work colleague - is he diabetic or not?

[Carina1962]

One of my work colleagues told me a few weeks ago that he was diagnosed as a T2 and he was talking to me one day and seemed very upset that he had been diagnosed and told me that he was going to try and lose weight. Well he certainly has, he's lost 2 stones in about a couple of months and was telling me how strict he had been ie cutting out carbs, eating cabbage, carrots etc and then a bit later on i overheard him talking to another colleague as she commented on the fact that he had lost weight and how much better he looked for it and he said to her that he was 'nearly diabetic' and that his GP is recommending he has another glucose intolerence test but i heard him say that his 1st test read at 11.2 - i didn't want to butt in but it sounded to me like he now thinks that he may not be diabetic anymore because of his big weight loss. Is he just being a bit ignorant do you think? or could it be he has in fact 'reversed' his diabetes?

 

[Northerner]

I think an 11.2 on a GTT is just over the level required for a diabetes diagnosis (11.1 is sufficient), but it does sound like his weight loss and diet and lifestyle changes have probably improved his insulin sensitivity and overall levels - the doctor probably wants to do another GTT to see if there has been any change or if medication is required.

Unfortunately, because of all the stuff knowcking round about 'reversing' or eliminating diabetes I am sure many people interpret this as a cure, whereas in fact it is the treatment regime of diet and exercise that has brought blood sugar levels under control. This doesn't mean that the person can now behave as a non-diabetic might, as the wrong kinds of food would more than likely spike their levels just like you or I. I don't think it is ignorance, just insufficient clear information of what diabetes is and how it works. He should certainly be congratulated on his efforts though - hope he can keep up the good work now he has seen the benefits! 🙂 It should never be forgotten though that the diet and exercise route will not work for everyone, despite their best efforts, so no-one should ever feel guilty if they are unable to bring their levels under control this way despite all their efforts.

 

[Caroline]

I think there is a general lack of education about diabetes in general. We know loads of stuff here and our collective knowledge is good, if not brilliant and even we are still finding things out, so how do others manage?

 

[Tumble]

There is a guy who I work with who also has type 2 diabetes. I had a chat with him yesterday and when I asked how he is getting on he said that his doctor doesn't want to see him now until next year as he's done really well. He doesn't have a monitor and has never checked his blood sugar level himself. When I asked what his HbA1c is, he had no idea what I was talking about. He seems really happy and I didn't want to burst his balloon but am a bit concerned with his lack of knowledge. I have offered him one of my spare monitors but have left the ball in his court if he wants to test. Should I raise my concerns with him or see how he gets on next year?

 

[Caroline]

For the time being be there and ready to chat. Now he knows he can chat to you, chances are he will be back. I don't think there is a lot more you can do having left the ball in his court.

 

[Tumble]

Thankfully he has just contacted me and asked for the spare monitor, so we've just gone through the testing side of things. He said that he just wants to check his levels now and again as his rice crispies left him very hungry yesterday so he wanted to try porridge today. He seems to be over the moon to be testing his sugar levels. Fingers crossed for him.