What age were most of you diagnosed

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Jenny65

Jenny65

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi

I am new here and this is my first post that isnt on the newbie board so apolgies if this is the wrong place for this. I am just curious how old people were when they were diagnosed and do you beleive you had it for quite a while before, years even. What prompted you to get tested. Sorry may sound nosey but genuinely think I would be none the wiser today had I not developed a rash that basically hasnt healed in over 2 years so a blood test was arranged and now I have several health issues that the day before I hadnt a clue about.

I realise now that the tingling sensation in my fingers in 2018 may also have been diabetes or pre diabetes, I got the first sore on my skin in March 2020, it was the start of lockdown and It was like an insect bite, but it just didnt heal and then more and more appeared. I worried it may be scabies or bed bugs and due to lockdown self treated with Permethrin. I couldnt get a GP appointment due to Covid, so I tried, Salt baths, Aloe Vera Gel, Clove Oil, Tea Tree Oil, MSM Silver etc etc...cost me a fortune but nothing worked, Eventually I was seen by the GP who said he didnt know what the rash was and I was referred to a Dermatologist.

The Dermatologist looked at my sores which some covered my upper back, shoulders, top of arm and buttocks, one on my thigh. He said it was Nodula Prurigo which ofter starts with an insect bite and then you get unbearable itching all over (which I had) and more sores appear. None have healed at all. Anyway the Dermatologist got me to do a blood test to find if there was any underlying cause like Vitamin D defficiency etc.

I had the blood test on 16th June, and a text from the Dermatologist the following day to say blood test is normal no further action.

Then yesterday -28th June - I woke up to realise I had had loads of missed calls and texts from 7.30 am onwards all from my GP surgery asking me to see them for an appointment that morning and a further blood test. It appears my blood results were far from normal and there was a clear indication of high sugar level and abnormal liver results.

So I have had another blood test to show the average for my sugar which I am waiting for. I have however received the other test results back relating to cholesterol and liver, both not good, I am to see a Lipid Clinic and have a liver scan. Im a little scared about this as every test I seem to have comes back with a bad result.

Sorry rambling here. I am 57 but reckon I have had these issues without realising for 3-4 years, so worried I may have done damage by not knowing. I havent been good with my diet and also smoked, I have given up since the consultation and not smoked at all and wont again, its like before the diagnosis I thought I was invincible. Now I know I am human and have let myself become very unwell.

I would be interested to hear about other peoples story and how they got their diagnosis and what made them get tested in the first place. I would be oblivious if it wasnt for the skin rash and a walking time bomb. It also made me think about 2 of my sons friends who are both very overweight (44 waist trousers) and 21 stone at 5ft 7 they havent got diabetes but then they havent been to the doctor, they are young, late twenties and I worry that they may have this condition too but havent got tested as not had a trigger, although one of them has sciatica which means they have seen a GP but not had bloods taken.
 
I was diagnosed at 65, and have had difficulty with carbohydrate all my adult life but was ridiculed when I pointed out that dieting did not work for me. My thyroid stopped working some time before then and I had an annual blood test - but I have no idea why I was tested for diabetes that year - I was told I was a very bad diabetic and all the usual checks were done, feet eyes etc.
I had background retinopathy at the first test, but it was gone the following year. Now I am settled into eating a low carb diet I have lost weight and gained energy and there seems to be no damage from the - presumably - long period before diagnosis. As an added bonus my thyroid has woken up again and I have reduced medication for it.
 
I was 57. Optometrist picked up signs of retinopathy during routine new glasses visit, convinced me I should see a doctor for the first time in about 30 years.

Diagnosed with out of control T2D, established enough to have fairly extensive background retinopathy, and in conjunction with decades of very heavy smoking, peripheral artery disease to the extent that I had a completely blocked left femoral artery, and >50% stenosis in the right. Fortunately no apparent lung, heart, carotid, kidney, liver issues - dodged a few bullets!

I would have had it for about 3 years before diagnosis, probably. I'd had "urgent urination" & raging thirst etc for a while, and 3 years seems about right for the extent of the PAD at diagnosis.

I wasn't particularly overweight - BMI of 25 point something; nurse called me "slim" which was ridiculous - "podgy" more like it. Classic metabolic syndrome: visceral fat, high BP, high LDL, high trigs, low HDL, high BG.

