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AIBU?

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Original poster

surgery didn't notice dh about hba1c levels 3yrs ago until now, now he's diabetic

41 replies

ohreallyIsee · 15/10/2025 16:58

dh was mystified to get a letter asking him to come in for a blood test as hba1 levels indicated he was prediabetic but the last blood test he had was in 2022. He made an appointment and it seems that his levels were 41 and 42 in 2021 and 2022 but he slipped "through the net" and it wasn't noted.
He's just got his results back and it's 50 so he now has a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. If we had known about this in 21/22 he could have made changes which may have prevented or delayed the onset.

OP posts:
MultiFucktional · 15/10/2025 17:13

Many patients stay pre diabetic for several years, some don’t tip into diabetic for a long time, even with never making lifestyle changes.

If he makes the lifestyle changes now that he would have made had he known, then he can easily go back down and be classed as diabetes resolved.

Bimblebombles · 15/10/2025 17:15

Did he have any symptoms?

Original poster
ohreallyIsee · 15/10/2025 17:32

None at all, it was just the blood results

OP posts:
Ireolu · 15/10/2025 18:09

With no symptoms he needs 2 hba1c over 48 to be diabetic technically. He can still reverse it but he is clearly at high risk of diabetes.

Also 41/42 is not the same as 46/47. Most of ours will have a conversation withe nurse for change lifestyles but majority end up with diabetes. The GLP 1s are helping keep our numbers down.

UnderMedicatedMum · 15/10/2025 18:13

ohreallyIsee · 15/10/2025 16:58

dh was mystified to get a letter asking him to come in for a blood test as hba1 levels indicated he was prediabetic but the last blood test he had was in 2022. He made an appointment and it seems that his levels were 41 and 42 in 2021 and 2022 but he slipped "through the net" and it wasn't noted.
He's just got his results back and it's 50 so he now has a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. If we had known about this in 21/22 he could have made changes which may have prevented or delayed the onset.

Why wasn’t he making healthy choices in the first place? THAT might have prevented it.

Toddlerteaplease · 15/10/2025 18:33

My friends GP put his high blood sugar down to the non healing ulcer on his foot…. And left it for weeks. Absolute idiot. (The GP that is) it only healed when the orthopaedic surgeon diagnosed him
ad diabetic after he almost lost his foot.

popcornandpotatoes · 15/10/2025 18:57

It's still reversible with lifestyle changes. Start now

Nearly50omg · 15/10/2025 19:15

Everyone knows if you don’t eat healthily you are at risk of diabetes 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ don’t blame someone else for your own decisions

DisplayPurposesOnly · 15/10/2025 19:29

He's just got his results back and it's 50 so he now has a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. If we had known about this in 21/22 he could have made changes which may have prevented or delayed the onset.

It sounds scary but dont panic. He can make changes now and they will make a difference.

My HbA1c was 56 when I was diagnosed in January 2024. I immediately went on a diet and by April 2024 it had dropped to 51. A year later, having lost 3.5st, it was 38. This week it was 36.

If he's not had any symptoms, they will probably do another blood test in three months to confirm the diagnosis. He can use that time to make some changes and hopefully see a difference.

Original poster
ohreallyIsee · 15/10/2025 19:42

None at all, it was just the blood results. He is overweight but not obese(bmi~27). He does guided walking tours 2/3 nights a week which last about 2 hours and tries to walk regularly on the days. Try to eat fairly healthily but have probably been relying too much on processed food and cheap carbs recently due to time and cost. His main vice is probably biscuits and a friend of ours very good cakes but they'll have to become a very rare treat now

OP posts:
FuzzyWolf · 15/10/2025 19:44

So he was having annual blood tests to check and then didn’t take responsibility for booking them for three years and now it’s somebody else’s fault that his lifestyle choices have negatively impacted him?

AppropriateAdult · 15/10/2025 19:45

Levels up to 42 are considered normal, OP, so certainly in my practice (I’m a GP) this wouldn’t have flagged up as a result that needed action…

SalmonOnFinnCrisp · 15/10/2025 19:48

Ergh that is annoying but honestly the nhs is on the brink of collapse so I dont expect much anymore.
I also independently check all my bloods results since NHS said my iron was fine at 30 ... it should be 70-100!!

