Bad (but not awful) health news

[Mark13]

If reading about being diagnosed with an illness stresses you stop now :)

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So, anyway, I found out today that I have Type 2 diabetes, which was a bit of a shock.

I've had high blood glucose in the past (classed as pre-diabetic) but by last year my readings had come down to high normal.

So I went for my yearly blood check last week, got the result today and it was high, well into diabetic range. I'd done a test at home too, and I thought the device was faulty but the test results confirmed what my home results showed.

Still - you have to look on the bright side, they reckon I don't need medication (I rang the Doc) but if they confirm the diagnosis at another blood test on Wednesday (which they will) then no doubt I'll be told to lose weight - I'm about 50lbs over my ideal weight.

I've wanted to lose weight for years but this is a drastic solution :ohmy:

I posted here on the duloxetine board, because I tend to "live" here in the medication sub-forums, and for the fact that my blood sugar has shot up from last year, my diet is still balanced, I exercise loads (walking 20-30 miles a week), I don't drink or smoke, so the only difference is my medication.

But duloxetine surely can't be the cause as it's also marketed to deal with diabetic neuropathy...

Anyway, thanks for reading and letting me get it off my chest.

Mark

[clairejayne]

All the best with it Mark.
Keep strong.
Claire. :hugs:

[Annie0904]

Sorry to hear this Mark :hugs::hugs:

[almamatters]

Sorry to hear your news Mark, all the best. :)

[Mark13]

Thanks folks, your good wishes are much appreciated.

[*willow*]

Hi Mark sorry to hear your news. Hope you get things sorted out.


Lynn.

[Mark13]

Thanks Lynn

Strangely enough I just did 2 home blood tests after a meal which show blood sugar readings in the normal range.

I had an official blood test at the Docs today, so I'll know for sure on Friday whether the diabetes diagnosis is confirmed.

If it's not, and my fasting readings have gone down, the only thing I can think of is the duloxetine. I can't remember whether I took it before the last official test and the one I did at home 5 days later.

I certainly took my daily dose after the blood test today, so there's definitely nothing that should interfere with this reading.

Anecdotal evidence on the web indicates duloxetine may raise blood sugar (temporarily, presumably).

At best I'll still be classed as "pre-diabetic" because I do have Impaired Fasting Glycaemia (IFG).

Anyway, thanks to those who sent best wishes, sorry if I jumped the gun, but official notification will be received on Friday either way and I'll post here again.

[bernie1977]

Hope you have good news for us on Friday, fingers crossed xx

[hanshan]

Sorry to hear that, Mark.

I don't know anything about diabetes blood tests, but I do know my blood pressure and pulse rate can go all over the place, even within a short time.

Keep having tests - you'll soon know if it's an ongoing thing.

I've come across the odd statement from time to time about ADs affecting insulin levels, but it's not something I've gone into. Also, there are some scientific-looking assertions out there that aren't really backed up by evidence.

Anyway, best of luck, and keep us posted.

[Mark13]

Thanks bernie and hanshan

The GP's surgery actually rang this afternoon - the test results were obviously quicker than they anticipated.

They do confirm I have diabetes as this reading was slightly higher (8.8 and 9.1 in the two tests) - on the plus side they say it's mild, which I presume means losing weight will be the first treatment rather than oral drugs or insulin. The Doc did say after the first result, if it was confirmed there would be no drug treatment at this stage.

I see the Doc about it on 3rd June and the Diabetes Nurse on 4th, so I'll know more then what they have in mind, but they obviously don't see it as being very urgent or else I'd have got an earlier appointment :)

[AuntieMoosie]

Hi there Mark and welcome to the club that nobody wants to be in.....the diabetes club :)

I'm so glad that you went to your doctor and got tested at this stage because there is sooo much you can do now to prevent it getting any worse:)

Unfortunately for me, I didn't get any symptoms until my glucose levels went very high, so it was straight onto the medication for me.

You will be able to have a good chat with the doctor and the diabetic nurse. The nurse should be able to give you heaps of information as to what you can do for yourself right now :)

Mark it would be rare for you to ever need to have insulin injections, usually it can be perfectly controlled with diet, exercise and medication in the form of tablets if need be :)

You can also go and have a look on Diabetes UK website where there is heaps of information, plus there are various forums that you can join where you can also get lots of help, advise and support, just have a search around :)

Above all, don't despair or panic, it's really just a learning curve and a few changes, I've been diabetic for many years now and nothing dreadful has ever happened to me :)

[Mark13]

AuntieMoosie

Thank you for the advice and reassurances. It's really appreciated.

Mark

[hanshan]

Hi Mark,

I'm sorry to hear about the raised blood glucose levels. As Auntie Moosie says, it's been detected in the early stages, and you can most likely deal with it with lifestyle changes.

Apart from that, how is the duloxetine/mirtazapine mix going with respect to your mood?

I really like your new owl. Is it a baby barn owl? We have different owls in Australia (best known in my part of the woods is the Tawny Frogmouth, which does its best to look like a dried-up stick during the day).

[Mark13]

Thanks hanshan

The drug mix is going fine. Although the insomnia is a bit wearing. It's not bad but I wake up and take a while to get back to sleep most nights. On the plus side I rarely have to drag myself out of bed as I did on the mirt alone, so maybe I'm getting better quality sleep.

