Pretty sure I'm diabetic

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Haven't been feeling good for a few weeks now, might even be months, but work has been chaos and life very busy so just attributed the extreme tiredness and headaches to that, and possibly peri-menopause.

Had a flash of realisation on Thursday that a lot of my symptoms match to Diabetes:

• Tired
• headaches
• thirsty
• peeing a lot, waking up in the night and urgency with very little notice that I need to go.
• achy all over
• moody and snappy

Tried to get a Drs appt but stuck in the loop of calling in the morning and being told there are no appts so call back tomorrow, Tried Thursday and Friday and will try again Monday, Tuesday.......

Decided to buy a Freestyle Libre 2 as could get it on Amazon for next day delivery.

This is my readings since last night. Not looking good is it?

No, those are definitely high.

Some pharmacies will test for you. That might be quicker. If they send the results to the surgery, that should then provoke a response.

Meanwhile cut your carbs (but not in a day you'll be tested).

Thanks @LiterallyOnFire will pop into the pharmacy tomorrow and see what they say.

I don't think my carb intake is massively high, I use MyFitnessPal to track what I eat, had been slipping on logging but have been really diligent today so I have those to go alongside the glucose readings when I get to see someone.

Total carbs for the day is 120g which is in the low carb range, not keto which if I remember correctly is under about 50g a day.

If it is confirmed, at least you're already all over it.

Mine is in remission so I have no excuse to get one but the libres look very swish.

Definitely looks / sounds like you've got t2d. At my surgery the Dr's don't see patients regarding anything to do with diabetes its always the nurse practitioner who prescribes but any nurse does the checks and hba1c testing maybe ask for an appointment with a nurse instead and just explain you need a hba1c test. Where I am the branch trust of nhs here do blood tests in the community / health centres maybe if no appointments ask can you give your readings and can they send a blood form to local service that does phlebotomy? Or on the NHS app you can send messages not sure if that's every gp? Worth a try though. good luck

Don't presume that you are Type 2. There's an assumption that adults who are diagnosed will be Type 2.
Although Type 1 often presents itself before adulthood it is also diagnosed in adults and you symptoms as you describe could point to Type 1 too. If it is Type 1 you should be seen medically as a priority as things can move really quickly in the wrong direction and DKA can result from delayed diagnosis which is incredibly dangerous. Push to be seen by your GP and consider phoning 111 for more urgent advice in the meantime.

Honestly so so easy. When I opened the box and saw the applicator and the needle sticking out of the disc I did have to steel myself a little, but then when I put it on I wasn't sure if it had actually done it or not because I didn't even feel the needle go in.

Only bought one but guessing I'll not get them on prescription so have made the decision I'll be stumping up £100 a month going forwards to keep up the monitoring.

Thanks @ShakeUpYourTiredEyes @SunshinePlease24 @IdrisElbow

Unfortunately @ShakeUpYourTiredEyes my surgery have a 'call at 8am' process for everything, rarely actually get to see a Dr, last time was an 'associate clinician' I think was the title. You tell the receptionist why you want to see someone and they slot you a with a nurse/paramedic/PA/Dr etc as they see for. Apparently not a single person had any availability.

I have the NHS and Airmed apps and neither have any appts to book online and my surgery haven't enabled messaging.

I've been feeling crappy for a while and there been no sudden escalation of that so hopefully I should be able to make it a few more days till I can see someone.

Ok, what you need to do is call 111 and tell them your symptoms as well as your blood glucose reading from your Libre2 reader.

You are extremely likely to be a Type 1 diabetic with those readings and the longer this goes on the worse it will get. Do not see a GP you can't afford a miss diagnosis. You need A&E, if you vomit you could be in diabetic ketoacidosis which is life threatening hence the urgency.

Please note, I have been a type 1 diabetic since childhood and have lived with it nearly my whole life and I really hope you take my advice as quickly as you can as delayed treatment can lead to coma.

They should take blood HbA1c, they need to test your urine to check kidney function and you will eventually need eye tests but that is at a later date when blood glucose is under control.

Ahh it's hard isn't it. I'm 4 years type 2 and felt the same as you and my whole family have diabetes mix of 1 and 2 apart from my mum but her dad and her 7 brothers & sisters and all 11 of us grandchildren. My gp was the same and when I was saying in the end I have got diabetes I don't need to be told by a doctor I am telling you I have and you need to see me they were like how dare you tell us what you've got and demand appointments it was horrendous and always has been never seen a gp and recently got referred to specialist and put on insulin because what I'd been given had never worked for me or Bern taken seriously and I'm so angry. Hopefully you get in soon ans you are more assertive about your care than I was and the forst interventions really work for you.
I know you probably know but try and rest as much as you can and look after yourself not just what you eat but if you're in a situation to be able to take things slow and avoid stress. Hope you get seen soon and start to feel better xx

Don't panic OP but definitely need to get some proper help. About a year and a half ago I was testing at over 19 (pre eating!). I was in a normal weight range and my diet was reasonably good.

