Diabetes check

[Bendybops19]

Been told by my optician i need to have a diabetes check because my eyes have got so bad within 5 months.

I am absolutly petrified of needles (dont even like talking about them so please dont tell me of when you had a blood test!!).

Can i have the test done by them checking my urine?? The optician said this is possible? :confused:

[Bendybops19]

Just been told i can have a finger !!!!! test? Panicking like anything !!! Help!

[Rikki]

I am tested every year (risk of sibbling type 1 diabetes) and mine has to be a fasting Blood test.

[Edinburghlass]

Just been told i can have a finger !!!!! test? Panicking like anything !!! Help!

I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant and yes I was tested by urine when I visited the hospital on a weekly basis but daily I did the finger !!!!! test myself. You just !!!!! your finger and put the resultant drop of blood on a test stick and it tells you the levels.

It really isn't like someone taking blood from you so please don't panic about it.

[Bendybops19]

I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant and yes I was tested by urine when I visited the hospital on a weekly basis but daily I did the finger !!!!! test myself. You just !!!!! your finger and put the resultant drop of blood on a test stick and it tells you the levels.

It really isn't like someone taking blood from you so please don't panic about it.

Ah thank goodness! I'm always pricking my finger when i'm sewing! Is it just like that?

Worried though, i'm 20 and over weight, go to the loo lots - but always have! It doesnt run in my family, but my nan has it in old age.
What does it mean if i do have it?
Ah kind of wish i hadnt had my eyes tested!

[Rikki]

It could be nothing at all to worry about. Have the blood test and wait for the results and be aware of your diet. No one's said you've got it yet. One step at a time.

[Edinburghlass]

Ah thank goodness! I'm always pricking my finger when i'm sewing! Is it just like that?

Worried though, i'm 20 and over weight, go to the loo lots - but always have! It doesnt run in my family, but my nan has it in old age.
What does it mean if i do have it?
Ah kind of wish i hadnt had my eyes tested!

Yes, its just like that and you get a little gadget to do it with I think should it prove positive and you need to test every day.

It all depends on the level of diabetes as mine was controlled by watching what I ate and drank. Goodbye coke and chocolate I'm afraid http://img.moneysavingexpert.com/icons/icon11.gif

[Bendybops19]

Argh no, i drink a can of coke every day!

Its just very un-nerving being told i should be tested, never crossed my mind that my eye sight could show up anything! The optician said thats its just because my eye sight has deteriated so quickly, but that could just be because of my age.

Phew, ok, i will stop panicking so much! In such a fluster, sitting at work with my mind doing over time!

[Maisie]

Calm down bendypops. Nothing's certain yet about you having diabetes.

Even so people with diabetes can lead fairly normal lives.

Give up that Coke and drink water instead.. so much better for you.

[BoltonMinx]

It's not so bad bendybops, the pinprick is quite painless especially if they use a machine. I do find that if Im stressed or tired, it hurts more, so do calm down
If they find your blood sugar levels are elevated, they may do a fasting test. It just means you don't eat or drink for 12 hours (I think!) beforehand, they then test your blood sugar again - least, thats what I had done, but it was 10years ago

To find out more about diabetes, you can visit http://www.diabetes.org.uk/home.htm

Good luck with it!

[Bendybops19]

Thanks every one :) i have calmed down a little bit, still quite scary.

I worry about everything though, always think that there is something wrong with me!!

[katiepops]

Even so people with diabetes can lead fairly normal lives.


Take the word 'fairly' out and you'll be spot on.

Bendybops, don't be a wuss :D it really is nothing to be worried about. It hurts no more than pricking yourself with your sewing needle, and then it will be over and done with (in a matter of a second or two).

I know you wish you hadn't had your eyes tested, but if you DO have diabetes then you've done yourself a huge favour by getting it picked up now. Uncontrolled blood sugars can have extremely nasty consequences - blindness, nerve damage, kidney damage, arterial problems - but before you really start to panic, you should realise that this sort of damage is caused by long-term bad control. If you are diabetic then the sooner you learn all about it and how to control your blood sugars and stay fit and healthy, the better your chances are for minimal complications in later life.

If you do turn out to be diabetic, it will mean you have the opportunity (which you should seize with both hands) to learn about you and your health. All foods affect your blood sugar - some have a good effect, others don't (ie they cause your blood sugar to spike or keep it at too high a level for too long), and you learn by trial and error which works best for you. You become more focused on what you put into your body, and that can only be a good thing.

Diabetes is treated in one of three ways - diet and exercise alone (also known as D&E, or donuts and eclairs for those of you with a perverse nature). If your diabetes can be controlled by D&E alone, then you are very fortunate. If diet and exercise doesn't control it (ie keep your blood sugars within the acceptable range laid down by your medical team), then you may progress onto oral medication, of which there are several types. If you still fail to keep good control then you may be put onto Insulin - my personal opinion of which would be 'freedom in a syringe'. Unfortunately, oral meds or Insulin are still not a licence to live on chocolate cake - you still have to use D&E to help your control, but it does mean that if you really can't live without cake then you can adjust your Insulin dosage to cover the occasional piece of cake without any problems. The main thing to remember is that YOU (and not your medical team) are the one who should be in control of your diabetes, not the diabetes in control of you.

