[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

CathyMoran

I am 30 years a type 1 diabetic so it should not be a surprise but I just got the letter from the retinal screening saying that changes have been noticed and they have referred me for a further appointment - i keep my blood sugars very tight so am still very upset.

CramCycle

CathyMoran wrote: »

I am 30 years a type 1 diabetic so it should not be a surprise but I just got the letter from the retinal screening saying that changes have been noticed and they have referred me for a further appointment - i keep my blood sugars very tight so am still very upset.

The one thing to note, and it maybe of no use to you, is that it maybe due to life in general and the fact that you have had such exceptional control may have saved you from far worse changes. These may have happened if you were not a diabetic, and potentially could have been worse to poorer life style choices without the inspiration of diabetes.

The changes could also be very minor.

its a stretch but I know I would be suffering from obesity and several other health problems if the need to keep myself somewhat in line in terms of control and the affects it has on my personality (I get really messed up with highs or Lows personality wise eg the biggest asshat ever created or the most emotional train wreck, one or the other)

CramCycle

Eurovisionmad wrote: »

I can't imagine it becoming the norm any time soon, although the general consensus from people who've had them is that they're life changing etc, but the clinical evidence that they create a large drop in HbA1c across a large sample group is too marginal for the HSE to every passing diabetic, will only really be in rare circumstance where a person has other complicating factors and the patient shows he/she would individually benefit from one.

Typical short sightedness, imagine the savings to the HSE in 40 or 50 years of every diabetics HbA1c dropped right now and stayed down, far cheaper than the cost of a bulk buy of CGMs, but then again, it would require a more private sector approach of someone buying them in bulk rather than one at a time to, ironically, save money.

CathyMoran

CramCycle wrote: »

The one thing to note, and it maybe of no use to you, is that it maybe due to life in general and the fact that you have had such exceptional control may have saved you from far worse changes. These may have happened if you were not a diabetic, and potentially could have been worse to poorer life style choices without the inspiration of diabetes.

The changes could also be very minor.

its a stretch but I know I would be suffering from obesity and several other health problems if the need to keep myself somewhat in line in terms of control and the affects it has on my personality (I get really messed up with highs or Lows personality wise eg the biggest asshat ever created or the most emotional train wreck, one or the other)

Thank you, I rang them and found out that it was not considered urgent so that was a relief, I was very upset until then. I did end up having even more lows than normal though and had a really bad one this morning - my husband is amazing for looking after me. Now to just stay the way I am, I can not keep it any tighter, thanks again.

CramCycle

CathyMoran wrote: »

Thank you, I rang them and found out that it was not considered urgent so that was a relief, I was very upset until then. I did end up having even more lows than normal though and had a really bad one this morning - my husband is amazing for looking after me. Now to just stay the way I am, I can not keep it any tighter, thanks again.

I have no doubt, I have improved over the years but compared to you I look like the worst Diabetic ever. Glad its not urgent. Also kudos to my partner as well, and my kids, they don't have an easy life of it at times. Glad I am improving every year though, I certainly would have been a poor parent if I had become one 20 years ago. A poor partner as well.

CathyMoran

CramCycle wrote: »

I have no doubt, I have improved over the years but compared to you I look like the worst Diabetic ever. Glad its not urgent. Also kudos to my partner as well, and my kids, they don't have an easy life of it at times. Glad I am improving every year though, I certainly would have been a poor parent if I had become one 20 years ago. A poor partner as well.

When I was diagnosed there was only pig and cow insulin and I was allergic to it so had to take antihistamines, you also had to use regular syringes and vials!

graflynn

CathyMoran wrote: »

I am 30 years a type 1 diabetic so it should not be a surprise but I just got the letter from the retinal screening saying that changes have been noticed and they have referred me for a further appointment - i keep my blood sugars very tight so am still very upset.

Hi Cathy,
There's are really good blog called SixUntilMe, she has a post where she talks about how she felt when she discovered that she had been diagnosed with diabetes complications.

I've been scared ****less of diabetes complications since I had my children but reading SixUntilMe and meeting another lady who has all of the complications a female can have has helped me be less scared. I've realised that these days a diagnosis of a complication doesn't mean that I would be on a down hill slide, that most complications can be treated successfully now.

I was wondering if you were at all interested in attending Thrive-abetes, it would be a Diabetes-all-sorts:-D I am of course biased because I'm helping to organise it.

