Type 2

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

Honey&lemon

Member
Hi all,

I'm taking advice from a poster who suggested I post some questions as I mentioned I'd been spiraling a bit since the dr mentioned T2 to me in early May.

My HBA1C was 48 in two blood tests. I've been testing my blood sugars every day on waking and 2 hours after meals (got a monitor a couple of days later) and my 28 day average is 7.3. Sometimes I was impatient and tested very quickly after eating so obviously they were a bit higher but then always came down. On waking most days its between 4.3 and 5.5 usually. I have done another post about the diagnosis and some queries I have around considering I am also anemic which can inflate the HBA1C but I'm waiting back to hear about a second opinion.

Regardless, the whole T2 possibility has absolutely terrified me. I have had an eye floater for a few months, and have had them before and despite having had a full eye test and OCT scan a couple of weeks ago and being told its fine, I am still in a complete panic about my eyesight long term.

I'm also freaking out about my feet and the whole amputation thing. I do sometimes get pins and needles but it usually goes away. I get restless legs at night but again have always had that. I did around 30000 steps this weekend and today I feel like one of my feet feels warm? Not when I touch it but just I feel like it is. I don't know if its just in my head. It's not sore or anything and I've no cuts or callouses etc. I've been reading about feet and how to take care of them, can I really never wear sandals again or be barefoot on a beach? What do I need to be looking for?

I'm being careful and losing weight and hoping my next bloods the HBA1C will have reduced but I just can't stop panicking all the time. It's making me feel sick. I'm so worried the damage is done and no matter what I'm stuck with this for life and complications are inevitable or maybe already started. Like I say I'm spiraling and just don't know how to move forward with this.

Thank you if you made it through that ramble.
 
Hello and welcome. Many people feel terrified when they are first diagnosed, so you are amongst friends here.
Firstly there are real positives to take from your post. Your HbA1c of 48 is right at the very bottom of the diabetic scale, and you have not mentioned being prescribed any medication. Most enlightened GP's give a person the opportunity to reduce their HbA1c with lifestyle changes, as you are doing. Your 28 day and early morning blood prick tests are in the normal range. I'm not a medical person but would not expect you to have done any damage at such an early stage. You have been given a very early warning to make changes, (which you will need to stick to), and with your diagnosis, you will be tested regularly, including HbA1c, eyes, feet, BP, weight. It's your own personal well-woman check each year.
Regarding your feet, I have mine checked every 3 months by a podiatrist, and I rub E45 cream into them to keep them soft and supple. I wear sandals all summer, but I do have beach/swimming shoes, so I do my best to avoid any cuts and abrasions.
I know from my own experiences that when I am worried, every little niggle gets magnified in my mind, which I think might be what you are experiencing. Your eye tests were OK, and if there had been the slightest doubt, you would have been referred. When I overdo exercise, I feel very stiff and sore the following day/s.
Losing weight is good if you are overweight, but how have you modified your diet? Have you reduced your carbs, as they are what turns into blood glucose? Whatever you do, it does need to be sustainable. And don't beat yourself up if you have a bad day - nobody's perfect. When I was first diagnosed, I got an app to record my daily calories and carbs. To this day, I plan my daily food and exercise in advance. It's become a way of living and I don't think about it.
You'll see my journey in my signature below. I would LOVE to have an HbA1c of 48!!!
 
Felinia said:
Hello and welcome. Many people feel terrified when they are first diagnosed, so you are amongst friends here.
Firstly there are real positives to take from your post. Your HbA1c of 48 is right at the very bottom of the diabetic scale, and you have not mentioned being prescribed any medication. Most enlightened GP's give a person the opportunity to reduce their HbA1c with lifestyle changes, as you are doing. Your 28 day and early morning blood prick tests are in the normal range. I'm not a medical person but would not expect you to have done any damage at such an early stage. You have been given a very early warning to make changes, (which you will need to stick to), and with your diagnosis, you will be tested regularly, including HbA1c, eyes, feet, BP, weight. It's your own personal well-woman check each year.
Regarding your feet, I have mine checked every 3 months by a podiatrist, and I rub E45 cream into them to keep them soft and supple. I wear sandals all summer, but I do have beach/swimming shoes, so I do my best to avoid any cuts and abrasions.
I know from my own experiences that when I am worried, every little niggle gets magnified in my mind, which I think might be what you are experiencing. Your eye tests were OK, and if there had been the slightest doubt, you would have been referred. When I overdo exercise, I feel very stiff and sore the following day/s.
Losing weight is good if you are overweight, but how have you modified your diet? Have you reduced your carbs, as they are what turns into blood glucose? Whatever you do, it does need to be sustainable. And don't beat yourself up if you have a bad day - nobody's perfect. When I was first diagnosed, I got an app to record my daily calories and carbs. To this day, I plan my daily food and exercise in advance. It's become a way of living and I don't think about it.
You'll see my journey in my signature below. I would LOVE to have an HbA1c of 48!!!
Click to expand...
Hi Felinia

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate it.

