Update and scared.

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Berenice

Berenice

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
It's been a while. In a nutshell I was diagnosed in 2017, did well, lost weight, brought hba1c down to prediabetic on just diet etc, early 2018 life took over and mum passed away. After that I just buried my head in the sand, avoided appointments, meds and any help. And ate all the wrong foods. In recent months I've not felt great and finally something clicked in my head and I knew I had to get real and deal with this.

So I've been for my blood tests and today got a phone call to go back and repeat them. Something to do with electrolyte enzyme or something like that.

I have no idea what that means and am feeling a bit anxious to say the least.
 
Hi and welcome back.

So sorry to hear about losing your Mum. It is never easy and totally understandable that you lost your way with your diabetes management at such a time. It is great that you are now ready to tackle it again and have taken steps along that route by getting a blood test and returning to the forum.
A repeat test request may be because there was a rogue result that needs checking which happens from time to time and often resolves in the follow up test or there was a problem with the sample or perhaps that one of your tests is genuinely out of range and needs addressing, perhaps with medication or some dietary changes. Please try not to worry (easier said than done, we all know) until those second results come back because firstly you can't do anything about it until you know more and stress and worry will make your diabetes worse, but there is a good chance that it is nothing to worry about anyway.
Start with things you do have control of like getting your diet back on course and if you are able, getting into a routine of a daily walk or some other gentle exercise. Those things can make a huge difference not onto to your diabetes but a whole raft of other health conditions and will also help to alleviate stress, because high BG levels make us more anxious and also walking is usually calming, particularly if you can get out into the countryside or somewhere green.

Let us know when you get the results but keep coming back to the forum and updating us with the little bits of progress you are making on those other areas I have mentioned. It is important to acknowledge even really small achievements because success is motivating. We are often far to hard on ourselves and see the little failures which is demotivating when we should really focus on the successes and learning to seek them out, especially when the negatives are trying to hide them. Today's achievement is coming back to the forum. If you can also get out for a little walk or have a nice big salad for lunch (I always have mine with a big dollop of cheese coleslaw which makes it really enjoyable and still low carb) you get extra Brownie points. 😉
 
One of the standard tests they do when we have the 'armful of blood' tests before our diabetes reviews. It is called " U & E " - Urea and Electrolytes. This gives the results for sodium, potassium, urea and creatinine. Although each thing will have a standard range the results are sposed to fall between and maybe one of them doesn't, it's not anything to instantly panic about - because eg if one's a bit low but the rest are all OK, it could depend on whether X or Y are also high or low that it might indicate some possible problem. On the other hand - perhaps you weren't as well hydrated as you need to be at that precise time, or maybe the lab didn't even do that test despite it being on the form - so they just simply don't have the results! I'm no longer amazed when this happens - after all Path. Labs are operated by people and none of us are infallible!

Absolutely no need to worry PLEASE - if there is actually anything out of whack - they'll soon be telling you and most things aren't a death sentence but just need some further investigation - our entire lives are a voyage of exploration for all of us, aren't they!
 
you sound like you've made a great start getting back in track.
Electrolytes aren't normally a major thing.
It can relate to diet, if you say you have been eating the wrong things.
Personally, I'd wait until you get the results, and advice from the doctor before dolloping anything yet, or going for any extreme diet though, as it's better to wait for the facts, there isn't a "one size fits all" answer.
 
Well done! That is a fantastic result for your first week. Hope you feel better mentally for that achievement as well as physically. Keep doing what you are doing and keep us posted with your progress.
 
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