Type 2 @ 23

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Jas_99

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Hi all,
I was diagnosed with diabeties last week.. it still feels weird to say. It was flagged up through bloods that were taken for psoriasis medication… my HbAc1 level came back as 101… I then went for another test a couple of weeks later to ensure the labs hadn’t make the mistake and my HbAc1 levels were 105. The Dr did no further tests and diagnosed me with type 2 (even though I have no risk factors especially as I’m only 23) and sent me home with 80mg of Gliclazide. She plans to do another HbAc1 in 7 weeks to see if the meds have worked. If they have then she says it means I’m definitely type 2 but if they don’t then she’ll refer me to an endocrinologist for advice. It came as a total shock to me didn’t suspect it at all - had symptoms such as exhaustion and excessive thirst but put it down to the side effects of my antidepressants. I’ve been on Gliclazide for 3 days and my glucose levels are still sitting at about 13 mmol… I’m finding this all so overwhelming… I range from feeling disgusted/angry with my body to sabotaging myself and having some chocolate… I feel so dishartened as I love carbs and sugar… if anyone has any advice or useful information please send it my way I need all the help I can get ❤️
 
Welcome to the forum, for many a diagnosis comes as a bit of a shock but sometimes it is a relief as it can explain symptoms people have been experiencing, thirst and tiredness are classic symptoms of high blood glucose and diagnosis of Type 2 is often made on clinical presentation, high HbA1C, maybe needing to lose weight and age but many do not fit into the usual presentation and medication and dietary changes don't work and further tests may then reveal a different Type.
The gliclazide you have been prescribed encourages the pancreas to produce more insulin if it is able but reducing your carbohydrate intake is also important as the medication can only do so much.
Replacing the carbs with protein and healthy fats can give plenty of options for tasty meals and factoring in things like chocolate as treats is still possible.
With the medication you are on which can cause low blood glucose, you should go cautiously about reducing carbs and go gradually as it is better to reduce your blood glucose slowly.
Many do find a low carb regime successful, that being no more than 130g total carbs not just sugar per day, It definitely does not mean NO carbs.
This link may help with some ideas for modifying your meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
It sound like you have a monitor so you could test the effect of your meals on your blood glucose by testing before you eat and after 2 hours aiming at no more than a 3mmol/l increase and as your levels come down then no more than 8-8.5mmol/l 2 hours post meal.
 
I would be picking up some urine ketone testing strips from a chemist (you may have to ask for them at the pharmacy counter and are about £5-6 for a tub) and make sure you aren't showing more than trace ketones. DKA (Diabetic ketoacidosis) is a risk when someone isn't making enough insulin. More info in the spoiler and the link to the NHS page the info in spoiler comes from (which explains a bit more).

www.nhs.uk

Diabetic ketoacidosis

Find out about diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), including what the symptoms are, when to get medical help and how to prevent it.
www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk

Symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis​

Symptoms of DKA include:

  • needing to pee more than usual
  • feeling very thirsty
  • being sick
  • tummy pain
  • breath that smells fruity (like pear drop sweets, or nail varnish)
  • deep or fast breathing
  • feeling very tired or sleepy
  • confusion
  • passing out
You can get DKA if you have high blood sugar (hyperglycaemia) and a high level of ketones in your blood or urine. You can check your ketone levels using a home-testing kit.

Symptoms usually start over a 24-hour period, but they can happen faster.

Check your blood sugar and ketone levels​

Check your blood sugar level if you have symptoms of DKA.

If your blood sugar level is 11mmol/L or above, and you have a blood or urine ketone testing kit, check your ketone level.

If you do a blood ketone test:

  • lower than 0.6mmol/L is a normal reading
  • 0.6 to 1.5mmol/L means you're at a slightly increased risk of DKA and you should test again in 2 hours
  • 1.6 to 2.9mmol/L means you're at an increased risk of DKA and should contact your diabetes team or GP as soon as possible
  • 3mmol/L or above means you have a very high risk of DKA and should get medical help immediately
If you do a urine ketone test, a result of more than 2+ means there's a high chance you have DKA and you should get medical help immediately.

When to get medical help​

Go to your nearest A&E immediately if you think you have DKA, especially if you have a high level of ketones in your blood or urine.

DKA is an emergency and needs to be treated in hospital immediately.

Call your diabetes team or GP as soon as possible if you're not sure whether you need emergency help – for example:

  • your blood sugar or ketone levels are high or getting higher over time, but you do not feel unwell
  • you feel unwell but your blood sugar or ketone levels are normal or are only a little bit higher than usual
If you cannot contact your care team or GP, call your local out-of-hours service or NHS 111 for advice.

Also just to add onto @Leadinglights post from someone who has been there, achieving 8-8.5 post meal when you start out at your levels wont be achievable. Look for the rise and fall difference vs the actual numbers.
Its hard not to feel like a failure when you aren't getting the lower numbers and it can lead to disordered eating 😉
 
Welcome, I was diagnosed t2 age 20, 15 years ago now. Currently awaiting results to see if I really am t2 or not. Do you have anyone else with diabetes in your family? There’s more than just T1 and T2 there’s MODY and LADA and all sorts!
 
I should also add, people here will advise you to go low carb but I really wouldn’t advise going extreme low carb. You need your a1c to reflect a sustainable diet not a diet that you can only stick to for a few weeks. You do want to improve things but you really don’t want to go too extreme, and mask a more complicated type of diabetes that would warrant a referral to a specialist.
 
