Diabetes 2

[petercharlesfagg]

Friends,

This is not to ellicit sympathy.

My doctor thinks that I have Diabetes 2 and tomorrow I have an early appointment for blood letting.

At the moment I feel absolutely terrible all aches and pains in my joints, up and down like a yo-yo all through the night mainly because of a raging thirst!

The old eyes are so blurred I cannot watch television, so no modelling, and my energy level is like Zero!

I must add that some of the symptoms have been increasing over the years to merge, RIGHT NOW!

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My thought is this, has anyone else suffered thus and what does the diagnoses mean if it is positive?

Your thoughts would be gratefully accepted.

[kenbury]

hi i have type 2 diabetes which means i have a low suger diet with which i live a normal life

[austinbob]

Peter

You are having a rough time, what with cataracts and now Diabetes 2.

I was diagnosed with Diabetes 2 about 7 or 8 years ago, although my doctor said it was marginal. As a result I have a check up once a year to check for blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, numbness in extremities etc.

I don't take any meds other than Lisinopril for blood pressure.

I was given advice to change my diet and drink less alcohol (the most difficult bit and largely ignored!) and to take more exercise.

I must say I don't really have any symptoms other than a few aches and pains, and an effort to get off my butt, but then at my age that's probably to be expected anyway.

I wouldn't panic too much - see your doctor and see what he says. I believe there are drugs that can be prescribed to help, if diet and lifestyle changes are not enough.

Regards

[scotsoft]

Same here Peter, I had no problems moving from sugar in my coffee to sweeteners and I drink a fair bit of zero sugar own brand Tesco coke, although Pepsi Max is better, but more expensive.

You can still have biscuits and cake if you bake them yourself using granulated sweetener in place of sugar 

I will admit I drool over the Christmas adverts showing all the goodies I cannot have but you have to do what you have to do  :'(

My life has changed but only because I have always had a very extreme sweet tooth which I have had to suppress.

You may be referred to a Podiatrist as looking after your feet is a must, I enjoy my three monthly visits 

I hope this eases your apprehensions a bit.

cheers John.

[Papyrus]

Hello Peter,

Not something I suffer from myself, but my mother was diagnosed with it in her early 60s (judging from your photo, about the age you are now... my apologies if this is wildly inaccurate!!) Anyway, she will celebrate her 95th birthday at Christmas! Her experience has been that it is a nuisance, but liveable-with. I'm not a medic, so this isn't a substitute for what your doctor will tell you, but if you eat and drink sensibly, reducing carbs, especially sugars, you can live a normal life and still have the occasional treat. The blurred vision should sort itself out with a bit of help from your optician - Mum could read books and the paper up to a couple of years ago, but she has had to give up on that now.

I hope you get good news tomorrow - keep us informed!

With very best wishes,

Chris

[Dorsetmike]

Another type 2, keep it under control by taking less sugar, use sweeteners instead, don't like the ones with saccharin or aspartane, got an unpleasant after taste, so I stick with Splenda, or Tescos, derived from sugar but with the nasties taken out or Stevia from a different plant.

[PaulCheffus]

Hi

Although not quite the same I have type 1 diabetes and tend to use total sweet as a replacement for sugar (I believe it is made from the bark of the birch tree).

Cheers

Paul

[Malc]

I was diagnosed in 1996, so 18 years ago. As everyone says, avoid sugar. I couldn't stand sweteners, so gave it up in drinks. Diet coke and Pepsi max are often all you can get out but are lovable with. I still enjoy the odd beer but cut it down a lot I take metformin to slow down carbohydrates turning to sugar in my gut. That was all for about 5 years, then over the last 15 years I've been introduced to a couple of others. It generally doesn't get better unless you loose loads of weight, which to be honest, as I explained to the doc. I don't sing, smoke, play around with women, only drink in moderation, so my only pleasure is food. Just take it steady and you'll be OK. Late onset is quiet common, a product of our way of life. Look up diabetes UK on the web.

[austinbob]

I was diagnosed in 1996, so 18 years ago. As everyone says, avoid sugar. I couldn't stand sweteners, so gave it up in drinks. Diet coke and Pepsi max are often all you can get out but are lovable with. I still enjoy the odd beer but cut it down a lot I take metformin to slow down carbohydrates turning to sugar in my gut. That was all for about 5 years, then over the last 15 years I've been introduced to a couple of others. It generally doesn't get better unless you loose loads of weight, which to be honest, as I explained to the doc. I don't sing, smoke, play around with women, only drink in moderation, so my only pleasure is food. Just take it steady and you'll be OK. Late onset is quiet common, a product of our way of life. Look up diabetes UK on the web.

Good advice - I should take it!!

[Newportnobby]

As John says, look after your feet. No padding round the railway room in bare feet. Cuts are to be avoided.
Good luck for tomorrow and let us know how you get on please.

[joe cassidy]

I'm sure that railway modelling can only be good for these ailments that catch up with as we get older - physical exercise in the form of sawing wood to make basewoods, crawling under same for wiring etc., and carrying them to exhibitions. Zen-like meditation when devising track plans.

Surely all expenses such as the above should be reimbursed by the National Health Service ?

Best regards,


Joe

[Bealman]

Sorry to hear that, Peter. This getting older thing really sucks. I (as far as I know) do not have diabetes, but I do have hemochromatosis and have to dump a bag of blood monthly (next one this Friday). The last dump showed something that suggests possible colon cancer, so a colonoscopy coming up.

As I say, getting old sucks.

[Railwaygun]

The diabetes uk website is very helpful, as is patient.uk

Dietary control is the first line of treatment, then drugs such as metformin, and for some, insulin.

Control of BP and cholesterol  and wt loss is very important, as are regular eye and foot checks.

Daily exercise ( walking is fine) improves glucose control - throw away the bus pass!

The cataracts may be related to undiagnosed diabetes. - you seem to have classic symptoms .

Nick R

[Croxy]

Hi Peter....my dad was diagnosed with this in his seventies. He's just turned 87 and going strong. He did have to make some dietary changes and be more careful but is doing really well.....In his case and making those changes it really hasn't been much of a problem for him.....so I hope that helps you to have a more positive outlook. I think that many of the people that have real problems don't make the lifestyle changes that they need to...

Take care, Mark.

[Dorsetmike]

One thing that gets up my nose is the people who say give up sugar and don't bother with sweetener substitutes, just drink your tea/coffee without any sweetening like they do, why the #%&* should one change on their say so just because they don't have a sweet tooth.

I can see the sense of giving up fags, drugs and too much booze, but not sweetening, or salt and other fads.