What age were most of you diagnosed

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travellor said:
Complain to the practice manager
If you contact the helpline on this site I'm sure they can give you good advice on the best way forwards as well.
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No point complaining to the practice manager.
 
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.
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Got diagnosed as Type one at 34, thirty years later, it's becoming a real drag.
 
I was 7 when I was diagnosed with Type 1. About 3 weeks into Year 3 at school. My parents had noticed I was drinking a ridiculous amount of water from about the May/June of 2015. They took me to the GP in the September and the finger prick came back at 16.1. I remember my parents faces when the GP told them to get me to the local hospital (7 miles away)
 
CivicFreak said:
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.
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I am recently told to up Levemir to 14 units am and pm. I am overly concerned. Do you think your bg levels are well managed at 17 units. I inject insulin 5 times a day and it still has mind of its own. I feel as if my life has more or less finished. Hate to keep looking at numbers, units, carbs and time. There has got to be a better way to live one's life. Alas!
 
63, had/have an issue with my hip, site of an old fracture wanted it checking out as I'd missed a step coming down off step ladder. GP is new as I moved house in lockdown, said they'd better do my bloods as they hadn't been done since 2019. Quite surprised at phone call telling me I'm diabetic as I was feeling quite good, apart from the hip, gardening, decorating etc.
 
I got diagnosed on 11 April, 2022 at the age of 58 years and 9 months. I suddenly developed all the symptoms. Glugging water like there is no tomorrow and it tasted sweet and visiting the loo frequently. I remember going every 30mins till 2:30am and then every 2 hours. Once I went to loo 25 times in 24 hours. Felt tired. Blurred vision. Nasty UTI symptoms. GP suggested a M.O.T. No appointments available till 3 weeks. Anyhow I waited for a week and went for blood test. Was told it will take 7 days. Same afternoon, my GP called. Confirmed the worst and called me in with another sample. Tested for ketones. Told me it is type 1 and I need insulin. I have always been very scared of needles. She told me my ketones were 2++. Meant nothing to me but she sent me straight to the Immediate Assessment Unit. A can of worms opened up. I was badly dehydrated with low potassium. My BG levels were over 30 plus raised ketones. The weight was falling off me. I was in the hospital for 9 days. I knew nothing about this ailment. My brain would shut down. I blame the needle phobia. Kept refusing insulin. But gave in as this is the best treatment, I was told. I was put on set doses. No idea of carb counting.
Still early days for learning how to adjust insulin doses. Food diary. My biggest issue was not that what I could eat, in fact how many times a week. Likes of bananas, eggs or carbs. Being vegetarian made it doubly difficult. My meals were nothing but carbs. I was not over weight to begin with. Now I am 2 dress sizes down.
Chapter 2 begins with arriving back home. Still no concrete diagnosis. Awaiting c-peptite results. Initially no support from the Grey Clinic. No one returned my calls. No dietitian. Being a bit of perfectionist, I was very wary of what I could or couldn't eat. I scrutinised every thing. More weight loss. I was mega disappointed. Felt let down by nhs big time. Now things are better. On libre2, sharing my info with the DSN and the dietitian.
Still vegetarian, struggling to find suitable low GI foods. BG levels are up and down. And my head is full of questions. It always has been. I need to know what's happening and why. I only rest once I find all the answers. Must drive everyone crazy.
During my days of sheer despair and helplessness, I joined the Forum; the best thing I have done if ever. Like minded sympathetic people, who understand well cos they have been thru most of the stages. Their experience speaks volumes. I am forever so grateful for the advice and support. So a big thank you to one and all for being supportive thru this very difficult journey! Stay safe and healthy!
 
Not sure exact age but must’ve been in my early / mid 30’s
I knew I wasn’t well, I was struggling to get through the day (due to lack of sleep) continually exhausted
the usual signs unfortunately after diagnosis to many years before I finally got things under control
 
I've just been diagnosed as prediabetic at 63. The reason for the test was I was suffering crushing tiredness which I've had for about a year.

My first blood test showed low folic acid. Good I thought, easy fix but after taking supplements for 6 weeks, there was no improvement. The docs gave me another blood test and then the hba1c which showed up the prediabetes. I'm addressing my diet and exercising and slowly losing weight. You know, all the things you should do normally. I was sleeping 3-4 hours in the day and all night, but I'm not sleeping in the day now so fingers crossed.

To complicate things, I had a stroke a couple of years ago and thought the tiredness was post stroke fatigue. I'm still not quite right, but better than I was. See how the diet and exercise maps out.

I didn't have the unquenchable thirst and peeing a lot like many others have, just the tiredness.

I'm still quite tired, but adjusting from exercise after doing none for so long so hopefully that will improve as I get fitter.

Cheers

Steve
 
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28 yo, Type 1. My mother spotted the signs. As a sheltered housing warden she knew quite a number of people who developed it latter in life. She came round to my house with some urine sticks, I only needed one, it went off the chart
 
Fatterthantheshadow said:
28 yo, Type 1. My mother spotted the signs. As a sheltered housing warden she knew quite a number of people who developed it latter in life. She came round to my house with some urine sticks, I only needed one, it went off the chart
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Hi, how do the urine sticks compare to the finger prick method to detect glucose. I am curious as haven't got a monitor yet and struggle a little with the thought of pricking my finger every day, so if I can test using urine sticks that would be a better option for me. Having said that I am type 2 and not sure I will have to self monitor anyway but it would be reassuring to check even if just once a week.
 