Hi @Jas_99 and welcome 🙂

Steroids raise blood sugar - there is a steroid induced type of diabetes - I'm guessing you are probably using steroids for psoriasis? Be aware that it may not be Type 2, the Gliclazide medication that you've been prescribed makes your pancreas produce more insulin to counteract the raised blood glucose. If the beta cells that produce insulin in the pancreas are dwindling due to eg Type 1 then they won't be able to push more insulin out. Be very aware of what is happening to your blood glucose and of how you feel. As said above if you start to feel nauseous, breathless, stomach pains etc seek urgent medical advice and don't wait to see if things improve or wait 7 weeks for a further HbA1c test.

Have you been losing weight without trying as that is another symptom of Type 1 diabetes.
 
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Welcome to the forum @Jas_99

Don’t berate yourself for the feelings your are feeling. You aren’t the first person to have felt like that about the news of a diabetes diagnosis and you certainly won’t be the last.

Be kind to yourself, and give yourself time to adjust and adapt.

And keep an open mind about your diabetes type too. There seem to be some ‘atypical’ aspects to your diabetes presentation, so keep watching and observing, and keep asking questions - particularly if treatments don’t seem to be working as you’d expect.
 
Jas_99 said:
Hi all,
I was diagnosed with diabeties last week.. it still feels weird to say. It was flagged up through bloods that were taken for psoriasis medication… my HbAc1 level came back as 101… I then went for another test a couple of weeks later to ensure the labs hadn’t make the mistake and my HbAc1 levels were 105. The Dr did no further tests and diagnosed me with type 2 (even though I have no risk factors especially as I’m only 23) and sent me home with 80mg of Gliclazide. She plans to do another HbAc1 in 7 weeks to see if the meds have worked. If they have then she says it means I’m definitely type 2 but if they don’t then she’ll refer me to an endocrinologist for advice. It came as a total shock to me didn’t suspect it at all - had symptoms such as exhaustion and excessive thirst but put it down to the side effects of my antidepressants. I’ve been on Gliclazide for 3 days and my glucose levels are still sitting at about 13 mmol… I’m finding this all so overwhelming… I range from feeling disgusted/angry with my body to sabotaging myself and having some chocolate… I feel so dishartened as I love carbs and sugar… if anyone has any advice or useful information please send it my way I need all the help I can get ❤️
Click to expand...
You can have chocolate - but most chocolate is sold with a lot of sugar - I buy Lidl's 95% cocoa chocolate and eat small amounts of it.
I must point out that your GP doesn't have a clue about the way diabetes can present itself, and you could be in danger from the assumptions being trotted out.
As Gliclazide can cause hypos you should be careful if you are cutting back on carbohydrates, though you might see some reduction in levels you could be in the first stages of type 1 or one of the other variants - though you don't mention weightloss which is sometimes an early indication of low insulin production.
 
Hey @Jas_99 and welcome to the Forum :D As said, don't be too harsh on yourself. Physical and mental well-being are both important. Diabetes UK has a helpline with trained advisors so if you feel too overwhelmed give them a call on 0345 123 2399, they love a good chat
 
Lucyr said:
Welcome, I was diagnosed t2 age 20, 15 years ago now. Currently awaiting results to see if I really am t2 or not. Do you have anyone else with diabetes in your family? There’s more than just T1 and T2 there’s MODY and LADA and all sorts!
Click to expand...
Hi, only person with diabetes is my cousin with type 1 so I feel like she ruled it out straight away. I have been on the medication for a week and my blood glucose levels are still super high so I’m thinking of booking an appointment with my dr before the 7 weeks to discuss… What are the tests that distinguish which type you are? And how did you go about getting them?
 
The tests for Type 1 are the GAD antibody test and the C-peptide test. The latter can be done on blood or urine but the latter is less reliable and needs specific pre test preparation. Unfortunately the blood test is more expensive I believe and most GP practices are not set up to process the sample because it needs to be quick frozen within 20 mins of being drawn from what I remember and then sent off to the lab frozen, so best if it it sampled at a main hospital with the correct facilities. It is also best if these tests are authorized and the results reviewed by an experienced consultant because they are not always as straightforward to interpret as you might hope. The GAD antibody test can take as long as 6 weeks .... maybe even longer for the results to come back, so I would suggest that you ask your GP for a referral to your local diabetes clinic to get the ball rolling and in the meantime, ensure that you have a means for testing ketones if your BG levels are persistently mid teens or above.
 
I agree with others, I'd ask your GP to refer you to hospital diabetes clinic so you can get tests for type 1 asap. If you have type 1 you need to be on insulin now, not trying other meds to see whether or not they work. Most GPs know very little (if anything) about type 1 as it's quite rare, and it sounds as if yours is a bit clueless.

A lot of people with type 1 have no-one else with diabetes in their family, so I think that is a bit of a red herring so far as type 1 is concerned, more relevant to some of the other types.

If it is type 1 the good news is that you will still be able to eat carbs and sugar! If it's type 2 you will need to make some changes to your diet, but as has been said, high-cocoa dark chocolate is still OK.

The main thing is to get a definite diagnosis one way or the other as soon as you can though. And get hold of some Ketostix while you wait, just in case.
 
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