Need a bit of reasurance!

[Rob.]

Hi guys,

First off excuse the spelling i'm not with it!

My doctor is testing me for diabetes, I know its type 1 as I also have caeliacs disease so the odds are very high its type one. I've been feeling the effects of it for about 3 months now, and since the doctor suggested it i've been reading up on diabetes and getting worried! all these nasty effects, could they take hold 3 months of not being treated? I'm also quite worried about my eyes as my scope of vision appears reduced and they ache a bit. Got a killer headache too!

But am I right in thinking that the issues with high blood sugar will take a few years to take hold? or should I be worried!

Cheers for your time guys
Rob

[LancetChick]

While I suppose it's possible to develop complications in a matter of a few months, it usually takes somewhere along the lines of years. Even if you do develop complications, though, you can reverse them with tight blood sugar control. I reversed retinopathy and frozen shoulder, which I developed approximately 10-15 years after diagnosis.

[Rob.]

Thats good to hear! I wasn't aware that the issues it caused where reversable, With appropiate action of course. While i'm hear any chance of some diet advice? as I'd like to minise my problems at the moment before I get treatment. Obviously I'm currently avoiding simple sugars but are there any other food groups I should avoid? and which should I embrace?

[duck]

The current debate in the world of diabetes is low carb--it is a worthy debate and I would venture to say low-carbing can be beneficial to most people with diabetes.

Besides avoiding certain foods, don't gorge yourself, eat moderately. Drink lots of water. Take a good walk, etc. And get tested, you can die real fast from untreated diabetes unfortunately.

[LancetChick]

First of all, get a meter if you don't have one, and test your blood sugar often to see how high you are upon waking (fasting blood sugar), 2 hours after eating a low-carb meal (depending on the meal, this is when your carb digestion usually peaks), and at many other points throughout the day to get a sense of just what your blood sugar is doing. Record everything, including what you eat, since this is very helpful to both you and your doctor. If you are diagnosed type 1, understand that most doctors don't understand anything about insulin management, and your best bet is to get a referral to an endocrinologist specializing in diabetes treatment. Endos often have connections to Certified Diabetes Educators (CDE's) who have much more time to assist and teach you about your treatment options as well as how to implement them.

If you are type 1, getting on insulin will improve your vision (blurry vision is common when you have sustained high blood sugars, and is almost certainly not retinopathy), it will make you feel much better, and it will give you more freedom to eat as you normally would. Of course, if you are severely dehydrated, as I was at diagnosis, you may retain so much water that your vision changes dramatically for a short time after you start insulin.

My diabetes bible is Using Insulin by John Walsh, but there are other excellent books that can explain diabetes management clearly. I hope your lab results come back soon, because untreated type 1 can be very dangerous. Just cut way back on the carbs, aiming for an extreme low-carb diet, and test your blood sugar in the meantime. If you are diabetic, it sounds like you still have good beta cell function, or your doctor would have put you on insulin or medication immediately. Anyway, good luck...... you sound like you have a good attitude that will serve you well if you do get the diagnosis you expect.

[panda1076]

Yes, to further what LancetChick said, don't be alarmed at first if you have blurry vision. Since you have been living with high blood sugar for a while now, when you start on insulin your eyes will start to readjust to more normal conditions and therefore you'll have blurry vision for a few days to a week. I know I freaked out at first, but this is normal.

Also, my favorite book I read when first diagnosed was called "Think Like a Pancreas". You can find it on Amazon. It explained so many think I was curious about that the CDE just doesn't explain. There's so much to learn so it will take time to absorb it all and figure it all out.

[Rob.]

"think like a pancreas" love it!

So am I right in thinking that I should be aiming to eat the foods that hold the least enegry, IE very fiberous foods?
Thats very reasurring regards the eyes, and If i do get the diagnosis I should be being treated ina bout 7 days. As for the serious side of not being treated, are there any warning signs? at the moment i'm finding it very difficult to think straight and my coordination is way off, got some chest pains/stomach problems too. But my doctor knows about this so i'm assuming its ok. Infact the stomach problems are why its been so long for the doctors to test for diabetes as i'd been recently diagnosed with caeliacs disease/wheat intolernace any tiredness was attributed to that, aswell the stomach problems/non infectious gastritis.

And regards excercise am I think in thinking that some gentle excercise will lower my blood sugar levels and make me feel a whole lot better, or would i be better off resting?

Cheers Guys
Rob

[cheryl]

Wow,

I am at a loss for reading your post if your doc is thinking or whatever he says that you are type 1, why are you not on insulin yet or are you......I am totally confused.....and seriously you need a meter asap, because if your blood sugars are way way high, I don't think you should sit around and ponder, action needs to be takin right now. Sorry I am so not trying to sound mean, but being a type 1 usually mean the need for insulin quick unless, it is the other issues of a type 1, that I don't really quite understand, but still......get a meter now....

