Oops! She's done it again!

Yes I know it is it was just that you made the comment about her constituents concern about doing her job properly - apart from the interviews, there's no evidence she wasnt and apparently she is a very hard working constituency MP

Well, that's good because she did seem to be struggling.
But what I meant was that she does not need to inform the general public because her responsibility is to her constituents, not the rest of us.

Yes, I know people's experiences are different, but people with Type 2 diabetes don't get hypos, unless they they take a certain class of medication called sulfonylureas. If a sufferer does experience hypos with those medications, they can be switched to another one immediately and there will be no further problem.

Ketoacidosis, which is caused by blood sugar which is too high, is another possibility, but the last thing a sufferer would do is take glucose tablets. It's an emergency requiring treatment.

Having consistently high blood sugar levels does cause extreme tiredness. I watched her car crash interviews and it looked to me that she was more likely to be extremely tired and stressed. Stress can itself bring on high blood sugar.

I wouldn't be surprised if DA has T2, because she's overweight, of Afro-Caribbean origin and has a family history. I was just puzzled that an aide said she was OK now as long as she had glucose tablets, because they wouldn't help at all.

Anyway, I hope she's back on track now.

PS. Hypothyroidism is associated with Type 1 diabetes, but not Type 2. Both are autoimmune diseases.

I just heard on the radio that she said she hadn't eaten for long periods, sometimes all day. Surely at her level she'd have had a PA or aide with her to pass relevant documents and make sure she had all she needed - including water, food, medication.

As she was diagnosed two years ago one would think she would know not to skip meals for whole days and why did she need to take so much time off to rest.

Possibly not. There's seems to be quite a bit of misinformation in the media. The reports of glucose tablets are a complete red herring.

I've just read what DA herself said and I believe her, because it's exactly what happened to me a few years ago.

Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are treated completely differently. T1s produce no insulin at all, so they have to be very careful about their insulin/food balance, which is why they're always testing. It wouldn't surprise me if Theresa May has an insulin pump, which delivers insulin automatically.

T2 diabetics produce insulin, but not enough. It's usually linked with insulin resistance, which means that the insulin which is produced doesn't work properly to get glucose to the brain and muscles where it's needed.

I don't fully understand the mechanism, but other hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline are involved. Both are produced in response to stress and block the action of insulin. This means that glucose can't work properly and stays in the blood stream. That's why immediate symptoms of too much glucose/insulin resistance are extreme tiredness and the brain not working properly.

DA probably does have aides to keep an eye on her health, but they might not have realised what they needed to do. Apparently, DA is a workaholic and it's very easy to keep going and not even to admit to yourself that you feel rough. With T2, the symptoms are likely to come on slowly, so it might not be obvious what was happening.

The most important thing is to keep food, medication and lifestyle under control. From experience, letting go causes problems. After nearly 30 years, the control needed is still hard and flies out of the window when I'm busy or stressed.

She probably does know, but it's easier said than done when very busy, as she undoubtedly was before the election.

When balance goes, as it obviously did, the best thing to do is to take a few steps back and get life back on track. I think she was right to take a break and she was almost certainly advised to do so by her doctor.

She was also devastated by all the bullying. A lot went on, on GN towards her.

Not after st least two years?

Yes ab! My diabetes was diagnosed 27 years ago, but five years ago it went out of control, which eventually resulted in my losing my job/career.

It took nearly a month to get it back under any kind of control and even then, I couldn't work the hours I had been.

I was also bullied by management at work who didn't understand and thought I was faking it.

So why was your first post that you didn't quite believe it, daphne?

She was bullied on GN? That's rubbish, she was critcised as have other politicians been critcised.

Or is criticising a Labour MP bullying but criticising an MP from other parties constructive critcism ,

dj Because the first reports mentioned hypos, glucose tablets and implied that she was Type 1, like Theresa May. It just didn't make sense. Now I know that she's Type 2, it makes sense.

Type 2 diabetics rarely have hypos, unless they're taking certain medication, and don't need glucose tablets. It just didn't add up.

I never doubted that she was seriously unwell, but the reporting was muddled and it didn't describe T1 diabetes.

DA was relentlessly mocked on social media for her interviews.

Diane Abbott's majority increased, she seems a popular constituency MP. I hope she's' resting as well as having a full medical review. Many people who have one auto immune disease have other auto immune conditions. The combination can cause exhaustion beyond description, as well as brain fog. Stress is recognised as a factor in making the symptoms of a.i. conditions worse.
It's difficult to ease up in the middle of an election campaign, even more difficult t take sick leave. I hope she takes three months off, gets a thorough review to see what else may be going on. Of course, losing some weight would help but as we all know, it's easier said than done.

I agree with most of your post Iam64 but Type 2 diabetes isn't an autoimmune condition.

I am just glad she knows what it is and is able to make adjustments to deal with it. I can imagine she is a workaholic and that this won't have helped but is entirely understandable.

I'm afraid, just as there is a knock on effect of losing weight, the side effects of some auto-immune diseases a weight increase and, as Iam said, one auto-immune diagnosis and treatment can then hightlight another and another.

I have no doubt that the increase in her majority and the results of the election which are making a change in course away from so called 'austerity measures look very likely will help her get better

a are

Well daphne, I thought it was but - it so often goes hand in hand with other autommmune conditions. As I've discovered in my long journey with various auto immune conditions. I'm pre diabetic, well I hope I'm still in that category, due to be retested in August. My GP told me it's not lifestyle, weight etc, it's because I have several automi mune conditions. I probably put two and two together and made ten. My maths is worse than Diane's ?

My diabetes is atypical too. It wasn't caused by weight, but possibly by lifestyle (stress, not enough exercise, etc). When I was originally diagnosed, I had consultant care and found out quit a lot.

Type 1 is definitely an autoimmune condition. Cells within the islets of Langerhans (in the pancreas) are completely destroyed, so no insulin is produced.

With Type 2, insulin is still produced until the pancreas gives up. What seems to happen is that sufferers develop insulin resistance. That means that blood glucose can't be used. The pancreas produces more insulin, because the body thinks it's not producing enough. T2 diabetics often have high levels of glucose and insulin in their blood. Eventually the pancreas gives up and some T2s end up having to take insulin.

There's quite a bit of misdiagnosis, especially in middle aged people. Some diagnosed T2s are actually T1.

The reason people develop insulin resistance isn't fully understood. There is definitely a link with obesity and lifestyle, but my understanding is that there is research into possible autoimmune causes. Some scientists claim that there is a link, but the consensus (so far) is that there's no proof.

Type 2 is basically a messed up endocrine system, so I guess it's possible that something else is affecting your pancreas. If you can, it might be an idea to try and get yourself referred to a proper endocrinologist for full blood tests (if you don't see one already).

She can compare notes with Theresa May. They've both had a slightly stressful few weeks...

Except that Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes aren't the same. The treatment and way the two conditions affect people is different.

Type 1 diabetics can adjust to imbalance relatively quickly by injecting insulin or taking glucose.

Recovery from Type 2 imbalance (nearly always too much blood glucose rather than too little) takes longer.

I wish the two conditions were called something completely different.