Some simple facts about diabetes that a lot of people don't realise: sugar is not the only thing that raises your blood sugar - carbohydrates in things like bread, spuds, pasta and rice also do, as does fat. So you have to take all that into account. Being diabetic does not mean that you cannot eat sugar in any form - you CAN, provided you follow a healthy diet (the same as anyone else would be advised to eat - ie five portions of fruit/veg, brown bread/rice/pasta, lean meat/chicken/fish etc). Everything in moderation is the key - so the occasional sweet treat is fine (even if it does mean you have to do an extra 10 mins jogging). I'd still lay off the coke though - nasty nasty stuff!

And you know what, if you do turn out to be diabetic then it's not the end of the world - after a while it becomes second nature, like brushing your teeth.

Another website you might like to look at for good information is Diabetes Insight (http://www.diabetes-insight.info)

Kate
(stepping down from her evangelical diabetes soapbox)

[margaretclare]

My husband does the finger-!!!!! test several times a day to check his blood-sugar level, then he injects insulin 4 times.

The point about blood vs urine is that the blood test shows up the level *now*. whereas glucose in urine shows up what's past. In other words, urine is secreted by your kidneys so it can be in your bladder for several hours, depending on how often you wee.

If there's any risk that you might have this condition, better to find out and to start treatment immediately. It's not a condition that will go away if you ignore it, in fact there are various nasty things that can and do happen if it's ignored.

Best wishes

Aunty Margaret

[Bendybops19]

Thank you so, so, so much every one! Wow katiepops, thanks for the advice, that was really great! :)

I am not diabetic :) but got a lot of advice from the nurse. She weighed me, and i got quite a shock :eek: We discusses healthy eating and i have decided i will start to be much healthier - i'm actually quite excited by it :rolleyes:

She was a bit worried about me because the optician had sent me, so i will be going back every 3 months to check it out.

Margaretclare - the !!!!! test was really quick and easy, but it does leave your finger a bit sore! Does your husband use different fingers each time? It might sound like a strange question!! But my finger was bruised the next day, and i wondered how diabetic ppl can keep pricking it over and over again?

I have to say, the !!!!! test is a great invention!! I didnt realise that my nan tests herself quite regularly, didnt even no she has a testing kit!

I am very relieved i am ok, but it has been a bit of a wake up call, i really do need to get healthy. So i have a pasta salad for lunch today, and an apple for a snack!!

[Rikki]

Glad everything worked out ok.

[margaretclare]

Margaretclare - the !!!!! test was really quick and easy, but it does leave your finger a bit sore! Does your husband use different fingers each time? It might sound like a strange question!! But my finger was bruised the next day, and i wondered how diabetic ppl can keep pricking it over and over again?

I have to say, the !!!!! test is a great invention!! I didnt realise that my nan tests herself quite regularly, didnt even know she has a testing kit

Hi bendybops, so glad that everything turned out OK for you - better safe than sorry!!

My husband tests on his fingers, never his thumbs. But he doesn't !!!!! in the same place every time. He tests 4 to 5 times every day but not in the same place, so using 8 fingers with 2 pricks on each finger, that gives 16 different test sites. He uses AccuChek testing kit with 28g lancets which are very fine, but you can now get 31g which are even finer. With a modern testing kit you only need the tiniest speck of blood. Lancets, needles, test strips, medication including insulin are available on prescription. He gets the latest testing kit whenever it comes out and mostly the manufacturers supply them free - they make their money on the test strips and lancets. He injects insulin into his tummy, usually through his shirt.

I'm not surprised about your nan and you not realising - it becomes just a part of life and people do it very unobtrusively. My husband used to work in a call-centre and no one there realised what he was doing when he tested and gave his insulin.

Could be that the nurse didn't have the very smallest lancets or blood-glucose meter and maybe needed more blood than the latest kit would use. When I worked in a nursing home 8 years ago we had half-a-dozen diabetic people out of say 30 in the home. I'd just got to know my husband then and even 8 years ago the equipment he used (and he's updated it several times since then) was far in advance of the outdated system they had in that home. There wasn't even a proper meter - we were having to compare the test strips with a colour chart! If you're going to do this at all you need accuracy, otherwise it's a waste of time and a painful experience for the patient.

Best wishes

Aunty Margaret

[Maisie]

Good to hear things worked out well for you bendypops.

But take notice of what the nurse said and remember it is for your own sake and for your own health.

The doctors and nurses are your support but you have to eat healthily and look after your own body. No-one can do it for you.

Best of luck for the future and let us know how are you are from time to time.

luv... Maisie