You're right I have not been given any medication and have been making dietary and lifestyle changes. In terms of how I have modified my diet, I have cut way back on the carbs, and am now taking time to read labels and try to make sense of it all. I've cut out the takeaways and snacking. I also used to just get by on coffee and diet coke. Now it's mainly just water and a cup of tea a day. I was very sedentary before, maybe 1-2k steps a day. I'm now doing minimum 8k every day.

I have allowed the odd treat i.e. a piece of cake on my birthday and a meal out at the weekend, and didn't have any spikes which was good. The only food I've noticed cause a slight spike was white rice, which maybe took an extra hour or so to come down to normal levels. So I'll be avoiding that! But breads, pasta etc have been fine in moderation.

In a way, its been the wake up call I've needed for years and of course I'm beating myself up for not doing something sooner, I just hope I can minimise the damage. I'm so confused in terms of what I do now for things like insurance, driving etc, and if / when I'm supposed to 'declare' anything or if I'm not at that stage (and hopefully won't be if I keep going)

I'm still quite young too (35) and had hoped to have another baby one day. I hope I haven't ruined my chances or health long term.

Sorry for another ramble. Its been a tough few weeks.
 
Honey&lemon said:
Hi Felinia

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate it.

You're right I have not been given any medication and have been making dietary and lifestyle changes. In terms of how I have modified my diet, I have cut way back on the carbs, and am now taking time to read labels and try to make sense of it all. I've cut out the takeaways and snacking. I also used to just get by on coffee and diet coke. Now it's mainly just water and a cup of tea a day. I was very sedentary before, maybe 1-2k steps a day. I'm now doing minimum 8k every day.

I have allowed the odd treat i.e. a piece of cake on my birthday and a meal out at the weekend, and didn't have any spikes which was good. The only food I've noticed cause a slight spike was white rice, which maybe took an extra hour or so to come down to normal levels. So I'll be avoiding that! But breads, pasta etc have been fine in moderation.

In a way, its been the wake up call I've needed for years and of course I'm beating myself up for not doing something sooner, I just hope I can minimise the damage. I'm so confused in terms of what I do now for things like insurance, driving etc, and if / when I'm supposed to 'declare' anything or if I'm not at that stage (and hopefully won't be if I keep going)

I'm still quite young too (35) and had hoped to have another baby one day. I hope I haven't ruined my chances or health long term.

Sorry for another ramble. Its been a tough few weeks.
Click to expand...
Good for making the changes you have but unless you are particularly sensitive to caffeine or the sweeteners used in diet drinks (which some people are ) then there is usually no problem with those drinks as long as you don't have sugar in your coffee.
Unless you are on medication then insurance is not usually a problem, I say dietary managed Type 2 diabetes and never needed to mention it for driving.
 
The DVLA look at your fitness to drive based on how you treat your diabetes and if you have any diabetes complications. I'm managing by diet so I don't even need to tell them, and my insurance company made a note but said it wasn't an issue.
Would be different if I was on insulin or certain other meds. Suggest you have a read of this - it might put your mind at rest:-

Diabetes and your driving licence

There are extra rules for people with diabetes who want to drive. This is to make sure it’s safe for you and others. This information is about what to tell your driving licensing authority when you have diabetes. Provisional licenses and booking your driving theory test What to expect at the...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
Honey&lemon said:
The only food I've noticed causes a slight spike was white rice, which maybe took an extra hour or so to come down to normal levels. So I'll be avoiding that! But breads, pasta etc have been fine in moderation.
Click to expand...
A portion of white long grain rice is usually around 60g carb, which would be almost half my daily carb allowance. I switched to riced cauliflower, which is only 4g carb per portion. It means my wife and I can have the same rice meals - Chilli Con Carne, Chicken Chasseur for example - but she has rice and I have riced cauliflower.

Bread or pasta are often fine if you've reduced your portion sizes, especially for someone whose BG is where yours is.
 
Thanks Martin and Leading Lights for your comments too.

That's good to know I don't need to say anything to DVA for now. I felt a bit better last night and then read more about life expectancy and how even getting into remission is not permanent and it will inevitably progress over time and got so upset again and nearly had another panic attack. Finding it so so hard to be positive about it all.
 
Honey&lemon said:
I felt a bit better last night and then read more about life expectancy and how even getting into remission is not permanent and it will inevitably progress over time and got so upset again and nearly had another panic attack. Finding it so so hard to be positive about it all.
Click to expand...

Big hugs to you @Honey&lemon - be kind to yourself.

I’m not sure where you read the ‘inevitable progression’ suggestion, but I think there are different schools of thought on that now.

For many years T2 was considered inevitably progressive, but more recent research by Prof Taylor and others (Newcastle Diet) has demonstrated that is possible to ‘reboot’ the pancreas and restore function in many cases by removing visceral fat around the organs in the abdomen. This is primarily achieved through weight loss, and this can either happen gradually or using a rapid very low calorie intervention over a shorter term. As long as the weight remains off the follow-up studies show that the improvements are retained. But it is quite recent research, so no one can tell for sure what might happen in 20, 30, or 40 years.

