Been fit and healthy my whole life (47 now) but this last year had a few very minor problems.. Rashes.. infections.. Tiredness.. Boils (urgh!!).

Anyway.. went to the docs with yet another rash and he looked at the years history, did a quick urine test, hummed a bit and mentioned diabetes then made me an appointment for some fasting blood tests.

Cant make head nor tail of the stuff on the net.. I’m not, nore have I ever been overweight, I’m very fit and active, I eat healthily (most of the time). What does this diabetes job actually mean? do you stop eating cakes?

I have noticed that if I do eat something sweet my skin feels like I’ve been nettled for a while. Is this even enything to do with diabetes? 😕 ❓

There’s 2 different forms of diabetes and tbh the treatment and impact is so different that it’s hard to talk about it much without knowing which it is.

I’m type 1, have been since I was 7, and though it’s a mild pain in the arris it’s never stopped me from living a normal life (mountain biking on the other hand has stopped me from living a normal life!) And I still eat a lot of cakes. I’d say it’s more likely you’re looking at type 2 but that’s really just an educated guess (type 2 is more commonly diagnosed in adults, and the response suggests it too)

My advice to you would be to stop trying to figure it out. It’s not yet been diagnosed and there’s too much you don’t know. Not easy I know but there’ll be epic support on hand for you, if you’re diagnosed, so there’s little point in half-assing it now.

Besides, it might be something much worse. I hear there’s a dose of worm aids going round.

Depends what sort of diabetes it is really.

Type 1 diabetes (which is what I have) usually (but not always) takes affect in the earlier years (It was just before my 10th birthday when I developed it) and is a result of the pancreas ceasing to produce insulin any more. This is normally controlled by insulin injections and diet, although insulin development has improved so much these days that the diet is less of a factor but still important.

Type 2 diabetes used to be referred to as Mature Onset diabetes and occurs when the body is unable to process the ‘sugars’ in the food that you eat. The causes can be numerous including illness, age, diet & lifestyle related. This is normally controlled either by diet alone or tablets & diet.

TBH it depends on which type your doctor or specialist diagnoses you as suffering from.

Been diabetic for about 30 years now and I still eat cakes. The medical tech today makes handling it so much easier than it used to be so don’t worry to much. The skin problem could well be to do with high blood sugar. Haven’t used them for years but check out the British Diabetic Associaton as they can give much better advice than me. The amount of help you can get through your GP is also large.

I hear there’s a dose of worm aids going round

WTF 😯

Thanks for all the advice. I know it’s best to wait and see the results but was just interested/impatient.

I’m in a similar situation to northwind – Type one, diagnosed at 7, find it irritating but after 20 years im used to it. As above really, no point researching until you know what you have, as they are totally different.

I eat truck loads of everything. Except broad beans.

Just don’t eat crap and be warned, Metformin can make you(me) poo no less than 3 times a day.

elzorillo – Member

WTF

Yeah, perhaps I should have broken the alternative diagnosis more gently. I will never make professional.

I’ve been type 1 for years (now 46) and just did two days in Afan MTB’ing nearly 60 miles of singletrack. And I eat cake – but only when I MTB. Get some advice on what you have – there are so many symptoms that may (and may not) be related to Diabetes. I moved away from my GP for diabetic care (now under Kings) as the GPs are too – as the name would suggest – general. But being a diabetic is not the end of the world.

Is Worm Aids Good Aids or Bad Aids?

Well, there’s 2 different forms of worm aids and tbh the treatment and impact is so different that it’s hard to talk about it much without knowing which it is.

Welcome to the party! Grab your drink of choice and some nibbles…if you want it to rule your life, the water and lettuce leaves are at the door…for everyone else, there is whatever you want just in sensible moderations…enjoy!

Diagnosed at 17 months and it isn’t a problem…all the bad stuff happened before I can remember so this is what I know.

Suspect there will be a tweak to your intake lifestyle but it’ll be a tweak rather complete shift.

Complete guess, you’ll be diagnosed type 2. Basically you’re pancreas can’t make enough insulin to counter your carb intake, but it can be managed.

Metformin can make you(me) poo no less than 3 times a day.

Not quite true for everyone ( me )

Another T1 here…echo above, whether type 1, 2 or the new 1.5 (whatever the fark that is) run with it, don’t let it inhibit your life in the negative…good luck! 😀

diagnosed a little over a year ago, type 2. Diet control at the moment, which combined with losing weight (2 stone in about a year, still a couple to go though) is keeping it under control.

If it is diabetes, from my experience, you’ll get some extra health checks on a regular basis: retinal screening once a year, they’ll tickle your feet a bit, and weigh you & take blood & urine samples every 6 months. So far that’s all I’ve needed, touch wood. and don’t eat too many carbs. or drink too much beer

last year got a letter off the gp, to go to a clinic as i was verging on being a diabetic.

Met this woman, have no idea what her job was, she gave me a lecture about stopping or cutting down on burgers,and fast food(i dont eat them), cut down on alchol (last drink of alchol was 1993), then she shoved me a pretty plastic plate, with nice icture of cabbage and other greens on it, and gabve me another chat about portion size etc.

Let her finish and put the plate in my bag, nice plate for the cat i though, she wanted it back.

So basicly all i found out is eat less,be talked to like a child, and dont steal the plate.and i still dont know if ive achieved diabetes or not.Probably still verging.

