DIABETES

[heva]

Hi all me again just thought id pop on n let everyone know how things are goin! iv had the results from the 2 blood tests i had done last week and it turns out i have type 2 diabetes. i went to see my doctor this morning who informed me of this yet he said my cholesterol was perfect but still prescribed me simvastatin.. why i do not know!!. that was all he prescribed me. then we got on to talking about my funding application being rejected and i explained to him that i had been told by pals that it was because the surgeon hadnt put in a individual funding request only a general request! the doc said that he didnt understand why n hadnt even recieved a letter from the hospital or anything! and that he was goin to look in to it further if i could get the name of the person at the pct that he should write to again. he then asked me to make an appointment with a nurse for diabetic screening to check my eyes n feet etc. i did this n have a appointment at the beginning of september.so off i went prescription in hand trying to get my head around things. it wasnt til a bit later in the afternoon that i realised that all the doctor had actually said to me about type 2 diabetes was to make another appointment with the nurse. no mention of medication or anything. so i rang him back and was told that i have to wait til my appointment with the nurse to sort out meds n stuff but that appointment isnt for another month! surely they should sort somthing before then n why has he prescribed me simvastatin if my cholesterol is fine? and sorry to be a pain but i have found everyones advice on here so helpful before that i thought that someone may be able to enlighten me as to why the doctor thinks this is acceptable and what i should be doing in the next month to help with the diabetes i.e things to avoid etc. as for the funding side of things i have been in contact with pals to find out what/who we have to write to again and am waiting for a fonecall on monday from someone who can help.. sorry again for the long post xx

 

[rosejohnson]

Type 2 diabetes is usually first managed with dietry changes and monitored, rather going straight on to medication, so maybe that is why. Although your go should have told you that.

And as for the statin, that is unusual, especially as they say as a general rule once you are on a statin, you are on it for life.

I would make an appointment to go back for more information.

Rx

 

[cazbandy]

Do you know what the readings were for the diabetes?

 

[Angler]

Some of the side effects of simvastatin are that it reduces the chances of heart attacks and strokes which diabetics are prone to. This is why some doctors put diabetics on simvastatin even if their cholesterol is normal or so a GP told me.

 

[phatmomma]

Hi Heva, when i was diagnosed with type 2 about 2 years ago my gp didn't put me straight onto medication. Instead he told me we would try and manage it by diet alone. I would have thought he would give you some information on what type of foods to go for and what to avoid. Basically forget all the nice greasy fattening food, and of course chocolates n sweets. Unfortunately i didnt hence i went on metformin....

Good news for you is that now you have a comorbidity which should help if/when funding is reapplied for. I hope your gp gets some clarification re your funding application soon xxx

 

[zns]

The simvastatin will help. Just ask him to explain to you x

 

[Stellap]

Hiya - I'm a type II and have been since 2003 but happily this has been resolved since my op. He has probably put you on Simvastatin because the effects of having diabetes are usually a rising cholestrol the longer you have it so he's probably doing it as a preventative thing. You will probably be referred to a diabetic nurse who will give you all the information about diet and what foods to go for. This is where I got the information about being careful with fruit (most people assume eat as much fruit as you want but for diabetics this isn't the case as fruit contains sugar - fructose - especially sweet fruits like pineapple, peaches, grapes etc). I was on simvastatin for years and it brought my cholestrol down from 6 to 3 and since the surgery I have now been taken off it along with my diabetes medication. I think the general guidelines now are to give anyone above 4 a statin as complications of diabetes really affect the heart and if you are already on a statin then this is reduced.

There is a very good book out there called "diabetes for dummies" which is really informative for someone who is newly diagnosed and also the Diabetes UK website is very informative.

 

[dottychic]

Ive recently been diagnosed type 2 aswell. My nurse put me on metformin straight away and was really good with advice about diet etc. I did wait a while to get my eyes and feet checked though. Diabetes uk website is really good too. Try not to worry too much x

 

[thinnerangela]

I was taking a statin pre-op - haven't had it since the day before my op and my cholesterol was 3.something last time.

I was also a type II diabetic - stopped my insulin 11 months post-op.

I'd been a gestational diabetic twice so expected to develop type II - and went onto metformin straight away.

Diabolical bum effects followed - think Xenical and worse!! - and another tablet gave me awful headaches - so it was insulin again.

Diabetes is "good" as its a co-morbidity - but please keep it under control if you can - my retinas show some slight damage as a result of mine - but I did have it for over 10 years.

Good luck with everything

Angela xx