What we can see though, is that many members with T2 who opt for a glucose-normalising way of eating by reducing carbohydrate intake to a level that their metabolism is happy with seem able to retain effective glucose management for a decade or more.

So there do seem to be multiple ways to hold diabetes in check for many years.

As you said yourself, a diabetes diagnosis can be a weirdly positive thing. It can become a sort of catalyst that motivates people to make positive changes to their lifestyle that they have been meaning to do for years and never quite got around to. Many forum members over the years say they haven’t felt ‘fitter’ and ‘healthier’ with more energy, better skin, a clearer mind, and a brighter outlook than they have in years and years. And some find that adjustments they make to help with glucose management seem to have a positive impact on all manner of other longstanding ailments they have been living with.

I hope you find the same 🙂
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Big hugs to you @Honey&lemon - be kind to yourself.

I’m not sure where you read the ‘inevitable progression’ suggestion, but I think there are different schools of thought on that now.

For many years T2 was considered inevitably progressive, but more recent research by Prof Taylor and others (Newcastle Diet) has demonstrated that is possible to ‘reboot’ the pancreas and restore function in many cases by removing visceral fat around the organs in the abdomen. This is primarily achieved through weight loss, and this can either happen gradually or using a rapid very low calorie intervention over a shorter term. As long as the weight remains off the follow-up studies show that the improvements are retained. But it is quite recent research, so no one can tell for sure what might happen in 20, 30, or 40 years.

What we can see though, is that many members with T2 who opt for a glucose-normalising way of eating by reducing carbohydrate intake to a level that their metabolism is happy with seem able to retain effective glucose management for a decade or more.

So there do seem to be multiple ways to hold diabetes in check for many years.

As you said yourself, a diabetes diagnosis can be a weirdly positive thing. It can become a sort of catalyst that motivates people to make positive changes to their lifestyle that they have been meaning to do for years and never quite got around to. Many forum members over the years say they haven’t felt ‘fitter’ and ‘healthier’ with more energy, better skin, a clearer mind, and a brighter outlook than they have in years and years. And some find that adjustments they make to help with glucose management seem to have a positive impact on all manner of other longstanding ailments they have been living with.

I hope you find the same 🙂
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply and kind words. I went back for another set of bloods after 6 weeks of really trying hard and my HBA1C was down to 42 from 48. I know this is good. But even the nurse taking them just seemed to imply medication and complications were more just delayed as a result of remission

Im trying to remember that at my weight, some form of health problems were likely. Maybe without warning, unlike with diabetes were I do have a chance to go into remission and at least delay complications. But I can’t seem to get past the anxiety. It’s taking over my life. Even some posters on here have commented that for 20 years or so they’ve kept it in check but despite their best efforts they have to start medication or develop complications.

I just have to keep trying to do what I can. None of us know what’s round the corner I guess. But with the diagnosis it feels a little bit more close to home
 
I'm sorry you are still anxious @Honey&lemon, it's a shame when you've done so well. You are now only pre-diabetic, something many people here would love to be.

You need to make the changes you've already achieved maintainable so you can continue to stay on top of diabetes. And just because some posters end up with complications or have to start medication, it doesn't follow that you will.

Personally, my life has improved with diabetes! I have more energy and zest for life than I ever had before. Yes, none of us know what is round the corner, so my goal is to enjoy what I can while I can. When I go walking I thank my lucky stars on a daily basis that I still can, because I have friends who are unable to due to medical complications.

Really well done to you for getting to 42, cut yourself some slack and take pride in your achievement x
 
Honey&lemon said:
Im trying to remember that at my weight, some form of health problems were likely. Maybe without warning, unlike with diabetes were I do have a chance to go into remission and at least delay complications. But I can’t seem to get past the anxiety. It’s taking over my life. Even some posters on here have commented that for 20 years or so they’ve kept it in check but despite their best efforts they have to start medication or develop complications.
Click to expand...

I was diagnosed at age 21.

At that stage, the majority of the evidence suggested that I’d almost certainly have eye problems by the time I was 40.

But here I am 15 years further on than 40 and my eyes have been ‘all clear’ pretty much every year up until now. My last check had a trace of background, but those have cleared up the other 2 times a decade or so back)

And as a T1 I’ve been on the ‘strongest’ diabetes medication all that time. Hasn’t made me gain weight. I still have good pulses in my feet, and my kidneys are still going strong.

There are no guarantees, and I have no idea how much of that is just luck and genes, plus my diabetes being OK to keep in range (ish).

But all you can do is your best to balance looking after your diabetes, with living something vaguely resembling a normal life.

And don’t worry about medication. It’s not a black mark, or evidence you ‘did it wrong’. Some people’s metabolisms just need a little extra support than others.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top