CathyMoran

graflynn wrote: »

Hi Cathy,
There's are really good blog called SixUntilMe, she has a post where she talks about how she felt when she discovered that she had been diagnosed with diabetes complications.

I've been scared ****less of diabetes complications since I had my children but reading SixUntilMe and meeting another lady who has all of the complications a female can have has helped me be less scared. I've realised that these days a diagnosis of a complication doesn't mean that I would be on a down hill slide, that most complications can be treated successfully now.

I was wondering if you were at all interested in attending Thrive-abetes, it would be a Diabetes-all-sorts:-D I am of course biased because I'm helping to organise it.

I have a lot of low blood sugars as is, I can not do any more. Mine is complicated by the fact that I am an 8 year 11.5 month oesophageal cancer survivor so the normal rules do not apply to me because I have to eat low volume high calorie foods from the cancer surgery. My husband had to give me glucagon last night because I was over doing the control even more, I have to relax back again to being tightly controlled but still living. If you know of any type 1 oesophageal cancer survivors I would be interested.

graflynn

CathyMoran wrote: »

I have a lot of low blood sugars as is, I can not do any more. Mine is complicated by the fact that I am an 8 year 11.5 month oesophageal cancer survivor so the normal rules do not apply to me because I have to eat low volume high calorie foods from the cancer surgery. My husband had to give me glucagon last night because I was over doing the control even more, I have to relax back again to being tightly controlled but still living. If you know of any type 1 oesophageal cancer survivors I would be interested.

Hi Cathy,

Sounds like you would have a good case make for getting a CGM? A CGM would alarm and warn you of oncoming lows. It's just a sensor that you wear on the the skin (no tubes, or anything) and a palm-size receiver that you can fit in your pocket or bag.

I've been following your posts for a number of years, so I know that your journey has not been anything close to smooth. Lots of us Type 1's are definately not as well controlled as you are and we are doing well..... considering. So, relaxing your control a wee bit wouldn't be a bad thing, would it?

There are 144 people, so far, who have bought tickets to Thrive-abetes, I have no idea if there would be any cancer survivors there but, definitely lots of people, all living very different lives, with type 1 diabetes.

CathyMoran

graflynn wrote: »

Hi Cathy,

Sounds like you would have a good case make for getting a CGM? A CGM would alarm and warn you of oncoming lows. It's just a sensor that you wear on the the skin (no tubes, or anything) and a palm-size receiver that you can fit in your pocket or bag.

I've been following your posts for a number of years, so I know that your journey has not been anything close to smooth. Lots of us Type 1's are definately not as well controlled as you are and we are doing well..... considering. So, relaxing your control a wee bit wouldn't be a bad thing, would it?

There are 144 people, so far, who have bought tickets to Thrive-abetes, I have no idea if there would be any cancer survivors there but, definitely lots of people, all living very different lives, with type 1 diabetes.

I will not be going, I do not go to anything at the weekend, it is short enough time that I have with my two, I did not go to that cancer survivor ship event by the excellent Irish Cancer Society and that was free because it was at the weekend. Also I become a 9 year survivor on the 2nd of October. I will continue to do my best, after 30 years you expect some complications in any case.

graflynn

CathyMoran wrote: »

I will not be going, I do not go to anything at the weekend, it is short enough time that I have with my two, I did not go to that cancer survivor ship event by the excellent Irish Cancer Society and that was free because it was at the weekend. Also I become a 9 year survivor on the 2nd of October. I will continue to do my best, after 30 years you expect some complications in any case.

No bother, Cathy. I'm only 22 years diagnosed myself, also have two children. I don't have any complications, so far, but I did get a letter from the Diabetic Screening service saying I had some background Retinopathy in one eye but that it didn't require treatment. I'll be anxiously waiting my next screening appointment to see if anything has changed.

Take care,
Grainne

kellyshell

Hi All,

So got a call from my doctor yesterday with the results of my second round of blood tests...............I officially have type 2 diabetes I will need to go in and discuss what needs to be done next. She has told me that I can keep doing what I am doing (lost 10lbs in 3 months, cut down on booze a lot but still had a take away every now and again) or I can start medication, the decision is mine.

Has this happened to anyone else?? Pros and cons of starting medication??