I don't feel as good as the pregabalin at it's best, but my "off" days, don't seem as bad as the ones on pregabalin. So my highs aren't as high but my lows aren't as low either so it's a reasonable trade off.

I see the Doc on 3rd June and I'll discuss duloxetine with him, although seeing as it's also licenced for diabetic nerve pain, I should be OK to continue on it.

As for the owl, it's a photo I took a few years ago at Lotherton Hall Bird Gardens in Yorkshire. It's an adult Snowy Owl.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_Owl

Mark

[hanshan]

Hello Mark,

Good to hear that the mix is beneficial, albeit with the usual trade-offs.

Thanks for the owl info. I'm interested to read of the snowy owl, a species not often seen south of the Equator. (Okay, never, except in aviaries and the like).

Outside my house back in Australia when I was there, a variety of birds, both indigenous and introduced, could be seen or heard at various times, including the tawny frogmouth, which I mentioned before. It's not strictly an owl, but it does most of the owl-like things, like hunting and hooting at night. I woke up one night hearing a sound outside that I thought was an alarm of some sort going off. On wandering about outside, I looked up in a tree, and there was the tawny frogmouth, making its distinctive call.

Now that I'm living in urban Japan, the only bird that I see on a regular basis is a pretty hefty black crow or raven, and the occasional pigeon or sparrow.

[Mark13]

Well I saw the Doc on Monday and the Diabetes Nurse yesterday.

They had vastly different approaches to lowering my blood sugar levels.

The GP wanted me to go on an ultra-low carb diet (no chocolate, bread, potato, pasta or rice).

The Nurse went with the established NHS advice of a low fat healthy balanced diet.

So I decided to try a mid-point, by reducing the choc, bread, rice and potatoes to a minimum, plus having seeded bread (which I was doing anyway) rather than white, and wholegrain rice rather than white.

So I'll see how that goes - the surgery gave me a prescription for blood test strips, and also I now get Viagra on NHS prescription rather than private so I'll save a lot of money.

Also I do think my problems in "that department" are due to possibly having diabetes for a while, even though it's only recently been diagnosed.

Anyway, to keep this on topic for this forum :) ....

6 weeks on 60mg of duloxetine (following 2 weeks at 30mg)

The insomnia still grates, and over the past week my anxiety has been higher but that could be due to the diabetes news and appointments rather than just the drug.

I still get stressed and a little obsessive but I still think I'm getting some benefit from this drug. I'm sure I'd be much worse without it and I don't intend to put that to the test in the near future :)

Given a theoretical anxiety level of 10 is me being curled up in a ball unable to leave the house or face anyone, my level recently has been a 4 - at my recent worst I'd say a 7 (before trying pregabalin then duloxetine) - at best on both I probably reached a 1.

To put in context, my "7" would be - psychologically able to function and go to work, albeit part-time because of the anxiety / insomnia, constantly obsessing over past events, worrying about current and future events, so much so it's difficult to concentrate on anything else or experience any relief or joy.

My worst was a "10" but that was a "mental breakdown" diagnosed as an acute depressive episode, so, although anxiety was off the scale it wasn't the only factor.

If you've read this far, thanks for not nodding off :)

[AuntieMoosie]

Hi there Mark,

I'm glad you went to both of your appointments.

I've never done the low carbing thing, I've never felt that I've had too thus far :)

So I still eat bread, potato's, rice and pasta but within limits. So I'll have less potato on my plate but more vegetables to plump it up :)

Chocolate or anything containing lots of sugar should be a special treat, such as Christmas and Birthdays, but even then, only in small amounts :)

It's not only that it will raise your glucose levels, it's also that when your levels are raised, you are much more open to all kinds of infections because some bacteria really love high glucose in the blood :)

Sounds to me like you've already got it sorted spot on! and I think you'll be fine :)

My GP, who specialises in Diabetes, always says to me, well whatever you're doing, you're doing it right so just keep doing it!! I don't think I've ever had a bad blood result :)


Oh I'm with you with the insomnia too, I've been battling with it for just coming up to a year now and it's driving me nuts!!!!

I think maybe my medication just needs tweaking a bit.

On the whole though Mark, it sounds like you're well on the road to recovery. Try not to get too upset if you hit a bit of a tricky moment, I'm having a bit of one now unfortunately but just trying to keep as positive as I can, although sometimes that's easier said than done :)

Just keep going the way you're going Mark and I think you'll find that all things will start improving for you. But remember steady does it, it doesn't matter 2 hoots how long it takes, just so long as you're making progress :)

[Mark13]

Thanks again AuntieMoosie

I know this isn't a diabetes forum, but I don't really fancy going on one, I prefer it here, and your support is welcome.

[hanshan]

Hi Mark.

I'm on a low carb wish-list kind of diet. Refined carbs are mostly out, except my greatest enemy, bread. I think it comes in at about 10 kilojoules (2.5 kcal) per gram. It's easy to snaffle down 250 kcal without even noticing. For the rest, pasta and rice (even in Japan) are banished. Boiled potato, actually, is not too bad - about 2.7 kilojoules (0.7 kcal) per gram. Potato chips / crisps are on the banned list forever.

My favourite at the moment is shredded chicken breast on shredded green salad with a low calorie dressing. But I have to fight the feeling - that was good, now for a cheese and ham sandwich.