However, here I am now with normal hba1c and no medication. I was also testing for type 1 and for the in between type. But firmly diagnosed as type 2 (albeit briefly). I'd probably been type 2 for years but didn't have any overt symptoms as I guess I was just used to feeling like that and it had probably crept up slowly over years.

In retrospect though I was definitely tireder, thirstier and going to the toilet more.

While you are waiting to be seen, as you've already identified, you can cut out sugar and lower carbs and I'd recommend getting more exercise, especially after eating, to burn off sugar.

My experience has been that once identified the system really kicks in and you'll be seen by lots of people but some of the NHS info is a bit behind especially if you aren't overweight. The libre would be good to identify particular triggers if you can afford it in the short term. Log what you have to eat/your exercise very carefully and compare it to your readings.

The Hba1c measures the blood sugar over a 2 to 3 month period so anything you do while waiting on your test won't significantly affect that/your diagnosis but may make you feel better in the meantime.

I went full blown keto initially and I lost weight as well initially but my bmi went from about 22.5 to under 18 and I felt dreadful and could barely eat at all.

I've slowly reintroduced carbs and still follow a no sugar/low carb regime but I feel healthy and my weight is back up to a bmi of 20 and hba1c is 35.

I wish you the best of luck and it's good that you've identified it before any permanent damage. 🤞

Called 111 this morning, who arranged for a Dr to call me, who referred me to A&E.

Been here about an hour and had blood pressure, glucose, ketone, ECG and a load of tubes of blood taken.

I am diabetic, the 3 readings they've done here today have all been >18, just waiting for the blood test to tell me if it's type 1 or 2 and for someone from the Diabetes nurse team to come down to talk to me.

Glad you are getting seen. Pity it took an A&E visit. 💐

Just seen this and so glad you are being attended to. Obviously, no-one wants to be diabetic, but you can still have a good quality of life (and certainly much better than diabetics had about 25 years ago). Best of luck, hope you're feeling better soon.

Well done for getting checked. It's not an easy diagnosis & is overwhelming at first but I promise it gets much much easier!! Hugs x

I developed type 1 while pregnant at 41. No symptoms but midwife thought baby was measuring big so sent me off for a glucose tolerance test. I didn't have to take it - my reading was 11 they sent me straight up to the diabetic clinic thinking at the least I had GD. But it didn't go away after birth. I went on to have another child afterwards who is now 19.
It's a manageable disease and many have it - Theresa May and even Olympian athletes. Takes a while to adjust though.

Still here. Have spoken to the diabetes nurse and been given my instructions. Starting me straight into insulin and they've given me another libre to tide me over till I get properly hooked up with the ongoing care stuff.

Waiting for a Dr to sign the prescription now so I can get out of here

Yes those readings are high, if presumably after eating? Ask for an appointment with the practice nurse if no Gp available, They can organise blood and urine tests and a referral to diabetic nurse if needs be.

Glad you got it sorted.

They sent off the test but said it could take a while to get back the antibody result that tells them definitively T1 or T2, it could be either at this point.

I have PCOS and had GD 10 yrs ago when pregnant with DD so higher risk for T2 anyway but my high results and symptoms are apparently more indicative of T1 so we'll have to wait and see.

Nurse said to take the insulin and continue glucose testing but not to make any significant diet changes till the virtual diabetes team gets in touch in a few days and can review all the results and make suggestions.

I'm going to keep logging my food so I can get a better idea of what I react most badly too. I remember it vaguely from 10yrs ago but the details are fuzzy. I do remember low fat yoghurts being absolutely awful for sugar.

Glad you’re getting some answers but really frustrated at how hard it is for you and others (& me!) to get an appointment for urgent stuff. My son has been t1 since he was 7 and is doing so well as an independent adult.
whichever type it is, you’ll get your head around it and soon be feeling much better, I hope.

I walked into reception and asked for a blood test for cholesterol as I wanted it chekced due to family history with heart disease (haven't had a blood test for 17 years though). That's how I found out I was pre-diabetis. If you can't get a GP appointment, might be worth doing the same as you'll need to be tested and that way it'd bypass the GP until you have a result.

It’s also the carb value of food that will push the highs - you’re on it all early as you have the CGM to see the profile of the foods you eat.