Project, it isn’t really the sort of ‘prize’ you should want…but I’d go to your GP and complain about the chat and get rechecked and have a chat with someone better…

If Sir Steve Redgrave can end up type 2 diabetic, so can any fit bloke below the age of 40, doesnt necessarily have to be overweight lazy cake eating hogs and it grips my shit when thats how its banded about.
Been type 2 diagnosed for 10 years- occasional treats but normally only after biking and a normal meal so the ‘bad stuff’ is dealt with by the tablets and my body whilst digesting the whole meal.
For me I miss the booze and I miss the sweet stuff as I had a terrible sweet tooth. Be prepaired for some rough times if you have to significantly change your diet to get decent blood sugar levels ( I have to avoid tropical fuit and stick to UK fruit and berries as I do not deal to well with fructose either).
The up side is you get prescriptions for life (for now) for free and a closer check on your overall health and for me since diagnosis and closer control absolutely minimal periods of illness!
One word of advice re MTB’ing is always have an emergency supply of glucose if you end up on medication as even just on metformin I ended up with a very scary Hypo at CyB the first year I was diagnosed-lost any rational thought whilst waiting for food and felt like death. Thankfully my mates spotted me drooping.
Its worth doing a fair bit of reading up if you do get diagnosed so you can be in control of your diabetes not it be in charge of you. It also enables you to ask questions that sometimes get ducked on the grounds of costs with the GP!
Good luck, pad up (as you may find healing takes a bit longer) and keep on pedalling!

Suggsey – Member

One word of advice re MTB’ing is always have an emergency supply of glucose if you end up on medication

Conveniently, energy gels and haribos are fairly ideal

HypoWallet is what you need for emergency stuff…touch bulky but enough stuff to make sure you are covered.

prescriptions for life (for now) for free

only if you’re on meds for the diabetes. Like I said, I’m on diet control & I get nowt free.

there are a couple of other diabetics at work, one of them swears by jelly babies as being a perfect single dose of sugar. t’other is a muslim so can’t eat them (gelatin from pigs trotters apparently)

Jelly Babies are good – my doc recommends chewing on 1 every 15 minutes when exercising (not just twiddling the pedals)…seems to work for me BUT if I’m out all day, the next day I get a serious dose of the sh!ts…

You could have been genetically predisposed to a higher risk for developing type 2. It sometimes seems to just come with age even if you have been fit and healthy all your life, however by that I mean people in their 60-70’s. There are very rare single gene causes such a MODY that could have caused you to develop it.

It’s conjecture right now thought isn’t it, your list of symptoms might be a coincidence.

If Sir Steve Redgrave can end up type 2 diabetic, so can any fit bloke below the age of 40, doesnt necessarily have to be overweight lazy cake eating hogs and it grips my shit when thats how its banded about.

There are normally other rarer reasons as to why people like that develop Type 2. Generally in most people, they get Type 2 because they eat to much and lead a sedentary lifestyle. The rest are exceptions to the rule.

P.S Steve has Type 1, you are born with this. http://www.diabetes.co.uk/celebrities/steve-redgrave.html

Had a muslim friend who was hooked on Haribo till I told him about the gelatin they used to use in them 😆
Torque gels work well and if you can get them with a long date they keep ages.
I just use nunn or zym tablets in water for riding and if its over three hours riding some solid bar of some sort.
Just another thing that I have found is that I have to start off any ride in a controlled slowish manner for the first half an hour or I seem to use all the glycogen in my big leg muscles way too fast and if you want to cycle multiple days as a diabetic you may struggle to replenish the glycogen as fast as a non diabetic. One of the very few limitations that I have found to riding. Again thats me not everyones physiology is affected the same.

Thought Steve Redgrave developed type 2 after his second Olympics and has ended up using insulin due to the tablets not working?
I will have to go check now ❓

http://www.steveredgrave.com/diabetes.html

Yep I was right 😆

My guess then is he did that because he was taking massive doses of carbs (6000 cal/day)

DickBarton – Member

Jelly Babies are good – my doc recommends chewing on 1 every 15 minutes when exercising (not just twiddling the pedals)…seems to work for me

I mainline haribo jelly babies while riding… It turns out diabetes is a perfect adaptation to prevent insulin crashes 😉

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diabetes-type2/Pages/SteveRedgrave.aspx

My main issue the next day after a good long ride is I suffer from a liver dump and it doesnt settle down for at least 24hrs but again thats just my body. I also avoid going for blood tests less than two days after a long ride as I was consistently having higher than normal createnine levels and getting badgered about my kidneys under performing. It was me that had to point out the ups and downs in the readings to the GP’s and the connection with intense long rides.
I must admit if you can get in with a specialist unit as opposed to GP care it may be beneficial- I had zero help when it came to dietery requests for training for LeJog. I actually went to the people at Torque who were great and helped us out-shameless plug for them again!

Met this woman, have no idea what her job was, she gave me a lecture about stopping or cutting down on burgers,and fast food(i dont eat them), cut down on alchol (last drink of alchol was 1993), then she shoved me a pretty plastic plate, with nice icture of cabbage and other greens on it, and gabve me another chat about portion size etc.

This is the NHS dietician. Nice people. Most of their advice is OK for the average person. Personally, I got myself a sports nutritionalist who know about Diabetes. What a difference! I am outperforming all my mates whereas before I was lagging behind. Don’t get any of the post ride issues in terms of abnormal lows/highs. Also, check out US Diabetic dietry advice. Way more advanced than the UK/NHS. Cutting down on the refined Carbs is the way to go….