You know alrwady but he can reverse it himself by improving his lifestyle via reviewing his diet and doing some cardio thats a bit more hard core than a walk.

GreenFrogYellow · 15/10/2025 19:51

Always somebody else to blame…

ComfortFoodCafe · 15/10/2025 19:52

If he was that worried he would of made healthy choices, it’s not the GPs fault here. At least it wasnt type one and missed - now thats a death sentence!

FullBl00m · 15/10/2025 20:06

Ireolu · 15/10/2025 18:09

With no symptoms he needs 2 hba1c over 48 to be diabetic technically. He can still reverse it but he is clearly at high risk of diabetes.

Also 41/42 is not the same as 46/47. Most of ours will have a conversation withe nurse for change lifestyles but majority end up with diabetes. The GLP 1s are helping keep our numbers down.

This. Needs a second HbA1c to confirm diagnosis.

GP should’ve informed him, but he also has a responsibility to look after himself and make healthy choices regardless of blood results. Pre-diabetes is an odd entity because it is not a diagnosis of anything, it’s an indicator that a person is it higher risk of going on to develop diabetes.

Original poster
ohreallyIsee · 15/10/2025 20:11

FuzzyWolf · 15/10/2025 19:44

So he was having annual blood tests to check and then didn’t take responsibility for booking them for three years and now it’s somebody else’s fault that his lifestyle choices have negatively impacted him?

No, the first test was for an investigation then the second in 2022 was for a well man general health check offered at his age where we are, the surgery said they would get back to him if needed, that was 3 years ago but they only called him back 3 weeks ago, he should have been having the bloods annually after the second result but he wasn't informed

OP posts:
lljkk · 15/10/2025 20:11

Have you sat down together to make a list of what changes he is wiling to make and how to put them into action? Sounds like he'll need your support.

Original poster
ohreallyIsee · 15/10/2025 20:11

The test he just had was a hba1c of 50

OP posts:
thisishowloween · 15/10/2025 20:16

DH was diagnosed diabetic a few months ago.

I know it feels really scary but honestly it's not. He will be okay.

Original poster
ohreallyIsee · 15/10/2025 20:24

I am trying to improve our general diet as I need to lose weight(have lost about a stone) and have also been diagnosed with silent reflux(chronic cough and catarrh). We don't keep a lot of sweet stuff or crisps now in the house now) and I'm trying to cook from scratch a lot more and meal planning.

OP posts:
Jellybunny56 · 15/10/2025 20:28

I wouldn’t worry too much, if he would have been prepared to make changes then all he has to do is make those same changes now and he can resolve the diabetes.

BretonStripe · 15/10/2025 20:31

It would have been better to have been given the borderline prediabetic warning a few years ago, I agree. I had a blood test at the start of the year and my hba1c was 42, so I was put on the NHS Diabetes Prevention course (last check was 18 months ago when it was 35). My BMI is also 27 and I eat healthily and exercise regularly. But I have cut down on refined sugars and carbs more, and lost 3kgs.

I'd be a bit miffed if I was your dh, but hindsight is a wonderful thing, and at least now you can seek guidance going forward. Good luck x

lljkk · 15/10/2025 20:35

ohreallyIsee · 15/10/2025 20:24

I am trying to improve our general diet as I need to lose weight(have lost about a stone) and have also been diagnosed with silent reflux(chronic cough and catarrh). We don't keep a lot of sweet stuff or crisps now in the house now) and I'm trying to cook from scratch a lot more and meal planning.

There is a lot of advice here.
Diet is just the start of things you can do.

surgery didn't notice dh about hba1c levels 3yrs ago until now, now he's diabetic
OwlBeThere · 15/10/2025 20:39

FuzzyWolf · 15/10/2025 19:44

So he was having annual blood tests to check and then didn’t take responsibility for booking them for three years and now it’s somebody else’s fault that his lifestyle choices have negatively impacted him?

Where did you dream this up from? Seriously I wonder what people are reading sometimes. At no point did she say he was having regular bloods.
also if he was having no symptoms and his bmi is not that high, he’s active then how on earth were they meant to know he was at risk?