mentioned.
Not being happy with that I contacted Diabetes UK who gave me a councelling session and told me to join this forum.
Armed with what I had then learned I asked for another test in December, down to 51 and in January I bought a codefree meter on eBay.
As Gamba has said test before meals and two hours afterwards and keep a food diary, (excel spread sheet is the easiest way to do that)
I now know if I have white toast at breakfast my meter reading will go up from 7.5 mmol/ l to 14 but if I have wholemeal it will stay the same or even go down, should explain that the meter gives a one off reading in mmol/l at thet time you test but the GP's blood test reading is a two months average given in mmol/ mol, confusing I know but there we are!.
I also now know I can tolerate half a potato but not white rice or white pasta only wholemeal, everyone is different.
Don't worry once you know what you are doing it's a doddle, you just have to adjust your diet a little.

Thank you for your help with food ideas; never been a great one for sweet stuff, if I have a biscuit it usually a Rich Tea (which my other half hates!). I have tried tweaking my diet with brown rice instead of white and wholemeal pasta and have always eaten wholemeal bread. The frustrating thing is I went to Slimming World and reached target for my height, maintained it for a long time then suddenly, out of the blue I had a heart incident similar to a heart attack and diagnosed with diabetes! and losing weight is supposed to help you avoid both those. Grr.....

 

[Amigo]

Hi, I am a new member having been told I am diabetic six months ago. I didn't want to accept the diagnosis because I have had no symptoms at all. My readings were 53mmols/7% (now down to 52mmols) I have been given no guidance at all other than a statement that I already have a good diet. Has anyone else been diagnosed without symptoms and if so how did you change things. Any advice/help would be very welcome. TIA|

Hi Margaret, I was diagnosed nearly 3 yrs ago with a Hba1c of 52. I was beginning to develop symptoms but I could quite easily have put them down to other things. The issue is, being chronic, it doesn’t have to impact immediately, it’s insidious and slowly causes problems often without us realising. Type 1 is quite different however.
The other thing is our bodies can unwisely actually get to like these high levels I reckon because sudden deprivation can hit us hard! It’s like suddenly stopping caffeine that has been propelling us along for years.

I’m doing this diet only and whilst not really low carb, I test regularly and I make more sensible choices. Plus I lost weight and started to learn all about diabetes. It pays to know your ‘enemy’.

It’s interesting you say you suffered a heart attack because one of the serious complications of diabetes is cardiac issues. Initially you need to test and be more ruthless with carbs.

Since my diagnosis I’ve not registered a Hba1c in diabetic range and my highest has been 42. I’m no angel but since dx, I make much better choices and don’t eat without thinking of the consequences. I think that’s the difference. Good luck!

 

[trophywench]

Well just cut down a bit on any and all carbs regardless of colour - cos they are the main thing that human bodies use to obtain their glucose - even though it's entirely possible to make glucose out of protein and fat, it's a bit harder work for the body, hence as long as it gets enough from carb, it doesn't bother converting anything else to glucose.

Of course the body needs some of the other stuff in the food anyway, but any excess of any food doesn't just magically evaporate - the body automatically stores it 'in case of a period of starvation' - which of course never happens in this day and age - so we're just lumbered with the body fat that's the body's 'starvation larder'.

Diabetes is a term for the inability of a body to efficiently (if at all as in Type 1) deal with carbohydrate for whatever out of shedloads of reasons, it can't.

High, or long term, steroid treatment can cause it. But there again, so can statins if you happen to be one of the people that they have that effect on. If it is only the drug(s) then if you're only on them temporarily then it may be possible to reverse that effect but not if there's no alternative treatment for whatever it is.

So as I said - just try and help yourself in the easiest way possible, by cutting down on carbs (and sugar is simply just another carb as far as I'm concerned) Even lettuce has some carbs if you eat half a ton of it so nobody's expecting anyone to eliminate them ALL - but everyone's tolerance for them is finite, and totally different same as the colour of your hair (30+ different shades in any head of natural hair, unless you had it dyed this morning) or eyes.

Testing different foods with a BG monitor is the only way to do a spot check.

 

[Margaret Colliver]

Thanks for your response I had already lost weight when I had the heart incident; it was a takotsubo attack in which the symptoms mimic a heart attack but it's not a HA, it's when one of the heart chambers enlarges like an octopus pot (hence it's name). At that time (2015) blood tests did not show raised blood sugar levels; September last year was the first time it showed raised. I am trying to get more exercise now, since I came off the heart medications I have had a lot more energy to do so and I am hoping that with that and trying to tweak my diet I can get below what is 'considered to be diabetes' level.

 

[Martin Canty]

hoping that with that and trying to tweak my diet I can get below what is 'considered to be diabetes' level.

Sounds like you are looking at this the right way, we can all benefit from changes to our diets, I certainly did despite eating "healthy" for most of my life.

Specifically I cut/reduced carb sources such as Bread, Rice, Pasta, Cereals & starchy vegetables such as potatoes, instead, replacing them with green leafy vegetables grown above ground. Food is minimally processed.

