[WillowTheWhisp]

Funnily enough Mez called round here last night and was telling me about this. Earlier in the year we'd been comparing notes about swollen ankles and falling asleep.............

We have a fairly similar story.

I've been having an ongoing saga with my GPs (plural because you never see the same person twice) about my swollen ankles/legs/fingers, water retention, tiredness at unusual times and lack of tiredness at normal times (a bit like jet lag), inability to lose weight and 1001 other downright irritating things. I've been prodded and poked at the surgery and in hospital, had blood tests for this, that, the other and summat else, been in an out of hospital for ops and tests and so many different appointments I haven't known if I was coming or going. Last year it was verified that I do have a heart which is working perfectly well. Must be the only part of me that is!!!

Then a few weeks ago I was sent down Clayton for yet more blood tests and a glucose tollerance test. They told me to ring my GP in a couple of days for the results. I rang but they couldn't tell me! The person I spoke to asked if I'd had my appointment through yet for the cardio vascular clinic. (Well no what she actually said was CVR which didn't mean a thing to me but even when she said cardio vascular it only confused me more.) I told her that I'd had the angiogram and everything and my heart was fine. She said it mustn't be because I was down to get an appointment for the cardio vascular.

Confused? You bet I was. When I called in for a repeat prescription I asked again about this glucose test and was told that they can't tell me at reception. I have to ring up between 10am and 3pm. I would end up speaking to the person about cardio vasculars again which wasn't what I wanted. Then I got a letter with an appointment for the CVR clinic - a date which happens to be whilst I'm away so I phoned up and they said I would have to wait for another letter when I got back. Again I asked why I needed to see what to me sounded like heart people when I'd been told by BRH that my heart was hunky dory, in fact better than hunky dory and my GP had said my cholesterol was fine. Again I was told that I must be mistaken and that there would be good reason for seeing the heart team but I would have to wait until September as they couldn't fit me in before my hols. I concluded that it couldn't be all that serious then or they'd be asking me to cancel my hols.

But I still hadn't got to the bottom of this blood sugar test so I made an appointment to see a doctor to discuss it. As luck would have it this time I managed to see the only doctor down there who actually knows me, my family and our medical history.

I asked him about the glucose test. He looked at the results. "You have type 2 diabetes" he said.

Now why the flippin nora couldn't someone have told me this before now?

His advice was to avoid sugar which isn't difficult because I already do! I don't particularly like sugar in or on things so it's really only hidden sugar that I consume anyway (like in baked beans) apart from the occasional ice cream (which he said is OK in moderation) and chocolate which is rationed to a square a day! I deduced that my main sugar intake is from drinks as I have avoided the accursed aspartame. It's very difficult to avoid that and avoid sugar but I shall have to try.

I just find it very frustrating that no-one could have told me this before now.

And as for the CVR appointment - nothing to do with my heart at all. The diabetic clinic apparently comes under the same umbrella.

Anyway - get this under control and I live in hope that everything else will fall into place as it seems that all my problems could simply be symptoms of the diabetes.