In line with the Newcastle work, I zapped the T2D and all of the metabolic syndrome nasties in about 6 months via weight loss. Consistent with the "ReTUNE" study, for non-overweight T2's, it only took about 10kg weight loss to get to that point. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2022/04/diabetesremissionforlowbmi/

I lost an additional 10kg or so to give a margin for error, given that most people regain weight after loss, and because being skinny is fun! I've managed to maintain the weight loss for almost 4 years now, so hopefully things are set for the long-haul, with a bit of vigilance.

Having PAD I am at high CV risk so that's what I focus on for eating: minimal satfats, lots of unsaturated, minimal sodium, lots of fibre, minimal refined carbs. I don't care about carbs for BG these ays - once you've got the T2D sorted, they are a non-issue in that respect.
 
I was diagnosed on my 69th birthday. Some present. Actually it was a blessing in disguise.
 
I was 20, my periods had started being all over the place is why I went to my GP initially
 
I was diagnosed with Type 1 in my mid 30s.
I was losing weight, going to the toilet a lot and was very tired. My symptoms started about a month before diagnosis. I had visited the GP earlier and was given antibiotics for a UTI. I returned to the GP when the symptoms didn't go away.

At the time I was annoyed by the delay (needed the loo every 30 minutes for weeks gets tiresome) and did have a brief "why me?" period but decided the past was the past and I could do nothing about it. I chose to focus on what I could influence - the future and my diabetes management from today.
 
Jenny65 said:
Hi

I am new here and this is my first post that isnt on the newbie board so apolgies if this is the wrong place for this. I am just curious how old people were when they were diagnosed and do you beleive you had it for quite a while before, years even. What prompted you to get tested. Sorry may sound nosey but genuinely think I would be none the wiser today had I not developed a rash that basically hasnt healed in over 2 years so a blood test was arranged and now I have several health issues that the day before I hadnt a clue about.

I realise now that the tingling sensation in my fingers in 2018 may also have been diabetes or pre diabetes, I got the first sore on my skin in March 2020, it was the start of lockdown and It was like an insect bite, but it just didnt heal and then more and more appeared. I worried it may be scabies or bed bugs and due to lockdown self treated with Permethrin. I couldnt get a GP appointment due to Covid, so I tried, Salt baths, Aloe Vera Gel, Clove Oil, Tea Tree Oil, MSM Silver etc etc...cost me a fortune but nothing worked, Eventually I was seen by the GP who said he didnt know what the rash was and I was referred to a Dermatologist.

The Dermatologist looked at my sores which some covered my upper back, shoulders, top of arm and buttocks, one on my thigh. He said it was Nodula Prurigo which ofter starts with an insect bite and then you get unbearable itching all over (which I had) and more sores appear. None have healed at all. Anyway the Dermatologist got me to do a blood test to find if there was any underlying cause like Vitamin D defficiency etc.

I had the blood test on 16th June, and a text from the Dermatologist the following day to say blood test is normal no further action.

Then yesterday -28th June - I woke up to realise I had had loads of missed calls and texts from 7.30 am onwards all from my GP surgery asking me to see them for an appointment that morning and a further blood test. It appears my blood results were far from normal and there was a clear indication of high sugar level and abnormal liver results.

So I have had another blood test to show the average for my sugar which I am waiting for. I have however received the other test results back relating to cholesterol and liver, both not good, I am to see a Lipid Clinic and have a liver scan. Im a little scared about this as every test I seem to have comes back with a bad result.

Sorry rambling here. I am 57 but reckon I have had these issues without realising for 3-4 years, so worried I may have done damage by not knowing. I havent been good with my diet and also smoked, I have given up since the consultation and not smoked at all and wont again, its like before the diagnosis I thought I was invincible. Now I know I am human and have let myself become very unwell.

