worried that i might have diabetes

[chrisbarker1982]

hi there , ive been worried that i might have diabetes as it runs in the family , been doing some readings the last few days and its avg 9.2 mmol in the morning going up to 10.3 1 and a half hrs after eating then back down to around 9.4 befor eating , can anyone offer me some advise please .

 

[andcol]

yes I would say you need to go and see your doctor. Think you may find that you are not pre-diabetic with those numbers

 

[chrisbarker1982]

ok cheers for that Andrew , i'll keep a log over the weekend and take it the docs on monday cheers again ,

 

[Bluetit1802]

Yes, I agree. Those look like diabetic numbers to me. The doc will order blood tests, and if they come back positive, please come back and ask questions. Make sure you get a print out of your blood results. Good luck.

 

[tigerlily72]

Hi @chrisbarker1982 - try not to worry too much - not easy I know! Are you eating anything that may cause your blood sugars to rise? i.e. carb rich food or sugary food at all? I would also ask the Dr or nurse to check your HbA1c as well when they do your blood test as that will also give you an average over the past few weeks.

Good Luck and let us know how you get on

 

[chrisbarker1982]

Ive been watching and logging what ive been eating the last few days and it does look like ive been having too much carb rich food which ive cut down the last 24 hrs and my mmol is about 5/6 befor and after food and i dont really eat sugary foods much . ive been unwell since the start of october with the docs thinking it could be ms/me or something like that but the tests they done haven't found anything . ive found that when ive been feeling unwell or weak my mmol has been around 4 or sometimes its high about 15 or so . thanks for the advise everyone and i hope i get to the bottom of this .

 

[tigerlily72]

I hope you get answers and I also hope it's NOT diabetes. I don't know much about ME or MS and how that may affect the body, other than low energy/weakness/tiredness.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

There is a conundrum here. If you get control over your blood sugars and keep a log that shows good control then your doctor might think there is nothing to worry about. In other words you might bias what would have been the result by treating yourself early. An Hba1c will show the truth but your log of a period when you have cut down on carbs might be misleading.

 

[Brunneria]

I suggest that you do NOT make any diet/lifestyle changes until after you have had a diagnosis (or non diagnosis) from your doc.

I did make changes, and as a result, have not been officially diagnosed.
Am definitely type 2 (a meter reading of 14+ after a sandwich and a scone!)
But my doc won't diagnose without an hba1c over 48
So apparently, I'm not diabetic.

Which means I don't get the eye, foot, blood tests and check ups.

Since I control my BG, it isn't a problem, but it means that if something goes 'wrong' I would have to battle for a diagnosis before anyone factored diabetes into a treatment regime for any other health complaint.

 

[Gudrun]

Ive been watching and logging what ive been eating the last few days and it does look like ive been having too much carb rich food which ive cut down the last 24 hrs and my mmol is about 5/6 befor and after food and i dont really eat sugary foods much . ive been unwell since the start of october with the docs thinking it could be ms/me or something like that but the tests they done haven't found anything . ive found that when ive been feeling unwell or weak my mmol has been around 4 or sometimes its high about 15 or so . thanks for the advise everyone and i hope i get to the bottom of this .

Hi Chris
I have got ME (Chronic Fatigue) and it has been compared to having a high fever while you run a marathon and at the end having to sit an exam. I've had it for over 20 years and it is now manageable, but was very debilitating the first few years.
Let's hope it is neither MS nor ME and just result of poorly controlled blood sugar levels which you can learn to control. If your levels are between 4 and 15 that may well cause you to feel bad. Try and follow a low carb / high or medium fat diet and try to keep them fairly steady (certainly below 7, ideally in the 5s). If you want to know more about ME check out websites and see if what they say about symptoms is something you experience. Even if you don't get a diagnosis, it's useful to eliminate possible illnesses.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

I suggest that you do NOT make any diet/lifestyle changes until after you have had a diagnosis (or non diagnosis) from your doc.

I did make changes, and as a result, have not been officially diagnosed.
Am definitely type 2 (a meter reading of 14+ after a sandwich and a scone!)
But my doc won't diagnose without an hba1c over 48
So apparently, I'm not diabetic.

Which means I don't get the eye, foot, blood tests and check ups.

Since I control my BG, it isn't a problem, but it means that if something goes 'wrong' I would have to battle for a diagnosis before anyone factored diabetes into a treatment regime for any other health complaint.

I don't know if you have considered this, but perhaps you could change GP and then request a Glucose Tolerance Test?
This would at least point to problems processing glucose, and could lead to a diagnosis.

Cheers

LGC

 

[Brunneria]

I don't know if you have considered this, but perhaps you could change GP and then request a Glucose Tolerance Test?
This would at least point to problems processing glucose, and could lead to a diagnosis.

Cheers

LGC

Thank you.
Yes, I've considered that, and have actually tried to change my GP. But the two nearest doc surgeries aren't taking on new patients.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Tough when you are stuck in that situation.
Can you refer to the nearest hospital which has a specialist clinic?
I know there is a battle between GPs and specialist clinics for the footfall and revenue which comes from patients but I don't think that they can refuse to refer you.

Alternatively you could do your own GTT and present the records from your meter to the GP - if you did this you could use it as a lever to get a referral.

Getting all indignant here on your behalf.

Cheers

LGC

 

[phil1966]

I suggest that you do NOT make any diet/lifestyle changes until after you have had a diagnosis (or non diagnosis) from your doc.

I did make changes, and as a result, have not been officially diagnosed.
Am definitely type 2 (a meter reading of 14+ after a sandwich and a scone!)
But my doc won't diagnose without an hba1c over 48
So apparently, I'm not diabetic.

Which means I don't get the eye, foot, blood tests and check ups.

Since I control my BG, it isn't a problem, but it means that if something goes 'wrong' I would have to battle for a diagnosis before anyone factored diabetes into a treatment regime for any other health complaint.

I noticed this on the results I got on diagnosis

The bit I've highlighted indicates they should still be looking to diagnose if you fail a glucose test - have you asked your doctor for one? If they refuse, could you complain to the health authority as it seems they're not fulfilling their duty of care to me

 

[Brunneria]

@LittleGreyCat and @phil1966

Thank you, but don't get too concerned for me.

I am rather shy of another OGTT - for a number of reasons

I was exactly borderline 3 years ago when I had the last one, and it made me feel dreadful for 48 hours, during which I had very blurred vision and couldn't drive, use a computer screen or read. that meant 2 days off work.

Then add to that the fact that I have been VLC for a year, averaging well less than 50 g a day. So if I did go for another OGTT I would have to eat mountains of yucky carbs for weeks beforehand to ensure an accurate result. (my understanding is that 3 days of 150g carbs before the test simply won't reset insulin release for a VLCer. and it may take 2-6 weeks ). Besides which, I would end up gaining weight like a foie gras duck.

This means that I am being a stroppy patient, and wanting everything done on MY terms.
I want to carry on low carbing AND have a doc who does what I say, AND get a diagnosis.

Realistically, those 3 are incompatible!!!

So in the meantime, I will carry on with my VLC (and near 'normal' bg levels) and then discuss it with the endocrinology registrar that I will be seeing in a month or two (about an unrelated hormone thing). I suspect that they will be more helpful than Dear Doc, even if they can't offer any solutions.