Then he had a problem 'down stairs', it's along time ago now, but I think he was having problems peeing. Anyway I got him an appointment at the doctor (a female doctor - oops) and off he went.
Well image how he felt when the doctor diagnosed him with Thrush ....... to start with my name was mud ........ but he was lucky because the doctor was a bit of an expert on diabetes and from a diagnosis of Thrush and a chat with him she suspected diabetes, and arranged the blood tests.
It then started moving really quickly - the blood test confirmed diabetes and he took me along to the appointment, which was a good thing, because to start with it didn't sink in and I picked up on information he had missed. (and he decide the Thrush wasn't my fault)
Due to his age it was assumed that it was type 2 Diabetes, so the first treatment was adjusting his diet and seeing if that worked. Here the doctor's experience was fantastic and she realised very quickly that that wasn't working, so he was put onto metaformin tablets.
Diet and Metaformin tablets are the 2 most common treatments for type 2 diabetes in the UK. As I understand it (and I am not a doctor and have zero medical training) - Diet is great if your pancreas is still working fairly well and metaformin will boost the efficiency of it if it isn't working brilliantly.
John was only on tablets about 6 weeks before it was decided his body wasn't producing any insulin so he need to inject. From what the doctor said, in the normal course of things, it would have taken nearer 6 months to get to this stage, but because she was a specialist she accelerated the process.
At this stage it was still felt by the doctor that he was type 2, although I suspected late onset type 1 after research on the internet. (In fact the consultant at the hospital has only agreed it was type 1 in the past couple of years).
Being told he had to have insulin injections freaked John out a bit - with visions of hypodermic needles and vials of stuff ...... image his relief when he was shown the pen injection. Neat, discrete and easy to use, with the quantity governed by a clever dial mechanism - the inventor of these is a marvel (in my opinion :-) )
Now John has not been good at controlling his blood sugars and that explains some of his other conditions, but that is for another blog or six.
Well there is alot of information above (I have probably missed some stuff too, so if you have a question post below and I will do my best to answer - or point you in the direction of an answer) but I thought I would summarise what I think are the key things we learnt:
- Key symptoms of diabetes: - thirst, needing the toilet a lot, and in my husband's case Thrush
- Take someone with you if you are likely to get 'big' news from the doctor - someone needs to listen and ask questions and you will probably be in shock.
- Research on the internet - but don't believe everything you read. If you are in the UK please remember that in places where there isn't free health care there is a higher instance of the nasty side effects of diabetes (renal failure, blindness, amputations etc.) and you can scare yourself half to death
- There are two types of diabetes - type 1 (normally diagnosed in childhood, although there is late onset which starts in your late 20s / early 30s) and type 2 (a number of factors relate to this - heredity, diet, weight, having a big baby. This tends to start in later life)
- The pancreas is the organ that produces insulin and is what has failed in some way if you are diabetic.
- Keep your blood sugars under control and you will minimise the bad effects and live a long and health life
Well I hope all of the above makes sense, I hope it is useful, and if you have any comments or questions just post below.
(Please remember I am NOT a doctor, I have NO medical training, I am just someone who lives with a diabetic and the consequences of diabetes)
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