I would be interested to hear about other peoples story and how they got their diagnosis and what made them get tested in the first place. I would be oblivious if it wasnt for the skin rash and a walking time bomb. It also made me think about 2 of my sons friends who are both very overweight (44 waist trousers) and 21 stone at 5ft 7 they havent got diabetes but then they havent been to the doctor, they are young, late twenties and I worry that they may have this condition too but havent got tested as not had a trigger, although one of them has sciatica which means they have seen a GP but not had bloods taken.
Click to expand...
I was initially diagnosed as type 2 in 2017 - at the time I was 36. I had all the symptoms - blurred vision, weight loss, excessive thirst, going to toilet as a result of drinking so much water - yet I didn't connect the dots. It was only after I'd been on holiday for 2 weeks in Majorca, and was eating and drinking loads, but STILL lost weight that it was starting to be a concern. Still, I didn't go to the doctors right away - the thing that prompted me to go was that I had got a leg tattoo in October 2017 and it took around 7 weeks to heal, which is extremely slow for me, and it was unusually painful. I have a few tattoos on various areas of my body, and all healed in roughly 2 weeks. At that point I made an appointment to see my doctor, who said my glucose levels were at 122 and ketones were present in my urine. He sent me immediately to hospital. After a few blood tests I was diagnosed as type 2, and put on metformin.

My re-diagnosis to type 1 came in 2020, at the grand age of 39. After almost 3 years of steady control, I collapsed in March 2020 (not covid) and ended up in hospital. For a few months afterwards I experienced sharp rises in my BG, and couldn't bring it down no matter what I did. After more blood tests (antibody, C-peptide), I was finally re-diagnosed as type 1 in December 2020, and have been on insulin since. At the same time as I got diagnosed as type 1, I also got diagnosed with autoimmune hypothyroidism, and so I also take levothyroxine too, although I don't necessarily show that I have an underactive thyroid as I'm quite slim - my girlfriend would say I'm actually too slim. What triggered my body to suddenly attack itself is a complete mystery though. Interestingly, I seem to have months of relative calm, before my BG goes haywire again and I effectively have to "reset" myself. My background insulin needs have also increased - from 8 units at diagnosis, to 17 units today.
 
My daughter was 6, on the night of her 6th birthday she went down with a nasty virus which wiped her out for a week, eventually she recovered but I could smell a sweet smell on her breath all the time after that (presumably ketones). She seemed fine otherwise though so I didn’t rush to the doctor, she slowly declined though and was eventually diagnosed 7 weeks later. My mum was 22 (also type 1), and from what she says I think she had been showing signs for as much as a year or two before. She finally went to the doctor when a colleague of hers, who used to be a vet and had treated diabetic animals, said she ought to see someone about her thirst. And that was that!
 
I got a raging thirst one night as I was leaving a pub where I had had a bar meal and just assumed it had been a bit salty. Downed a pint of water when I got home and half an hour later I was thirsty again...spent the next 2 weeks glugging gallons of water and weeing for England day and night (5+ pit stops a night was turning me into a zombie!) before I contacted the docs and got a blood test, but had already sussed via Dr Google that it was diabetes and started cutting all the sugar from my diet. Initially I was assumed to be Type 2 and started on oral meds and strict low carb diet but the weight loss was extremely fast and very obvious and I was started on insulin 6 weeks later. Tested positive for Type 1 about 2 months after that.
Thinking back I had a few warning signs like pins and needles in my legs and feet way before the thirst hit but just over a year previous I had had a normal HbA1c result apparently. Can't think of anything particular that might have triggered it but will never forget that unquenchable thirst.
My actual diabetes diagnosis came the day after my birthday and the day before Valentines day but I had been symptomatic for 2 weeks prior to that. Don't you love diabetes! 🙄 Still I am very grateful it waited until later life to kick in as I have been lucky to have lived most of my life without it.
 
Jenny65 said:
Hi

I am new here and this is my first post that isnt on the newbie board so apolgies if this is the wrong place for this. I am just curious how old people were when they were diagnosed and do you beleive you had it for quite a while before, years even. What prompted you to get tested. Sorry may sound nosey but genuinely think I would be none the wiser today had I not developed a rash that basically hasnt healed in over 2 years so a blood test was arranged and now I have several health issues that the day before I hadnt a clue about.