Thanks

Buford T. Justice XIX

kellyshell wrote: »

Hi All,

So got a call from my doctor yesterday with the results of my second round of blood tests...............I officially have type 2 diabetes I will need to go in and discuss what needs to be done next. She has told me that I can keep doing what I am doing (lost 10lbs in 3 months, cut down on booze a lot but still had a take away every now and again) or I can start medication, the decision is mine.

Has this happened to anyone else?? Pros and cons of starting medication??

Thanks

Apologies Kelly, meant to reply but forgot. Posts are rarely ignored here, just the first time I can remember.

I would say to stay off medication for as long as you can. You are still producing insulin, just not enough for what you were eating before.

Congratulations on losing weight, that alone will increase sensitivity of your body to the insulin you produce. There are some complications to insulin use, the worst of which is hypoglycemia, which happens when you take too much insulin or not enough food. With injections, you are taking an educated guess on what insulin you need at meal time to control the glucose produced by the food you eat. Sometimes you will get it wrong or sickness or some other factor will affect your control leading to too high or low blood sugars.

There are also long term health issues for diabetes which can be managed better with little insulin or better with more insulin, depending on how your blood control is.

With or without insulin, the diet you will be on will be much the same, a general healthy diet with little in the way of sweets, I would say. With insulin you will have a bit more freedom to eat what you feel like but if I was given the option that you have, I would choose to try not to use insulin for as long as possible.

I hope that helps in some way.

Again, apologies for the delay in replying:o

kellyshell

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Again, apologies for the delay in replying:o

Thanks for getting back to........no need to apologise, we all have stuff to be doing

I have my Doctor's appointment next Monday so will have a bigger picture of where I stand after the appointment. As far as I am aware it wont be insulin, she wants to try me on some tablets first........cannot remember the name.

I will be honest my diet (food wise) is fairly good. I love booze!! but I have cut down an awful lot since I was first told, so that could be the reason for weight loss.

one last question..............has anyone experienced hair loss?? I have a bald spot on the side of my head (Thankfully I have a huge mop of hair so it is hidden)

Toto Wolfcastle

When my husband was diagnosed his doctor recommended that he stay off the tablets and sort his diet out first. His thinking was that often when people are put on the tablets they tend not to look after their diet as well as they should. When we went to the diabetes information session in the hospital the nurse nearly had a heart attack when she found out he wasn't on tablets. The way she acted made it seem like he could die any second so he took her advice and has been taking the tablets since. Initially his diet was brilliant, but as the years have passed it has worsened. His bloods have been consistently good though, because the medication is controlling them well. That's not to say that's a good thing, because what's the point if your diet is rubbish? That's just his experience. Everyone will have different needs and only your doctor can really advise you.

Buford T. Justice XIX

kellyshell wrote: »

Thanks for getting back to........no need to apologise, we all have stuff to be doing

I have my Doctor's appointment next Monday so will have a bigger picture of where I stand after the appointment. As far as I am aware it wont be insulin, she wants to try me on some tablets first........cannot remember the name.

I will be honest my diet (food wise) is fairly good. I love booze!! but I have cut down an awful lot since I was first told, so that could be the reason for weight loss.

one last question..............has anyone experienced hair loss?? I have a bald spot on the side of my head (Thankfully I have a huge mop of hair so it is hidden)

I have hair loss but the doctor calls it male pattern baldness:mad:


Don't think I will go back to that quack :pac: but that's no help to you, sorry.

kellyshell

I am female so I hope its not male pattern baldness:pac::p

Thanks Toto Wolfcastle.......I suppose I should just wait and speak properly with the Doc. I am hoping that if I do end up on medication, with the changes to my diet and start exercising properly, I can get my blood sugars regulated and hopefully come off the meds in the near future.

_Tombstone_

kellyshell wrote: »

I am female so I hope its not male pattern baldness:pac::p

Thanks Toto Wolfcastle.......I suppose I should just wait and speak properly with the Doc. I am hoping that if I do end up on medication, with the changes to my diet and start exercising properly, I can get my blood sugars regulated and hopefully come off the meds in the near future.

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal.htm

naasrd

kellyshell wrote: »

Hi All,

So got a call from my doctor yesterday with the results of my second round of blood tests...............I officially have type 2 diabetes I will need to go in and discuss what needs to be done next. She has told me that I can keep doing what I am doing (lost 10lbs in 3 months, cut down on booze a lot but still had a take away every now and again) or I can start medication, the decision is mine.

Has this happened to anyone else?? Pros and cons of starting medication??