 

[Margaret Colliver]

Well just cut down a bit on any and all carbs regardless of colour - cos they are the main thing that human bodies use to obtain their glucose - even though it's entirely possible to make glucose out of protein and fat, it's a bit harder work for the body, hence as long as it gets enough from carb, it doesn't bother converting anything else to glucose.

Of course the body needs some of the other stuff in the food anyway, but any excess of any food doesn't just magically evaporate - the body automatically stores it 'in case of a period of starvation' - which of course never happens in this day and age - so we're just lumbered with the body fat that's the body's 'starvation larder'.

Diabetes is a term for the inability of a body to efficiently (if at all as in Type 1) deal with carbohydrate for whatever out of shedloads of reasons, it can't.

High, or long term, steroid treatment can cause it. But there again, so can statins if you happen to be one of the people that they have that effect on. If it is only the drug(s) then if you're only on them temporarily then it may be possible to reverse that effect but not if there's no alternative treatment for whatever it is.

So as I said - just try and help yourself in the easiest way possible, by cutting down on carbs (and sugar is simply just another carb as far as I'm concerned) Even lettuce has some carbs if you eat half a ton of it so nobody's expecting anyone to eliminate them ALL - but everyone's tolerance for them is finite, and totally different same as the colour of your hair (30+ different shades in any head of natural hair, unless you had it dyed this morning) or eyes.

Testing different foods with a BG monitor is the only way to do a spot check.

Thanks for your comments; You have given me quite a bit to think about re carbs, as well as a smile at the thought of the results of someone eating half a ton of lettuce! From several replies it seems probably the best way to go is to get a monitor and regularly check it myself, partly because my next appointment with the practice nurse is not until September.

 

[Mark Parrott]

Hi Margaret. I definitely recommend you get a meter. We are all different & tolerate foods differently. An example of this is porridge. Some people are fine & others it sends their BG soaring! I'm OK with porridge as long as I close one eye & stand on one leg & whistle. Life doesn't have to be all lettuce. If you eat meat, that is all fine. All green leafy veg is fine. Also some root veg are ok in moderation, such as turnips, swede & carrots. Be careful with potatoes, even sweet potatoes, though some tolerate sweet potato better due to it's extra fibre. Potatoes with skin on are better, mash is worse. If you miss your bread, try Burgen Soya & Linseed which is lower carb, or Lidl's High Protein Rolls (though there is a short supply of these at the moment). Hovis also do lower carb bread in white, wholemeal & seeded. Cheese, butter & cream are fine. Try to avoid 'low fat' alternatives as these have more added sugar.

 

[Katieb]

Welcome Margaret. I too had no symptoms on diagnosis 7 years ago. I have managed to keep my levels at prediabetic or non-diabetic levels through monitoring and adjustments. This forum will give you all the information you need to do just that. You seem to have made a great start so I am sure you will be just fine. The very best of luck to you.

 

[scottishlass]

Hi Margaret and welcome aboard. I had no symptoms of diabetes when I was diagnosed last year - with an HbA1c of 132! It was picked up just on a routine general health check. Lots of good advice already given: test, test and test and cut the carbs. You'll see an improvement in your levels very quickly, especially if you can increase your exercise levels.

 

[Stitch147]

I don't want to offend, but now I don't feel so alone with the issue which I am finding hard to come to terms with. My initial HbA1c reading was 53mmols but since I have been able to do a bit of exercise it has dropped a point - and I hope can only get better! I see you are on medication but are there other ways you are controlling it which I may be able to follow?

I reduced the amount of sugar in my diet includes cutting back on the amount of fruit and carbs I was eating. I've always done a lot of walking so kept doing that.

 

[Ljc]

Hi Margaret. I’m another who had no symptoms, it was picked up because I had a Uti, which turned out not to be due to diabetes (long story). The diabetic clinic thought I’d been diabetic for 10years 😱 My Hb1ac was 115 😱.
As a T2 if you’re not on medications that can cause hypo’s (low blood glucose) it’s unlikely you’ll be provided with a glucose meter. When you self fund your own it’s the ongoing cost of the test strips you have to watch,
Meters bought in chemists have testing strips that range from £15 to £30 for 50.

To find out how the various carbohydrates affect us Many here use the SD Codefree meter it’s a perfectly good meter , it’s test strips are around £8 for 50 .
It’s available directly from Homehealth.
http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/

Amazon.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Codefree-G...fm-21&linkId=f39210144fdc26c27738e45b6d957003

You are entitled to claim VAT relief , which makes them a little cheaper.
We use the mmol/l measurement in the uk.

When you’re ready for a little light reading 😱 have a read through the T2 section of this thread
useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes. (for future reference you’ll find it at the top of the Newbies forum)
particularly
Maggie Daveys letter.
Jennifer’s Advise.
Test review adjust, by Alan S
And Testing on a budget, also by Alan S.

Ask as many questions as you need to, we’ll do our best to help.