I realise now that the tingling sensation in my fingers in 2018 may also have been diabetes or pre diabetes, I got the first sore on my skin in March 2020, it was the start of lockdown and It was like an insect bite, but it just didnt heal and then more and more appeared. I worried it may be scabies or bed bugs and due to lockdown self treated with Permethrin. I couldnt get a GP appointment due to Covid, so I tried, Salt baths, Aloe Vera Gel, Clove Oil, Tea Tree Oil, MSM Silver etc etc...cost me a fortune but nothing worked, Eventually I was seen by the GP who said he didnt know what the rash was and I was referred to a Dermatologist.

The Dermatologist looked at my sores which some covered my upper back, shoulders, top of arm and buttocks, one on my thigh. He said it was Nodula Prurigo which ofter starts with an insect bite and then you get unbearable itching all over (which I had) and more sores appear. None have healed at all. Anyway the Dermatologist got me to do a blood test to find if there was any underlying cause like Vitamin D defficiency etc.

I had the blood test on 16th June, and a text from the Dermatologist the following day to say blood test is normal no further action.

Then yesterday -28th June - I woke up to realise I had had loads of missed calls and texts from 7.30 am onwards all from my GP surgery asking me to see them for an appointment that morning and a further blood test. It appears my blood results were far from normal and there was a clear indication of high sugar level and abnormal liver results.

So I have had another blood test to show the average for my sugar which I am waiting for. I have however received the other test results back relating to cholesterol and liver, both not good, I am to see a Lipid Clinic and have a liver scan. Im a little scared about this as every test I seem to have comes back with a bad result.

Sorry rambling here. I am 57 but reckon I have had these issues without realising for 3-4 years, so worried I may have done damage by not knowing. I havent been good with my diet and also smoked, I have given up since the consultation and not smoked at all and wont again, its like before the diagnosis I thought I was invincible. Now I know I am human and have let myself become very unwell.

I would be interested to hear about other peoples story and how they got their diagnosis and what made them get tested in the first place. I would be oblivious if it wasnt for the skin rash and a walking time bomb. It also made me think about 2 of my sons friends who are both very overweight (44 waist trousers) and 21 stone at 5ft 7 they havent got diabetes but then they havent been to the doctor, they are young, late twenties and I worry that they may have this condition too but havent got tested as not had a trigger, although one of them has sciatica which means they have seen a GP but not had bloods taken.
Click to expand...
Well at 58 years i went to see GP because both my parents were late onset diabetic and knew it could be hereditary and wanted to find out. No symptoms . Gp said I couldn't have a blood test but in the end she gave the address of.a private clinic. Had a blood test, to cut a very long story short clinic lost the sample, found it with an Hba1c of 74. Making me diabetic. Metformin dispensed and goodbye. Only one problem even when i was waiting for lost sample result and eating all my usual fare my blood sugars were in 5s. My subsequent Hba1c tests are in non diabetic range. The nurse in the surgery thinks my sample was muddled up and that i am not diabetic... four years down the road I don't have a clue. Hey ho. I avoid that particular GP like the plague. It feels safer.
 
Jenny65 said:
I am just curious how old people were when they were diagnosed and do you beleive you had it for quite a while before,
Click to expand...
I was 15, on holiday with my family in the Lake District, and (over about a week) became more and more tired, thirsty, eventually collapsing. So very much the classic rapid descent into DKA that one thinks of with childhood Type 1.
 
Sharron1 said:
Well at 58 years i went to see GP because both my parents were late onset diabetic and knew it could be hereditary and wanted to find out. No symptoms . Gp said I couldn't have a blood test but in the end she gave the address of.a private clinic. Had a blood test, to cut a very long story short clinic lost the sample, found it with an Hba1c of 74. Making me diabetic. Metformin dispensed and goodbye. Only one problem even when i was waiting for lost sample result and eating all my usual fare my blood sugars were in 5s. My subsequent Hba1c tests are in non diabetic range. The nurse in the surgery thinks my sample was muddled up and that i am not diabetic... four years down the road I don't have a clue. Hey ho. I avoid that particular GP like the plague. It feels safer.
Click to expand...
Hi Sharon

I have a similar situation to you, was told my blood tests were normal, 10 days later the GP calling me and texting me several times while I was still sleeping as early morning to call me in to hear the anything but normal results. I have sent a letter to PALS to ask how this could happen, It made me wonder if some poor soul had received my bad results in a mix up and I got their results, can you imagine!