Thanks

I just started 500mg Metformin last week after being diagnosed with type 2 5 years ago. I get it from my mother's side of the family. Around April of this year my numbers started to go high despite exercise and good dieting. It was so disheartening as I was doing so well without Meds.

Since taking it I've suffered no side effects and this morning I awoke to a 9.7, down from the 11-14's I was used to over the last few months. My dose goes up to 850 next week and with the readings I'm getting so far I can't wait.

CathyMoran

Good news for diabetics, I have regular severe low blood sugars, knowing that Glucagon will be more widely available.

gctest50

.

Good news if you like red wine -with a bit of better news if you metabolise alcohol slowly thrown in

The CArdiovasCulAr Diabetes & Ethanol (CASCADE) Trial

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00784433

Intervention:

Patients were randomly assigned to 150 mL of mineral water, white wine, or red wine with dinner for 2 years. Wines and mineral water were provided. All groups followed a Mediterranean diet without caloric restriction.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26458258

Results:

Of the 224 patients who were randomly assigned, 94% had follow-up data at 1 year and 87% at 2 years. In addition to the changes in the water group (Mediterranean diet only), red wine significantly increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level by 0.05 mmol/L (2.0 mg/dL) (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.06 mmol/L [1.6 to 2.2 mg/dL]; P < 0.001) and apolipoprotein(a)1 level by 0.03 g/L (CI, 0.01 to 0.06 g/L; P = 0.05) and decreased the total cholesterol-HDL-C ratio by 0.27 (CI, -0.52 to -0.01; P = 0.039). Only slow ethanol metabolizers (alcohol dehydrogenase alleles [ADH1B*1] carriers) significantly benefited from the effect of both wines on glycemic control (fasting plasma glucose, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, and hemoglobin A1c) compared with fast ethanol metabolizers (persons homozygous for ADH1B*2). Across the 3 groups, no material differences were identified in blood pressure, adiposity, liver function, drug therapy, symptoms, or quality of life, except that sleep quality improved in both wine groups compared with the water group (P = 0.040). Overall, compared with the changes in the water group, red wine further reduced the number of components of the metabolic syndrome by 0.34 (CI, -0.68 to -0.001; P = 0.049).

kellyshell

hi All,

Thanks for information and stories, it helped a lot.

So I was unwell last wk and didn't realise that diabetes can really mess about with your body the way it does. Doctor has me checking my blood sugars first thing in the morning and I started on Glucophage (500mg 2 times a day) Friday. Hopefully this will help and I can get it under control.

Thanks again:)

Alanstrainor

Got my hba1c back yesterday, and Im happy at 7.3! My doc focused on perhaps having too many lows, and we discussed the long term effects of low blood sugars which was scary, so I'll have to look at my basal rates again and see if I can iron some more lows out!

Unearthly

Hi guys,

Type 1 diabetic since I was 10 years. So 20 years of my life Well controlled and take pride in my lifestyle and health.

Anyway I recently bought an apartment and the whole process was a complete nightmare cause I was a diabetic.

Just to give a heads up as I was blindsided by this. Long story as I am not sure how to shorten this. I will write bullet points at the end as tips for when applying for mortgage protection insurance in case you don't want to read about my long nightmare

The mortgage protection insurance delayed me for months

Originally I was told by the bank that the life insurance was an easy process and that I should go with their insurance company(This was before they knew I was a diabetic). I knew myself it would take a bit longer as they would need to check with my GP for medical records, and I knew I would be charged extra. That's fine. A week I felt it would take.

So a week later I rang to see what the progress is. "we haven't heard from your GP" So I rang the GP and the secretary told me that there was a load of life insurance documents to be filled in and that I'd have to wait. I put pressure on to get it filled in asap (they get paid for this remember)

It took another week for it to get filled out and sent back by post. Then I got told that the insurance company wanted additional information. The person telling me this on the phone couldn't tell me what for cause of medical confidentially. So to speed up the process, I asked them could they fax it to GP. They told me they tried to ring GP to get fax but no answer. By this stage I was getting pissed off as the additional information was now being sent by post which takes a few days.

So a few days later I was back to square 1, ringing the GP to get them to fill out additional information. I was told that my GP was gone on 2 weeks holiday, and that the locum doctor is very busy but will do their best. It took the locum doctor 5 days to fill it out and send it back by fax.