Jenny65 said:
Hi, how do the urine sticks compare to the finger prick method to detect glucose.
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Very poorly. They can tell if your BG is high enough that the kidneys start to excrete it (so normally somewhere north of 10, but it can vary (and presumably is lower for people using one of the SGLT2 family of drugs)), but that's all.
 
lol, I had to think, only got so many fingers and toes to count with, but diagnosed aged 45, I'd had an extra large pizza while watching the football and had bad stomach cramps Monday morning, doctor sent me for blood tests, the rest is history...

Although the signs were present, needing to pee more often, thirsty all the time, my appendix had burst just over a year before, I'm pretty sure it's all related 🙂
 
Bruce Stephens said:
Very poorly. They can tell if your BG is high enough that the kidneys start to excrete it (so normally somewhere north of 10, but it can vary (and presumably is lower for people using one of the SGLT2 family of drugs)), but that's all.
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Ahh so this may not be helpful for me as my kidney results on the blood test my doctor did were normal, she said they are not affected, which corelates to me not having to go to the loo more frequently or being thirsty like some others. Its my liver that is struggling but so far not my kidneys.
 
Jenny65 said:
Hi, how do the urine sticks compare to the finger prick method to detect glucose. I am curious as haven't got a monitor yet and struggle a little with the thought of pricking my finger every day, so if I can test using urine sticks that would be a better option for me. Having said that I am type 2 and not sure I will have to self monitor anyway but it would be reassuring to check even if just once a week.
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I'm certainly no expert on them, my understanding is they are quite crude and from yesteryear. I think you wee sugar if your glucose is above 13 (don't quote me on this figure) so if you are constantly 12.5 you wouldn't know there's a problem
 
Jenny65 said:
Ahh so this may not be helpful for me as my kidney results on the blood test my doctor did were normal
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They're not that useful for anyone, really. They're a cheap way to find out that your BG is too high (probably a lot too high), but that's typically too late for everyday use: what we're interested in is whether we're 5.0 or 9.0, and (for those of us who can go hypo) 3.5, and testing urine is useless for that.

So makes lots of sense for a GP surgery (or school nurse) to be able to do a quick, cheap, urine test (is this person likely diabetic?), but for management for the rest of us, its time has passed. (And even in other situations, it's likely worth the 25p (and whatever a lancet costs) to do a blood test, if they find themselves doing it often enough to bother.)
 
Jenny65 said:
Hi, how do the urine sticks compare to the finger prick method to detect glucose. I am curious as haven't got a monitor yet and struggle a little with the thought of pricking my finger every day, so if I can test using urine sticks that would be a better option for me. Having said that I am type 2 and not sure I will have to self monitor anyway but it would be reassuring to check even if just once a week.
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My DN gave me a monitor on Tuesday, but is unable to give me any more lancets or test strips as they are only supposed to be given to people who have to monitor their blood glucose. I ordered more through Amazon. The pricking of your finger is simple as the lancet fits into a 'pen' and you push a button to 'fire it' into your finger sorry can't think of another word to describe it, but first time I did it I was surprised to see blood as it didn't hurt and was certainly no worse than when you prick yourself with a sewing needle.
It is useful watching what increases my BG, enabling me to look for alternatives. But I may be doing it all wrong :confused:
 
My level was way over 13 (19.3) on 16th June. so whilst they wont show the levels they will let me know if I am keeping below that I guess. I have just been on Amazon buying Diabetes cookbooks, I notice Waitrose have a range of meals called Thrive that are low fat and low sugar specially for people like me. I have to watch fat and sugar as have high sugar and high fat This is the one I was thinking may be ok - 392 cals but not sure as it does have fat just low saturated fat

Waitrose Thrive Turkey Chilli & Brown Rice | Waitrose & Partners

Buy Waitrose Thrive Turkey Chilli & Brown Rice online from Waitrose today. Picked, packed and delivered by hand in convenient 1-hour slots
www.waitrose.com
 
Jenny65 said:
My level was way over 13 (19.3) on 16th June. so whilst they wont show the levels they will let me know if I am keeping below that I guess. I have just been on Amazon buying Diabetes cookbooks, I notice Waitrose have a range of meals called Thrive that are low fat and low sugar specially for people like me. I have to watch fat and sugar as have high sugar and high fat This is the one I was thinking may be ok - 392 cals but not sure as it does have fat just low saturated fat

Waitrose Thrive Turkey Chilli & Brown Rice | Waitrose & Partners

Buy Waitrose Thrive Turkey Chilli & Brown Rice online from Waitrose today. Picked, packed and delivered by hand in convenient 1-hour slots
www.waitrose.com
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I just looked at the first one and it says a 445g pack serves 1 and it is a whopping 50g carbohydrate, it may be low sugar and low fat but certainly not low carb.
The info to look for is the Total carbohydrate not the sugar as All carbohydrate convert to glucose.
There may be other meals there which would be fine but anything with rice, pasta or potatoes is going to be high carb.
 
How many carbs should I be looking for in a meal? and if I eat it but dont have the rice would that be OK?
 
Leadinglights said:
I just looked at the first one and it says a 445g pack serves 1 and it is a whopping 50g carbohydrate, it may be low sugar and low fat but certainly not low carb.
The info to look for is the Total carbohydrate not the sugar as All carbohydrate convert to glucose.
There may be other meals there which would be fine but anything with rice, pasta or potatoes is going to be high carb.
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Also is all carbohydrate equal, I mean is their good carbs and bad carbs?

Just like with saturated and unsaturated fat
 
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