Can I ask what Hba1c result for normal (either non diabetic or pre diabetic) would be, just wonder the range and the meaning behind it

.
 
Sally71 said:
My daughter was 6, on the night of her 6th birthday she went down with a nasty virus which wiped her out for a week, eventually she recovered but I could smell a sweet smell on her breath all the time after that (presumably ketones). She seemed fine otherwise though so I didn’t rush to the doctor, she slowly declined though and was eventually diagnosed 7 weeks later. My mum was 22 (also type 1), and from what she says I think she had been showing signs for as much as a year or two before. She finally went to the doctor when a colleague of hers, who used to be a vet and had treated diabetic animals, said she ought to see someone about her thirst. And that was that!
Click to expand...
Its hard being diabetic but it must be even harder to have a child with it. How is your daughter coping now. It is good that your mums colleague had the medical training to urge your mum to go to the doctor.
 
I was diagnosed type 2 in 2010 when I was 46. I had kidney stones and it came up in the bloods. My first finger test was 13 not as high as it could be but as high as its ever been for me. I'm now on a raft of pills and am fighting against going onto Insulin. I did query with my Dr a few years before as I was getting hypos but he put it down to panic attacks. I got my own meter to prove to him it wasn't but my bloods were coming out within range whenever they tested it.
 
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29 will be exactlly 10 months on monday
 
I was 62 when I seen the GP due to feeling really tired, no other symptoms. It was Christmas time, my mother in law was at end of life care, I was a professional witness in court ( social work). But the fatigue was unusual . The GP decided to take blood tests as it had been 20 years since the previous tests. i was diagnosed as type 2, despite being slim build. I had a rocky road with uncontrollable blood sugars, which were unmanageable. Last July three years after the GP visit, it was confirmed I was type 1, after several scans and tests. The past year I have been fairly stable and just thankful that I got this later in life. I find the forum really informative. Like many , support is not straightforward , this week I called the clinic for the first time in 9 months to ask about my annual review. They don’t do them! I then called the medical secretary who said that the consultant will call in two months then I may be reviewed. My doctor would just direct me to the clinic. So in short although I take full personal responsibility in managing my diabetes , I still need professional support which can be lacking, seeking an annual review is not a lot to ask.
This sounds like a rant, but not meant to be.
 
Jenny65 said:
Hi Sharon

I have a similar situation to you, was told my blood tests were normal, 10 days later the GP calling me and texting me several times while I was still sleeping as early morning to call me in to hear the anything but normal results. I have sent a letter to PALS to ask how this could happen, It made me wonder if some poor soul had received my bad results in a mix up and I got their results, can you imagine!

Can I ask what Hba1c result for normal (either non diabetic or pre diabetic) would be, just wonder the range and the meaning behind it

.
Click to expand...
HbA1C which is an average glucose level over the previous 3 months, it represents the amount of glucose attached to your red blood cells which regenerate every 2-3 months.
Below 42mmol/mol is normal, 42-47mmol/mol is 'at risk' or prediabetic and 48mmol/mol and over is diabetic. That test does not tell you if you are Type 1 or Type 2.
Any diabetic diagnosis should be taken seriously but the higher you are the more urgent it is to get those levels down to avoid the complications of uncontrolled high glucose levels.
 
Jenny65 said:
Hi Sharon

I have a similar situation to you, was told my blood tests were normal, 10 days later the GP calling me and texting me several times while I was still sleeping as early morning to call me in to hear the anything but normal results. I have sent a letter to PALS to ask how this could happen, It made me wonder if some poor soul had received my bad results in a mix up and I got their results, can you imagine!

Can I ask what Hba1c result for normal (either non diabetic or pre diabetic) would be, just wonder the range and the meaning behind it

.
Click to expand...
Hi, if the nurse is correct about sample muddle i do wonder where my sample result went. As for Hba1c my understanding is 42-48 is a pre diabetic result anything over 48 is in diabetic territory.
 
rayray119 said:
29 will be exactlly 10 months on monday
Click to expand...
To add to this I think I did have at least a month or 2 before I realised I was taking a bottle of water to bed with almost every night but I put that down to how redicussly hot it was at the time.
 
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