I apologise in advance for this long-winded, ranting pity party. My husband was diagnosed 3 weeks ago after getting a phone message at work telling him that he had to see the doctor that day. No explanation. We both were panicking all day wondering what was wrong. We finally get there and the dr's assistant keeps looking at us with pity. After an agonising wait, we are told that he is a type 2 and is immediately put on metformin and glimepiride. His original reading was 305 and the one taken that night was 340. No a1c done.
We were told about carb counting, which we have been doing, and appointments for a consultation with someone (I have no idea who) and a dietician. The consultation was cancelled by the doctor's office with only a "you don't need it".
Within a couple of days his numbers were well under the upper limits suggested to us. They have been dropping since then. At the dietician, I said that he is having to eat because his numbers are so low. They did talk to the doctor so his glimepiride has been reduced to once a day.
I suppose my concern is that the doctor is basing this on one reading with no a1c, not accounting for stress, the fact that he innocently took dayquil when he had the original fasting blood work done and I just want all this to go away.
I'm really disappointed with the "care" we have been getting. My husband is not overweight and runs regularly. Although he has lost about 4 pounds, I have yet to lose any, grrrr!!! Yes, I know it is not about me but I was hoping for something :-)
Thank you for letting me rant, I do feel a little better!
No reason to apologize. It's a lot to handle at one time. And it sounds like your husband is responding to treatment really well so far.
Although an a1c can be helpful information, #s of 305 and 340 are not glucose readings that a non-diabetic would have. (I asked the same type of thing myself at diagnosis - "What if I had a really sugary lunch???)
One thing that I might suggest, as you've said your husband is not overweight and exercises regularly is to read up on Type 1.5 or LADA diabetes and consider asking for tests to rule that in or out. 1.5/LADA is adult onset of Type 1, and a slower progression that can respond at 1st like type 2. But insulin will eventually be needed, and having the correct diagnosis can help with both treatment and healthy expectations.
Wishing both of you the best of luck in this crazy new lifestyle. I'm pretty new to TuDiabetes itself, but it's a wonderful non-judgemental place where none of us are truly alone.
Thank you! I know I'm still in denial. His mum was diagnosed about 20 years ago, was diet controlled and is just recently injecting, she's 79. I suppose it was inevitable. I'm just a little disappointed that they went immediately to drugs and now we are in a situation where his numbers are really low: 76, 95 and 110. His lowest was 67. He is a computer geek and has all of this with what he ate on a spreadsheet :D
We have his next appointment next week so I will make sure we ask about type 1.5.
I think you have a right to be disappointed in the care your husband has received to date. Blood sugars in the 300s do indicate some sort of problem beyond Dayquil and stress though. The fact that your husband is thin does raise a red flag. Many thin people that are diagnosed as T2 turn out to have LADA which is a slow onset T1. Typically T2 drugs will work for a while but gradually loose their effectiveness as the autoimmune attack progresses. At a minimum an A1c should be taken if for no other reason than to have a benchmark to judge progress. My own initial A1C was 13.1 and I got it down to 5.6 within 5 months. One shouldn't discount the mental boost something like this has as far as a positive reinforcement and encouragement to continue on with whatever program you have arrived at.
All diabetics need to educate themselves so they can take an active part in their treatment, and because in many cases they are receiving sub optimal care. Good resources for learning more about LADA are the LADA group here on tuD and member melitta's blogs. Another type often misdiagnosed as T2 is MODY. The MODY group here is an excellent resource
In my opinion all newly diagnosed T2's need to familiarize themselves with the "eat to your meter" system. In a nutshell you tailor your diet to your actual meter readings by keeping a log of foods eaten and the resulting blood sugar readings. Then you modify your diet to achieve your blood sugar goals. Incidentally many of us believe the goals given are too high and result in further deterioration. My personal goal is never to go over 140, I would suggest you educate yourself about this and set your goals yourself instead of relying on someone else to do it. A good source for reading about the "eat to your meter" system as well as appropriate goals is the bloodsugar101 website. Depending on what level of carb restriction your husband ultimately chooses it may be possible to reduce or eliminate some drugs.
Good luck, keep us updated and don't hesitate to post further questions, tuD is a tremendous resource.
We will definitely talk to the doctor about this at the appointment next week. I have learned a lot from this site already!
Alan had a spike yesterday but we are putting it down to him having an after work thing where he had a diet coke and not eating anything until after 7pm. He usually has something around 4.30. Not sure if the diet coke really was a diet...
Our daughter has had a benefit from all this, one of her high school classes is doing a healthy eating/fitness tracking thing where they get points for each goal met. She has all the healthy food ones! Her teacher asked how she managed it and she just smiled and said "diabetic dad" :D