Cheryl

[Rob.]

Hi, cheers for the reply.

My doctor never actually mentioned which type he thought I had. But seeing as I have caeliacs disease and both type one diabetes and caeliacs disease share the same problem causing gene. So I might not have a type one, was my assumption!
The problem with a lot of the doctors I've seen is that they won't take any action what so ever with some solid proof in the form of test results. I don't hold it against them, as its just the way it works.
Managed to get out on my bike today so all is not lost!

I'm also at quite a loss as to what I should be eating, low carbs and nothing sugary rules out all snack foods, and a lot of others too. Would I be alright eating protein shakes? there made by my self so the only sugar in them is thats whats present in the milk.

[Cyborg]

You definitely need to get a meter asap and start testing regularly. It is not recommended to exercise if you blood glucose is over ~250. Low carbing and portion control will help tremendously. If you are type 1, insulin treatment will probably be prescribed. The sooner you take control, the less chance you will have complications.

BTW, Welcome aboard...

[Rob.]

Score!

One of my relatives who I believe has type two diabetes will be giving me use of her testing jig! I'd get one myself but i can't until I get a diagnosis, As its the way the english system works

[Dervish]

It is not recommended to exercise if you blood glucose is over ~250.

I've not heard that recommendation before. What's the reason behind it? My doctor currently just wants to stabilize me in the 150-200 range, so not exercising over 250 doesn't leave me a whole lot of room for going out of my target range. (Not that I wouldn't be a lot happier with 100-150 or even 125-175 anyhow, but he seems to want to ease my BG down real gently.)

[panda1076]

Regarding not having the diagnosis yet... when i was diagnosed, my fasting BG was 242. And the day before, after having eaten lunch, I was 343. All they did was a finger prick test when they saw my BG was 242. And the doctor wouldn't let me leave the facility before getting insulin and being trained on how to do injections. Her opinion was that regardless of whether I was type 1 or 2, my BG needed to come down. So she set me up with a sliding scale that day. I found out a few weeks later that I was positive for the GAD antibodies and therefore type 1.

I am not sure about the details of exercising if over 250, but I think it has to do with keytones--either a greater likelihood to develop them or maybe a greater likelikhood that you have keytones if you are over 250. Or maybe it's that your BG can rise after exercise, so it would be risky to exercise if you are already that high. I am not sure--someone else should answer that question though.

[sofaraway]

Score!

One of my relatives who I believe has type two diabetes will be giving me use of her testing jig! I'd get one myself but i can't until I get a diagnosis, As its the way the english system works

thats good if you can borrow one, but you can buy a meter in Boots for £10, i don't know what it's called but it's their own brand one. (its made by medisense though).

if you do get diagnosed then you've definatly found the right place here :)

[Rob.]

Thats great then, I wasn't sure if they could be bought over the counter. I won't buy one just yet though as theres little I can do with the knowledge but worry! Had my blood test today so i'll find out offically wednesday. Although as I said before I'll know unoffically today.

And as for the anti body test, Is there another way of getting a type one diagnosis? As I failed to have the caeliacs disease anti-bodies found during testing, so maybe might not have the anti-bodies for type one.

Also whats the prognosis with excercise and Type one? As i'm a very sporting person, As a rough guideline throught the working days I get atleast an hours hard excercise, and at the weekend I get about 5 hours hard excercise. So i'm hoping I get back to that once i'm feeling better.

Oh and naturally I would have my blood test on one of the days when i'm feeling a little better! although that might be because of the fasting.

Cheers for all the replies guys, been a great help! I'll get back on here tonight when I unoffically find out.

[dbc]

I won't buy one just yet though as theres little I can do with the knowledge but worry!


I disagree :-). With this disease, knowledge is power! ALthough I understand where you're coming from, I think most of us (who take our diabetes seriously) worried excessively in the beginning - I know I did! Even without medication, you can still use the meter to start figuring out the effect on bs of various types of foods.


And as for the anti body test, Is there another way of getting a type one diagnosis? As I failed to have the caeliacs disease anti-bodies found during testing, so maybe might not have the anti-bodies for type one.

Also whats the prognosis with excercise and Type one?


I think the C-peptide test is an alternative. But from one perspective, whether you are T1 or 2 is secondary to doing whatever it takes to control your sugar levels, be that oral meds or insulin or a combination of both.

Exercise just requires a bit of thought and planning once you're on insulin, there is no need to change your lifestyle in that regard. There are some endurance sports people on this forum who will be able to comment in more detail.

Good luck!