Type 2 diabetes - how did you find out you had it?

I don’t have it, but my husband has the hereditary type. He started weeing more often, so knowing that his father, sister and niece all have it I persuaded him to go to the GP and ask for a test, which was positive.

Hereditary diabetes is not widely understood - armchair experts often claim it must have been caused by lifestyle factors, which it wasn’t. It is important to get a diagnosis sooner rather than later, to get in the loop for eyesight checks, foot care and so on. My FIL was registered blind before he died, as he wasn’t diagnosed until too late. My husband gets annual checks and it is well controlled.

Thank you Doodledog

I have hereditary diabetes and was diagnosed twenty years ago.

I had no symptoms.I had gone with my husband for his blood test and the nurse said we might as well give you a health check too as you haven't been seen for ages.My husband was fine and I was diagnosed type2🙄

I hadn’t noticed any symptoms but it was a busy time so probably wasn’t paying much attention to myself.

I agree Doodledog that it is massively misunderstood.The number of times people say I don’t look diabetic.

I took part in some research at Staffordshire University about misconceptions around diabetes which was really interesting.

You need to have the blood test hbaic. Shows what the blood sugar has been over the last few months.
My DM had type 2 so I was not surprised when diagnosed.
Do ask your gp to have the test done

At a checkup I was borderline but despite my efforts it did become type 2 diabetes.

Dh was diagnosed when he had a heart operation several years ago but he refused to admit it and still does as he has no symptoms at all and he is not overweight.

Been type 2 for 14 years. Well controlled with oral medication. I had put on a lot of post menopausal weight ( since lost but being too heavy is a risk)

I had lost some weight without trying, had been very thirsty so drinking loads and passing water a lot more . These are strong indicators together you have diabetes.

Ask for a fasting glucose test . If you are diagnosed white carbs and sweeteners affect your blood sugar as much as sugar products

Thanks everyone, really appreciate your replies.

My DH was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes many years ago. I was very careful about his diet and after a very long time he beat it ! Not easy I know but it can be done. Takes a huge amount of self discipline - not sure I could do it!
Our GC was diagnosed with type 1 when only 3 years old, is now a teenager and coping well with the condition. Type 1 is a very different kettle of fish !

Someone I know was getting tests for something else I think.
It showed up in that.
He had not been to a doctor in 3 years previous to that. He hadnt needed to.
He had no warning of the diagnosis. Was never told he was pre-diabetic.

He was miffed that he had had no chance to change things prior to the diagnosis.

Please do not say you can beat it as in many cases , like mine , it is due to nothing I had done or not done . If it is caused by being very overweight then you can try to reverse it but not everyone can do so bad genes win out .
I was diagnosed after getting the most terrible vaginal thrush after being on holiday . I had no other symptoms . That was 25 years ago . My DH got up in the iddle of the night to go to a 24 hour supermarked to buy me some natural yoghurt . Thank goodness it helped as I was in agony.

Flora Dora I agree.The dr told me at the beginning that there was nothing I could do that it was all down to genes.

I went to the doctor for a yearly medication review. My usual doctor was not there so I saw a very young locus. She asked if I had ever been tested for diabetes. I was I think just 70. Anyway I was borderline, and ten years later , with a low carb diet still am.
I do remember though when I had my daughter , 50 years previously, she weighed 9lb 2 oz at birth, a nurse asked me if I was diabetic. Nothing more was done or said about it then.

Thank you JamesandJon33
Glad you’ve managed to stay borderline.

I mentioned to my gp that my feet felt like I was wearing socks so he sent me for a blood test (hba1c) and that confirmed i was a type 2 diabetic.
I take linaglipten daily (can't take metformin) and carry on as normal. I have two replacement knees and find i cannot walk very far and exercise is difficult so I am overweight.
apart from a couple of hypos when i've missed breakfast my diabetes is well within control.

I suspected that I might have diabetes 2 or be likely to develop it, as my mother did, when she was some years younger than I am now, so I asked my doctor to check, when my annual appointment to check my thyroid came round. I had felt more thirsty than usual and having my glasses altered sligthly had appparently not solved the problem with dizzyness I had been experiencing.

I do not have diabetes of either kind, but if you know that a blood relation did it does no harm to mention it when you are having blood tests taken.

Both parents and both siblings had/have t2d. I’ve managed to avoid it but have been told I’m pre-diabetic. I have been told that you CAN avoid t2d even if it runs in your family, by exercise and diet, both being required in equal measure. One sibling has a reasonable diet but is in a very physical job and actually weighs less than me despite being a good 6 inches taller. They are struggling to keep the diabetes under control with regular changes to their meds. DH also has t2d, rarely sits down, one the other hand I think the only reason I’ve so far avoided it is because we have a very good diet that is low in carbs although I’m not particularly active! I do think that it’s likely that I will develop t2d in the future though.

See if your doc can get you a HbA1c test. Mine came out prediabetic and what a wake up call that was. I managed to get it to a safe level thankfully, as there is hereditary diabetes in the family. Keeping to a better diet helped me lose weight too as well as reducing my blood sugar

Whether or not T2 diabetes can ever be "cured" or avoided is a matter of contention. Somebody without diabetes can eat whatever they want and their blood glucose level will return to normal within an hour or so because the metabolism is working properly. Somebody with insulin resistance and/or a pancreas nor producing enough insulin can also have normal HbA1c levels, but that shows that their condition is well-managed, not that it doesn't exist. If the person with pre-diabetes or diabetes were to stop exercising and/or start eating loads of carbs, blood glucose levels would increase, whereas a healthy person's levels wouldn't. A more accurate test is a glucose tolerance test.

Having said that, there are some studies which show that if prediabetes is caught in the very early stages, it can be reversible.

Can any of you answer a question about pre-colonoscopy diet. I was told I was pre diabetic a couple of years ago and I managed it through the NHS course and the Zoe course and discovered that I need to live with low carbohydrate, more protein and exercise, especially after meals.

I'm just starting the colonoscopy prep and the diet sheet horrifies me, it's white bread, white pasta, scones, cake, jelly , no veg, no fruit, no dairy, fizzy drinks including cordial and squash . I could eat meat, but I don't. I'm at my wits end and think I just won't eat at all because I know that my blood sugar is going to be sky high.

Has anyone a similar experience or any advice?

Thank you all for your replies. Really helpful.
I will ask my GP for a test and take it from there.
Thanks again.

You might be better starting a new thread.

(It sounds horrendous!)

Thank you twaddle , I had a look through the colonoscopy threads via search but people are always worried about the prep solution you have to drink not the diet sheet. Someone said there's a low carbon thread? I shall try and find.