It then took the life insurance company 4 days to make a decision, and what was their decision? Request more additional information, and they wanted to send a doctor out to my house. At this stage I was extremely worried, and visited my GP to see what they were asking about. To my shock it was something completely irrelevant to my diabetes. I cycle 120km a week and last January I fell off my bike cause of ice, and had a concussion. This resulted in a visit to the eye and ear hospital. I was fully cleared by the doctors at that hospital, and my GP.

The doctor took a week to come to my house. He took a urine test (told me straight away it was clear), blood pressure 118 - 78 which is fine, and then bloods to check HBA1C etc. The hospital always tell me my bloods are excellent so I knew these would be fine. Doctor told me it would take 3 days for underwriters to get results. 2 weeks later (after many irate calls from myself to hurry the feck up) they made a decision....declined.

I was completely distraught. the closing date of sale was 3 weeks away, and I wasn't told why i was declined for life insurance, they simply said go ask your GP. To this day my GP has not been told why I was declined. Even after me ringing the insurance company several times to send GP a letter. After sending a doctor to my house, they won't even tell me the results. Despicable company

So I then googled and found a broker who specialises in Diabetic insurance. A wonderful person who helped me a lot. I filled out the application, sent it by express post. A week later I rang GP to get them to fill it out. They hadn't received any form to fill out. So I rang broker, and he told me that the insurance company received my application a week ago, but due to an admin error from their staff, they forgot to look at it for a week ARRRRGH. So They then sent it off to GP. GP as usual took a week to respond.

In the meantime while all this was happening, I got food poisoning which I have no idea happened. I got so dehydrated, and half fainted in my house. I went to hospital as I had nasty side affects.

The second life insurance company then decided to request additional information. But this wasn't about my diabetes (surprise surprise), this was about my food poisoning. They wanted to know why I went to Connolly hospital instead of James's hospital (where I go for Diabetic check ups). Simple reason being that I had been at James's since I was 18 and never wanted to change, and Connolly was closer to me that night.

This additional information caused me to miss the closing date. Finally I got the insurance, so all that was needed was to receive a hard copy of the original policy document, send that to bank, and then the apartment can be closed.

The insurance company forgot to send the policy document for 1 week

So another week gone, finally received in the post. Sent to to bank. Bank came back to me 1 day later, they accepted it, however their evaluation of the apartment was older than 2 months, so a new rule brought in by the central bank means that an evaluation must be within 2 months to be valid. So that caused another week delay.

Then the banks funds took 3 days to reach my solicitor.

So I was ready to close, until my solicitor informed me that the seller wanted to charge me 45 euro for every day after the original closing date as a fine. This caused me a sleepless night as I simply didn't have the money. Solicitor then told me got that fee waived. I closed Friday

* When applying for life insurance, go to a broker who specialises in diabetes. They deal with insurance companies for years, and who know which companies are more sympathetic to us.

* Get the fax number of your GP, and insurance company, ensure they can communicate with each other fast. Post can delay things by weeks.

* Ring your GP, and insurance company every day. Become an absolute pest to them. One thing I learned is that people don't do their jobs until you moan at them enough. If you are waiting longer than you think, It's probably cause they have forgot about your application or it got lost in the queue.

*Be prepared for any other hospital visits unrelated to Diabetes to cause delays

Thanks guys, I needed a rant, but it all worked out in the end

Buford T. Justice XIX

Glad to hear that, Unearthly, alls well that ends well.

Dick Dastardly

Congrats on getting there in the end.

Can I ask were you loaded much/at all? I was - with a mainstream assurer, but for no specific reason outside of "you're diabetic".

You've reminded me to do something about it - thanks!!

CathyMoran

Is anyone having kidney issues, mine are behaving oddly

CramCycle

Dick Dastardly wrote: »

Congrats on getting there in the end.

Can I ask were you loaded much/at all? I was - with a mainstream assurer, but for no specific reason outside of "you're diabetic".

You've reminded me to do something about it - thanks!!

I used to have life assurance through my old job, no questions asked, my new place doesn't, whats this likely to cost in terms of loading?

kellyshell

Hi,

I am back with more questions!!

So today will be the end of 3wks on Glucophage (metformin) 2no x 500mg a day and I have had a few side effects. Has anyone else had any issues with them? Did your Doctor change you to different medication?

Thanks

pew

I got my retinopathy results back.

I have a background retinopathy and I am ****ing terrified.

I don't know where to go from here.